The Virginian — Restaurant in Charlottesville

Ya’ll going to love this place “For sure.”. It is what it is, and it’s good at that, so it gets 5 stars. If you’re looking for fine dining then pass on by, but if you want to feel, smell and taste the flavors of a college joint and Charlottesville then stop and enjoy the experience. We were in Charlottesville for just one night to visit Montecello and checked in early evening. We needed to refuel before we went to bed and headed out in the morning. Didn’t want anything fancy, just good food at a good price. I was checking out all the little cards you find in the hotel lobby with my fellow travelers and came across one for “ The Virginian”. It looked appealing and interesting so I checked it out online. Everyone agreed it looked good so we took a chance and went out to find it. It was only a few minutes away which was also a reason we picked it.

It is located right across the street from the University of Virginia in an area referred to as “The Corner”. It has been there since the 1920’s and it looks and feels like it. That’s the type of place I enjoy, venues with history and atmosphere. What the heck, if it’s been around for 100 years they must be doing something right. It is a long narrow joint with a bar and several booths. There’s even one cool booth in the front window that is shaped in an unconventional figuration because of the space , so it fits right into the area. The wood is dark and old like you would expect in a 100 year old joint. It’s a college watering hole but was pretty quite because the spring semester was over. Collectively the ages of all the kids dining and working probably didn’t add up to our foursome of late 60’s and early 70 year olds. 😂 We we’re greeted by “Jack” who turned out to be our waiter as well. Jack greeted us with a few “Ya’ll’s” so I asked him where he was from and he said San Francisco. We had a good laugh over that. Jack was a very personable and engaging young man. He is an incoming freshman at UVA and is starting early this summer. It didn’t take him long to acquire a nice smooth Virginia accent. He loved our Boston accents and we hit it off right away. He candidly admitted to us this was his first shift of waiting by himself with out assistance. He faired very well and I think he’ll catch one and be a valued employee. There were a few small things that need correcting with our order and he was quick and accommodating. Our food was well prepared, delicious and hot. Our items varied from a garden salad with grilled chicken to a pulled pork sandwich to a BLT. There were generous portions, fresh ingredients and brought to us quickly. Needless to say there are dozens of beers to choose from as well.

So if you find yourself in the area of “The Corner” in Charlottesville and even if you’re well past the age of a college freshman, do yourself a favor and stop by “The Virginian” for great food, great beverages and great service. You’ll be...

My first time visiting this college town and it was a nice rich town. I came to this restaurant unaware if it was known around town for having good eats and deeply regret it. It wasn't my first choice, I wanted to go to a breakfast spot around the corner but they were closed due to their summer hours. My friend ordered a mimosa that was $5 on Sundays but $6 every other day. I ordered one as well. It came in a big glass. But quality over quantity is always best and in this case the quality sucked. I had to ask for more orange juice to dilute the champagne taste. The menu was in general like other bar menus but they had a crab cake sandwich on there that caught my eye. The sandwich came with seasoned fries and cole slaw for $12. The fries tasted awesome… HOWEVER, the crab cake sandwich tasted awful, the batter wasn't fully cooked, I didn't taste any crab what so ever and the sauce that was described to be spicy on the menu was NOT spicy at all. The sauce tasted like a semi-seasoned mayonnaise. I almost considered telling them I didn't like it but it was late in the day and I was with my friend and her friend and didn't want to be difficult.

Well half way into chowing down on the only good thing on that plate (the fries) everyone at my table sees something crawling on the wall. When we look closer we notice it was a ROACH with wings. My friend made a feeble attempt to kill it by smashing it with a clip board that was hanging on the wall but obviously it didn't die because ROACHES never die! And then it jumped on my side of the bench and I jumped as well. Anywho the waitress came over to see what the noise was about and when we told her, she nonchalantly tells us that they just fumigated the restaurant and it's an old building. Ummmm that is not comforting at ALL. They should not be in business if they have roaches crawling around. If it was possible not to give any stars I would. Needless to say my appetite ended after I...

Yesterday was our first visit to the Virginian. We were 2 families reuniting after a very long time and we were looking forward to a comfy lunch at a landmark restaurant near the university. I called in advance to see if they could accommodate us. They said no problem. We arrived and were split into two booths. There is absolutely no space that can seat a party larger than 6. Then we discovered that there was a leak above each of these booths- and they were already aware of this!! We relocated now to 3 booths and after placing our orders we learned the system was down which added a delay (beyond their control). The food arrived and it was average at best. In fact I would not recommend the French onion soup. It had an acidic taste. All the while, the server excused himself repeatedly, but the management only offered to comp our beverages- 3 sodas in total! It was only when we complained at the end that they stepped up to the plate with a discount. These things can happen of course, and it’s unfortunate that they all came together at once. If the server who took my initial call had just indicated that there was no way they could seat us, our crisis could have been averted. Just be forewarned that the establishment is not well maintained and the food is not...