We were in town for a grandson's wedding. The groom's mother and father brought us for brunch at Hamilton's to celebrate the groom's grandfather's 85th birthday. We were seated very comfortably outdoors, shaded by umbrellas and mature trees. The service was friendly and gracious. The beverages, entrees and deserts beautifully presented and delicious. It felt like an oasis of calm before the rest of the big family events. read more

One of my favorite stops in C'ville, well worth the stop on my way from Charlotte to DC! Have eaten here a half dozen times now, always phenomenal! Had the Cream of Broccoli with cheddar soup, awesome. The special app was scallops on red onion marmalade with dill - again phenomenal! For entree, could not pass up the Polyface Farms chicken breast- it was fantastic, as were the fried risotto balls - OMG! Can't wait to get back here again, always hoping they'll have Barboursville Octagon, since I was introduced to it here years ago. read more

Hamiltons' At First and Main - Cream of Broccoli soup, Scallops - New American Near Me - Charlottesville, Virginia

Hamilton on 1st and Main is a cozy spot serving American seafood fare, My husband and I had the shrimp and grits with an arugula salad. The food was flavorful with a nice smoky touch. Service was excellent. The restaurant has indoor and outdoor seating. We chose the outdoor seating which made for a great atmosphere to enjoy the street view. A solid choice for a relaxed, tasty meal. read more

See all

Food was good, White staff was very attentive drink selection, pantry selection were buried in well matched. Only issue was the restaurant was extremely noisy. We noticed several people leaning over the tables to talk to each other. While I appreciate and enjoy life music the restaurant is an early suited for that when full. read more

It was our first time eating at Hamilons'. It is a lovely restaurant, the help was very attentive and the food was delicious! Will go back soon! read more

Joined a group of friends who were having lunch outdoors at this restaurant. Convenient seating for group of 10. Service was smooth and accurate. The fried oysters were a hit. The clam patty was large and tasty. But there is only one. Automatic 20% gratuity likely because of group size. read more

Having visited C'ville multiple times over the past five years, I thought we had a pretty good handle on dining options on the Mall. I'm happy to share that we tried Hamiltons' and it was incredible. How we overlooked it all this time is a mystery. The cocktail list is great, nice twists on some classics, and poured bartender strong :-) We shared the PEI mussels- daughter #2 was brave enough to try them for the first time, and will now be a mussels fan. My shrimp and grits offered the restaurant's interpretation of a Southern staple. The twist here is the smoked Roma tomato confit. Lots of smokey goodness, yet it didn't overwhelm the relatively delicate shrimp. And can I just say that us Northerners don't know how good grits can be? Last trip, I bought a bag at the market at IX. The level of service was first class; a perfect place for special occasions, or just when you want to feel special. read more

My wife had the shrimp and grits- no flavor and greasy. I had the crab cakes that was mostly filler very little crab for $40. Very overrated on yelp! read more

Ten of us had reservations on Saturday night for Hamilton's. They accommodated us by putting tables together off to the side so we felt like we had the room to ourselves, even though the place was packed. The drinks were fun, the food was outstanding, and our waiter Paul was on top of everything. One of the best restaurants in town. read more

See all

While the food was very good, the service and atmosphere disappointed!. Only one server at dinner who rarely checked on us. when we asked for pepper for our salads we receved a pepper grinder that did not work. after waiting some time and unable to get anyones attention we went to the bar to ask for a functional grinder. Hamiltons used to use white table cloths which lended elegance to the experience. Now it has no table cloths at all. no one wants to put their silverware on a bare table. This combined with the server's wrinkled blouse, gave the feel of a diner. Other patrons dressed slovenly likewise took away from the experience. Hamiltons used to be an excellent special occasion restaurant and needs to up its game by training its staff better, going back to white table linens, and indicating a dress code of dressy casual or nicer on its website and Open table pages. read more

