Grill 309 — Restaurant in Culpeper

There is no dishwashing machine in the kitchen of this restaurant - so you can’t believe that all of the dishes are being sanitized properly. They’re not. They’re quickly rinsed by hand, that’s it. Including your silverware. I had to ask the manager to purchase a silverware rack for the dishwasher and they used it maybe once. They will leave the “clean” silverware sitting by the bathroom in a bucket of dirty dishwasher, then directly roll it in the napkins without polishing. They use the same dirty rag all day long to wipe off plates before serving customers food. If an order is wrong, they don’t re-make it, they just scrape off or remove whatever was wrong & send it back out. This restaurant is all about profit instead of quality or sanitation…. Ex.) you’ll be charged $10 for dry cheese curds when they’re only $3 down the street at Graze To Griddle with a bigger portion and better quality. The only dishwasher broke where chemical gas was leaking into the dining room for days while guests were present and no guests were notified or even asked to move. The dishwasher still has not been replaced nor works properly. The coffee mugs are often served with leftover residue still inside. The glasses are never polished and served with lipstick stains, sometimes returned by guests for being dirty. They refill everyone’s used cup with the same nozzle and ice scoop instead of replacing the cup. The water pitcher they refill with is sitting out for hours until poured. There is no manager on duty after 7 pm even though the servers are required to share their tips with the general manager as a way for the owner to save money. The servers are required to close down the entire restaurant including inspecting the kitchen & doing labor reports (a manager’s job) The owner also will not turn on the heat in the middle of winter to save money so the temperature of the restaurant sits at 63-66 degrees inside. Most people only eat here because they don’t know how filthy it is. The table cleaner is not disinfectant - it’s glass cleaner & they barely switch out the rags all day. They even have a server who fills the air of terrible body odor as they walk past or serve your table. You’ll know if you experience it! The manager also leaves bad reviews under competitor restaurants when they have quite a few issues to work on themselves. Trust me, you can have a much more enjoyable experience at most of the other Culpeper restaurants. You won’t be missing anything by choosing...

I asked around town... What is the best restaurant in town and this is the place they told me.. Grille 309.... The only thing that was good about this place was the service.. everybody was nice and friendly..... The atmosphere was a little stale.... If this was the best food in town I would hate to see what the worst was..... I got a cheeseburger with gyro meat as well.. I wish I thought it was interesting and I think would be a fantastic Burger... If it was made right.... I asked for rare burger that came out well done... And I need to use a different bun... I don't use a cut my burger in half. But I had to because this one was too soft... And the grease just melted through the bun... By the time I had to eat my second half.. I have to use a knife and fork because the bun was like water and the taste of the fries were ok but they were soggy.... So I had to ask for more.... They were willing to cook my Burger over but at that point I just wanted to get out of there.... And the place was not that busy so there was no reason for my burger to come out well done.... The only thing that was good about the place like I said was the service and the beer was ice cold... And I truly hope all the people I asked in town about where the best food is the standards for food is not that good....that's for sure ... I usually don't complain about anything... But when I go into a restaurant... I want my food made right.... That's the only time I always speak up is when I'm not eating... I'm from New York and I'm used to good food.... I guess I expected more from people around the town told me that this was the place to go to for good food ... And then the price I paid was ridiculous as well for a little town $30 for a Burger & fries I thought I was choking on...

After second visit last THU, subtracting 2*

Second visit... Vastly different experience than the first. Both food and service have gone downhill in the last 6 months. Whoever owns and manages this place better get it together! They must not be reading the numerous news articles about the looming demise of fast casual dining, but they run the risk of being a casualty...

Food - order was lost (patty melt). When food arrived 30 minutes after I ordered it, there was no Swiss cheese (only some sort of queso) and I couldn't taste any Thousand Island. Bread was soggy. Fries were too. This would now rank in the lower half of grub pubs I've visited across the country.

Service was atrocious. The dude at the bar was slow to greet me. Took 25 minutes to realize my food hadn't arrived. Never checked in to see how I liked it. Didn't bring any condiments (I had to ask for ketchup). Why? Who knows...but it might have to do with his singular focus on the female servers, who he chatted up and pinched (with one letting out a loud shriek of surprise) in the bar area where I was sitting.

There were hardly any patrons on a beautiful THU night, which led the too many servers on hand to complain about the lack of crowds and their tips - maybe if they focused on customer service and stopped flirting with the scruffy bartender, more folks would come to Grill 309 and their tips would be better.

No plans to go back. AVOID!

First visit... Excellent grub pub. Grilled chicken Taco Tuesday special hit the spot, especially for $9! Lots of filling - love that they melted the cheese quesadilla style.

Good selection of draft beers.

Fair prices. Solid service....