Flint Hill Public House & Country Inn

If you want a 5 star dining experience, this is your place. A nice mix of old and new with local art displayed throughout. Great local brews, wines, and cuisine. You won’t find a more professional, friendly, and helpful staff anywhere. The food was top notch and we fed a group of 40 in celebration of our 25^th wedding anniversary. The accommodations at the inn where beautiful, clean, and comfortable.
They pay attention to every detail in everything — food, ambiance, and the accommodations!

This place is a real gem.
Public house (restaurant):
All of the staff was friendly and attentive. We were lucky to have Tabby take care of us all three nights when we ate at the restaurant. She made great recommendations on food and wine that enhanced our experience. At lunch, Andrea gave us good sightseeing ideas.
The food was delicious, fresh and reasonably priced. What more could you ask for?
The Inn:
We stayed three nights upstairs and were very pleased. Room was clean and modern with fresh décor. The central location of the Inn was a perfect jumping off point for visiting the great wineries that dot the landscape. We will back!

Stopped in on a recommendation from a friend. Crab dip appetizer was delicious and also the best thing we ate. Other food was bland, but perfectly cooked i.e. my steak was medium rare.
Atmosphere was pleasant, but chairs were uncomfortable.
It is an OK place and I would return if the prices were a bit lower.

Historic on the outside, chic on the inside. We went for dinner after a day of sightseeing and were blown away. Classy modern seating inside and expansive outdoor seating with music. The portions were generous and beautifully presented, drinks (peach tea with whiskey, amissville margarita) were creative and tasty. We both had starter salads, my wife enjoyed the pasta primavera with seasonal squash and I loved the beets and goat cheese ravioli. It sounds weird but looks and tastes amazing. The death by chocolate (to which I added vanilla ice cream) is delish to share for dessert.
We are staying at the Inn at Vineyards Crossing about 20 minutes away, and it was an easy drive. Just use the brights at night and watch for deer :-)

I’ve enjoyed dinner here with my husband on many different occasions. We’ve ordered everything from fried pickles (starter) to four course meal specials, and always love what’s plated.
I love the way the restaurant’s been decorated and the clean look and feel of the space inside. We typically dress more than we would a family restaurant, and always treat this as a date night location.
Our dinners do get pricey, especially when we treat out-​of-​town visitors to the experience. Every once and a while they’ll offer a «dinner for two» special (find them on Facebook) that cannot be beat. A bottle of (good) house wine with two 3– to 4-​course meals, all for $ 40.
Our regular bill for two typically tops $ 100, and while I do enjoy the flavors and experience here, I think I’d feel more appreciated as the regular patron that I am if they offered more specials like the one I mentioned.
Definitely worth a drive out for the experience, though. You are sure to enjoy whatever you order!

The food was not worth the money. The fried oysters weren’t crisp, the pork chop was overcooked, the salad was a mish mash from their garden with not much flavor. I did enjoy the dessert, crème brûlée.

We found this little jewel on Unilocal after visiting a winery. We enjoyed our delicious meal at a beautiful gardenside table. Great 2 for $ 50 meal deal — included Amazing salad fresh from their garden, cast iron bread, steak dinner, dessert, AND a bottle of wine. Lovely evening!

Came here for dinner with a group of girls on a Friday night. Driving up, the property is beautiful! The inside is much more modern and well decorated. Our waitress was very friendly and helpful. Everything we ordered was delicious, especially the crab dip appetizer! I wish the place had been a bit more lively and had a more fun atmosphere. But overall, we had a great experience and I recommend if you are in the area.

We’ve been through the Flint Hill area many times, but have just never stopped in to try Flint Hint Public House. So, when done hiking in the area one week day we figured we would give it a try.
We were very impressed with how beautiful the grounds are and the inside of the dining room/​restaurant is done in a very modern motif and looks amazing.
The menu was vast with many homemade options and even some healthy options as well. They have a full bar with a nice wine menu featuring local wines, even some made by local wineries just for them!
The service we received was very nice and attentive. Even the chef came out to check on our meals.
This was a very nice visit and we look forward to going back soon, especially when the nicer, summer weather comes. We’d love to sit outside, they have beautiful outdoor seating.

