I just moved to Lynchburg a month ago and experienced dining downtown last night (for the first time) and it really made me question if I will ever go downtown again to eat out. I have several issues but will start with the first one that really bothers me: 1. As I approached the restaurant I noticed this homeless man walking around the block with a walker. I was in Dish from 5 - 6:30 and this homeless man came in THREE times to go into the bathroom (he was not a customer). This was not only a huge turn off but IMO a sanitary issue of him going into the bathroom doing who knows what. I saw the expression on the waitress face like she did not know what to do. Was there a manager working? Is this how it is at every restaurant in town that they allow homeless people in to use the bathroom? Are there homeless shelters for people in town to provide care and feeding for them? 2. I ordered a glass of wine on the Happy Hour menu and it was weak, like water was added to it. 3. I ordered the Smoke Salmon encrusted in Puff Pastry and the puff pastry was not cooked all the way (it was clearly visible that it was not a golden brown but rather a pale yellow. I just hope my future experiences in this lovely town on much better than I experienced last night. And one more thing, I have stomach issues today, and all I can think of is the cooks using that bathroom where this homeless guys went in 3 times in 90 minutes. I question how this is not Board of Health Violation. read more

Dish is my go to for all occasions. This visit was with a friend visiting from Georgia. We had items from the basic menu along with the daily specials. All delicious as always. Staff here is always very welcoming. read more

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I came here for happy hour. I really like decor and feel of the space. It's vibrant and artsy. The service is very friendly. I really like their food menu. It has most of the things I like. I had the calamari and it was tender and just the right amount of batter. The pork tacos and the dumplings were also good. We had the von Trapp dunkel lager, it was light with a clean taste. read more

Again, giving another reason to stay away for a while longer. Waitresses with attitudes and not admitting when wrong.. meeting friends for dinner, unfortunately we were not ready to order 30seconds after we sat down.. she came back again, but unfortunately still was not ready.. 30 mins later ( and don't let her say different!!!, I still wear a watch) our friends still have not gotten a chance to order drinks!!!.. they flag the young lady down. She says she was waiting for us to let her know.. mind you there was only 3 other tables. How was we to know..? We were not pleased at the attitude given and the water glass slammed down by the pretty blonde waitress, because she not pleased that we said something about the lack of attention. The lesson here is no matter how many times your table is not ready, should not just let them sit there and not check. Then we got our meals quickly ( always good) but it was 9pm before we finished and the girls started putting up the tables around us loudly and obviously wanted us to go... we still tipped well.. but not admitting you're wrong and giving attitudes is very in unprofessional no matter what.. it's been 7-8 months since we were here. Will give it another 6 months for the help to turnover.., this was unpleasant experience and we do love the place...we are sad and disappointed read more

I have now been serval times. Each time there are new small plates and I have yet to be disappointed!!! The beer selection has improved and oh yes...the wait staff...wonderful!! Prior reivew: Excellent small plates.  I had the duck leg and egg plate, which was a special and the smoke salmon.  Sadly out of the Kafta and Mediterranean hummus or they would have made my list.  Service at the bar was great.  The atmosphere is relaxed and quite.  I had the St George IPA but there was little choice after  that unless you count Pabst and Dos Equis XX. read more

Dish - Southern fried quail with a delish cucumber feta parsley slaw - New American Near Me - Lynchburg, Virginia

This place was a nice find. A short walk from the Virginian hotel I was staying in. A small place with a nice vibe. Soft jazz music. Warm lighting. There's a small bar and a few tables. Was mostly full but with no wait at 5:30 on a Tuesday. The spinach salad was huge and fresh and delicious. The pork tacos were generously filled and nicely seasoned. Only two servers working. They were busy but didn't make me feel rushed. Definitely will return next time I'm in the area. read more

Dish - Spinach salad - New American Near Me - Lynchburg, Virginia

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My husband and I celebrated our birthdays at Dosh and everything was AMAZING The service, Brussels, calamari, pasta, hummus, Italian sandwich, chips and salsa, bread and garlic olive, risotto, cauliflower and the drinks read more

