Bluegrass Grill & Bakery

After all the great reviews, I thought this place would be a slam dunk. It was not. We expected the long wait (we got there at 9:00 AM on a Sunday and waited about 40 minutes), but I was surprised by how sub par the food ended up being. We started with the bacon jam cinnamon roll, then the Norman and the Big Bad Wolf for entrees. I didn’t like the bacon jam at all. My entrée (Big Bad Wolf) was lukewarm, which was really off-​putting, and I found the whole dish to be… heavy and one note. The home fries were delicious though! Really flavorful. I did find the service to be super friendly, and they were obviously working very hard. Not a place we’ll be re-​visiting.

Awesome! Awesome and awesome! !!! Drops mike and walks away… .lol. …no seriously i love this place. The best place for breakfast. I wanted to go for brunch but the line is too long:(but maybe i will be touched with some patience and go but until then I’ll still with the reg

One of the best brunch spots in Virginia. The Hungry Norman is absolutely fantastic and a must try!

Ok! So I have just arrived on a Thursday, mid-​day, day before the Big Snow! It’s about half full and there is a beautiful painted mural on one wall. The front entrance is a glass door in an all glass wall which is the front of the restaurant, which makes for a bright and friendly interior. The waitress is friendly & efficient. I ordered the Hungry Norman. My food came quickly and I was quite pleased! Extremely tasty delicious home fries/​hashbrowns! They were definitely homemade with lots of care and attention to flavor and texture! The rest was not exceptional but adequate! An English muffin with BlackBerry jam and sausages cut in half on top of goat cheese. The sausages reminded me of the cheap pre-​cooked Food Lion breakfast sausages. Then there was the hollandaise sauce! It arrived in a metal ramekin on the side of my plate. I asked the waitress was it supposed to be cold and she said yes! She also stated if they try to reheat it it would probably separate. This led me to believe that either they get frozen premade hollandaise sauce (then thaw and serve) or they make a large batch of their hollandaise sauce at the beginning of the shift & use it for all their «Benedicts»! I know that a lot of restaurants don’t choose to make hollandaise sauce à la carte, fresh for each order! But having been a chef for a number of years good to hollandaise is really not that difficult and it’s so much better when it’s made fresh for each order! Anyway now that I’ve gone off on a hollandaise tangent, apart from those few negative points, I did enjoy my meal overall. Compliments to the chef for the most perfectly poached eggs! I would like to come back and try some of their sweet fare. I saw a plate of French toast going by to another table and almost stabbed a piece with my fork it looked so good!!!
I will definitely be back to try some more of their goodies!

LORD the wait to get in here was insane. But I’d say it is a Cville must-​try at least once. The bacon jam… if it wasn’t so expensive I’d have bought a giant jar. The flavor is beyond anything you’ll ever taste. I got the chocolate pancakes, they’re huge and decadent for sure!

Excellent food, well worth the wait. Everything is fresh and delicious. My wife’s a vegetarian and loves the menu. I love bacon, so, well satisfied. A must stop.

Food was basic, nothing special. I got an omelette, with egg whites and added fruit. The fruit was only strawberries and the egg white omelette was a little smaller than most I’ve seen. But that was ok for me. They did NOT tell me it was only a cash establishment. They relied on their tiny sign on the front door and the small fine print on the menu to warn people. Then when you don’t have cash you have to walk two blocks to an ATM. This I do not like. In a world of debit and credit cards, their waitresses should make sure the patrons know it’s just cash! Bad business ethic in my opinion

A Virginia classic that is super old school. You walk in and write your name on a list by the door, They only take cash-​so come prepared! Everyone in the family will love it. It’s a solid southern breakfast spot in the cutest college town in the nation. Its covered with couples, families, and UVA students. You must try the bacon jam-​trust me!
See the list for Top 10 Breakfast Spots/​/​Coast to Coast