We had been trying to visit this place for a while now. Had made a couple of previous dinner reservations that ultimately had to be cancelled on our part, so I was excited that this time (Saturday ²⁄₂₈) looked like a winner. I now wish something had come up forcing me to have had to cancel again.
We arrived at 5:40 (with apologies) for our 5:30 p.m. reservation, & were seated immediately. The interior ambience is a bit of a shock, since you enter what looks like a historical property into a brazenly modern dining setup with white cut-​out chairs, laminated tables, & muted spotlight lighting. Not bad per se, but definitely unexpected. Green tinsel shamrocks were already decorating the windows for St. Pat’s Day. However, one doesn’t eat ambience, & I can ignore any ambience for good food. Unfortunately, didn’t happen here — for us at least.
We started off with two Tanqueray & Tonics ($ 7.75 ea.). Super-​short cocktails with more watery ice than cocktail. Three sips & they were finished.
On to starters. One of the reasons we really wanted to visit this particular weekend was due to the fact that their weekend «special» appetizer was «Pierogies in Mushroom Sauce» — something one rarely sees on menus. My husband, of Ukrainian descent, LOVES Pierogies, & we enjoy both the commercial varieties as well as the ones we’ve made ourselves, so both of us know more than a bit about them. For $ 9.95 he received six (I believe) blatantly commercial frozen potato Pierogies in a mushroom sauce that was also strongly reminiscent of a commercial product. (And while there’s nothing wrong with commercial gravies/​sauces, no one should be paying top dollar at a restaurant for them.) I ordered the Fried Calamari ($ 9.95) & received a portion large enough to feed 3 – 4 people. Which would have been nice had they also not been obviously a commercial frozen product. Large rings, heavily covered with breading that fell off at the mere touch of a fork, & with a consistency somewhere between rubber bands & bicycle tires. Served with — I kid you not — a tiny metal thimble-​sized serving of tomato sauce. So tiny that it was a joke trying to «dip» these huge squid pieces into it.
As for entrees, the 2^nd reason we decided to visit this weekend was because one of the weekend «special» entrees was «Crab Rotini», & rotini pasta is yet another of my husband’s favorites. This was an absolute travesty for $ 21.95! Tri-​colored rotini pasta, perhaps one or two stalks of sliced asparagus (which was RAW, by the way), & two or three halved cherry tomatoes. My husband sent his fork out on a search party for any crab, but came up empty-​handed. (He was rendered speechless by this dish for the price charged, but I assuaged him by assuring I’d make him my own proper version at home (with higher quality, for half the price or less, & serving 2 – 3).) He did say that the one rosemary breadstick supplied with his dish (no other bread is brought to the table) was excellent.
I ordered the Prime Rib «special» ($ 24.95), & while the meat was cooked perfectly to order (medium rare), the accompanying few pieces of «vegetable medley» (4 green beans, 1 yellow wax bean, & 3 carrot batons) joined my husband’s asparagus pieces in being seriously undercooked — our forks couldn’t even pierce them. I understand the concept of «crisp-​tender», but these were crisp minus the tender. Lightly garlic-​scented mashed potatoes were decidedly gluey. And once again the appearance of those idiotic tiny thimbles of dipping sauce — one filled with a sweetish «horseradish» sauce, the other with au jus, which was actually tasty based on the thimbleful. Again — too small for any sort of dipping.
To accompany our entrees, we each had a glass of the House «signature» wines — I a glass of the Fox Meadow Merlot ($ 8); my husband a glass of the Fox Meadow Pinot Grigio ($ 8). Pours were nicely generous, & while the Pinot Grigio was on the light side as far as body, the Merlot was excellent & definitely the best part of my meal.
We decided to cut our losses & skip dessert.
Service was good, if a bit cloying. Wait staff showed up in pairs (perhaps they’re training new staff?) every 10 minutes or so to ask how everything was going, which does get tiring after a while.
Damages for this meal came to $ 107.44 after tax but before tip (and hubby left 25%). According to the Flint Hill website, beginning ³⁄₂₃ they’ll be unveiling a brand-​new revamped menu focused on Southern cuisine. Don’t know if this will involve a new chef, higher-​quality ingredients, &/​or better-​quality cooking, but frankly am not planning on finding out at this time. There are far too many better restaurants in this price range to enjoy.

