I have eaten at some of the best restaurants in the world, but in none have I had such a wonderful…read moredining experience like I always do at Bernard's Gastropub & Eatery. After having been selected as number 4 of Yelp's Top 50 most prolific Elites of 2025, a year when I also was awarded the Yelp Triad Squad Photographer of the Year Award at their Yelpies 2025 Award Ceremony, an event that honored the highest-performing Yelp Elites, and where last year I was awarded the Yelp Triad Squad Yelper of the Year Award, I decided that this year, as an All-Star Yelp Elite, I not only wanted to be the first to discover new restaurants and bring them to the attention of the public, but also to return to those special ones, that have made a difference in my life and highlight them, for the benefit of the public, so they too can have an opportunity to appreciate the qualities of a one-of-a-kind fine dining experience. And Bernard's Gastropub & Eatery in Downtown Roanoke, is a perfect example. Bernard's was born out of the love of two culinary aficionados turned professionals that in someway have managed to create a restaurant with an environment that transmits this intimate love to the hearts of their customers through the attention to detail in its extraordinary customer service and amazing culinary masterpieces. Today, I felt like dining at this restaurant, which I admire for its consistency in always far exceeding my high expectations of what a fine-dining restaurant should be all about. Not knowing if they would have a table for me at this late time on a Saturday early evening, I drove in my pearl white Lexus to the nearest private parking lot and gave them a call to inquire as if they could give me a reservation for the next ten minutes. A gentleman, who later I found out was named Matthew, and would be my server, answered the phone with a very polite and welcoming voice; answering my question of what was the special dish of the day and to come on down, that my reservation was assured. As soon as I arrived to the small, very elegant foyer in front of the Host's station, he came out to greet me and instantly recognized who I was. My only request was that he give me a low table because at my age seating at a high table was a bit uncomfortable. He went back to see what he could find and ended setting me up with what I consider one of the best tables of the house, and I was so appreciative of his last minute accommodation. The menu was already setup on my table. He poured water from a special bottle into my water glass and asked if I wanted something else to drink. I asked for a Mocktail and since he also was a bartender, he prepared me one of the best mocktails I've ever had. To dine, I started out with their Mussels Carbonara appetizer, which came in a bacon parmesan cream sauce that was simply amazing, and served with toast points. As my main entrée I had the Dinner Special of the Night, the Seafood Trio. It had a delicious, giant size crab cake in the middle, scallops, and shrimps, with parmesan risotto sautéed heirloom tomato, spinach, and nice size asparagus, with a burre blanc sauce. I invite you to view my photographs accompanying this review to get a better sense of the high-quality of their food and magnificent ambiance of the place. Everything was so delicious that only one word could ever describe them: priceless! For dessert I had their very famous Butterscotch Banana Pudding, which the chef makes at the moment ordered. It looked spectacular and tasted amazingly delicious: a culinary work of art. What a great way for the Gran Finale of an extraordinary dining experience!

Salty Salty They have potential to be good…read more But they use the same seasoning on fries - and French Onion Soup. Sub par food expensive. Not worth it.

After being ranked 4th among Yelp's Top 50 Most Prolific Elites of 2025, a distinction recognizing…read moremy consistent community engagement and high-quality contributions, I decided that this year, as an All-Star Yelp Elite, I not only wanted to be the first to discover new restaurants and businesses, and bring them to the attention of the public, but also to go back and write follow-up reviews on those restaurants that impressed me the most during 2025, and The River and Rail Restaurant located in Roanoke, Virginia, is a perfect example of one of them. Going back to this restaurant after the great honor that I had received from Yelp, made me recall the first time that I dined here. I invite you that after reading this review, you go back and read that one, and view my photographs accompanying it, because it's one of which I am most proud of, and an experience that I will never forget and forever cherish. I arrived at the restaurant on time at five o'clock sharp and as I waited for them to open I had an opportunity to meet and chat with a couple who had been loyal customers of this restaurant for years since it first opened. They, as well as I, were aware of the beautiful location of the restaurant on one of the most exclusive neighborhoods of Roanoke. As soon as the doors opened, I allowed them to enter first and then when the host came back she gave me a warm and friendly greeting, welcoming me back, and took me to an ideal table, where I had a perfect view of the entire restaurant, from their open kitchen, to their bar, to the entire dining room and entrance, allowing me to capture in photographs the real feel of the ambiance of this cozy, yet elegant, upscale Southern, New-American restaurant known for its scratch-made dishes using locally-sourced, seasonal ingredients, including house-cured meats and pickled vegetables, as well as very creative cocktails. Shortly after I was seated, my delightful server Caroline arrived, and after a warm greeting took my order. To drink I order their Strawberry Fields Forever Mocktail. As appetizer I ordered a half dozen Oysters together with their famous Oyster Wraps. And as my main entrée, the Painted Hills Filet, cooked medium-rare. All the staff seemed so happy to see me and the manager came by to say hello and congratulate me for my outstanding Yelp accomplishment of 2025. My excellent server made sure that my order was well-paced, came by at the appropriate times to fill my glass with water and see if all was to my liking. Everything tasted amazingly delicious. Starting from the unique taste of my creative mocktail, to my flavorful appetizer, to my exquisite Filet main entrée that was so tender and cooked just right. The chefs in this fine dining restaurant are amazing and the quality of their meats is top notch. For dessert I had one of my favorite desserts, since I first had it there, their Dark Chocolate Panna Cotta. This dessert is absolutely mouthwatering. What an extraordinary dining experience I once again had there. Fine dining at its best. For those very special occasions, I highly recommend this restaurant. Or you can always make any day special, by dining there.

