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    TONIC ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Casual
    Happy hour specials
    Dogs allowed
    Outdoor seating

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    Recommended Reviews - Tonic

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    Deviled eggs with sourdough
    Lauren A.

    Tonic's patio is absolutely gorgeous on a cool, fall evening. The food was delicious, especially the salmon! And the staff was super friendly and helpful. Highly recommend!

    Shrimp Fritters
    Zachary K.

    All the food here was so good. The crispy potatoes were so crispy. How do they do it? My family came here after the kitchen was closed, but they ended up still seating us and reopening the kitchen for us. I was extremely grateful since my kids were staaaaarving, and then for the food to be incredible? What luck! The staff was so attentive as well. Great cute spot with incredible food.

    Tonic Benedict, home fries, scrambled eggs and biscuit and butter/apple butter.
    Bastion B.

    Fresh and delicious. Just the right amount of food. The staff were so nice and accommodating. The outdoor seating and music made for an inviting and relaxing atmosphere. Just off the downtown strip this was an excellent choice to jump start our morning. You'll love it.

    Open-faced tomato sandwich with smashed avocado, feta, and roasted corn salad.
    Elizabeth K.

    I simply can't say enough about this restaurant. It has a hip interior and an incredibly large patio for dining al fresco. I sat at the bar and was thoroughly entertained by the entire staff, but especially Wils. He was knowledgeable and engaging. He suggested a Portuguese red called Santar Vinho Tinto and it is worth getting again. I ate an entirely vegetarian meal and it was filling and tasty. I had the roasted peaches and whipped ricotta with basil and pistachios and the open-faced tomato sandwich with smashed avocado, feta, and roasted corn salad. Yum! Thanks again for feeding me.

    The 2" wide slice of birthday cake

    Terrific ambiance eating outside but not quite punching above its weight. Nothing was bad but neither was it memorable. A little precious with the portions, too, so you get to practice eating daintily from a thin menu and get to leave hungry. Took a friend out for a birthday dinner (an anemic salmon burger) and ended up taking him out for another birthday dinner redux to make up for this wiffleball. That said, there was an interesting drink menu.

    ceviche
    El P.

    The short - Tonic is a cute spot that offers a surprisingly large tap selection given the size of its location and a unique menu boasting selections like ceviches, pickled small dishes, and brunch-y items. I can't speak on their entrees because we opted for smaller plates. We chose their board where you order a bunch of different small items (breads, pickles, veggies, etc.) and their shrimp ceviche. Both were yummy and prepared very well. My one criticism about the board was that we ordered the grilled sourdough and it was quite hard, so I would've loved to see it cooked a bit less, but that's me nitpicking for my personal preferences. The ceviche had great flavor and came with saltine cracker which helped balance out the acidity of the ceviche flavor.I found that where Tonic shines is in their drink selection. They have a large draft selection and other non-alcoholic libations. I tried the elderberry/rosehip kombucha and it was delicious (which is a relief, because it was $8 for 16oz). The service staff were all kind, pleasant, and attentive. Tonic feels like a hip spot with their modern-feeling decor and furniture. They also have a cute outdoor area (with fans) for those that want to enjoy a nice day. I loved stopping by Tonic after a little walk around Downtown Charlottesville. I would recommend checking it out!

    Snack board
    Madison P.

    Super cute asthetic, fresh and interesting food, nice servers but the prices are pretty steep. We loved the eggplant spread, pickled eggs, and ceviche. I had French press decaf coffee which was yummy and my partner had kombucha on tap.

    Wedge salad
    Eilleen L.

    Met up with one of my daughter's friends who goes to UVA at Tonic. It was a perfect day to sit on the patio. Service was top notch. We all ordered salads, wedge and Waldorf. My daughter's friend said it was a great place to hang with friends for drinks and charcuterie

    Patio
    Zara T.

    Tonic was so cute! They were very dog friendly, bringing a bowl to our table for my pup. You order at the register, which was a tad confusing since there's a bar outside, too. The patio is spacious, especially compared to the seating options indoors. Both are very cute I ordered the tomato sandwich, and must say that it was very enjoyable. I'd happily order it again. Parking was a bit of a challenge, given that it's really only street parking, but I'm sure that's something you get used to.

    Plum salad
    Женя П.