Just had the most amazing lite dinner with my husband. So many great small plates made supper so enjoyable and unique.We will absolutely be back with friends. Thank you for a very pleasant experience. Very friendly and love the eclectic art. Nancy and Gary!! read more

Happy hour is lovely. The little pork tacos are deeee-licious. The staff was friendly. The mussels were a little passed their prime but it was a roll of the dice for $3 apps. I'm not complaining, just suggesting you keep an eye on that. I can't wait to have dinner here! read more

I used to love this place. But the food was way too salty. And way too loud. The four of us had to shout at each other. The servers were very pleasant. read more

My recent visits to this well established downtown restaurant have been during happy hours. Those are very nice with a good selection and a discount on some drinks. Happy hours have seemed to become less common since Covid so I am always glad when a nearby place keeps up this tradition. But my daughter is in town from NYC so we went a little later and partake to from their menu. My daughter had no problem finding good vegetarian options and a glass of white wine. I had one of the dark beers on draft. Actually, I had two! The food was great with the roasted beets being notable. Most of the selections run around $10 as well as the drinks. So if you are two people and get two selections each plus a couple of drinks each, you will run up a pretty good tab. I will probably try to revert to the happy hour with slightly reduced prices And plenty of options in the future. But looking at the yard on the walls is free and that is terrific. They told me the kitchen closes at 9:30 PM although they are open much later with bar service. A popular downtown spot late at night until 1 AM. read more

Dish - Art at the Dish is terrific! - New American Near Me - Lynchburg, Virginia

I came back to dish to give their dining another shot and I'm proud to say that the French fries I received this time around were crispy and delicious! Sadly they didn't have any more garlic aioli when I ate there. Another update is that the hot Italian sandwich I received was oddly salty. Like I get that Italian sandwich meat can be a bit on the saltier side but the combination of olives, salami, and debatably more seasoning made it a bit too salty. Also the bread instead of being something crusty with character and chew was a soft spineless, near falling apart loaf. Nothing more to say in this update. I'm also a bit interested as to why the regular menu is so much more affordable than their specials. read more

Dish - Taught and rigid! Not sad and flaccid! - New American Near Me - Lynchburg, Virginia

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Small cozy atmosphere, nice wall decor. Looked like local artists. Had the Brussels sprouts with goat cheese bacon chips chili flakes and honey. Excellent choose sliced in half. I also had the fried oysters with bacon jam and horseradish cream sauce great not overpowering. Lightly fried phenomenal flavor. Others at table had the gobi Manchurian, curry fried cauliflower in chili sauce, great choice and fried calamari which I tasted and totally enjoyed. All we're large portions not cheap but when the food is this good I don't mind paying a little more. This was my first time there and definitely see me going back there soon. read more

Dish - a painting of a man's face on a blue wall - New American Near Me - Lynchburg, Virginia

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It has a very nice atmosphere with intriguing art. Their menu is loaded with nice variety of small and large dishes with additional specials. Everything was very tasty with a heavy lean towards to the heavy and rich side of the food spectrum. We started with a cheese plate that was served with a wonderful kalamata tapenade and bacon jelly. Everything was great especially the house-made mozzarella and the tapenade. My dining companion had their burger which was good. It came with shoestring style fries which was probably the weakest part of the meal. I had their scallop special that came with baby bok choy. The scallops were some of the most perfectly cooked scallops I have had in Lynchburg. The service was pleasant and friendly. We will definitely be exploring more of the menu here. read more

Dish is like a secret oasis in the desert. Everything on the menu was exceptionally well prepared and presented beautifully. We went with small plates, tapas style due to the excellent options. Who wouldn't love to have 5 amazing delicacies for dinner?! We were delighted by the figs wrapped in crispy prosciutto based on the exceptional taste combination and gorgeous 'flower like' presentation. And the gobI manchurian cauliflower was served with an amazing homemade sweet and sour sauce we wanted to smuggle home with us. We sat at the bar and had a great time chatting with other folks and our bartender about the city's ongoing renewal. Great vibe, imaginative menu and funky decor... in Lynchburg!! This one is on our short list for a return visit. read more

