Old Mill Room

yikes, tbh, this glowing reviews are making me so mad b’c our experience was so sub par.
let me start by saying the food was pretty bland and unremarkable. to the point i completely lost my appetite. we did the buffet lunch. which for twenty four bucks, is nuts considering most of the food is inedible. the only think i liked was the red velvet trifle. and maybe the smoked salmon… and a cracker. everything else was bland our just plain bad. the ‘veg medley’ is just boiled veggies, no seasoning whatsoever. its what i imagine a nursing home would purée and feed to an edentulous octagenarian come supper time.
no issues with our service.
the ambiance… i like some of the ‘boars’. but the clientele seem to attract those of retirement home ilk or college prep types. not our scene
price: see above
service: no issues, we had a sweet hispanic waiter who seemed to completely understand our need for immense amounts of tabasco for increasing edibility.
overall: hah! fahgeddaboudit!

Not sure what has happened, but this restaurant has lost pizazz. My husband and I have been going for years, but our last visit was disappointing enough that we won’t go back for a while. I hope they can make some changes. The «old standard» dishes like the wedge salad were just not what they used to be… Overall the restaurant just seems tired. They could use some reinvention!

Over rated, over priced and over cooked! I’m no youngen but besides the few students who were there with their parents this restaurant was filled with the Blue Hair crowd. For those of us who remember top restaurants of the 70’s, the Old Mill hearkens back to time where waiters were stuffy, french food was over cooked and over sauced.

We were a bit confused since the restaurant is a part of Boar’s Head Inn.
We went there for its lunch buffet; all dishes were very fresh and inspiring.
Started with potato salad, smoked salmon, and Brussels sprout.
Then moved on to some pasta, steak, and baked salmon for entrée.
For dessert, we had rice pudding, and some chocolate cake served with latte and green tea.
We paid $ 20 each, totally worth it; overall, I’m very satisfied both service and quality of food.
Also it has a scenic view, so you can go for a walk afterwards!

I have been a patron of Boar’s Head Inn and the Old Mill Room a few times and each time I’ve been thoroughly impressed. Regarding the Old Mill Room, I would have to say this is one of my favorite places to recommend folks to try who are looking for a dash of Charlottesville with a mix of UVA’s ambiance and don’t mind a higher price range.
As far as the Old Mill Room goes, the first thought that comes to mind is colonial rustic class. The past few times I have been my guests and I have been provided excellent service which ranged from the server’s knowledge of the menu to the mindful way in which the dishes were served. The last time I was here, I ordered Pan Seared Scallops and my guests ordered the Seared Sea Bass and Grilled Filet of Beef. Carefully prepared and beautiful plated, everyone was happy with their orders. We also tried the Lobster bisque and wedge salad to start and enjoyed the flavor of both.
The food came out perfectly timed with our appetizers, bottles of wine, and more importantly our conversation. Not once did we feel rushed or interrupted throughout our meal. Our server was careful to move fluidly throughout our meal so that at points he was seen but not intrusive and it made for a very relaxed evening.
This is a great place for a date, family gathering, or simply a treat yourself kind of night. The prices are on the higher end but you get what you pay for; excellent mindful service, attention to detail in the dishes, and a pervasive attitude to please from the polite staff.

First, let me say the service here is impeccable. If you’re looking for a high class experience this is the place. When I left to use the restroom and came back, the host at the podium followed me back to the table so he could pull out my chair and place my napkin back on my lap. That’s great attention to detail! I love that.
For dinner I had the tempura avocado and it was very rich and kind of strange. I didn’t really care for it. But it was served on a nice bed of shredded kale in dressing that I did enjoy. For main course we both ordered the Ahi tuna and it was delightful! Perfectly cooked (dark pink on one side, light pink on the other) with baby bok choy and delicious soba noodles on the side. The mango sauce that came with it didn’t really compliment the tuna so I avoided it. Overall, the experience was very good. Yes it is pricey, but you get good quality food, country club glam atmosphere, and top-​notch service. Definitely worth it for a special occasion.

Wow. Well I see there are many good reviews here for dinner, and maybe their dinner is different– something more hands on that might have flavor and taste.
As far as brunch? Hah. I won’t be returning here when we’re visiting Charlottesville. It cannot be described as anything other than bland, uninspired, and poorly executed.
We tried many different items in the hopes that something may be good. Guess what was good? The fruit, the lox, and anything else the kitchen obviously hadn’t been involved in.
I’m not often offended when I receive a bill, but to know I paid $ 83 for 2 brunches and a Bloody Mary that I could have had better at a Denny’s? It was offensive. I’m quite happy to spend more on a meal, we spent more on every other meal we had here actually, but this one made me unhappy due to the terrible quality of the food.
The biscuits and gravy? Bland. The potatoes? Bland. The eggs Benedict? Bland and strangely chemical tasting. The tilapia with lobster? Bland. My favorite part? When my boyfriend tried a piece of the chicken he grabbed and started laughing. «What?» «You know how I made chicken that one time and it was dry and terrible but I ate it anyway because I didn’t have anything else? This tastes like that.» I tried it and he was correct. Dry and bland.
I don’t often write scathing reviews, but I cannot stress enough how terrible I found this experience to be.

