I am very sad today. For years I have relied on The Tavern as the go-to restaurant in Abingdon for…read morethe finest quality. I've taken business associates and family with the highest confidence that they would experience the finest meal they've ever had. Sadly, my last two visits, My guests and I were disappointed. They no longer offer a full-size filet mignon, which in itself is very disappointing, the thin "4oz"(not) filet medalions were under cooked . And no baked potatoes! What?! We finished our "Non-Tavern-like" meal looking forward to the excellent cheesecake we've enjoyed dozens of times. Not tonight, my friend! We were told they now offer a homemade flavored cheese cake. Only i opted to try it. What i was served was a small square that tasted little like the excellent NY-style one they served for years. Our server, who the bartender said was now one of the owners, told us that the cheesecake we had bragged about for years, "that old cheesecake was from Cisco!" Hmmm. Very sad! What happened? New chef? New owners? I don't know but the Bottom line is we'll likely find another restaurant that hasn't put profits ahead of quality.

One of my favorite hobbies as a food guy is to put together little themed adventures. Whether it be…read morefinding the best burger or fried chicken or maybe even hitting craft beer trails, I like to have a theme. One of the best parts of being in the East Coast so much has been really delving into the history of the U.S., especially now that we are trying to delete it and change it into something it isn't. So my quest over the next few months will be to hit the oldest bars/taverns in America. The first stop on this adventure is the Tavern in Abingdon, VA. Built in 1779 (wow!) this was built as a stagecoach stop for travelers headed into the Blue Ridge Highlands, which is worth the trip itself just FYI. Walking up to the building it really looked like just I hoped it would. Years of reading history books and seeing paintings and drawings, I was hoping it would not have been upgraded too much, and it just looked like I imagined. What I was surprised was how amazing the experience was. Also how modern the menu, both drink and food is. Don't ask me why I expected flaggons of ales and bread bowls, makes zero sense. Instead it was a well curated cocktail list with a stunning modern menu. The one thing I knew I had to get was the French Onion soup, I think they called it the Tavern Soup, and it was worth the hype. The cheese was ooey-gooey wonderful and the onions and broth mixed nicely, sweet and salty, and was quite filling on its own. The menu is absolutely loaded with elegant choices: trout, scallops, chicken and risotto,baked salmon. I went full decadence and ordered the lamb chops because I saw it being served at the table close by. I am so glad I did. The meat was cooked absolutely perfectly and soaked in au jus, you couldn't ask for more tender bites. The mashed potatoes was a classic pairing and I ordered a side of asparagus along with it. Along with the beautiful service, the restaurant itself is lovely. I give this the highest of my highest recommendation.

The place so so cute and had a full service bar. I ordered the fettuccine with blackened chicken…read moreand it was very good. It was a large portion so i was able to save some for later. Our waiter at some point just never came back so the bartender checked us out but I still would return here, I'm sure he just took a long break.

Nice building with a welcoming front patio and the food was very good…read more However, as nice as the servers were, service was painfully slow. There was a decent crowd for a Thursday night, although it was only on the front patio (not inside), so not as many people as you'd think. Especially at this price point, it shouldn't take 20-30 minutes to get cocktails, plus another 20-30 for the first course. Thankfully it was a nice night... The other odd thing is the interior decor. The building looks to be historic and is pretty on the outside, but the inside is incredibly discordant - think the "after" house in Beetlejuice. We walked in - and right back out. I can't imagine eating a meal in there. As an architect who works on mostly residential renovations, I get the desire to mix old and new, but this is NOT the way to do it. You'd do well to add some softer tones and surfaces - as it is now, it's incredibly unwelcoming and cold.

We lived every about this place. The property is cute. The inside is homey. The food was better…read morethan we expected. The steak quesadilla had so much meat and flavor. My daughter got a steak sandwich and it was literally about a 6oz ribeye on bread. She said it was amazing. My whole family enjoyed every we got. We were so impressed we ate without taking pictures, but trust it was great and you should visit this place

The food was very good. We arrived on a Tuesday at 12:30 and were greeted by prominent signage…read morethat "no tables were to be seated until the full party had arrived." I suppose proximity to the Va Creeper Trail encouraged this as I could see folk holding up a table whilst waiting would be a potential issue. We were seated promptly and given menus and served water and sodas. The rock music was pretty loud for the restaurant, which has some smaller rooms that are serviceable but cramped and a bit echoey and dark. By 12:35 our order was in and by 12:51 on our table. The table has a nice individual light, and a bottle of water on the table. Unlike some other local restaurants, soda refills are free and a pitcher was brought by the table to serve refills of diet coke. What was not good was the large beer poster of the St Paulie Girl with her nipples hanging out. I realize these are beer posters and I realize they are German and things are different there. But this was a prominently placed poster. I just wouldn't think a place where a lot of families dine would put this in such a prominent spot, or any spot really. I'm not a super prude, I just raised three sons. So the sandwich though, was very good.