I've visited many times, most recently this evening. Solo tonight, sat at the bar. Austin took care of me, remembered my name, which is always nice. Had a superb old fashioned, nibbled on some bread, then had a small plate of scallops with tomato risotto. It was superb, and just the right amount to make me primed for dessert, a rare indulgence. It was a great experience. Always has been. read more

Dish is a unique for this area in that they offer small plates offerings. The restaurant space is on the small size and narrow. The specials are ever changing and are quite creative and I appreciate that. We have ordered their cheese sampler numerous times - paired with dried fruit, fresh fruit, nuts, etc. Incredible tamales! I agree with others, stick with the small plate menu choices - and share, that's the point and it makes it more enjoyable to sample different dishes. Locally owned in the downtown district. I am a bit confused with the changes that have been taking place (events), especially in the nighttime hours. Overall, it's worth checking out. read more

Love the menu regulars and the ever changing daily specials menu. My favorite food in all of Lynchburg area. Austin, Ciera and staff are wonderful too. Casual atmosphere but amazing upscale food. Fresh, inventive and a palette pleaser for sure. read more

Arguably the best restaurant in the 'burg! Varied menu and always done well. One of the few if only place in town that has lamb. Dave's burger is, imo, the best burger in town. read more

My wife and I stopped in here on a Saturday evening during a trip through the area. The menu on the window looked good and creative and we decided to give it a try. The ambiance is nice and a bit eclectic, and staff was nice and helpful explaining the menu and how many dishes per person to order. The portions were fine, and we left satisfied. There were out of a few menu items due to an event held the night before apparently. No big deal -- it happens and our server let us know ahead of time which sadly isn't the norm it seems. But it was no matter, we ordered mostly off the chalk/specials board which I generally think is a good idea. The dishes were creative and tasty. I shouldn't have to call this out, but dishes were properly seasoned. Too often no or not enough salt is used and can really ruin a dish. This suggests to me the chef is actually tasting the food, and is indicative of a pro in the kitchen. The dishes were extremely reasonably priced and the wine selected was good. I'm going to give this review three stars because of one major blunder, and I think it's a huge one. The shrimp in the shrimp and grits dish were served shell-on. Not only have I never witnessed that before, it created a problem consuming the dish. The shrimp were sauced which made them slippery to handle when peeling them. It was also messy. I HOPE this was an oversight. I'm willing to be convinced of this, given the attention to detail of other aspects of the food prep, as already mentioned. If this is the norm, PLEASE consider changing that norm. read more

Loved this place. We were greeted warmly, chose to sit at the bar and enjoyed the company of Austin, the bartender. We had the Brussels sprouts, the quail special and fried rice. Weird combo but it's tapas for a reason. All were great. Would definitely recommend. The place was decorated for Halloween and Austin described the line up of activities - karaoke, live music and more. read more

Dish - The bar, ready for Halloween. - New American Near Me - Lynchburg, Virginia

Tapas The food selection in the Lynchburg is good but there are some outstanding locations, such as Dish. Dish is a smallish tapas restaurant with a nice selection of menu items as well as some daily specials. My wife and I decided to give it a whirl as it was a long week and we needed to get out of the house for a night. The waiter got us off to good start with the truffle oiled french fries. A tad too crisp for me, but delicious nonetheless with a nice aioli to accompany it as a dip. We had questions and the waiter was able to explain everything as to ingredients and portion sizes. Nice to find someone that knows what he is serving. The menu is basically broken into four sections: Apps, meats, salads and seafood, with a decent selection within each grouping. There are also cheese plate selections available. We went with roasted mushrooms, a quail special, jerk style chicken and an arugula salad. My wife had never had quail and it had a stuffing of apples and sausage - it was outstanding. Jerk chicken was spiced nicely and left a little zing in your mouth with every bite. The mushrooms were tres bien and the salad was unremarkable. We even opted for desert, which is not our typical thing. My wife took advantage of the root beer they offer and had a root beer float. I had a chocolate / coconut pie. All in all a really good night - about the only thing that could have used a little more depth were the wine by the glass options in my opinion. A definitely good place to take a date of to try new things. Parking on the street. read more

