PaveMint Taphouse and Grill

Limited menu but really great food! However, the ambitious beer menu was half unavailable. So that was odd.

Everything was fantastic from the fish & chips to the red wine burger to the beers and the service. We will definitely be back!

Who would have known about PaveMint Taphouse & Grill if I didn’t see it on Unilocal.A restaurant in a repurposed ESS0 (?) gas station.
Simple statement, the FOOD IS FANTASTIC’!
My wife and I checked into a local «Motor Inn» that is also rated good on Unilocal.We were looking for a place to have late lunch/​early dinner. I searched Unilocal and found PaveMint. I ordered a Falafel Bites to share as an appetizer. Excellent. My wife ordered the beer battered fish portions. Excellent. I ordered the Shepard’s Pie. Beyond Excellent approaching Fantastic. I have eaten Shepard’s Pie in many places and this was hands down, the best. The potatoes on top were crusted around the edges. There was a sweet element in the ground lamb that was attributed to the fresh corn and carrots in the meat mixture. I have nothing but good to say about the food. In addition, the waitress was prompt and very courteous. I highly recommend that if you are in Front Royal, you MUST visit PaveMint.
I don’t drink but their beer list is also extremely impressive. They have a Tap wall with 35 different brews available from all over the USA.

I have never had a bad experience here.
What I love: locally owned, food locally sourced, 30+ beers on tap (many Virginia beers) and well, the food is great. I love the falafel bites… I could live off those!
What to consider when planning a visit: it’s a small space and it’s popular. If you plan on going later in the evening on a weekend, you may have to wait for a table or sit at the ‘big table’ with other guests.

Really good food, huge beer selection, but the employees come off a little «too big for their britches» if that makes sense. The whole atmosphere is kind of that way. It reminds me of something you’d find in Arlington, but not in a good way. There is ALWAYS a long wait unless you want to share a table or sit at the bar, and they won’t let you call ahead unless you have a huge party. The 5 or 6 times we’ve eaten here we have enjoyed the food but nothing else about the place. We have tried to bring friends who were visiting from out of time twice on separate occasions and were turned away because a large party was coming and half the place was reserved for them it’s unfortunate as this could be a great place to eat, if we could ever get in.

Are you one of those «civilized» big city slickers who believes that Heineken is the pinnacle of beervolution and looks down on us peons who love our Virginia craft beers?
If you are, don’t even bother venturing out here into the real Virginia for the second coming of Old Bust Head, quite possibly the largest I’ve seen outside of Warrenton itself. In fact, please do us all a favor and go back to whatever urban cesspool you crawled out of.
Otherwise, feel free to stop by on a sunny afternoon, if possible. Kick back and relax on the patio with its red and blue benches. Savor the Virginia brews, and, should you partake in one too many, there’s a Quality Inn across the street.
And remember, Virginia is for lovers. Lovers of beer!
Prost.

Sooo good. Their ramp and pork belly pizza special was one of the best things I’ve ever eaten, anywhere. While their regular menu is consistently tasty (I suggest the patty melt), we usually end up ordering whatever special they’re offering and have never been disappointed. Same with the beer menu, if you tell the waiter what kind of beer you’re into, they’ll point you in the right direction. I also appreciate that they offer samples if you’re not ready to commit to a full pint before trying it out, it’s allowed me to try beers I’d never think of ordering in other places.
My husband and I come here pretty often, and I know they’ve had issues finding and retaining decent staff (a very common issue in FR, all the good waiters prefer to work in Middleburg or Winchester where the tips are higher). As its one of the most popular restaurants in town, we know we will have to be patient if we show up at 7pm on a Friday night. Given how great the staff has always been to us, I think many of the folks who’ve had negative service experiences here probably weren’t the most understanding customers themselves. Relax, have a drink, and enjoy your meal; don’t take it out on the staff that they’re too popular for the size of the restaurant!

Pave mint is a extremely well thought out pup with 35 craft beers on tap! Incredible for front royal! A must for anyone passing through. I am sure that the beer is enough but if you must have food, there very custom menu with all local fresh meat is unreal! Very good place to bring the family for dinner and try a craft beer.

One of the best veggie burgers I’ve ever had! Got it with cheddar and it was out of this world! My fiancé had a burger and thought it was awesome!