This is between a four and a five, and I rounded up. Cute restaurant on Main St, a pedestrian street in Charlottesville. We arrived in town tonight and were lucky to get a 7:30 reservation at 6! I started with a gin cocktail that was good, but I felt it was missing something. Can't place my finger on it, maybe needed a little sweetness. Then we got the mushroom appetizer. Some interesting mushrooms on goat cheese with a balsamic vinegar reduction. Also good, but not 5 stars. The mains were very good. We got shrimp and grits, crab cake and beef tenderloin. The grits had a slightly Smokey flavor and were just delicious. The crab cakes reminded me of crab cakes I had 20+ years ago on Maryland's eastern shore. Really, lots of lumps of crab and very little 'filling' to keep it together. read more

See all

Came here for dinner on a Saturday night at 7pm. We had a reservation but they didn't seem too busy. I ordered the lamb meatballs which were tasty but slightly cold when they were brought out. They were much smaller than I thought they'd be but that's on me for misjudging the size from a pic I saw on Yelp. The salad with the fried goat cheese was okay, nothing to write home about although the chunk of goat cheese was DELICIOUS. Two friends got the shrimp and grits and said it was really good. We shared the chocolate non-bake dessert, super tasty and very rich. Oh and I liked that they serve non alcoholic Heineken! read more

See all

One of our favorite restaurants in downtown Charlottesville. Not inexpensive, but worth the price. Great food, attentive service. Quiet, relaxing space inside, or sit outside on the mall. We always make a reservation to make sure we get a table. read more

We took a day trip to Charlottesville and wanted a nice patio lunch. Hamilton's at First and Main turned out to be just the spot! They have ample patio space, both at the front of the restaurant, and also in the center of the mall area. We made a reservation in advance and were seated at a lovely shaded table on the mall patio. Our server, Paul, was friendly and attentive and offered us recommendations on the menu. We started with the pimento cheese hushpuppies. These had great potential, but they were a bit burned. The flavor inside was great though, and the green goddess dressing paired well with the pimento cheese flavor. For my lunch entree, I went with Paul's recommendation and got the shrimp and grits. It was excellent! The smoked tomato confit really added wonderful flavor! For dessert, my husband and I shared the flourless chocolate torte. It was a chocolate lovers dream and definitely sizable enough for sharing! We had such a lovely lunch at Hamilton's and will come back next time we're in Charlottesville! read more

See all

5 stars hands down. Amazing crab cakes and delicious pork chops! Signature cocktails will not disappoint. Definitely would recommend coming here! Our waiter was great, respectful, attentive and the service was on time. The background music is beautiful and the perfect level of volume. Ambiance is divine. Also, location, location, location. Highly recommend. read more

Quiet restaurant with colorful water art with Tuscan-inspired decor. I ordered the rockfish- I enjoyed the accompanying purée and sauce, but felt the dish was a bit pricey for the portion and wish it had a vegetable side. The fish was bland- relying on the drizzled sauce to flavor it. Staff was very friendly. read more

Hamiltons' At First and Main - Rockfish - New American Near Me - Charlottesville, Virginia

We had a great lunch at Hamilton's. They have two patio spaces, one directly in front of the restaurant front and one across from it in the middle of the mall, which is where we sat. It was a great spot, but you should know there's a designated smoking area near one side of this patio space. The service was very friendly and quick to answer questions about the menu and didn't hesitate to make recommendations when asked. The food was phenomenal, though the portions were a little smaller than I expected. I highly recommend the shrimp and grits, and the Gearharts' Flourless chocolate Torte is excellent. read more

See all

My wife and I met my son and his girlfriend here for lunch on a Saturday. We made reservations because we wanted to be sure to get in since we had driven close to 2 hours to see them. The food was pretty good overall. Service was fair. After the waitress dropped off our order, we didn't see her again until the check arrived. We were all out of water and we would have probably had another beer but were never given the chance. The best thing I took away from this place was the discovery of a beer. Chimay beer is a very good beer. Highly recommend that. We are not in Charlottesville a lot, but I am pretty sure we will explore other places. read more

See all

The food was good but not amazing for the price, and the waiter failed to tell our group that there was a built-in 20% tip. I was already not hugely impressed by the meal so paying an extra almost $20 for the experience really added to the disappointment. read more

Consistently good, nice environment, great service, and the menu is really good. Try the crab soup, can't go wrong.