Excellent meal & beverages at Diva brunch! The bartender was awesome, I just can't say enough good things! I had a blast with my DIL that day, lasting memories!!! Great entertainment... love love love read more

We went to Dish when we were staying in Lynchburg for the weekend. We had read the Yelp reviews so we were surprised by our experience. First the positives - the bread was good and the place is pretty. The jerk chicken was tasty and my husband liked his watercress salad. That's it. Our service was horrible. There was a very large party in the restaurant, so maybe that is why, but it was spotty and aloof at best. The food was equally bad. My Bibb salad was first delivered with onions that I had asked to not have, so I had to send it back. When it returned it was drowning in dressing. Our crab cake was inedible. The waiter told us the taste was "non-traditional". We could not eat it and it was removed from the bill. I'm not familiar with other restaurants in the city so maybe this is better than most, but it did not live up to our expectations or the Yelp reviews. read more

I am giving this place 5 stars based on location/quality/price point ratio. We were in town by chance and it was also our anniversary. We were pleasantly surprised. Roasted beets with goat cheese were excellent - beets roasted to nice texture level, and sprinkle of pesto was a nice touch. I suggested to them to add a side of croustini bread to finish off the goat cheese with. Burger was perfection, simple and thick, but perfectly cooked. String fries were crunchy and gently seasoned. The star was the shrimp dish, like a perfect Spanish tapa plate. Tomato sauce sweet and flavorful. Kudos to the cook. Service was good, and the ambiance nice too. We had top shelf gin & tonics, was fine, again, price was great. Would recommend to local people looking for a romantic spot (not a loud brewery etc) that won't break your bank. read more

Terrible music, bad atmosphere. Just NO! I can't stress enough how much you would want to sit alone in a dark room drinking with yourself rather than going to this bar. read more

The vibe here is real! As the neighbor / rival of Badger on Main, it's just as classic. Came here with some old friends the other night and had a blast. Austin is the man, and one of my favorite bar tenders I've had. Found out that he had relatives involved with our Bible college alma mater! Small world! Cozy with music going, lights dimmed and candles lit. It's got a perfect feel with great drink prices too. Can't wait to be back. read more

I am a huge fan of small dish tapas, even if you are not sharing with people. "Dish" has a nice sized list of variety, which is great since both me and my coworker Nuri have specific dietary restrictions. Neither of us had any trouble ordering 3-4 dishes each to suit our needs. I wasn't drinking but Nuri was loving the $3.50 glasses of wine. You can't beat that! The decor is soft and almost romantic without it being too intimiate for a platonic meal. Our waitress was very helpful and knowledgeable about the ingredients in the different plates. read more

Dish - New American Near Me - Lynchburg, Virginia

What happened to you Dish? So sad that the menu is not as interesting as it used to be ... I heard Dave isn't in the kitchen any longer. Something unique is gone in the atmosphere and it doesn't feel special read more

Dish is one of those places that is just special. The atmosphere, the service, the food, everything was fantastic. The atmosphere was low-lit and quiet. Very nice and a change of pace for the usual sports-bar atmosphere Lynchburg tends to have. Our server was Caleb and he was so knowledgeable about the menu. He was attentive and so friendly. I recommend asking for him when you stop in. Kept drinks full and was careful to make sure we had what we needed. He had to step out for a moment and immediately another waitress took over for him. They didn't miss a beat. Our Meal: Complimentary Bread and Fried Thai Curry Chickpeas Pimento Cheese with Pitas Hanger Steak Oysters with Bacon Jam and Horseradish Fritto Misto The hanger steak and oysters were the highlights for me. I highly recommend either. I will be back for sure! read more