Great selection on tap, with many local breweries represented. The crab cake was big and delicious. Friendly and cool vibe.

I’m tempted to give this place five stars. The beer selection is really good. We had Falafel bites as an appetizer. The burgers were excellent; freshly ground patties cooked just right to spec, and not so obscenely huge as to fall apart in your hands. The fries were good; the polenta fries were great. One in our party chose to go with the chicken and dumplings. She enjoyed it very much.
The restaurant is located in an old, repurposed gas station. It meets their needs now, but I can see them rapidly outgrowing this space.

Stopped by here after a weekend backpacking trip, and it was perfect. We had incredible service and food. Felt like we were part of the family.
We were initially unsure because the parking lot wasn’t full (something I usually look for) but the promise of 35 beers on tap still beckoned. Upon walking in we knew we had made the right decision. Although the lot wasn’t full, there were plenty of people in the small restaurant, and it had cute décor.
Food: falafel bites, veg-​acos, and chicken Marsala something. Awesome. Delish. Best falafel I’ve had. Other realm was the beer. Our server offered dozens of tastings and helped us choose our libations. She was knowledgable beyond any expectation and her choices were spot on. Owners stopped by and chatted genuinely; more like old friends than customers. You can tell they love their restaurant.
In short. Go here. Drink beer. Eat anything. You will smile.

After reading the rave reviews, I was really looking forward to giving PaveMint a try, but I literally didn’t get past the front door. We arrived at 5:25pm on an early Saturday evening to find the place bustling. There’s no host/​hostess stand and no real entry way so we stood awkwardly just inside the door looking for anyone who looked like they worked there. Finally a woman approached us and I told her we wanted a table for two and she said it would be at least thirty minutes, that everyone there had just been seated. She was then joined by a gentleman as I asked her if we could put our names down and come back in thirty minutes and he interjects in a surly manner «No way, it will be 7:30 before we have anything!» With that and no attempt at accommodation or even contrition we left, not even getting an apology or goodbye. I get that they’re small and may have just been swamped by a bunch of people arriving at the same time, but don’t take it out on me as a customer who just wants to spend money there. It wasn’t so much that they were busy and there were no tables, it was the way it was handled that won’t have me back.

Fantastic place! Friendly staff, clean clean clean interior, eclectic furnishings, and outstanding food. We ordered the crab bites, duck tacos, and vino burger. All were prepared to perfection, and served amazingly quickly. For dessert we had the lemon cinnamon panna cotta– beautiful to look at and absolutely delicious. Owners Rachel and Christian were there to greet customers and preside over the restaurant activities — they were warm and very welcoming. The wait staff is very well trained and knowledgeable. A delightful experience overall. I fully agree with other posters– a top restaurant in this area!!!

«WOW» is all I have to say!
I just moved from Charleston, South Carolina where I was spoiled with good food, hip places, etc. My expectations for this area were so low. I never expected to find something in the Shenandoah Valley that was on par with the foodie scene in Charleston.
Then I stumbled upon PaveMint! What an absolute treat. I popped in for lunch one day and could not help but think of a spot in Charleston called «Fuel.» Fuel was located in an old gas station, just like PaveMint.
PaveMint had a cool interior and the exterior seems equally cool for warmer weather.
The menu was creative and their lunch special cannot be beat. They offer a drink, soup or salad, side, and small entrée for $ 9.99 on certain days.
I wound up having a Sweet Tea, Chopped Salad, Fries, and the Whiskey Jack Melt. The sweet tea was pre made garbage; however, everything else was fantastic! The salad was especially good.
The beer selection appeared to be excellent. I’ll definitely be back one evening to try the various beers they had on tap.
I’m so impressed with this place and for it to be in a town like Front Royal?! Craziness! Well done PaveMint. Well done!

Stopped in on our way to a Bed and Breakfast for dinner. I read rave reviews, and I was trying to do a funky cool weekend away for my girlfriend.
Awesome décor/​vibe. Great music, people singing, attentive staff!
Food was amazing — Had the polenta fries to start — These were perfect. like seriously perfect. The texture, taste, everything was amazing and different and unexpected.
We went with salads for entrée’s, but for our protein I did the falafel app and my date had the crab tots. Salad — amazing! Chopped kale salad with various mixins, great dressings and the cheese was fantastic. The falafel and crab tots were perfect.
I honestly can’t say enough for this gem, totally unexpected and just great!