Pros: Great service, wonderful tempranillo wine, nice setting, and delicious soups. (peanut was good and lobster bisque was amazing).
Cons: Everything else! The watermelon carpaccio tasted like a not-​in-​season slice of watermelon topped with mayonnaisey chicken salad. The entrees were bland and boring. The red snapper was cooked with no seasoning, laid on a bed of white rice and cilantro, and surrounded with an orange sauce that tasted like Chinese sweet and sour. My husband’s ahi tuna was served with a thick breading that he described as something that could have come from McDonalds! Did not stay for dessert.
All in all, would have been fine for a fast food restaurant, but very disappointing for a $ 150 meal.

Outstanding lunch buffet and service. My mom celebrated her 90^th birthday and we were very pleased with everything. I look forward to going again the next time I am in Charlottesville. The best bread pudding ever!

I’ve been here twice for brunch now, and both times were great. OpenTable allows you to make reservations before 11 AM, but brunch doesn’t start until then so make sure to reserve a time after that if you want the buffet brunch. A plethora of delicious items to choose from — full hot buffet breakfast items, salad bar, dessert table, omelette chef, roast beef carving station, made-​to-​order waffles, and more. Definitely a great place to bring your parents or for a special occasion. Yum!
Also, the dress code says no jeans, but you can probably get away with it. They won’t turn you down — we saw people in gym clothes eating there! Hopefully they were staying at the inn because that was a little casual, but you could probably dress up jeans and be just fine.

Excellent and fabulous food. Attentive service. We never felt rushed and thoroughly enjoyed our evening.

Without any prompting we were seated directly in front of the fireplace… Burning dried oak logs. Enjoyed immensely the Wine paring menu offered for the month of March 2015… We had some fantastic local Monticello Virginian wines. The food was absolutely delicious. The service was great. I always return to the Old Mill Room and have never been disappointed. Kudos to the staff!!!

Very nice atmosphere — romantic and elegant. It was too dark to see outside but I think it’ll be a good scenary. I think there is a lake or a creek right next to the restaurant.
Food was fantastic: I got pumpkin soup as an appetizer, beef tenderloin as main dish, and cheesecake for dessert. Pumkin soup was warm and delicious but it had fried shrimp or something which did not go well with the soup. Meat was perfectly cooked, and cheesecake had walnuts and it was tasty! Their complimentary dessert, which was dark chocolate with strawberry cream was very good. it was perfect combination of sweetness and a little bit of sourness. Overall, I really recommend this place.

Perfect lunch spot for celebrating Christmas with family or friends or co-​workers. Fantastic Gluten Free options & gourmet style buffet for 3 courses. Reservations recommended for large parties. Def try the Bread Pudding, it’s so delicious and I don’t like Bread Pudding.

I’m not sure what was worse — the food or the couple arguing three tables away.
This was my second visit to the Old Mill Room. I’d been here about 5 or so years ago — long before my husband and I *really* started exploring the world of restaurants — but I remembered liking it and when I had the opportunity to return on a whim, I jumped at the chance. I remember the dining room had been charming and the food very good (this place isn’t cheap — but I have no problem paying good money for good food). Unfortunately, I’m not sure if my tastes have changed significantly since then but this meal definitely did not live up to my expectations.
We arrived at the restaurant after checking into the Boar’s Head for an 8:30pm reservation. We were seated promptly (we should be — there were only three other occupied tables in the restaurant). On Labor Day evening, the night before everyone returns back to school/​work, and at 8:30pm — I didn’t expect the restaurant to be super busy so this did not deter me. The dining room was just as I remembered — elegant and rustic. I love the atmosphere and the exposed wood tones.
Unfortunately, that’s where most of the pleasantness ended. After perusing the menu, my husband and I decided pretty quickly what we wanted to eat, as it was on the later side — but we weren’t able to order for at least 10 minutes because the waitress was too busy yapping with one of the only other tables in the restaurant. I swear she talked with them for 15 minutes. This normally wouldn’t bother me, but I just wanted to order and was a bit frustrated that I had to wait so long to do so with the restaurant being nearly empty. Other than that wait, though, service was pleasant and timely.
We were provided a lovely amuse bouche — a blueberry «soup.» It was very tasty and was served chilled, which I appreciated on such a hot day. For appetizers, I ordered the spicy lump crab and compressed cucumber salad and my husband had the tomato tart tartin and here is where the food disappointments began. My crab was nearly flavorless, as was the avocado purée. The best thing about my dish was the little cucumbers that each bite of crab sat upon. My husband’s tartin had a nice flavor, but the pastry was incredibly thin and ended up becoming soggy quickly. We agreed his appetizer was the better of the two dishes, overall.
For dinner, I ordered the trout and my husband had the crab cake. I’m glad I didn’t order the crab cake, because his crab cake was the most expensive filler-​filled crab cake he’s ever eaten. He was incredibly disappointed (heck, Artie’s in Fairfax makes a better crab cake). Not only was there barely any crab meat and 90% filler, but the dish needed seasoning badly. My trout was better and it was cooked with a crispy skin. However, I didn’t taste anything like brandy lobster sauce that the trout was supposed to be topped with and it’s only now that I look back at the menu online to ensure I get this review right that I realize what my husband called «cat throw-​up» on my plate was actually supposed to be a black eyed pea and lobster cake. Bland, bland bland. Saving grace… I liked the bread?
To make matters worse, as I mentioned at the beginning, the couple a few tables down from us was probably having the most expensive argument ever — she started crying twice in between their extremely heated… discussions. Honey, I know how you feel — the bad meal made me feel like crying too.
Disappointing. Based on this meal, I wouldn’t return.

