Aside from visiting a couple wineries and cuddling up with Ashton in our hotel room, our time in Charlottesville consisted of a LOT of eating. Like you’d expect anything different. I’ll tell you this, though – the food scene in Charlottesville is completely on point. Walking around the charming downtown, or the trendy Belmont neighborhood, all you see is cute restaurants just begging for a visit.
Where to Eat in Charlottesville
Here are a few of our favorites.
Breakfast
You can’t go wrong with breakfast tacos from Brazos Tacos. I took enough photos of this place to do a full post, but all I would have had to say is this:
Brazos Tacos are delicious. You should go there and eat them. There are lots of tacos from which to choose. They are all good. Go there!
Lunch
Hands down, our favorite lunch experience in Charlottesville was at Southern Crescent. From the cozy atmosphere to the beautiful front patio to the delicious food, Southern Crescent was our favorite dining experience of the trip. Definitely a must visit if you’re in town.
For something more casual, we picked up a couple of slices from Christian’s Pizza downtown. From my approximations, these aren’t the best pies in town but if you can walk by and resist the delicious aromas wafting out of the small corner shop, you’re a stronger soul than I.
On a previous visit, we also enjoyed Revolutionary Soup for a cozy, quick bite and a nice selection of local brews.
Dinner
For our splurge meal of the trip, we hit up Oakhart Social for inventive small plates. Again, we were wooed by the adorable patio out front. Charlottesville’s patio game is strong.
Oakhart Social is a great place for cocktails. When we visited, they were featuring a Game of Thrones “Winter is Coming” cocktail menu – so much fun.
Dishes were hit and miss, but we really enjoyed the burrata with persimmon marmalade and the bbq mushrooms and grits – making this an excellent dining spot for vegetarians.
Carnivores won’t want to miss the addictive chicken wangz with charred poblano salsa and buttermilk dressing.
Our time in Charlottesville was brief. I wished we’d had time to see more of the historical sites (although we have been to Monticello the last time we were in town) and walk around the University of Virginia. But make no mistake about it, Charlottesville is worth the visit for the food alone.
Have you been? Where should we eat the next time we’re in the area?
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You definitely need to try Lampo next time you’re in Cville!
That was on the list, we just didn’t have time to squeeze it in. Next time for sure!
Tavola. Only open for dinner, but probably one of the top 3 restaurants in Charlottesville. I lived their for 5 years and was able to try a ton of places, and that’s my favorite dinner restaurant in town. Breakfast is Brazos Tacos–spot on! Lunch….revolutionary soup is good, but you should go to Smoked BBQ. It’s a food truck on the downtown mall, only around for lunch, which just recently expanded to a brick and mortar store in crozet, but are still maintaining their cart. Delicious, huge portions….wonderful!
I love barbecue – will definitely hit that up next time I’m in town. Thanks!