Wow, we are foodie snobs, and not sure why these folks at Dish aren't getting 5-stars! Four of us had dinner and ordered 7-8 small plates to share. We all said there wasn't anything we wouldn't order again! Spring duck confit rolls, Caesar salad, shrimp on plantain cracker, hummus w/toasted pita, fried oysters, etc., and they even brought us great bread with roasted garlic for the table. Fantastic and super reasonable!!!! The only thing we didn't care for was the rather macabre artwork on the walls. I had to sit positioned so my friend wasn't looking at it because it bothered her. Though we were just visiting the town, definitely would think this is the best restaurant in Lynchburg!! read more

Great food-world class, best ever food prepared by Chef David Ellis. I had three small plates: pork belly sliders with garlic aioli and fresh tomatoes, tempura battered and fried oysters with bacon jam and horseradish sauce, and clams.with chorizo cooked in beer, and lastly for dessert-Derby pie. And delicious wine - all at a very reasonable price. Service and atmosphere are fabulous! Can't wait to go back to Lynchburg. I will try the house-made mozzarella on my next visit. So many delicious choices...I'll be back.. read more

Dish - Awesome, delicious food. prepared.by Chef David Ellis. Friendly service & great atmosphere. YUMMY!!! - New American Near Me - Lynchburg, Virginia

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I have only been here a handful of times, but I love it. Most restaurants have a pretty predictable "take" on whatever dish makes the menu. A good rule of thumb here is to expect a 180 degree approach from what you've had. I haven't loved every dish I've tried, but I haven't regretted choosing any of them. Recommend the Tamales read more

Unique menu presentation with interesting desserts. Service and attention was good, desserts no so much read more

This is probably going to be one of my most meorable meals of the year. I ABSOLUTELY loved his place. Recommended by the owners of the B&B we were staying in I liked it from when I walked in the door: 1. Jam packed - on a Thursday night in Lynchburg VA. 2. Lovely decor - great bar, several good draft beers. 3. Mr Frikkin personality CJ our server. Entertaining and fun in a way that is not a pain in the ass. I liked him a lot. 4. But the star of the show was the food. Pork belly, polenta, scallops, the tapas we ordered were all exquisite. Some fine wines on the menu too - I had a Reisling from Idaho and a decent tawny port. Strangely not a single Virginia wine was on offer. That's a mistake. Rounded off our meal with an excellent cheese plate which included a cheese I had never had before - epoisse - which was truly extraordinary. read more

Awesome meal!! Eclectic atmosphere. Austin rocked as our waiter. This was a family celebratory meal and they made it very special.

Sigh. Ok, imagine my excitement to come here after all the wonderful reviews. We entered as it was opening on a Friday and were promptly seated and served bread and roasted garlic olive oil. Bread was good (though not warm, it was soft), garlic olive oil was not infused well enough, but if you crushed the clove on the bread, it worked. As we were anxiously ordering what we wanted, we were disappointed when the waitress informed us that they were out of the epoisses cheese, and beloved duck confit spring rolls. Our hearts sunk....so we had to settle for other things. Here are the things we... LIKED -- Vegetable Samoas with chutney - Good and hearty, chutney could've been a little more wet to cut the thickness of the dough wrapper and the massive chunks of potato DISLIKED -- Mussels with chorizo - overdone, seemed like stewed canned tomatoes were used, had that canny flavor Semi-LIKED -- Jerk chicken - good spicy flavor, but saltless... DISLIKED AND OFFENDED -- Mexican Tamales - overcooked, they roasted it at the end, and it was super dry and BURNED!!! The green dipping sauce was flavorless and did not enhance the experience. I say offended, because I'm an avid Tamale eater and maker, so I felt like such disregard to something so spectacular was really sad. LIKED -- Southern Fried Quail -- This was cooked well, and very juicy. LIKED -- Cheese plate (Caprino and Cabrales) -- but can't give them too much credit, they certainly didn't make the cheese, they simply offer it. Ok, so while we had what seemed like a rollercoaster of emotions during our meal, we were angered as the people who sat a table away from us were served "Spring Rolls." Our ears lit up, and we could not believe our eyes, they were being served what to us was what they said they were "OUT" of. Maybe it was a misunderstanding, but I feel like the waitress should have let us know that maybe it was still being made? Or that they had just gotten some in? Or that it would take a little longer to serve because it was still being made? That was the first thing we ordered and she witnessed the disappointment in our faces and reactions! So we left with a pretty bad taste in our mouths... and not only because of the food. read more