This was a difficult one. The place is very popular with locals. so arriving at 9:45 on Sunday with a group of 5 we expected a wait (most of their table are set up for two). We waited — about 30 minutes.
Once seated we were offered beverages (Bloody Mary, Mimosa, etc) for breakfast very promptly. They were served, along with coffee in a prompt manner. The Bloody Mary was OK, nothing special. When one in the group asked for an «extra spicy» drink, the waitress pointed to the hot sauce and the black pepper on the table, so there was not a lot of effort in the preparation of the drinks
Orders were taken. They have a «traditional» breakfast menu (Eggs, omelets, etc.) and than what I call their «special» breakfast menu where the ingredients are more uncommon — salmon, brie, crab, etc.
The place has about 20 tables. They were all taken. The kitchen appears to be small. We waited. More drinks were ordered. We waited. Coffee cups were refilled. We waited. Our orders came out about 50 minutes after we were seated. The preparation was very good and the food was very good.
I’ve been here a couple of times with friends who are locals and love the place. Giving it the benefit of the doubt with 4-​stars. If you’re really hungry, the service is quite slow. If you can wait on the service the food is very good.

Bluegrass is the Parkway not the freeway. Plan accordingly. Sign yourself in at the door. Limited on site parking but municipal pay parking adjacent. Highlights include chocolate covered bacon (!), Greek omelet, non standard biscuits, the Duke, home fries (we love grits but the home fries are better), friendly, laid back but very attentive service.

The food is fantastic, the wait is an acceptable cost to eat here.
Saturday and Sunday you’ll experience a wait to be seated, but I’ve always found myself willing to go back. They have a great vegan dish (Gaia’s Revenge, I think?), the biscuits are fantastic, the coffee is great, and the service is quick!

Service (1): .7 points/​stars
Atmosphere (1): .9 points/​stars
Food (3): 3 points/​stars
My overall rating (5): 4.7 points/​stars
Bluegrass Grill is one of my favorite brunch places in Charlottesville. The food is amazing and not crazy expensive. It’s a very small restaurant and has a really low country, relaxed, and homey atmosphere. I’ve really enjoyed everything I’ve eaten there; the specials are always on point.
The Hungry Norman (if you like goat cheese) and the Big Bad Wolf are fantastic. All of their Benedict style dishes that I’ve tried have been delicious. The pancakes are superb as are the potato home fries/​hash browns. The ham biscuit with cheese is also really good, it’s kind of dry, but very crumbly.
The only reason I don’t give them five stars is because of convenience. The wait always seems to be really long, I’ve never waited less that 25 minutes for table (parties of 5+ have to wait 45+ minutes). Then there is usually about a 10 – 20 minute wait for food. Getting there early will shorten your wait time a lot. Also, there are only about four parking spaces outside of the restaurant and they only take cash or check. The servers could be a little more friendly and check on the patrons more, but they’re helpful enough, so it hasn’t been that big of a deal for me. They all have very no-​nonsense attitudes.
If you don’t mind the wait, it’s 100% worth eating there.

Even though it was a weekday, the wait was super long to get a table, to order, and to get our food. The food was good and the portion size is pretty big for the price but unless you really really want brunch, then I wouldn’t go here because of the wait. I got the Hungry Norman, which was eggs served on top of sausages and an English muffin with goat cheese and blackberry jam. The eggs were cooked perfectly, and the sweet blackberry jam provided a perfect complement to the more savory goat cheese on the soft English muffin. The potatoes served on the side provided an even more savory option but weren’t too salty and went well with the Hollandaise sauce. Overall, all the menu items looked pretty solid, but the long wait killed it for me.

Don’t let the 3.5 stars fool you! I am very picky when it comes to breakfast; least favorite meal! However, this has quickly become my favorite breakfast in Charlottesville! We actually left Blue Moon to come back here! I’ve now tried the vegetarian versions of the potato chorizo, Gaia’s Revenge, and the Cilantro Lime Tofu Hash (the latter being my favorite). I’m told the Duke was also amazing! The only reason this isn’t a 5 star review is because the last time we were here, the service wasn’t the best, and depending on when you come, there’s a bit of a wait. Highly recommended.