The food was delicious! Atmosphere was lovely. Boyfriend and I had the lobster bisque, spiced poached pear, braised lamb, venison filet, cheesecake, and bread pudding. It was a ridiculous amount of food! I accidentally dropped some of the filet my bf shared with me on the floor — about a ¼ of the filet, and the waiter brought us a whole new plate! We ended up taking it with us.
Very attentive wait staff. Very courteous and friendly. Worth the splurge.

Great service. Professional staff treated us well. I usually see less fish on the menu with trout being the only entrée. The menu often have venison or duck that are plentiful in this part of Virginia. I’m not a fan of trout so I usual stick with the filter mignon. But tonight I was pleasantly surprised by the new fish choices. The fresh scallops app was outstanding. My friends enjoyed their lobster bisque and tuna apps. For dinner, I had the Halibut wrapped with prosciutto in a seafood broth and clams. The seaweed was a nice touch. The dish was outstanding. The prosciutto added just the right amount of crunch and salt. The halibut was sweet and flaky. The clams were streamed perfectly. Paired with an Italian pinot grigio, the dinner was outstanding. My dinner mates agreed that their meals were very good.
We didn’t order dessert. But our waiter handy is coffee to go after he learned we had to drive further to get home. Now that’s service that I have not experienced. .. Just saying.

Initially tried this place out during Restaurant Week and was very impressed. We liked it so much that we went back for Valentine’s Day 2012 and had the five-​course prix fixe menu.
Both my boyfriend and I had perfectly cooked steaks, (Why do other restaurants consistently mess up rare meat?) great salad, dessert, soup, apéritif. Everything was wonderful. We made the mistake of trying out another restaurant for Valentine’s Day the next year but promptly learned our lesson. Old Mill Room is the spot.
As the daughter of a chef, I was very impressed with the food. What takes this place to the next level, though, is the consistently excellent service. They’re attentive, quick, courteous, and give you the space you need to enjoy a beautiful meal.
What special occasions are coming up? I need to get back, pronto!

Great food and fantastic service.
I made reservations in person when waiting for our room to be ready. They asked if it was a special evening to which I said that we were here for the night to celebrate my wife’s birthday. Lo and behold, when we came to dinner several hours later they sat us at a table for two in front of the roaring wood burning fireplace. Our waitperson was fabulous engaging us a a lively conversation, never making us feel rushed, and always making us feel like we were her most important table despite a full dining room.
We had a great talk with her about their insistence on high quality locally supplied food and were pleased to see the chicken was provided by Polyface Farms (Herb Roasted Polyface Farms Chicken Roulade, Truffle Confit Chicken Stuffing, Braised Collards,
AM FOG Mushroom Madiera Cream Sauce). The organic mushrooms on the braised collard greens were delicious. The best greens I’ve ever had. The chef sent out complimentary shrimp cheese grits while we were waiting for dinner and I ate ever bit. I don’t even like grits.
Dessert was fantastic as well with flourless dark stout chocolate cake for me and apple crisp with blue cheese ice cream for my wife. Her plate had ‘Happy Birthday” written on it with chocolate sauce and I scored major points for my thoughtful dinner planning when all I did was mention it to the hostess!
A fantastic evening thanks to the Old Mill Room staff.

We love their steaks blackened outside, crispy, and properly rare inside. That’s the ticket! Professional service, properly served/​timely delivered by our service
With an atmosphere that made it… elegant! It had a warm feeling and I was very comfortable. We enjoyed a long dinner, relaxed in every way. One of our excellent restaurants in Va. The University of Virginia owns the Boars Inn and restaurant. UVA does everything w/​excellence. A classic!