OTH Chophouse & Oyster Bar — Restaurant in Virginia

CAVEAT: This restaurant has only been open about six weeks and they are working the kinks out. I'm hoping they improve drastically because we need another nice place in Roanoke.

My wife and I went to OTH last night to celebrate my birthday and Military retirement. We knew there were no reservations so we showed up at 5pm and got the first seat in the bar area. It was a very nice setting. BTW, they don't offer any discounts for Birthdays or Military (Not that we actually asked or expected) but we were asked what we were celebrating.

I ordered the Martini and my wife ordered the Orange Peel. The orange peel came with no actual orange in it and none of the fruit flavoring it's supposed to have. Just cream and vodka. It was terrible so she sent it back and asked for a do over. It came back with just a little more orange juice in it. Not very good. That said, my martini was delish and I actually ordered another one. Good job on the martini.

We ordered Blue Point Oysters. A dozen. THEY were amazing! We love blue points. We then asked for a bottle of the Pinot Gregio COPPALA wine. It showed up and it appeared to have just be taken out of a box because it wasn't cold. We asked for an ICE bucket but the wine was just too room tempreture to get cold enough. Not well done by the server whos name is Chris.

The server didn't know anything about any of the dishes. Not well trained at all. He didn't understand the different fishes at all. He told us this was a part time job of his and that he worked full time at a bar somewhere else in the valley.

My fish, the Sea Bass was delish. Cooked to perfection. The carrots and resoto were excellent as well. I truly enjoyed my meal. My wife on the other hand ordered grouper. It was very dry and didn't have the supposed glaze on it. The ends of the fish were hard to cut and the fish was very salty. She said if it had been in a sandwich it probably would have been good with tarter sauce on it. Super dry. Her carrots and resoto were very good.

Chris was a very NICE waiter but he just wasn't trained and that to me isn't his fault. The restaurant management should have done a good job with that. All in all, 3 out of 5 for this first experience. It's the little things they could do to turn this into a five. Like, serving white wine at the correct temp. A server (especially a bar tender)...

I had dinner at OTH Chophouse for the first time this weekend, and my experience was sub-par for an establishment with high-end restaurant ambitions. I ordered the Grilled Carolina Gold BBQ Salmon, which was accompanied by small servings of asparagus and mashed potatoes. The salmon had no flavor, aside from the charred taste of the grill marks, and it was over-cooked. There was no trace of sauce on it. According to our server, the salmon should have a tangy Carolina-style barbecue flavor, but I picked up on nothing like that. I had expected something with that traditional Carolina-style vinegar and mustard tartness. If anything, the salmon had a slightly sweet flavor. The grilled asparagus was very much average-tasting, without any distinguishable seasoning. Every entree on the menu, with the exception of the four “grains and pastas” selections, comes with a side of “seasonal vegetables,” which tonight was carrots. The substitutes for carrots included asparagus and one other option I can’t recall. This seems remarkably uninspired. It’s also the sort of low-end option you’d expect to find at a far less expensive restaurant. The garlic mashed potatoes were fine, but again, I picked up on no seasoning or creative interpretation. I believe the rolls on the table were frozen and not house-made. Service was fair. Our server was very pleasant, but he did not check on us during the meal, and he didn’t return to see if we wanted dessert or coffee, which I would have ordered. By the time he came back to our table it was too late for either. With two drinks, my tab was $55. With tip, the total came to $70. There was nothing about this meal, or the atmosphere or service, to justify the pricing. I didn’t walk out feeling like I’d had a remotely memorable meal. If OTH Chophouse is to succeed, I think the owners need to work with their chef to create a more original, innovative menu, with attention to variety, flavor, and, most of all, quality. I see no reason to return when better restaurants are...

We used to go out to eat at Carlo's Restaurant about 4 times a year. Carlo's was the name of the restaurant that previously occupied this location on top of a hill above Rt419 across from Tanglewood Mall for many, many years. Carlo's was a most excellent place for fine dining. So last week we visited the OTH Chophouse & Oyster Bar for the first time, on a Thursday evening at 7:45PM, with great expectations. The interior still features large windows that let in the beautiful setting sun over Sugarloaf Mountain - a memorable sight. The restaurant interior has been redecorated with large fish on the walls sort of like what you might expect at a seafood buffet at the beach. The new interior design suggests a slightly upscale but-still-casual place but the sky-high prices on the menu scream "Beware - tourist trap ahead". My son, who lives in Arlington, and my wife and I (Roanoke Co.) had dinner. What we ordered is almost immaterial, as we all agreed that our various meals were merely "ok", not great or OMG!, but just ok. Our bill, with wine but no deserts was $193. My son never did get the crab bisque he ordered! The service was attentive but newbie-like - our personable waiter struggled to open the chilled white wine, never refilled our wine glasses and forgot the crab soup. If the bill had been only, say $75, all would be forgiven. Or if it had been only $130 we would have been less than thrilled with the overall experience, but charging Washington DC prices with the mixed-message atmosphere, average food quality, average presentation and rookie service, we will not be repeat customers. Roanoke has far better "fine dining" restaurants with nicer atmospheres, excellent chefs, better food, beautiful presentations, and experienced servers. This business is owned by the same group that owns Frankie Roland's Steakhouse, which also features sky-high prices and similar dining experiences to...