Bull Run Restaurant — Restaurant in Shirley

A year and a half ago, my (now) husband and I drove an hour and a half away to meet with Amanda, the function coordinator, to view the snow covered Bull Run Restaurant as a potential wedding venue for the following spring. She took us to the covered bridge, which was the initial reason we were drawn to the venue, and it was just as beautiful in person as it was in the pictures we had seen previously. The reception area we decided on at the time was the Patio/Garden Room, which was a great space for our small, 50 person wedding. Like I said, even covered in snow, Amanda definitely helped us envision the space on a gorgeous spring day! From day one, Amanda answered every single email I sent within a day, most of the time immediately! We met with her multiple times throughout that year and a half, she really got to know us and what we wanted for our big day!

Alright, so as a nervous, stressed out bride the day before the wedding...rain in the forecast with a chilly 50 degree day was not what I was hoping for on the day of. It was our rehearsal, the day before the wedding, and Amanda pulled us to this space upstairs we had never seen, as a back up to the outdoor reception. Let me just say, I was so blown away by the unique beauty of this space. I felt like I was in a museum. Without a doubt, we agreed to changing the location of the reception. for the rehearsal, Amanda went over the order of events multiple times with our wedding party to make sure the big day would run smooth.

The big day: I can't put in to words how perfect the day was. The covered bridge was decorated just as I had imagined. And for the reception, I had all these decorations that I only imagined outside on the patio, and Amanda really went above and beyond decorating the new space we chose. She truly made this my dream day. I wouldn't change a thing (not even the weather!) Start to finish, she was right there to make sure it was running smoothly. Our guests loved the food, and guess what!? WE LOVED THE FOOD. Yes, the bride and groom GOT TO EAT! Amanda made sure of it! It's delicious! The lovely staff at the Bull Run took all of our decor down and we were able to pick it up a few days later!

In short, (since I could go on forever) If you're looking for an affordable, unique wedding venue, loaded with history, delicious food, a professional personable coordinator, a great time for everyone...a dream wedding, this is where you want to be!

Thank you, Bull Run Restaurant & Amanda for making this day the best day of our lives! See you again...

We had a great wedding at the bull run. It was one of the best days of our lives! We only have a couple things we truly wished would have been addressed so we could have given this venue a better rating. The staff at Bull Run was unprofessional on the day of our wedding, and we felt like we had been financially taken advantage of. We had tried to pay our final dues the night before (so we wouldn't have to worry on our day) but the cashier at the front couldn't figure out what we owed, so we left and had to do it on our day. We specifically told Amanda we didn't want liquor at our open bar, in the contract, in person, MULTIPLE times. Of course, after our ceremony we come inside and discover everyone has been drinking liquor at the open bar for the past hour and a half. $600 worth of our tab. We were extremely distressed and Amanda didn't apologize or even act surprised. Furthermore her staff gave us attitude when we informed them of their mistake. We were not reimbursed for this and it ate up our bar tab. We also told amanda in writing AND in person that we were doing a $1000 open bar. We told her to let us know when it reached that amount and we would decide then if we would increase the amount. She never approached us. At the end of the night we had a bar tab of $2000. We were angry and upset but we paid our bill because who wants to argue a tab at the end of their wedding night? It was unfortunate that were taken advantage of by having our bar tab ran up twice as much, and the professionalism of the staff and management of the Bull Run were extremely lacking. Because of this, we would not be comfortable recommending this venue to friends or family.

Mike and...

My first time here. Went because Sophie B. Hawkins was playing. Everything was top notch, we spent a small fortune that was well worth it as the memories are worth more. I will be going here as frequently as I possibly can. Best and freshest food cooked to perfection. Wait staff the Best and Friendliest. And their concert area, so intimate but with tabled seating we met new friends. Sound was good and being that close to a great artist was a dream come true. I highly recommend! - UPDATE: Made reservations for my 64th birthday celebration June 12, 2024 for 4:30 p.m. I've never walked into any restaurant and got the 3rd degree from staff for arriving TOO EARLY for a 4:30 reservation and we arrived at exactly 4:30. (scratches head) The Wednesday Blues in the Tavern plus dinner and drinks and a staff that seemed to think we should not have been there at that time (scratches head again). We didn't get the table we requested although there was no one else in there but my best friend and I. I didn't get my birthday candle in our dessert. Bad day for them? So sorry. But it was literally DEAD when we arrived, very few customers in the entire place (scratches head). The FOOD was GREAT as it was at the Sophie B. Hawkins concert there. I think I'll just be going to concerts here as there were no issues and we...