Dish is an inventive small-plate restaurant in Lynchburg, VA. It's fun to try a bunch of different things, and with a varied menu like dish has, a diner can piece together an incredible meal very easily. There are also a ton of vegetarian items (they use veggie stock) so one can rest assured that there's no sneaky meat. I ordered the following: Arugula Salad (with goat cheese and candied pecans) Curried Lentil Soup Hummus and Babaghanoush Plate ...an entire bottle's worth of $3.50 glasses of wine. The arugula salad was done excellently. The dressing was tangy, which provides a great balance with the sweet from the pecans, the spicy of the arugula, and the creamy of the goat cheese. I sent extra compliments to the chef on the quality of the salad. The curried lentil soup was good. I think they ran the lentils through a food processor, so the soup had a consistent texture. The curry spice wasn't overwhelming, and the soup was a great warm-up on a cold windy night. The babaghanoush was probably the highlight of my evening, though. For those of you that haven't had it, it's made from smoked eggplant, and is a large plate of any kind of Arabic meze plate (usually accompanied by Hummus). It was clear that both the hummus and babaghanoush was made in house. The texture, the flavor, the consistency, the spice... it was all perfect, and much better than ones purchased in the store or delivered by SYSCO. The plate also consisted of crispy bottomed pita points, feta cheese, and olives. Other vegetarian options that I did not partake of included broccoli rabe, a mozzarella salad, and an Asian inspired noodle dish. This place would definitely be considered vegetarian friendly. When we entered, we were the only two in the restaurant. By the time we left, there were four other parties. The service remained good the entire evening, and the decor had a very indie and laid back feel to it. The $3.50 glasses of wine are enough for at least a three star review. Add excellent service, high quality, inventive, homemade food, and a great decor, and you've got an excellent dining experience on your hands. read more

Went to Dish last night at 6:00 (not busy) and 6 of us were unimpressed. Took FOREVER for our waitress, Olivia, to take our drink order. We ordered a few small plates. One being the Mediterranean plate. My husband and I love Baba Ghanoush and wanted out fellow diners to taste this along with the hummus. It turned out they tried to deceive us by placing two blobs of hummus on our plate. When our waitress finally returned we mentioned that both items were hummus. She then tells us they ran out of Baba Ghanoush. They had only been open 1 hr. Never offering any restitution for their omission. I would have made a bigger deal of this at the restaurant but I didn't want to embarrass our table. I will be contacting Dish today to speak to mgmt. Poor Service and nothing we had was anything special. read more

I'm in town for a month and I thought I'd try this place with the glowing yelp reviews. Now, post-meal, I'm left wondering--what the hell is everyone talking about? Ambiance is nice, server was wonderful, but the most important part (food) was nowhere near par--not for the reviews, not for the price range, not for "tapas." Cheese plate of Camembert, a gouda I forget, and Roquefort was great, but cheese isn't house material. QUAIL was almost good. Puree served with it didn't complement. Vegetable served under it was too salty. FRITTERS were bland bland bland--almost as much flavor as a pot pie. PAELLA was also bland. It had the requisite seafood, but the sauce and rice that actually distinguish the dish tasted more like a moist Chinese fried rice. It didn't taste awful, but in the sense that a ham sandwich doesn't taste awful--it just isn't that good. My friend who had had proper paella before agreed. OVERALL: When I think "tapas," I think little dishes bursting with flavor--each bite like "woah." Tapas should go places normal food can't--it should be bold, startling, and rich--and it can do so because there are fewer bites thus less opportunity for a palate to grow weary from a brilliance of flavor. Nothing here tasted too "bad," but nothing was good--let alone impressive in a tapas sense. The best thing I had here by far was the Roquefort which I could also have bought myself. read more