Great food. Lots of great sounding choices--it was tough to decide between the pumpkin and the blue crab/corn soups! The entrees all sounded great, too. I liked that they had outdoor dining with a fun ambience (sparkly lights, downtown vibe). We are inside and were able to enjoy live music. The ham biscuits were highly recommended by someone in a retail shop nearby--and they were great! read more

See all

Great food. Love the decor too. Very nice servers. My favorite. They offer something for everyone's taste.

A friend was in Charlottesville for business, so we drove down from Fredericksburg for dinner. The food was good, but not remarkable. I ordered the lamb meatballs and the crab cakes. The meatballs were good. The crab cakes had no filler, but I found them to be dry. My wife had the shrimp and grits. The shrimp were good sized, but there weren't very many of them. The grits were done well. For dessert, we had the flourless chocolate torte, which was incredible! The service was very slow. The waiter forgot to put in our appetizer order, despite writing it down when we ordered it. They came out with our entree. We had to wait quite a while for a check, too. I'd go back, but I wouldn't pick it. read more

Had a wonderful experience at Hamilton's last night. The service was incredible and helpful. We ordered two appetizers, the halloumi was a standout. We ordered one entree and they kindly split it into two servings for us, which was really kind! All and all great dining at Hamilton's read more

See all

This was my 3rd time dining at Hamiltons and my most disappointing. Though our server was excellent and very knowledgeable, the food was lacking in flavor. I was also disappointed that they could not seat us a little earlier despite the restaurant being half empty when we arrived and we got sat at a very small 2-top table where we had difficulty fitting our drinks and plates and other staff members were constantly dropping things. The virginia ham biscuits were good, the crab (questionable if there was any crab in there) was ok. We had the shrimp and grits knowing that I've had it in the past and it was delicious, and then tried the duck breast which was new for us. The duck came out looking very appetizing, but unfortunately had absolutely no taste. The onions it came with were very salty, and helped at least balance the meat with no seasoning. read more

We were visiting for the weekend and researched where we should have dinner. We found that they had Nasi Goreng (fried rice that we had in Bali years ago) so we decided to try it. The place is cute, but when we got there, we saw that the menu was mostly Danish food. We thought it was a strange mix, but we ordered the ham and biscuit appetizer, the nasi goreng, the crab cake sandwich and the sponge cake for dessert. I hate arugula. It ruins everything in my opinion. But these little ham biscuit sandwiches with arugula were actually quite pleasing and I didn't even take the arugula off before eating it. The crab cake sandwich was good, but since I'm from the DC area, it wasn't anything to write home about. The Nasi Goreng was wonderful. It had been so long since we had it, our memory was fuzzy about why this fried rice is different or better than any other version of fried rice. But one bite, and my friend and I both said "oh, this is exactly why we liked it so much." It was very authentic, the flavors were right on, and we had a full blown taste memory come rushing back. We talked to our waiter and he explained that Danish/Dutch people had colonized Indonesia and that much of Holland has nasi goreng because of that. It made so much more sense that way! Then he offered us his grandmother's sponge cake for dessert. This place has apparently been there a long time, and good for them! He was friendly and helpful, but not overbearing. The sponge cake literally melted in our mouths. Like... you don't even have to chew it. It's nothing like what we picture for sponge cakes. Overall it was such a pleasant and interesting meal, I was so glad we sought it out for our first dinner in Charlottesville. Highly recommend. read more

