Restoration Restaurant at Old Trail — Restaurant in Virginia

My wife and I were traveling on Valentine's Day. I found Restoration through a web search. We arrived before the dinner rush, we were warmly welcomed, they had a table open, and we were graciously seated.

They had a special prix fixe menu from which we decided to order. We ordered cocktails that turned out to be original, out-of-the-ordinary, and very enjoyable. My wife ordered the strawberry salad appetizer, chicken cordon bleu, and we agreed on a chocolate tiramisu dessert to share. I ordered the lobster ravioli appetizer and prime rib entree. I ordered a zinfandel with my entree.

Our appetizers were delicious. The salad was fresh and the dressing was a perfect balance of sweet and acidity. The lobster ravioli were thin, light, red, heart-shaped, and very tasty with a rich buttery and cheesy sauce.

Our entrees were served soon after we finished our appetizers. My prime rib was an excellent cut of beef, very tender, flavorful, and prepared a perfect medium rare au juice. The real star of our dinner, however, was my wife's chicken cordon bleu. My prime rib was excellent, but the cordon bleu was incredibly sensational. The chicken was a real half breast, tender and juicy; the ham was very high quality; the cheese was an excellent young baby Swiss; and the breading was outstandingly crispy and flavorful. The cordon bleu was a work of art in contrasting textures and nicely blended flavors.

By the time we had started our entrees, we realized that, rather than just finding a place to eat after a day's travel, we had chanced upon a truly romantic and delightful Valentine's Day dinner. The tiramisu matched the rest of our meal with wonderful coffee and chocolate flavors with an excellent chocolate mousse.

We had a wonderful experience with a friendly welcome, superlative service, and superb food. We shall be looking for...

We visited Restoration Sunday for Mothers day and my fathers birthday.There were 5 of us.3 people got fish and chips-they were doughy with no flavor so the batter wasn't cooked well, I got the BLT which was lacking bacon and had mushy soggy fried green tomato and all you could taste was the grilled bread, one meal was ok and it was the salmon special. Our waiter never offered us drinks we finally asked ourselves- the meals were brought out wrong and had to be fixed. Then we ordered 3 desserts to split and celebrate my dads birthday and Mothers day. The cheesecake was fine, what they called creme brulee was curdled soaking in sauce that made you gag- i think it was actually rotten, the third was mint chocolate chip ice cream-it came 20 minutes after the other 2 desserts came and it had paper in it. The room we were had horrible acoustics and we were unable to visit each other because the noise was almost unbearable and the place wasn't even half full (should have been our red flag since it was Mother's day) The bill was over $100 and it was obvious we were unhappy as not one plate was empty-we were miserable from the whole experience and couldn't wait to get out of there. I was very disappointed that my father's birthday celebration was horrible. I contacted the restaurant and I was told they would like to fix it by giving us free desserts on our next visit- what? Why would we want desserts? They were bad and the food was bad! The service was bad the atmosphere was bad!!!! I will say our waiter was nice but he wasn't on his game at all! I can't believe we were offered dessert to compensate for the overpriced experience we had. no one should have to pay for the disgusting food we were served! we should have been offered some of our money back not free desserts! It was the worst 2...

We used to LOVE Restoration. But I believe that the management and kitchen staff has changed because it just isn't what it used to be anymore. We used to love restoration because you could get a nice decently priced meal with great scenery. The menu was also large enough to accommodate many types of cravings. However when we recently went back to this establishment, the menu has completely changed. There is now only 7 options for entrees with the cheapest being a burger or chicken tenders for $14. I got the burger, and I really don't think it is worth $14. The other options were all pricey for different cuts of steak or seafood. We used to be able to come here and have a nice meal (2 entrees, appetizer, 3-4 beers) for $50. Now it cost over $75. I really just don't think a meal with 2 burgers should be priced at $75. I understand that the restaurant may not be doing so well so they have to raise the prices to make ends meet, but I don't think this is the way to do it. I think it will only drive customers away. It is clear this establishment isn't just a place to relax and have a nice meal on the weekend. It is now classified as fine dining and is priced as such. We used to love this place but unfortunately will not be coming back...