Rapture

I want to like this place more, but it’s missing something. The food is inventive and good, but not great — not delicious. And the atmosphere is certainly less than ideal, unless of course you’re eating outside on the mall, which is what I opted for after sitting inside just once. I wouldn’t necessarily recommend this place to a friend, but I’ll think about it and get back to you. In the meantime, support your local farmers!

I hadn’t been to Rapture in years but we had a gift card and went back. The food was ok. I had chicken with collards and gruyère that the waiter raved about. The chicken was so dry, it was not good at all. My husband thought his chorizo was good but not great. The kicker here is that we ordered two drinks, they were fine. When the bill came, we were charged for the liquor they added to the drinks. We did not ask for alcohol upgrades. My hisband got a sazerac and was told they only had one type of rye (how can you even upcharge when it’s the only rye you have?). It just took an experience that was kind of «meh» anyway and added a really bad taste at the end. We will likely not return.

Brunch here is great also they make a mean cuban. The bar and trivia night is pretty great… I would have given five stars. But Mr. Zappa is the reason they got 4 instead of 5.
He might be the worst Bartender in charlottesville. The guy sucks. I’m not sure he is just Danny Glover Lethal Weapon «I’m too old for this shit» or if it’s his thing but he should just stop.

If you are in Charlottesville VA and you would like breakfast after 12pm its very difficult. Fortunately Rapture is serving brunch at this time. The cheese grits are very good. Also the bacon was some of the best ive ever had. I would come in again.

Eggs Benny was amazing (the hollandaise sauce was excellent!!) Bloody Mary was OK. Would come back and deff do brunch again!

We went for brunch on a Sunday. We were able to sit outside which was really nice. The service was great. We had a Bloody Mary which was homemade and had great flavor. The food was fresh and unique. Definitely a good little spot!

Amanda was awesome!!! So was the food. Not sure what you want to eat? Let Amanda make some recommendations.

I love Rapture. I always have. But the last time I went, May 14^th, the service was some of the worst service I have ever had. The host sat us and helped us to move some tables around to fit everyone comfortable — great! Once we were situated though, 3 separate servers walked by the table, made eye contact, and continued on their mission… to pull out their phones and share some sort of funny photo — or something. I had to physically motion for a server to come over, and I had to ask if she would please bring some water for the table. She rolled her eyes and turned around and arrived with 4 glasses, not 5 — the number of people at the table.
Once we got our drinks and placed the order, all was great. Our server seemed like she was new to serving or something — we just had to prompt her if/​when we needed something from the kitchen.
I’ll go back — I just hope they get their game back before summer starts and the mall gets busy again!

Excellent & thoughtful service. Delicious & tasty food from the starters all the way to dessert! Even the kids menu had an amazing four cheese mac n cheese from scratch that tasted like fondu! The local craft brews were a real treat as well. Decently priced. We were very happy with our choice to dine here on a busy Fri night in the middle of so many other places to choose from on historic Main St!

It was fun until a security guard creepily hit on one of my friends. Service was otherwise ok considering how crowded it was.

Food goes great with their drinks, pretty expensive but still really good.

Came here last night for the salsa dancing only. Didn’t have any of the food or drink so I can’t comment on that. Salsa lessons start at 8pm. Dancing at 9pm. We went for the class — it never hurts to review the basics. It was $ 8 for guys and $ 5 for gals. Pricey in my opinion, but maybe that’s the Charlottesville way. The class was alright. I don’t think the instructor was smooth in transitions and the couple didn’t seem to be on the same page. The dancing scene was great. I come with my own dancing partner, but there was a good amount of people around and people were switching partners. If you come solo, you’ll definitely have someone to dance with. I imagine it may get more crowded when UVA classes are in session. With thay in mind, parking may be harder. I didn’t have a problem. The music was a mix. Mostly salsa, but we were able to enjoy some bachata and even a merengue song. They had strobe lights that were perfect, they weren’t overly bright or annoying. Overall it was a great salsa Sunday for my husband and I!

This place has always been delicious and fun! I ate the best burger I’ve had in a really really long time. Scratch that, it was the best burger I’ve had. The staff was nice and I liked the atmosphere. The front is built for fine dining while the back and upper floor is more like a pub. Recommended!