Stopped in for quick lunch. We were passing through Flint Hill while wine tasting that day and we were looking for some substantial fare. I had the American dip and my husband had the Virginia ham and brie sandwich. Both were quite good and hit the spot, not to mention quite affordable. The fries were battered with seasoning and the coleslaw was very fresh tasting. The place was very empty for a Friday lunch, but I wouldn’t let that deter you.

Flint Hill Public House was merely okay. We had dinner here one Friday evening; there were a small number of diners for a busy holiday weekend. The service was okay and the food was good but not great.
We brought a bottle of wine with us and they were happy to serve it but glasses were tiny and there was no option of decanting the wine… not a wine-​o dream restaurant. :)
The salads were small but tasty. The winner dish were the fried pickles — a must for any diner. They were strips of dill pickle breaded in a parmesan breading a deep fried… yum.
I had the scallops with lemon risotto as a main course. The scallops were a little rubbery and the lemon was a bit too predominant. Maybe it was an off night but I expected better given the reviews.

Officially updating this experience to 4 stars!!! The fact that one of the owners (John) took the time to read this review and take the feedback impresses me so much that I’m upping the review and will deff. Be back the next time we are in VA wine country!!!

Excellent place to have lunch!
I stopped while on a drive down 522, and was looking for lunch. I was the only person in the place, but there was no skimping on service or food quality. They were running a chili special that week, so I had one of the specials and there was a good amount of food and it was delicious.
The dining room was a little tiny bit on the cold side, but I was enjoying my food so much that I really didn’t notice all that much. I finished with some hot tea and one of their desserts: the triple chocolate brownie. It was very delicious!
Their special events menus are making me lean towards having Mother’s Day here this year.

This is the first time we’ve been to The Public House since it’s renovation and new owners took over. What a pleasant surprise. The décor was modern with ample space between tables.
The service was excellent. The food was served hot and cooked to perfection. The wine and beer selection included both Virginia wines and locally crafted brews.
Our only regret is waiting so long to revisit this jewel of a restaurant.
We will be back!

Came here as part of a group of 7, and had an amazing experience start to finish. The staff at Flint Hill worked with me to coordinate the event, printing out a personalized menu for our group, recommending a winery itinerary, and putting us in touch with an amazing limo driver. We booked 3 out of the 4 rooms upstairs, and had more than enough room for all of us. The rooms are gorgeous, and we had a great time hanging out in the common area upstairs.
Dinner was lovely; every dish was perfect. We had the crab dip and fried mozzarella to start; for entrees we ordered the brisket, catfish, and crab cakes – all wonderful. The chef/​owner (I assume) came out to check on us, and let us know that he lit a fire out back for us to enjoy. We got our leftovers wrapped (HUGE portions) before going out to sit by the fire.
It was very clear that the staff cared about our experience, and worked hard to make it memorable for us. I wish I lived closer, so I could go back!

4.5 very solid stars.
No bull– despite the fantastic outdoor sculpture.
Found this place via open table and after a beautiful drive in the country, arrived at the inn cum upscale restaurant. The décor is very upscale modern, but the food was down home hearty and just darn good.
Reasonable beers on tap list, and a fab wine selection of both locals and not so locals. Portion sizes were more than generous, from soup and salad, to man and desert.
In a nice touch to already stellar service, the chef came out to chat with us about the meal.
While this is a bit out of the way, it is well worth the drive! I’ll be back!

