Tuscarora Mill Restaurant — Restaurant in Leesburg

I used to live in the DC area but had never been here until family took me for dinner when I was visiting last Christmas (and I kept forgetting to write a review, until now).

The experience was lovely.

Everyone in our party loved it. My details:

I had the baked brie as an appetizer (I believe it was a special that night); it was perfect, perfectly topped with a gorgeous grape reduction and served with perfectly perfect crostini.

For the entree, I had the flank steak--mainly because I was tempted by the bourbon molasses. The cook and texture were spot-on, the mashed potatoes and beans left nothing wanting, and the presentation was excellent overall. My only [tiny] disappointment was that the corn and onions felt like an afterthought that didn't truly integrate into the dish as a whole.

But that sauce. Call it a molasses or a reduction or whatever--it was magnificent.

I should add that there were two highly picky kids in our group (my niece and nephew). They both had the chicken strips and fries.

I shamelessly stole a few bites. Firstly: some of the best fries I've ever had; secondly: the batter on the chicken was so light and crispy (quite tempura-like). I would feel absolutely no shame ordering the chicken strips as a 42-year-old adult human.

The oddity. While our server was great overall (they even provided an entertaining flourish with elegant "bottle service" when my nephew wanted more Diet Coke), with each course, they kept forgetting about me. Yes, I was a third adult surrounded by two other adults and two precocious children, but the server kept starting to walk away after taking the others' orders; we had to call them back to get my order in. Am I a ghost? Not sure what was up there.

The dessert. Most of our party ordered the small bite; I had the chocolate pecan tart because I hoped it would be made with real sugar, and not corn syrup. I believe I was correct that no corn syrup was involved. But it was both grainy and runny, sogging up the otherwise beautiful crust.

Maybe pecan pie can't exist without corn syrup? And if corn syrup shouldn't exist (and it shouldn't), maybe we should just give up on pecan pie?

Anyway, I enjoyed almost everything about my visit. I'll definitely go back the next time I'm...

UPDATE:

I have to take the time to update my previous review. Management apparently read my review and immediately contacted me. They assured me that they would address my concerns and speak with the individual and also offered to send me a letter for a complementary lunch or dinner in hopes I would give them another chance. Now that’s customer service. I most certainly will return and it was so refreshing to have such an amazing response from a company that obviously cares about its customers.

I love Tusky's. Been coming since 1991 for all sorts of occasions. The food is always very good. This Sunday, we had a reservation, yet were asked to wait, which turned out to be 25 mins so we had a drink at the bar. That's fine. I had brought a friend for her birthday who had never been to the restaurant. GASP. I hate to even leave this review as I know the establishment will defend this individual as he's been there for ages but enough is enough. My last 3 visits, I had the displeasure of having the same waiter and really hoped we wouldn't have him this visit as I wanted my friend to truly enjoy her first Tuscarora visit and see what all the hype is about. Unfortunately we did. "Marc" was his usual insincere self, seems only in the business for the money with no regard for customer service. He's odd, curt, abruptly interrupted our conversation and was rude to my friend when it came to payment. I had purchased two $50 gift cards and we presented them, as well as my personal credit card to cover any overages, to him and he was argumentative and belligerent instead of listening to us explain that we used some of the card's balance to purchase drinks at the bar so he wouldn't be confused. Again, I'm sure Tusky's is going to say, "everyone loves him, he's been here forever...." but each time he has been my server, he has turned what could have been a fabulous experience to one where my guests and I left with some disappointment. Again, sorry to have to say anything negative about such an amazing and historic restaurant but I truly hope management will take notice from a...

This was our first time dining at Tuscarora Mill Restaurant. My husband (David Little) made us reservations to take our son, Kellin, there for his 14th birthday (Monday, 1/16). When my husband called to make the reservation, the person on the phone asked for the correct spelling of his name. We thought, because he asked this, that they might do a little something special for him while we were there. When we got there, my husband gave the host his name and the host grabbed a few menus and led us to our table. From then on, it was a normal fine dining experience (I do want to qualify that statement by saying our server, Francis, was exceptional - very attentive, kind, and brought us everything we asked for in a timely manner).

I was prepared to give Tuscarora Mill a 5-star review all around, until I went to write the review and started reading others' experiences when they'd gone there for special occasions. While we had a generally good experience while we were there, it would have been so nice if they'd done a special menu for my son, etc., to make him feel special on his birthday; after all, that's why we were there. We did mention to Francis that it was Kellin's birthday and before we left, she gave him a Tuskie's wine glass with some candies in it. At the time, I thought it was sweet, but now it seems like it was an afterthought (not an afterthought on her part but on the restaurant's - again, her service was exceptional).

After seeing all these reviews about others' special occasion experiences, I did call the restaurant and spoke with someone in the events planning department upstairs (he answered the phone). He did a search for our reservation and couldn't find it at all on the book for the evening before. He took my name and said he would give Collin, the restaurant manager, my message and have him call me. I have not received a call back.

The food was great, the service was exceptional. All in all, it was generally a good experience but I am disappointed about the lack of attention given to my son's birthday compared to others...