The River and Rail is a small establishment so I'd recommend making a reservation no matter the…read moresize of the party or the day. The food comes out fairly quick, the menu is concentrated while still offering a large variety of options. The cocktails are good, though neither of us ordered from the cocktail menu, they have a full bar so you can order whatever you please. Service could be a little more vocal/communicative but it seems staff is perhaps limited? It was good but there's room for moderate improvement for sure. The Chicken Liver Mousse was absolutely amazing and I'd return again and again specifically for this dish (go ahead and order extra bread to come with it)!!

Food was excellent, my scrambled eggs were perfect, bacon was nice and crisp without being over…read moredone, and their biscuits and pancakes were light and fluffy!! Our service was quick and attentive! Not a fancy place but a great find for a quality country style breakfast!

Food was great, server was very friendly. Restaurant was clean and well managed. I had the veggie…read moreomelet my husband had the double cheeseburger both were 10!

Today the prices and deals they don't offer anymore. Even though they gave us the menu of the…read moredeals. The restaurant is clean. The drink I had was terrible. You might want to think again before eating here.

Do yourself a favor...save your time and go somewhere, anywhere, else. I've been there twice since…read moreit opened. I've spent 30 minutes there each time. Neither time was I greeted, seated, or waited on. I just stood at the hostess stand and was ignored. While I was there I watched others complain about the service time and food quality, so I guess not getting seated and waited on was a blessing! Seriously, this place stinks, go somewhere else.

We were seated almost as soon as we walked through the door. Our server was understanding about…read moreneeding a table downstairs. We got our drinks quickly. The cherry cider had a tart flavor which went well with my food. We had Nachos as an appetizer. We tried a wrap, a U pick two- I chose a salad and Brussel sprouts, and a chicken sandwich with a side of Mac and cheese. We enjoyed everything but the Nachos were very flavorful. The area to be seated downstairs is small and close to the bar. There is also additional seating upstairs.

I think it is a solid 4.5 place. Highly recommend this place if you are in Roanoke…read more 1. Service: top notch. Randy is the coolest guy, knowledgeable and nice. 2. Food: good. Love that you can have decent food on top of your drinks. 3. Drinks: excellent Bloody mary was great! and strong. Irish coffee was so good! Beers on tap are good too 4. Ambience: relaxed, well lit, 2 stories of brewery and nice big tables if you want to have a big group or play board games while drinking. Such an awesome spot!

Excellent Espresso Martini's! 3 beans with great foam. Love there Blacken Chicken on a salad…read more.. Very fresh Salads. Highly recommend.

We celebrated our granddaughter s 22nd birthday on Sunday. We had reservations at 6 pm. We arrived…read morewith the cake. The hostess suggested we let them refrigerate it, which was a great idea! Our meals came out exactly as ordered. The drinks flowed. (The bloody Mary is epic!!) Our server was so attentive. Going back soon for brunch.... and more bloody Mary s!

I've oftentimes have driven by this establishment and wondered what's inside. So today I decided to…read morego and explore it. After all, I've often liked to sit in the front row when attending live events. What I found was a bit disappointing. More than a restaurant this is a place to drink beer and cocktails while watching a game on a large screen TV. It has a very limited food menu and when I went the place seemed deserted. While I was there only one other customer came in, drank two beers while watching the big screen TV, talked.over the phone, and left. My server was very nice and friendly, but the food left much to be desired. I ordered a BBQ Burger that was listed on the menu as a 1/3 lb Angus burger with onion rings, bacon, cheddar cheese, and BBQ sauce. Sounded great but I invite you to view my photographs accompanying this review. The beef patty was small and dry and the one onion ring looked beaten. Even though it has a pool table in the back and signs up that seemed to have activities going on throughout the week, this is not a place that I would like to be in the front row, especially for the poor quality of their food and questionable ambiance.

I don't get the positive reviews. We went for lunch on a weekday and the place was dead. The…read morewaitress was inside watching TV and the cook was outside smoking. The ambience of the place left much to be desired. I won't eat at a restaurant that is empty at a time it should be full. I figure others know what I don't. Not recommended.

