Summit Restaurant — Restaurant in Christiansburg

My boyfriend and I celebrated our 3.5 year anniversary today. As one does on anniversaries, we planned to have a fine dining experience in the evening. Upon several failed attempts to secure a reservation elsewhere, he suggested we go to The Summit (a “4-star fine dining experience”), just down the road from where we live. How convenient! And also, how inaccurate.

Upon arrival, I was a little uneasy. It was quite messy, with an umbrella strewn across the patio, trash scattered in the yard, empty propane tanks, abandoned children’s bicycles (or maybe in use?), I could go on. Anyways, I try not to judge a book by its cover, so once we were able to maneuver around the litter scattered in the back lot where we parked (the entire parking lot was full in the front), we made our way inside.

We waited at the front desk for someone to show up and seat us for about 7 minutes. While this was annoying (because we had a reservation for 7:30, and that time had come and gone), at least there was plenty to observe in the entryway- like the stairs piled with first aid kits (2 to be exact), a kleenex box and a stack of printer paper. Anyways, we were eventually told we didn’t actually have a reservation (?) but we could probably sit anyways. I imagined it was a full house, hence the hesitation to sit us, however we actually were the only guests present in the room we were sat in. Kinda odd.

If this hasn’t already convinced you to maybe try elsewhere, continue reading. We started by ordering a $36 bottle of wine. The “Francis Ford Black Label Claret 2022” bottle. You may be thinking, “wait, haven’t I seen that bottle at Kroger?” and also maybe “wait, isn’t that typically $13-$18?” and you would be correct! Sadly, we realized this after the mistake or ordering it, had been made. So we moved on. I ordered the vegetarian fettuccine, which came with the pasta & asparagus/mushrooms and I added chicken. My boyfriend ordered the New York Strip. Pretty simple, right? Wrong.

After waiting for quite some time, our meals arrived. However, I was immediately told there had been a mistake with mine. They made Cajun fettuccine for me- which is spicy. I’m not opposed to spicy food. In fact, I could have been convinced to just suck it up. But with it being our anniversary and all, I decided to be a huge pain in the ass and politely request I get the dish I ordered/intended to pay for. Our waitress (she was very kind, no shade to her whatsoever!) was very apologetic and returned to the kitchen to retrieve the proper meal. My boyfriend finished his food in the meantime (I told him to go ahead, didn’t want him to have cold steak!) and I waited for my meal. It eventually arrived! All was well! Until I realized it’s simply missing 1/2 of what the menu description included. It was just fettuccine, sauce, and chicken. I won’t dwell long, but I brought this to our waitresses attention. She apologized and checked the menu again, realized they didn’t provide any vegetables, and said they could get me some.

Long story short, it was a very uncomfortable dinner. Between eating my meal alone and the disruption of the classic jazz music playing overhead, by the sound of the restaurants answering machine on full blast, it was not entirely enjoyable. Nothing on the bill was taken off. However, I (politely) complained about the mixups and did get $12 off! Which all in all, paid for the gas to get there, so not horrible compensation!

Anyways, hope this helps anyone who decides to still go. But also, make sure if you use the restroom inside, you make sure no one is in the parking lot outside. We could see 100% into the bathroom from where we parked. Besides all of that,...

Was contemplating dining here next spring for a college graduation but after trying the restaurant tonight, will not subject my friends and family to an overpriced and middling restaurant. I did ask to speak to the manager but was told there isn't one and the only person to speak to was the chef. The chef did not come out to speak with me. Do not know if you want the good or bad first. Lets start with the good and the reason for 2 stars. My wife had the Chilean Sea Bass and she found it to be fabulous, portion size was excellent, temperature was spot on. As to the rest of the meal lets just say it was a big miss. I ordered the rib eye steak - served cold and buried under some sort of sauce. The side of mashed potatoes and mixed vegetables were ice cold, my son ordered the New York strip med rare and was served med well. Same sides came with his order and they were cold as well.

If I could give 0 stars for service, I would. The waiter was inattentive, we had to ask for water multiple times before it was brought out. Had to ask him for a glass of wine three times before it was brought out. Took almost an hour and a half hours before our entrees were brought out. Maybe that is why the sides were ice cold. As soon as the entrees were delivered, we may have had a chance to take one bite and he asked how everything was. My wife answered that her seabass was tasty and he walked off. Didn't wait to get my son's or my response. Not once after that, did he come back except to bring the check. Get better service at TGIFridays.

As another diner posted, the atmosphere needs to be improved. Furniture looks to be 20 years old and falling apart. Cheap wallpaper near the crown molding to make the room appear to have character. Bugs flying around our table.

Save your time and money and...

We wanted very much to enjoy this restaurant, it had been recommended for fine dining, so we tried it for our anniversary. Unfortunately, our hopes were not met. First problem when we got there was that there were no remaining spaces in their parking lot, even though the restaurant was not even close to full. Next, we were seated at one of seven tables in a rather small, crowded-feeling room. as I mentioned, the restaurant was not full, but a couple of the rooms were apparently completely unused due to an HVAC issue. No allowance was made for this situation. You can tell that at one point this house-turned-restaurant was very well taken care of and renovated, but that appears to be have been quite a few years ago now with visible molding sagging, wallpaper edges askew, a damaged mantle, and other such “deferred maintenance.“ The gentleman who appears to be the head waiter gives the impression of one quite capable and attentive as he took my call when I made the reservation a few days prior. He also took the time to show me around the day prior when I stopped by just to have a look. Unfortunately, that’s not who was waiting on us this night. Our waitress seemed kind and polite, but spoke so quietly we could hardly hear her when she introduced the menu and specials, less yet understand her. My soup (a pumpkin bisque, as I recall) was excellent, but my wife’s salad was quite small and ho-hum. My wife’s tuna, though correctly cooked rare and seared on the outside was still dry and tasteless on the inside - seemed to have been previously frozen. My duck however, prepared a delightful medium with a tasty sauce, was actually wonderful. We’ll probably give it one more try, just in case it was a totally off night, but our expectations are...