    Loooved the food there! Everything was flavourful and fresh! Potatoes - my personal favourite. Service is nice and pretty fast

    Lowcountry pickled shrimp & chips + dip

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    1 year ago

    The people are very nice and the ambience is amazing and the salmon burger is to die for and the crispy potatoes are amazing

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    1 year ago

    Food is good and the staff is friendly and responsive. The outdoor dining area is a home run. Drinks are tasty.

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    Great outdoor space! The food is amazing and the service is 5 star. Highly recommend this place especially with our weather getting nicer.

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    Ask the Community - Tonic

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    Mockingbird - Fried green tomatoes

    Mockingbird

    (106 reviews)

    Loved a Sunday night dinner here. I ordered the hanger steak (medium rare) and it was delicious…read more Wonderful service, food, and atmosphere. Thank you!

    Mockingbird came highly recommended, so we arrived expecting a special dining experience for our…read moredaughter's 20th birthday. We even drove 3.5 hours to meet her there. We had 5:30pm reservations and were seated immediately. The host was warm, acknowledged the occasion, and honored my request for a quieter table by placing us in a bay-window nook. Unfortunately, that's where the positives ended. The space echoed so badly we could barely hear each other, and the setting sun combined with the AC being accidentally turned off made the area feel like a sauna. Our water glasses were filled within minutes, so we thought service would be smooth. Instead, we sat for another 15 minutes before anyone greeted us--while a table seated after us was helped promptly and served at a noticeably faster pace. I understand large parties require attention (there was a group of 10-12 nearby), but as a former server myself, I've never allowed smaller tables to feel forgotten. When our server, Lucian (sp?), finally arrived, we immediately placed drink and appetizer orders because we were already starving. The appetizers came out about 20 minutes later--still before our drinks. The brussels sprouts were excellent and worth the wait. The biscuit basket was good, though the butter-to-biscuit ratio felt off, and the apple butter was surprisingly delicious. Our entrées didn't arrive until at least 45 minutes after that. The pacing was simply poor, and we consistently felt like an afterthought. While our server was polite, he didn't initiate conversation, offer suggestions, mention happy hour, or acknowledge our daughter's birthday. He didn't even suggest dessert. Meanwhile, the six-top behind us--seated well after we were--was wrapping up their meal as ours was just being served. The food presentation was beautiful. The pot roast, however, was underwhelming. It lacked seasoning and sauce, and the vegetables were forgettable--very few potatoes, no carrots. "Not your normal pot roast" was accurate, but not in a good way. The shrimp and grits were excellent, with great seasoning and a flavorful sauce. The salmon was moist and well-prepared, though it still had a few scales on the end of the filet. Once we finished eating, we again waited for our server to return. We eventually had to wave him down for boxes and again to request the check. Parking in the back was convenient early in the evening, though I imagine it becomes difficult later. Would we return? Unfortunately, probably not. We've been treated better, served more efficiently, and appreciated more fully at other restaurants--including one almost directly across the street. What we hoped would be a memorable celebration ended up feeling ho-hum at a high price--too high for the experience we received.

    Southern Crescent Galley and Bar - Shrimp poboy

    Southern Crescent Galley and Bar

    (115 reviews)

    $$

    Excellent food and good cocktails. Their indoor space is really cozy and was nicely decorated for…read moreChristmas.

    I posted this revues on Google and also sent an email to the restaurant explaining how frustrating…read moreour experience was. They neither responded to my email nor the review with any sort of explanation or apology which suggests that they don't really care. So I'll share this on Yelp too so others are aware of their poor customer service. We visited this restaurant with a group of seven and were excited to try it, especially because the outdoor seating area looked like a great spot for dinner. Unfortunately, the experience ended up being very disappointing. Service was extremely slow and disorganized from the start. About 15 minutes after ordering, a different waitress brought food to our table that we hadn't ordered, then quickly took it away without much explanation. From there, things only got worse. Our meals came out slowly over the course of 30-45 minutes, just one or two plates at a time, with no communication about the delays. Our four-year-old waited nearly 45 minutes for a simple order of fish sticks. Even basic service was lacking. We had to ask multiple times for something as simple as an apple juice refill, and it still took far too long to arrive. Toward the end of the meal, our waitress stopped checking on our table altogether, which made it difficult to order dessert. The food itself was pretty good, which is the only reason this isn't a one-star review. However, the poor service and lack of attentiveness completely overshadowed the experience. Overall, it was frustrating and disappointing, and we don't plan to return.

    tavola

    tavola

    (449 reviews)

    $$$

    This place lives up to the expectations. Nestled into an old house in the fancy section of…read morerestaurants of Belmont is a cozy little Italian eatery. The food here is fresh and made from with skill. They handmade all their pasta dishes and the quality is felt in every bite. While the price is quite expensive the quality matches what your expectations should be set too. Service here was spectacular. The nursing student who helped us was extremely attentive yet not overbearing. This is the perfect place for special occasions or taking visitors to dinner when they want a good Charlottesville meal. Would recommend.

