Belle — Restaurant in Charlottesville

I'm related to Belle's owners - the brothers John the chef and Scott the baker - through marriage to one of their aunts. As my wife and I had been living outside the US till recently, we hadn't had the opportunity to try out their restaurant, which we learned has acquired a strong reputation in the local restaurant scene. Having settled back to the US a year ago, the opportunity finally came last week when we came to Charlottesville for family visits. We were excited for the planned dinner, aware that the brothers have a bit of celebrity status.

Cut to the chase, we were almost overwhelmed by the outstanding quality of the food, even though we have been spoiled by the high standard of restaurant meals in the Far East. Starters came with generous servings of freshly baked sourdough and herb butter, and among the varieties, meat lovers like my wife would find the steak tartare amazing while seafood enthusiasts like myself would enjoy the smoked fish (forgot what kind, possibly a trout) in duck fat. Oh, the cheese board was as delicious as it was instagrammable. For the main courses, we ordered beef bourguignon and steak frites as per chef John's recommendation, and we enjoyed every bite of these perfectly prepared dishes. My wife and I didn't think that we would have room for dessert, and then baker Scott brought out a cherry clafoutis and proved us wrong.

To conclude, Belle seems to position itself as a place for gourmet dining experience in a relaxed environment and reasonable prices, and in this regard, it is possibly the best of its kind in and out of the state...

I was taken aback to find parking meters in their lot, so I found street parking nearby. I went for breakfast at 9am on a weekday, and they had counter service (but the charge machine still asked for % tips 🙄). It was easy to find a table by a window, and I enjoyed the casual vibe of the place. I didn't love that for dine-in my sandwich came in paper and foil instead of on a plate, so I flattened the wrapper out on the table as a make-shift plate. But they are already washing cups and saucers and silverware, how hard would it be to put the food on a plate?!?! The latte (in a proper mug) was good, and the sandwich was phenomenal.

I love egg sandwiches, and the one I had here was so good. The brioche was so soft, pillowy and buttery, and the sausage and egg were the perfect size for it and perfectly cooked. It was rich without being greasy at all. It is kind of a ridiculous price for an egg sandwich ($12 I think), but it really was more refined than even what I make at home, so I'll be back to try some of the...

Our group of 4 was excited to try Belle for restaurant week last night. As another reviewer noted, the advertised price for Belle's restaurant week was $35 when we made the reservation, but the menu at seating was $45/pp, a substantial change which was not communicated to us. Had we known this, we would likely have dined elsewhere.

Unfortunately, our service was unfriendly and slow; a 7 pm dinner on a Wednesday evening took 2 hours for small plates, which we found disappointing. The dishes came out cold, and the menu was different from advertised (instead of arctic char, they served a different fish). Three of us who ordered the fish main were surprised how undercooked and soft the fish was (bright pink and raw). A friend ordered the escargot to start and they were under salted and lacking in flavor. Our server said maybe 20 words to us all night, and we could barely hear her. It's loud and tight in Belle space wise, with servers walking on top of diners. Perhaps stick to Belle for...