Do not — I repeat — do not pass this place up. In fact, I’d say it’s so good that it warrants a trip in from the D.C. area at least once for a try. We had dinner here at the recommendation of the innkeeper at the Marriott Ranch in nearby Hume during a weekend getaway. I’m so glad we did. It’s just a little dressy… you could get by with jeans and a button-​up, as I saw several of the locals doing. You’ll definitely want to look a little nice — despite looking like a typical bed and breakfast on the outside, the inside looks like an upscale, modernly designed big city restaurant… all out there in the little country setting of Flint Hill in wine country.
Even though we had about three different people serve us, the service never wavered and was very attentive. We had the crab dip appetizer… big chunks of real crab in a cheesy dip with perfectly seasoned, warm pita bread. This is the first time of two times I’m going to say that I had the best of something I’ve ever had in my life while here at the Public House — the crab dip. Best ever. Soooo om freaking nommy. Oh, and the range of available food and drinks overall here — super great.
Had a tough time, in fact, deciding just what to order for our entrees. Some of the specials sounded absolutely amazing, but we ended up going with a couple of signature dishes — a southwestern chicken dish and the sirloin/​ribs combo.
Here comes that second «best ever» mention: I had the best steak of my life at Public House. No lie. I RARELY, I mean very rarely, eat beef, but when I do I consume only the best steaks. I know you’re probably thinking «then why did you order sirloin?» but honestly I prefer sirloin because it’s all meat without all that fat/​gristle/​bone nonsense getting in the way of enjoying the meal. If done correctly, sirloin can be the best steak of your life. And this one was. The rub and marinade was perfect. The steak was cooked to perfection, slightly crisp on the outside and melty, beautifully pink and juicy on the inside. Yes, I just spent a whole paragraph raving about a sirloin steak. The best steak I’ve had in 27 years. Go try it. Please, for the love of cows.
The ribs, they were so tender you could fork all the meat off easily. They were delicious, but the sauce was pretty standard and not nearly as amazing as whatever they did to that steak to make it taste like sex blended with dark chocolate and winning the lottery. Oh, that steak…
…oh yes, the rest of the meal. Well, there were also perfectly crispy fries and a fresh coleslaw. I didn’t like the slaw because it was very mustardy, and I’m not a mustard guy at all — but I’m sure given how fresh and crisp it was that most folks would enjoy it. The southwestern chicken tasted absolutely great with a perfect little kick. The black beans and corn salsa added an excellent complement to that dish, and the accompanying polenta was such a standout.
Top it all off with a cup of coffee, and BAM! one great experience that left me hating myself (but only because I had eaten so much super-​frakking awesome food)! This place is expensive, yes. But the atmosphere makes you think at first that it’s one of those places where you’ll pay a high price for a frou-​frou little manbaby meal, and that’s not the case at all — it’ll take a giant appetite to not need a box at the end of your time at Public House. You get a lot of value and a lot memorable food.

Jean and I had not been here for many years (at least 7) and since we visited there has been a major and magnificent remodel of the space. The restaurant, bar area and back deck are a cohesive showpiece — clean, well organized, exquisitely appointed and nicely adorned with art from the owner’s personal collection (we must have similar tastes, some really nice pieces!). Comfortable chairs, contemporary décor, friendly service, visually appealing — a great first impression!
After reviewing the menu we both settled quickly on Filet Mignons (one for each of us). Each was served over a wonderfully finished Portobello Mushroom and sided with «loaded» mashed potatoes and wonderful fresh green beens. The steaks, cooked medium, were excellent. Soft, tender, perfectly seasoned, and the temperature was spot on. I enjoyed two different draft beers from Virginia — an IPA from Devil’s Backbone and a dark ale (I believe it was from Starr Hill in Charlottesville), cold and tasty!
Our server was Angela M, fun, efficient, knowledgable and friendly! Great job Angela!
Chef Marvin Swaner come by the table to chat. It was a very nice touch, good guy, huge talent in the kitchen! Thanks for your good work Marvin!
We were not sure what to expect, but the restaurant exceeded our expectations! We shall return and will bring friends along to share the experience!
Cheers Public House Team, nice job all around! See you again soon!

This place just opened under new ownership. They have done a superb job of remodeling the building, it is truly unrecognizable from it’s previous condition. The décor is clean, modern and well thought out from the comfortable chairs to the color palette and the savvy art work.
The food has been hit and miss over the last several months. It seems the fare is a little too a la Applebees and not enough from scratch. The menu lists many American staples. The portion sizes are generous. Service was very attentive and polite. Although having been here probably ten times this summer and spring, there has been a new crop of waitstaff each time, in fact I’m not certain I’ve ever seen the same face twice; which is a little disconcerting.
After dinner, the first time we ate here, we were given a tour of the bar and patio as well as their very cozy and beautifully appointed guest rooms upstairs. The rooms are priced very well! I live ten miles away and would enjoy staying here.
Pleased to see a place like this come to the county, but I think the cuisine would benefit from a little more love and a little less corporate style fare.