Haylie Leanna…read moreMikaela Emma Christian Paige All have one thing very much in common , they are wonderful servers. They go out of their way to make sure everything is perfect.! I have been a few times and the menu is very diverse whether you're wanting Greek , Italian or Americana. There's something for everyone. I've had the pizza, I've had mussels and I've seen the dishes going past us and they look amazing and large portions I might add their prices are fair and their food is great.! Keep up the hard work! Great work!

Good food and fair prices. Our waitress was a bit young and could use a little training. We had our…read moredrinks brought to us and asked if we wanted a few minutes and we told her yes and I had to go looking for her to order. Come back and check on your people! We were only one of two tables busy. Had a calzone and a burger and both were good also the onion rings are great.

This cafe is a true gem. The food, service and atmosphere were all top-notch. Delicious coffee…read moredrinks, exceptional pastries and biscuits, generous portion sizes. We sat on the patio, which just added to the great experience. There were four people in my party, and we all left wishing that we lived in the area so we could become regulars!

I'm going with three stars instead of two because everyone has their inconsistencies or bad days…read morebut our visit was disappointing compared to the more glowing consensus rating and here's why... The restaurant has a nice, open concept, a bistro feel that one would expect from the other reviews and their strong coffee culture. We arrived at 12:48, so the end of lunch hour on a Monday and were promptly seated at a two top window seat. Except the orientation of the table was one of us looking out the window and one looking into the restaurant, perpendicular to the window. Not a big deal, but I've seen parallel to the window table seating with both able to look out the window and optimizing that space work much better. There was a bottle of still water and two glasses on the table as their standard practice, nice touch, especially since we had just walked 5 miles of the Virginia Creeper Trail. So, we had researched where to eat in town and felt we had earned a few extra calories and this restaurant had high reviews, so it was our number one selection. We were seated within a couple of minutes we had menus and our order was placed. We were informed though, that they were out of the special of the day, the grilled cheese. Now, I wasn't planning on having a grilled cheese, but immediately I began to wonder, "how does one run out of a grilled cheese" and also I wondered why would you tell me about a special that I didn't know about if you had just run out of it? I wasn't the only one, I overheard a nearby table ask the same thing. Turns out it was a grilled cheese with apple butter and steak. Sounded pretty good, but it probably shouldn't have been mentioned so that I wouldn't want one. Instead, I had "Your Rabbi's Favorite Reuben". Each sandwich on the menu comes with a pickle spear and chips or you can upgrade to fries for +$4 or truffle fries for +$5. So I ordered truffle fries. But they didn't have truffle fries, would I like Parmesan fries instead? No thank you, just the regular fries. And a water. My wife had the chicken salad sandwich with regular fries and a Diet Coke (8 ounces or so in a glass with ice). Which it turns out we were later informed no free refills on the Coke. In my many Reuben reviews, I always note that whether it's a fancy restaurant or a dive, if you can't at least beat out Arby's version, you are in trouble. The first half of my Reuben was okay. Warm throughout, not soggy on either side (a soggy underside is often the Achilles heel to many a Reuben) and was on marbled rye. Portions of components were all represented but not the "best Reuben ever" level or "lots of meat" as reported in other reviews. It was above Arby's, but not by much. It even looked just like Arby's version. It did have a better and more buttery toasted crunch on the bread, both sides. What was wild was biting into the second half of my sandwich, having eaten the mediocre first half. This half had significantly more meat, and you could tell that the meat was not pre-sliced but likely cooked on premise. Is this even the same sandwich?While notably better than the first half, the overall inconsistency of the sum total was disappointing and it was still just a "good" Reuben, as one in a field of many. I wound up just eating mostly the inside components of the second half, since it just wasn't exciting. The fries were an absolute fail and a disappointment. String fries that may have been under the warmer since start of lunch service. You know when a buddy orders a fast food meal and maybe your driving together in the car and finally after he eats all he wants and there are some left over fries that have been in the bag for about 45 minutes, but you eat some anyway? You've done it, admit it. Well that's what we got. Most of them left uneaten. They were terrible. My wife reported the chicken salad sandwich was good. Total bill was $50.53. I left $60 to cover tip. Unfortunately, when a restaurant is overpriced for the value, that extends to the tip too. For $30 per person, our expectations were higher and were not met with this visit. Plus, maybe for that price, one refill on the Diet Coke might be acceptable?

