Red House Tavern — Restaurant in Haymarket

First, I have no affiliation with the restaurant but was so impressed, wanted to write a thorough review. I have been to the Red House Tavern twice. Once for a soft opening, and once for dinner. Both times the food was amazing, and I look forward to going back and trying something new. Reservations are a must. my husband and I tried walking in one evening to find it completely booked. I was taken aback that we were turned away as there seemed to be open tables. I later learned that the kitchen literally makes everything fresh, so there are rolling reservations to ensure every customer gets the best experience. It was obvious that our server was new and inexperienced, but she made up for it with enthusiasm. She told us that all of the dishes were created by the chef under the premise “the best Virginia has to offer,” and said that everything was locally sourced. The chef plans to change the menu every few months to keep it interesting. Sorry I didn’t get more pictures. I was so excited once the appetizer arrived, and subsequently the entrées that I completely forgot. They are all beautiful and are worth 1000 words. So now for the words: I’ve had the House Charcuterie twice. It is not your grandmother’s pâté! Most versions have too much of an iron flavor, but not on this board. Each of the three pâté are served with a different bread/cracker accompaniment for spreading and each had its own unique flavor and texture. There is plenty for two to eat their fill, but even four would be satisfied with this plentiful appetizer. The very kind and attentive manager said that idea of this restaurant is to have an “experience,” and they describe their menu items more like “tapas,” suggesting that patrons order several dishes to share. In addition to the Charcuterie, my husband and I ordered two dishes to share. We left satisfied but not overly full. I have had the Wagyu rib pasta which was smokey and delicious. The wide, long, homemade pasta ribbons were perfectly al dente and there was just the right amount of sauce. The meat is the texture of a tender pulled pot roast. It was a bit on the salty side so if you are sensitive to salt, you may want a different option. I have had the salmon, which is actually more like a smoked salmon dip served with sourdough for dipping. My favorite entree was the Tavern Burger. I felt silly getting it again instead of tying something new, but I couldn’t help it! They make their own English muffins in-house and they are thinner, and far more delicious than the mass produced version. The beef is flavored so well it really could be a stand alone, but the combination with the pickle, tomato, lettuce real cheddar and special mayo is really out of this world! I absolutely believe it’s the best burger in town! This time, my husband and I also tried the sea bass. That was a new addition to the menu. I have to say that I was skeptical when I saw “green olives” paired with such a delicate meat. I was sure they would be overpowering but they were not! The chunky pureé had white beans, squash, and green beans in addition to the olives and provided amazing texture and flavor. The small chorizo chunks in the vinaigrette added so much flavor. They all melded together to create the perfect healthy and fresh meal. For the desserts, I have had the chocolate cake and lemon tarts that were good, but the piece de resistance was the crema (pictured below). It was essentially an amazing crème brûlée with just a hint of citrus. The thickness and browning of the carmelized sugar was perfect. It was described on the menu as citrus and cinnamon, the only cinnamon I tasted was in the small churros served on the side. They were good, but I think the brûlée can stand on its own. We shared one, but my comment on the way home was, “we should have gotten two.” I will be having it again! However, the next time we go, it won’t be for dinner. While we were there, we got a look at the brunch menu. With items like “shrimp and grits,” “chicken and biscuits,” I’ll be making a...

Update: Responding to the obtuse message left by someone on hotel staff only adds salt to the wound with certainty these people do not understand the definition of hospitality or how to deliver it. Even at 7-11 getting coffee, I've had more care, concern and common decency, No apology for any of their staff failing to provide me with basic respect as a patron or a hospitable experience or even any attempt to make the horrible experience right or apologize for their faulty apple pay set-up -- while ruining my visit and taking my money. Horrible hospitality. Hoping for a lovely evening out as a solo diner and also wanting a bit of a festive atmosphere to get my mind off matters and feel like I am enjoying the holiday season, I went to the bar for a drink and dinner. Noting that I didn't have my wallet or cash on me, but had my Apple pay, I asked the female bartender right away if they accepted Apple pay. The place lacked a festive, welcoming feeling and having dined there in the past, the food is inconsistent in quality and flavor with small portions for the pricing, I decided to just get my drink and go eat somewhere more pleasuranble. Still having a full drink, I asked the bartender to close me out. The Apple Pay machine only comes out like 8" from the cash register and when she tried it it would not work without face ID or me putting in my passcode, which I could not do without coming around the bar. I offered to do exactly this and the female bartender said it was not allowed and for me to lean as far over the bar as I could to reach the Apple pay machine. Doing so, a male voice loudly said get that woman off my bar now in a nasty way. I looked up to see the male bartender giving me a nasty look and then saying something at my expense to two male patrons that all laughed at me and everyone in the bar area giving me the unpleasant look of judgment. The female bartender did not come to my defense and did not care that the issue of their Apple Pay not being conducive to customers caused me tremendous embarassment and destroyed my intentions and need to have a pleasurable evening. When I asked for an apology, I was treated like I am the problem. The local regulars that were laughing at my expense with the male bartender were excused by the Sales Director/Manager as being local guys that come in all the time. It is shocking to me that being polite to guests and treating people with respect is not a hospitality concern and neither is fixing their Apple Pay machine cord to reach guests or having an iPad. There are many other places to go with staff that are professional, warm, welcoming, friendly, and offer comfortable service without a miserable experience. Go there and...

Update Downgraded from 4 to 2 stars. We gave this place a second chance. We are done. Spent 1.5 hour waiting for our main dishes, and were served barely grilled pork chop. It was almost raw. Sent it back to "cook some more". Waitress started joking..."hehe, it's like chicken medium rare"...my thoughts went more towards food safety violation. It came back after 10 minutes - brand new pork chop - equally raw. After I showed the waitress how raw the meat is, she offered to take it off the check. I thought...isn't obvious we won't pay for it??? More complaints to add but this one did it for me for good.

We had to give this new, local place a try, so we picked our anniversary to be the day. The service was top notch, and the waitress was very attentive. The menu was a bit confusing, between appetizers to share and sharable plates. The food was very good, but I wish they give up the "sharable plates" concept, since they were just too small to share, and "sharable" indicates bigger, family style meals. We ordered local beef and duck, so the 2 staples, and 2 appetizers. The whole anniversary dinner with alcoholic drinks, appetizers and "sharable plates" lasted an hour, exactly 60 minutes - our kids were surprised to see us so soon. We were wondering why it was so quick, then came to the conclusion that it was just such a small amount of food. The beef came with what I called a hash brown - not a side I would ever order, but there was no workable substitute on a menu. More natural form of potatoes would be nice to absorb all that nice gravy. The duck came with some mouse that we were told to dunk each piece of duck in, but we got 2 dots of it, literally. It was enough for about 3 bites of that duck. It also had 4 little pieces of charred turnips, but they were very small. Other than the meat - what is sharable about that plate? My suggestion would be to go with regular sized dinner portions with more side options. The food was very tasty and interesting, no need to waste that what you have going for you with an overcomplicated concept that sends your guest away half hungry. We'd be back because the food was very good, but we'll wait for a...