A terrible dining experience at the Palladio restaurant.

Where to start? First, we called more than two months in advance to make our reservations. We were assured that we would have a seat with a great view, by a window. We specifically asked for that , as we had company in from abroad and wanted them to see some of the Virginia landscape. Upon arriving for our dinner, the host was very short with us. We were early and and he abrubtly explained, “Well, that’s when you’ll be seated,” referring to our reservation. Okay, maybe he was having a bad day. Then we were seated. We were given a lovely table in the back corner of the restaurant, under an air conditioner and in front of an emergency door. We asked about the window seat, and were told this was the best seat they had for us. So, no view, pushed in a corner and very cold under their air conditioner.

If you go, be sure to look at the dining hall to the left of the restaurant. Apparently that is reserved for weddings or banquets or something like that. It’s a gorgeous room with windows all facing out to the vineyards and a great view. You will wish you could eat there, but you can’t.

The menu was somewhat limited, but easy to customize as you can chose how many courses you want and simply create your own meal. Unfortunately, the quality was only fair to good on any of the items we ordered, with a price that would indicate a higher quality. We had all planned on a three or four course meal, but stopped at two each.

The large bill was especially painful to pay, as the experience left us so unhappy.

In my opinion, if you are looking for a great dining experience and you are willing to pay for it…. avoid the Palladio restaurant. There are many, many other restaurants with a simliar price that have better food and a much better dining experience.