Prepare to be raptured!
When we arrived everyone was excited to see us and they complimented our appearance which always nice, but I assure you the following review is not a biased response to their indulgence of our vanity.
We ordered bloody Mary’s– horse radish pickled green beans. Best on the mall. The Dixie Sparkler was also ordered. It was refreshing and much better than it looked on the menu.
I got the special: pork meatloaf medallions with a home made gravy and eggs.
The highlight of the brunch was the burger my wife had. We were informed that the beef was local and organic.
The couple we were with ordered slight twists on the items on the menu which the kitchen accommodated. We all loved our food and felt relieved that we didn’t end up at a nearby brunch spot.
The staff was fun and engaging. The service was very good.

The look of the place does not suggest your going to get a great culinary experience, but the menu looked interesting so we went for it. Plenty of distracting noise coming from the back bar area. Yes my side of the booth desperately needed some new springs and coverings. But our waitress was friendly, prompt, and accommodating. And the food was all delicious-​loved the deviled eggs-​will be trying to recreate their version at home. Caesar salad was crisp, dressing tasty. The shrimp and grits were a very satisfying dish. Don’t let appearances dissuade you-​check out what their kitchen is putting out.

Ive only been here for latin dance nights which used to be on Sunday evenings. Actually for a sunday it was a fun thing to do! There is a bar in the front and a decent dance floor with a second smaller bar in the back. Not sure how goos the drinks are. Tended to be an older crowd. Ok dj. Not the greatest lighting. Overall ok. But maybe a lot different on others nights.

3.5
I was here for lunch with my friends. There’s ample outdoor seating. We chose to sit outside as the weather was pleasant. It took them 40 – 45 minutes to fulfill our order. The reason that was relayed to us — a big party going on upstairs. That’s not good enough, Rapture folks. You should have staffed accordingly! Or, told us before we sat down. The server was nice and courteous, though.
Anyways, as far as the food is concerned. I ordered grilled portebollo burger with bleu cheese. I had tried a no Bull veggie burger on my last visit which I had not quite enjoyed. I was apprehensive about portebollo burger. There’s essentially a giant portebollo sandwiched between the burger buns. No burger patty really. The bleu cheese though made up for more than the portebollo. And, the side of grilled asparagus with chimichurri was pretty good.
A few friends ordered tater tots which were average. So were the fries that we shared for the table. I’d recommend giving this place a shot if you have ample time. Service can be really slow. Otherwise, the food is fine, not great.

I didn’t try the food — so this review is only for the Saturday night ‘90s throwback/​EDM hot mess express combination and the two shots of tequila. The setup’s a little schizophrenic. You have a kitchen area at the very front, then a bar area, then some pool tables and a teeny tiny dance hall so you can bump and grind with who you thought was your friend but turned out to be a stranger with crazy eyes who then proceeds to follow you around for the rest of the night. There’s an upstairs area for people watching too.
The bathrooms are seriously straight out of a 1970s-​era Soviet Russia government building. I stood in front of a knob-​less sink for a full ten minutes with no clue how to turn on the water and was about to decide in favor of dry soapy hands (better than germy hands, well duh) when someone finally figured it out. You’re supposed to wave your foot under the sink because underneath all that rust and grit and feigned minimalism/​faux-​poverty motif, it’s a fancy-​schmancy motion capture sensor. Like drunk people who just staggered out of the toilet are supposed to figure that out. Isn’t that just an incentive to spread your pee molecules everywhere?
Anyway, it was fun but I was scared to touch anything.

This place is alright. I only come here because my friends like it and one of them is a bouncer here every now and again. The band that was playing here was The Kings of Belmont. They had an interesting following, but the music definitely wasn’t our style.
The service is pretty good for having wall to wall people. The fries and sweet potato tots are really good snacks.
If you get there before 11, you can play pool on the main floor while the table upstairs stays open when a band is playing.

Just a quick update, & more of a public service announcement than a review since we didn’t dine here again.
But we were in Charlottesville yesterday, & stopped by to read Rapture’s posted menu to see if they were still offering what was their wonderful «Crab Nachos». Nope — completely new & different menu. No more «Crab Nachos» & no more «Fish & Chips» (not that the lackluster «Fish & Chips» will be missed).