Holly's Diner — Restaurant in Charlottesville

Holly's is THE spot you want to find for that nice, farm to table experience with your meal without the snooty wine snobs or servers rushing you to scarf your grub to flip the table for the next pack of hungry, hung-over locals-- because the locals WILL WAIT. :) Why? Because the bartenders have moxie: they'll know your favorite drinks as soon as you walk in the door and already have you locked in a convo, laughing about your favorite pet or hashing out band details they caught last weekend before you take your jacket off.... What's more- the place reins in EVERYONE: it's the joint that entices the soccer moms over brunch, visiting parents after a Montecello tour, musicians grabbing a bite after practice or booking their next gig there or even speed-dating hipsters coyly sipping pilsners on Thursday Game Nite... it's where EVERYBODY wants to be. Their menu is simple, yet interesting. It offers tasty goodies for your pickiest vegan to your hangry carnivore. It's not a choose-your-own-adventure map of only burgers & fries. It has variety for every time of day, with all the best sides to try. The only reason I gave it 4 stars on service is because the place needs more servers on Game Night: its PACKED on Thursdays- BUT the food came HOT & prettied up on classy dishes and DELICIOUS down to the last bite- served up by the King of the Kitchen, himself. The general manager even jumped in to refill drinks and stock the wait station. :) Now that's the kinda atmosphere I like- it's your move to try this little gem of a joint for...

Parking is limited but you can park on the street or in the business parking across from the diner. Unpretentious, Cheers-like diner. They have booths and tables to choose from. It is a small place with a raised platform for the various activities there like karaoke. I imagine it could be pretty loud. We arrived around 5 pm on a Tuesday in January. There were only a couple tables taken. The service wasn’t the fastest … or slowest. The wait staff was friendly enough but not overly chatty. Ding – they only serve wine by the glass, and it’s not very good wine. In this bustling wine region of Charlottesville, they offer no local wines. The menu is fairly small but there are enough options to please just about anyone. My spouse and I shared the Farmhouse wedge salad and the meatloaf. And that was a good thing as the servings are huge. We couldn’t even finish our split meal. The wedge salad was a variation of the norm. It had corn and black bean salsa, tomatoes, red onions, blue cheese crumbles and ranch dressing. I’m a die-hard wedge salad eater so I prefer the original, but this salad was still good. The meatloaf came with mashed potatoes which were just ok because they were kind of dry. However, with enough of the tasty gravy, we made do. The brussels sprouts were roasted and tasted very good. They were my favorite. The meatloaf was pretty good. The prices are very decent especially considering the size of the servings. We...

Had a hard time finding anything appealing to order, and I'm pretty open-minded with food. Too many mayo-based sauces of all kinds. The server did help ensure I didn't get any of said eggy sauces on a dish, so she was 5-stars. That was balanced out by the bartender who let me just stand there before, during, and after ordering my drinks. It's one of those places where the bartenders either can't or don't make any effort to track the order of customers approaching the bar. She also didn't tell me anything when she gave me my mixed drink but not my water--so I stood there for another 10 minutes only to find that she forgot it (and wasn't just busy and getting around to it).

People in customer service: tell your customers what you are doing. Don't just do without confirming you heard your customer, or without saying something brief to wrap up the interaction. Idk, it's a pet peeve of mine when people in customer service don't say anything after you order your drink, or after they give you your order. My socially competent and emotionally intelligent self is left waiting, being polite and presuming the benefit of the doubt that you are actually doing...