Well located in the heart of Abingdon, directly across from the Barter Theater inside "The Martha"…read morehotel. Excellent experience, except for the Bar; more on that later. The dining room has a formal appearance but can be a bit noisy if it is busy. My wife and I were guests of a business associate. Seven in our party. Our server was professional and courteous but obviously relatively new and didn't know what brands the bar stocked, a minor issue. The quality of the bar drinks was very poor. My "dry" martini was anything by dry and it was "weak", almost like it was watered down. I should have sent it back but since we were guests of a business associate, I didn't want to complain. Later in evening our host mentioned that his Manhattan was also weak and had a strange taste. We normally would have ordered a second cocktail but drank water instead. My wife had the "Surf and Turf". The filet mignon steak was one of the best she's ever eaten. Perfectly cooked. The "surf" however was almost a joke. It was a small crab cake that had more filler than crab but tasted okay. Next time we'll order just the steak. We will likely return in the future but probably only if the other "tavern" style restaurant isn't open.

I ate dinner there on New Years Eve night. There was a very talented pianist at the piano playing…read moreholiday music. Very Nice! The restaurant, as always, was beautiful! My waitress was spot on and checked on me several times. I had the chicken marsala that came with potatoes and greens. Accompanied by salad and bread. Very good!

Great pulled pork. Excellent service. Good atmosphere for…read morewatching sports. Thanks for the banners for WVU, VT, and UVA.

No service here . Tried eating dinner here . Could not get waited on to order . Bar was busy though…read moreand got service . Must have to be a drinker at this place . Very loud also music Whay up high . Not a place to eat. Left when to

My review is a few weeks late, but this little place is worth the stop. Fresh, healthy options,…read moregreat flavor combos, extremely clean, and super friendly service. Don't let the exterior or lack of a sign fool you, it's great for a quick lunch or light dinner.

From the owner: 🌴 Soflo Retreat – Abingdon’s Fresh Escape! 🌴 Looking for…read moresomething light, fresh, and full of flavor? Soflo Retreat has you covered! Build your perfect wrap, salad, or bowl, packed with wholesome ingredients and South Florida vibes. ✨ Pair it with our fresh cold-pressed juices or kick back with a smooth cold brew coffee—customized with a variety of flavor add-ons. Whether you’re grabbing lunch on the go or fueling your day with something healthy, Soflo Retreat is your new spot for fresh, flavorful living right here in Abingdon! 🥗 Wraps • 🥑 Bowls • 🥬 Salads • ☕ Cold Brew • 🍊 Fresh Juices 📍 Visit us today and taste the retreat you deserve.

Pulled off the interstate after 9 hours in the car ready for dinner…read more Found this place in Yelp and we hit a home run. Food was crazy fast and was outstanding. Go here if y r in town...

Very Loud couldn't even hear the music. We waited a very long time for our food mine was not fit to…read moreeat ( a steak quesadilla, how do you mess that up).....sent it back and it was worse 2nd time. One gentleman in our party ordered fajitas and he had to ask the waitress for the side items.....she said well what are you missing....she didn't know what the special tequila was or the beer special. I understand it was crowded but not our usual experience at Papa Julio's!!

Kim stewards his diner like a ship, awesome food, awesome people and a great atmosphere. We dined…read morehere and it felt like being back in time, where everyone knows each other. Excellent experience, we had pancakes that were thick and delicious! Eggs fresh and cooked well, our server was wonderful! HSC is a true gem, classic diner with momentos on the walls and the menu itself is fun to read, see for yourself, Kim well done see you soon.

Always amazing. The have ice cream on the porch too. If you need something sweet. Definitely check…read moreout.