Hamiltons' (perhaps a family and/or individuals-with-a-name-commonality's business?) at First & Main has a nice interior. During my visit, I experience solid customer service; an employee knows the menu so well I think the employee is a/the chef (who) makes navigating Vegan options so easy. The establishment is very accommodating for Vegans as well as gluten free eaters even with only so many options for either. The Tomato-Garlic (and more) Soup is good: every bite is full of not-hot spices offering rich flavors with every bite (a soft puree type texture). The Grilled Mushrooms are so good especially the hairier looking ones (with Rosemary particularly); the lengthier mushroom tastes like chicken and the mushroom with a lot of heads tastes like crab meat (texture and taste wise--not that I miss eating animal products or anything like that--I like food ). Make sure to make a reservation. The establishment accepts different forms of payment. read more

Hamiltons' At First and Main - Tomato Garlic (and more) Soup - New American Near Me - Charlottesville, Virginia

See all

An embarrassed surprise, but i confuse the Downtown Grille with Hamilton's -- Oops. These are far from another in range and cuisine. Tip hat to Hamilton. Hamilton rises. A place for an upscale meal, carefully prepped and graciously served. Won't make that mistake again. We had a lovely early dinner for 7. I'll vouch for the lamb sausage and gnocchi, a carb rich delicious filler that deserved a next day marathon to draw down. None run. Preceded 'em with blackened scallops, No reason to eat , but for taste. Instinct rewarded. No dessert please, am full and fuller. But agreed to serve as the beard for a colleague and 'cover' her ordering it. Yes, the dessert calories don't stick when they have no 'owner'. And yes, forced to polish off half of the Chocolate Four Ways: a nocciolesque mouse, heath-bar-ish tasty brick, dense dark cup of choco, and some sorta chocolate sorbet/cream, dunno what but super. And worth it, again. I'd bring guests back just for that dessert if a full meal wasn't of interest. read more

See all

Love love love. A great date night! Food was delicious. Service was great. Just an overall lovely evening. We enjoyed all our food and would definitely go back! read more

Service wasn't great in my opinion and the food was pretty good but not amazing. We went for lunch so we ordered from the lunch menu. The atmosphere of the restaurant was nice and I loved the hints of blue in the restaurant. Wasn't as special as people made it sound on my option. The chowder soup was really good but everything else we got we probably wouldn't get again. read more

Hamiltons' At First and Main - Crispy Fried Oysters - New American Near Me - Charlottesville, Virginia

See all

I can't comment on the food at Hamilton's, so take that into consideration. What I can speak to is the service, which was poor enough in five minutes that we left. I've never on any occasion left a restaurant before ordering at least a drink, regardless of how bad the service may have been. We made a reservation for what we believed would be brunch at 11:30 on a Saturday. We're from out of town, and were excited based on the reviews. It turns out they don't have a Saturday brunch, which is fine, not all places do. That said, our waiter was smug and made a snide remark "good luck finding a place that serves brunch on Saturday" when we light-heartedly said we were thrown off and needed a few minutes. Look, I'm 22 years Active Duty Navy, I can handle snark, heck, a little later in the day I would even consider someone had a rough shift/really bad table as the cause. However, in this case, our reservation was at opening, and the doors had been open for all of five minutes. They weren't welcoming, and almost seemed annoyed we were there. So, we obliged them. Still feel gross walking out, it's not my thing, but we found a great place not 100 feet away...hey, and guess what? They serve brunch on Saturday. Lucky us I suppose. read more

Hamiltons' At First and Main - New American Near Me - Charlottesville, Virginia

Shrimp & grits outstanding. Smoky. Very tasty. My scallop credo as an appetizer was wonderful. The scallops were perfect. Crispy fried oysters and Nasi Goreng which was sold as an Indonesian dish my wife thought it was more like a Korean dish she likes. She loved it. Service was excellent and the manager came out to turn on the gas heat lamps. It was not too cold but got chillier as the evening unfolded. Low 60f with a light breeze. Ambiance was al fresco. They were serving indoors but we ate outside. A roped off area in the public commons/mall area outside. Value was superior $107. With tip. We ordered a martini and a glass of wine. A good value with tasty offerings. We would return. Mark & Nancy read more