I came in with big hopes and feel torn about this review. I think the issue is there are so many…read moreunique and amazing restaurants within walking distance in downtown Roanoke that my expectations are HIGH. The dining area is an interesting mix out copper table tops, wood chairs, and exposed brick walls. Character. I had a pineapple upside down cake cocktail. It was yummy But it was filled with tiny ice slithers that made it difficult to drink without choking on ice until the slithers melted. I always appreciate a good Luxor . The food was fine... I was just hoping to be awed. I had the grilled salmon was looking, for medium but it was definitely well done. It was will seasoned and I was hungry, so none went to waste, lol. I was just hoping for something special. The veggie side was small and basic but well seasoned and the potatoes were also well seasoned but missing the Chicago butter sauce advertised. Instead it had a tiny smear of what I'm assuming was cocktail sauce. I tried the cheesecake bread pudding which was their bread pudding of the day. Overall it was good. I wouldn't have minded more cream cheese and was kind of disappointed the strawberries came out with the leaves still attached. At this price point, I don't want to have to remove things on my own. My server was great, she was training someone new but still managed to be perfectly attentive without being over bearing. With Sidecar and Stock so close by, it takes a peak performance to get me to repeat a restaurant stop when I'm in town for work. This was a solid 4 today but there are 5 star worthy places that have my attention.

In Roanoke for a project my office is doing. Walked by this place several times and this time…read moredecided to stop in. Great place with a amazing wine selection. The service was spoI ordered shared scallops and sweet potato gnocchi. The gnocchi was fantastic, it should be an entree. The scallops were delicious but as an appetizer i thought it was small. Table 50 is located in an old building wood floors, brick wall, tin ceiling, exposed pipes and ductwork as an architect I love the interiors. On a Monday night, Table 50 is packed with patrons, it is quite loud in here is my only complaint. I will be back to try their southern fried buttermilk chicken breast.

I cannot believe I have not written a review for this place when I go literally every week. Show…read morePony is such an amazing addition to the Roanoke area. Every Monday they have $2 oysters which always makes it worth going. The drinks here are AMAZING!!! it's so unique and so delicious! I enjoy that the food menu will have rotating items on top of permanent items. I cannot recommend the chicken tenders more. Everyone who works there is always nice and welcoming.

As soon as I found out that there was a new restaurant on the block, replacing a Grandin Village…read morefavorite, Local Roots, which operated next to the Grandin Theatre since 2010, until it suddenly closed, I phoned the number of the new restaurant to see if it was open, and when I found out it was, I immediately headed over to the restaurant to try it out. When I arrived to the place, I found out the name of the new restaurant by reading it from the window, painted in yellow paint: "SHOW PONY / COLD DRINKS HOT PLATES." Not until afterwards did I discover the meaning of this new restaurant's name. As I entered the door, I noticed that the bar had been extended along the wall with more seats, and was the center of attention of the restaurant. The booths that were once there had been replaced with bistro tables. But the focal point was definitely the bar which was completely full of customers talking, drinking, and having a good time. The clientele at the restaurant's tables was a diverse group of people of all ages, and of all economic backgrounds. The items on the drink and food menu were refined yet reasonably priced to accommodate everyone and leave out no one. The atmosphere of the restaurant was relaxed and unpretentious. It was a bar centered neighborhood joint, with refined yet accessible comfort food in a classy setting. It didn't take long for the host to warmly greet me and and offer me a seat at one of their small tables. And as soon as she left, my server arrived. She was a young lady with a welcoming attitude, a big smile, and a wonderful personality. When she asked me what I wanted to drink I asked her if they had any Mocktails in the menu. She immediately answered that she can have the bartender make me one and suggested THE BEST DAY EVER FAN CLUB. I agreed and she went over to the bar. What she brought back was amazing. It looked wonderful and tasted even better. She then took my food order after answering me some questions about the menu. I ordered the YAKAMEIN which contained Braised Beef in Broth with Noodles, Shrimp & Hard-boiled Egg, and was reasonably priced at $15. The entrée was a good size and tasted amazingly delicious. For dessert I had the HOUSE ICE CREAM which was Strawberry & Lime Ice Cream with Whipped Cream & Sponch Marshmallows. Also, very interesting and sweet. In conclusion I highly recommend this place. The owners did an excellent job in making their dream come true by with their creative imagination coming up with place everyone can enjoy to the fullest.

As the same with the Richmond location, the Cobra Kai double I ordered with crinkle cut and sweet…read morepotato fries paired with Jack Brown's signature sauce all were nothing short of perfect! One taste and you are in love! The service is attentive and friendly as the restaurant itself is decorative and pleasant to enjoy yourself within! My guess is that we should expect nothing less than perfection with every location!

First time at this location for Jack Browns which is store #2 in the chain. I had on my list the…read morelast visit and did not make it. They were packed before 5 PM on a Friday. But honestly the place is tiny. My visit with wife was brief by design. We sat at the bar and got cheeseburgers and water to move onto something else planned. Amazing service from multiple staff and yum burgers. Easy checkout and decent value. Hopefully a return visit next year and I can enjoy more of the menu. I love their sweet potato fries and large beer selection. Absolutely recommend.