    We went to tavola tonight for my partners birthday and overall we had a good time and would be…read moreback. Between us, we did 3 cocktails, 2 apps, 2 entrees and 2 desserts and the bill came to about $220 tax and tip included. The restaurant had their main door closed (maybe they always do?) so we entered through a narrow back alley entrance into their bar. Parking is kinda tough. We did arrive a few mins early to our reservation and watched a table of 2 and 4 get seated before us which was a bit frustrating (it seemed like the host knew them and maybe they were given preference). Additionally, despite the reservation saying it was for my partners birthday it was not mentioned while we were being sat or by our server during our meal. Other restaurants in town (particularly Orzo and C&O) are really good about noticing these reservation notes and ensuring they are acknowledged. Both restaurants have also provided complimentary dessert or champagne and so it was a bit of a bummer it seemed to not be noticed at all. The ambiance was also much louder than we expected. Unfortunately we got sat next to 4 very drunk rowdy women which can't be helped but we could hardly hear each other over how loud the room was. The vibe was more of a nice dinner out with friends than romantic intimate dinner we hoped for. The music was upbeat and funky. Not a bad thing just maybe a misfit for what we were hoping for this evening. I haven't been here before so it might have been nicer to be sat in a quieter corner since it was just the two of us (not sure if that would have been possible). Our server Ginger was nice. She did provide a list of special for the evening which we ordered a few of. Food wise, tavola, in my opinion, certainly beats mockingbird or the local which are its two neighboring restaurants I've been to. It's actually not even a close comparison the food is significantly better imo. For starters we had the fried artichoke in aioli. Delicious - 5/5. Only problem was there wasn't more of it! The bread was from alb baking co and was served with olive oil. It was fine. Not the best bread or oil I've had. For drinks we had the alpine air (gin, pear, lemon, rosemary I think) and some pear cocktail (pear simple, Tito's, maybe pear liqueur?). My partner had an espresso martini with dessert. All cocktails were 5/5. Very good. For entrees we had the duck rotini and the pork special with collard greens and potatos au gratin. The rotini duck was interesting. I liked the flavor profile of duck, cocoa (in the pasta), pickled chiles and mushroom. I did feel like the flavor combination was so rich I wish they would have been a little more bold with the cocoa flavor. To be honest, it got lost and was completely overpowered by the mushroom flavor in the sauce. The sauce itself felt more of like a butter and fell a bit flat. The duck was chopped into small pieces and I just felt like the execution of this dish didn't do the ingredients justice. I wish they had done a braised duck breast in maybe a cocoa-orange sauce as I thought the cocoa duck combination was quite smart. I felt like the pasta version of these flavors just fell a bit flat and ended up feeling a bit bland as the mushroom was the only prominent note. Overall, I'd give this a 3/5. Neither of us were wowed by it but I think the flavors are ambitious and interesting. The pork on the other hand was fabulous. The pork was cooked perfectly in what felt like a wine reduction and was incredibly tender, no knife needed. The potatoes au gratin were a tad on the underdone side and had a bit more bite than maybe I expected but the flavor with the caramelized onion on top was fabulous. The collard greens are some of the best I've ever had. I love collard greens and am quite picky and these were amazing. I wanted a whole plate of them. 5/5. We ordered Brussels and pancetta on the side and this was also a 5/5. Very good. For dessert we had the tiramisu and the cheese plate. The tiramisu, frankly, was a 2/5. The lady fingers were totally soaking and the dessert was actually just a wet blob. The texture was just not good. The cheese plate was fine, 3/5. It was served with grilled crostini, cherries and candied walnuts. The cheeses themselves were a soft maybe goat cheese, what felt like pepper jack, and then two hard cheeses similar to Parmesan. None of them were particularly flavorful or compelling. I wish the plate had been served with some sort of jelly or sweet spread to accompany the cheeses as I felt the bread nut cheese combo was a bit too dry. Overall, I would say the main foods we had were very good and I think next time we may try their more traditional italian pastas like the carbonara or the bucatini. Overall I think the food here is very good and we would be back.

    Tonic - newamerican - Updated May 2026

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