Excellent food and service. I would have rated it +5 star except that a pre dinner drink, a glenmorange single malt scotch, double, was $52. That is ridiculous and a total Ripoff. This is a typical scotch, not high end. I was in new orleans recently at one of the most famous restaurants in that city and the same drink was $40, still a ripoff but....we'll it was new orleans. Come on...do you really need to charge that. I hope you take this comment seriously bc my department at the university does a tremendous amount of local dinner business and up till now, hamiltons was near the top. No longer. read more

Our server Paul was wonderful. Atmosphere is lovely. The night we were there guitar player was playing. Food was delicious. Highly recommend. read more

Met with friends here for lunch. They have been here before but it was our first visit. It's a small place but the tables are not crowded. My wife had the crab cakes while I had the shrimp and grits. Both were excellent. Her crab cakes barely had enough binder to keep it together. Nice chunks of crab. The grits were very creamy and the shrimp was cooked properly. I also had the soup of the day which was cold cantaloupe. First time I've had it in years and it was great. Our service was different than most restaurants - I would describe our server as being like a formal English butler. Impeccable service but somewhat aloof. No complaints, it was just a bit different. As a bonus, the parking lot behind the restaurant had free charging for our EV, saving us a stop on the way home. read more

I went for dinner with some friends all of us from out of town. Seemed promising but ultimately disappointing. The food was tasty, appetizers were great. We ordered the fried oysters(excellent), scallops(excellent), mushrooms were good. Drinks were on point, bartender knows what she is doing back there. I ordered the rainbow trout, tasted good but the presentation was less than desirable...everything on the plate was grey, fish served skin on closed with mushy over cooked zucchini and rice. My friends were satisfied with their entrees, the chicken was probably the best of all the dishes. The decor seems a bit out dated was a little loud and the place was not full. Our waiter gave us horrible service, when you are paying $30 a plate and up there should be a level of service and in our case there was none. Took forever to come to the table and take our drink order. Never asked us if we would like another round, never asked us if we were enjoying our meals. Then when we asked about dessert he rushed us and said the kitchen is closing so we have to order now. I mean the restaurant was half empty he barely came by, the desserts were pre made and it was about 8:30-8:45 they close at 9pm. I really burnt me to give him 20% because he deserved 10%. Don't think I'll come back I will try somewhere else that know service is as important as their plates. read more

Went with six friends. Nice ambiance. Some Food hits...some food misses. Hits: mushroom app, ham biscuit app, crab cake entree Misses: chicken entree (slightly dry chicken, soggy Brussels sprouts, farro just ehh); shrimp and grits entree (grits texture closer to mashed potatoes) read more

During this COVID time it's nice to enjoy a nice meal outside. We went for lunch and enjoyed the Fried Oyster Salad. It was delicious and nice to have a different type of salad. The service was also very good. read more

Hamiltons' At First and Main - Fried Oyster Salad - New American Near Me - Charlottesville, Virginia

See all

Delicious!! Perfect dirty martini. Interesting menu. Started the with the SMØRREBRØD Aged Blue Cheese with walnut pistou, pickled cherries, candied ginger and arugula. Scallop dish was unique and flavorful. Shrimp and grits were special because of the smoked roasted tomato. Waiter Chris was very knowledgeable and helpful. read more

See all

The service was exceptional. I spotted a table for two on the patio and went inside. As the hostess had it set for me, two members of the wait staff stopped to be sure I had been taken care of. They brought me iced water immediately and knew I was waiting on the second half of my party so they didn't rush me on anything. I ordered the Albemarle Fizz (with sprite not soda, because I wanted something a bit sweeter). It was the perfect choice; a refreshing light cocktail for a sunny afternoon sitting outside. For lunch I had the Shrimp & Grits, highly recommend as it was bursting with flavor and all the great textures. Dessert was the maple hazelnut crème brûlée, fantastic and they didn't skimp on the hazelnuts as you can see in my picture. Geraldine was an excellent server and the service the entire time was impeccable. I will definitely return. read more

See all