The Black Twig — Restaurant in Contiguous United States

We moved to Culpeper County from Loudoun last summer and this is only the second restaurant we've found that we really love. It was my Dad's birthday and he wanted to golf, so he suggested that I meet him and my mom so we could shop while he golfed, then go to dinner. I was cautiously hopeful since they'd eaten here once before and said they loved it.

First of all, the service was fantastic. Gayle (or maybe Gail?), you're a treasure. I wish I'd gotten the name of the other girl (long black hair, I'd guess she's in her early 20's) because she was also a sweetheart. Smiles all around, brief but pleasant conversation, and drinks + food that were always brought quickly. Can't ask for more than that!

The food was delicious! My mom and I got there about 20 minutes before my dad, so we ordered a drink (the pink margarita, can't recall its official name) that was really good. We ordered the house-made focaccia with house-made ricotta, lemon oil, and tomato confit which was my favorite dish of the night. They grill the large pieces of bread so that it's crispy on the outside but soft on the inside, and it was so good with the ricotta mixture. Don't miss this one.

My parents both had the fish sandwich which they loved. I ordered the brussels and tempura green beans; both were fantastic. I preferred the beans dipped in my mom's blue cheese dressing, but that's strictly personal preference as the ginger sauce it comes with is very good - I'm just a huge lover of all things blue cheese. I've got my eye on that fried chicken dinner for our next visit!

The vibe is casual with an almost "we're on vacation" feeling, probably because of the golf course. There's a good-sized patio which we're looking forward to once the weather cools a bit.

We didn't try any desserts but definitely will next time. And there WILL be a next time! The staff couldn't have known this, but my mom was very recently diagnosed with cancer and we all really needed a nice evening out to take our minds off of it. It's not easy to find great service AND great food (it's actually a running joke between us not to get our hopes up when we try somewhere new, lol), but we were all pleasantly surprised. It's a bit of a drive for us (about 30 minutes from different directions) but we'll be happy to make...

Let me start by saying that the ding to 4 stars for the Atmosphere is only because I'm not a fan of live music while dining and we weren't aware that they had live music on Friday & Saturday nights (I've since been informed that it's only 1-2x a month, so if you ARE a fan of live music, plan accordingly), when we decided to have dinner at the Black Twig; so it's not so much a ding on them. The staff was phenomenal, doing everything they could to accommodate us with a table as far from the entry to the room in which the band was playing and, although the extended wait was due to our request for a farther table, we were comped a free appetizer; a gesture that instantly garnered them kudos. The wait staff was attentive and took great care of us; empty dishes removed promptly, drinks refilled with little to no wait, etc. The main reason for being there - the food - was no less than the service. My sister-in-law, quite the foodie with high standards, had nothing but praise for the whole experience - which may be more difficult to achieve than a Michelin start. Highly recommend. . . just avoid live music nights if you want to have a...

Went for the first time and our expectations were blown away!! I ordered the mushroom gnocchi, which I would’ve loved to add chicken to for extra protein (was told this wasn’t an option which I found odd since chicken is an add on option for the salads), but was still yummy nonetheless. The gnocchi itself tasted homemade, and the sauce was AMAZING. Everything tasted fresh and seemed locally sourced (especially the mushrooms, which we noticed weren’t your “typical” mushrooms) which is something we look for when choosing dinner options. Noticed a bunch of burgers being sent out while we waited for our food, so it’ll be a tossup of if I order the gnocchi again or go for a burger next time!

For dessert, my husband ordered the coconut cream rice and it came cold and hard. Not sure if this is how it’s supposed to be served, but we wouldn’t go for that again. 4 stars for food because of this, otherwise we’d definitely give the full 5.

Service was a little slow, but we completely understand this as an element of growing pains with starting a new restaurant. We’ll be back...