Best brunch in Charlottesville! They validate parking, which is nice considering their parking lot is very small.
They had great options for all different types of eaters! The menu is so large and everything sounds so unique and yummy that it took me forever to decide! I finally decided on the cilantro lime tofu scramble and it was DELICIOUS!!! We also go the gaia’s revenge which was good but not as good as the cilantro.
Tried the banana bread as well, which was good but was only super soft while warm. Not as good once it wasn’t warm.
The servers are all very nice and we liked it so much we left Blue Moon café and came back a second day.

This review is long, long overdue for Bluegrass Grill. When I visited it for the first time, I got super lucky because we literally walked in with no wait at all. I know this is not normally the case, so you better go ahead and prepare for some kind of wait. I feel like Charlottesville is seriously lacking quality brunch options, so that is probably people flock to Bluegrass Grill.
We started off with coffee and ordered right away because we were super hungry! I ordered the vegan Gia’s Revenge and added an egg on top off of the special menu. It had a very unique flavor with the mix of Sriracha and agave. My boyfriend go some kind of eggs Benedict, and he loved his meal too. We also tried a side of the cheese grits, which were also on point!
Every time I’ve wanted to go back to Bluegrass Grill, I’m always scared by the line. I think I may put my name in and peruse the City Market next time I’m in the mood for brunch. Also note, that they are cash only!

We finally tried Bluegrass Grill after hearing some great recommendations. It was pretty good, though I definitely wouldn’t wait for a table when it’s busy — it’s not THAT good. My mushroom and cheese omelette was fine — nothing special. My husband liked the Smokey Joe breakfast sandwich, and we enjoyed our bacon cinnamon bun. The «biscuits» are pretty terrible — more like a dried out wheat roll. You’re better off sticking to toast. I might go back, but there are definitely better breakfast/​brunch spots.
Also, CASH or CHECKS only! For someone who only carries credit cards, this was kind of annoying.

I’m a sucker for awesome breakfast/​brunch places. We heard there is always a wait at this place but luckily we got there at 12:45pm and only had to wait about 10 minutes for a table. It’s a pretty small restaurant with a homey feel. You sign your own name in on the wait list of all the tables are full.
I ordered the hungry Norman and my bf ordered the true grits and we also tried the candy pig and chocolate bacon. They were both so sweet but a fun treat to try. The Hungry Norman was delicious and the goat cheese added a perfect tang to the egg muffin. The potatoes were garlicky and peppery delicious. My bf’s grits and shrimp was creamy and the capers were surprisingly an amazing added flavor. We were both stuffed from sharing the two dishes. The wheat biscuit is hot out the oven and tastes like a mix between biscuit and corn bread. Yum.
Definitely recommend this place but just remember it’s cash or check only!

The only complaint I have for this hole-​in-​the-​wall restaurant is that it is not open later (closes by 2:00pm), because at any time of the day I would endure the traffic and parking chaos to come and dine here at Bluegrass Grill. I truly only have good things to say about the place. The two times I have eaten here, I left stuffed and satisfied. I found the combination of ingredients to be unique while tasteful and the ambience of the joint has a small-​town, cosy feel that really transforms the overall experience.
The menu is quite extensive with a huge variety of omelets (my advice, go greek!), pancakes, hashes of all sorts, and really anything you would be craving for brunch. For those of you who are vegan (or looking to try something different), I recommend Gaia’s Revenge. It’s a great mix of veggies, potatoes, and believe it or not a sriracha syrup that really brings together the whole dish.
To ensure that you get a seat, try going either at an off-​time during the week or fairly early on the weekend (6:30am or 7:00am) because the place, being a Charlottesville-​favorite, fills up quickly.
Word to the wise… come with cash$$, no cards accepted.

We took our friend here for brunch on his birthday after a college-​local suggested it as a nice place. Unfortunately we shouldn’t have slept in because we had to wait a decent amount of time for a table– but the experience was worth it. Where else would you be able to order chocolate covered bacon slices?! Loved the black paned window front and cosy inside. A homey, southern feel from the décor inside with a good tucker of filling Southern food.
[Reliving my semester abroad at the University of Virginia]