While I highly applaud what PaveMint Taphouse and Grill is attempting to do, they fall short where it really counts– execution. First, I really dig the «farm to street» focus of sourcing locally with an emphasis on modern cuisine. Also, I found it unique that they renovated an old 1960s style gas station into a restaurant. That being said, the actual space is pretty cramped. There is a large bar and some individual dining tables, however, the majority of the dining room is centered on two large communal tables. At the table we sat at, there were two groups of 4 and another couple. I’m not a huge fan of communal dining but, given many of the diners seemed to know each other already, this dining style appears to work in this case.
As an advertised taphouse, I’d expect a well-​rounded draft list, and PaveMint did not disappoint in this area. Focusing solely on craft and micro brews, you can be guaranteed you won’t find Miller Lite (thank god) here! With over 20 drafts to choose from — and even more by the can or bottle– there is surely something for everyone. The drafts come in two sizes-​pint or snifter– and are reasonably priced at $ 6−7/pint and $ 4/​snifter. PaveMint had two different Cobbler Mountain Cellar ciders on tap, and I had one of each. For those less enthused over craft beer, they did have a nice cocktail list and wine selection (for a taphouse).
Reading over the menu, there were several things that caught my eye. We hadn’t eaten since breakfast, so we started with an appetizer, the duck-​a-​dilla ($ 6), a corn quesadilla with duck confit, fontina and manchego cheese with a berry orange compote. Does that not sound amazing?! The best part was the berry-​orange compote. I’ll give them that, I would have licked that plate if no one else had been around to see! The corn quesadilla was very chewy, hardly any cheese, and the duck was miniscule. The portion was much smaller than I’d expect too. Sounded amazing in theory, but we both thought this was executed poorly. For our entrees, I ordered the bacon onion jamming burger ($ 12), described as a grass-​fed black angus beef burger with house-​made bacon-​onion jam, mild blue cheese, and arugula. It came with one side-​either French fries, polenta fries, or the seasonal veggie, which was green beans, mushrooms, and shallots. I went with the veggie. I ordered my burger medium, and it was somewhere in between medium well and well. I did enjoy the bacon-​onion jam, however, there was probably a teaspoon on the burger, and I definitely did not get a taste of it in every bite. The blue cheese added a nice flavor contrast to the bacon-​onion jam, however, the amount on the burger was microscopic and present in only a couple of bites. The bun held everything together nicely, but definitely outweighed the burger patty in size. The burger was more bun than burger. The veggie side was ok, nothing to elaborate on. My boyfriend ordered the chili cheese polenta fry bowl ($ 9), described as grass fed black angus beef and bean chili over a bowl of crispy polenta fries topped with Monterrey and cheddar cheeses and green onions. I’ll start by saying it came out ice cold. He never sends anything back to the kitchen, but he sent this back. The cheese hadn’t even melted on it, which is something you would expect with a hot bowl of chili. The server (who was also functioning as the host not to mention serving over half of the tables in the place) was apologetic and had the kitchen stick it back in the oven for heating. He said it was tasty after that. On a side note, the couple across from us also had to have the kitchen reheat a Shepard’s Pie the woman had ordered because it was ice cold in the center. Seems like there is a pattern here that the manager might want to address. We also ordered dessert and I wish we hadn’t, because, sticking with the theme of poor execution, it wasn’t good. We had a chocolate pepper cheesecake with some kind of jalepeno jam on the side. It sounded good in theory but the jam was just so overpowering to the chocolate and really took away from that flavor.
Service was friendly but slow. As I mentioned before, our server was not only serving over half of the dining room but also acting as a host directing people towards open tables. Another thing they might want to look into is the TVschedule-​why is an infomercial on 3 of the TVs when it’s a Saturday night and college games are definitely on at other establishments? This might be one of the better places to eat/​drink in the Front Royal area, but with this poor execution of what could be a very promising menu, I’m not sure PaveMint will last, even in a small town. While the «taphouse» portion is well curated, the food-​which is the most important part of a dining establishment-​just fell short. Although I feel this is a 2.5 star review, I am willing to give the extra half star and hope they are just experiencing growing pains as a newer establishment, however, if the kitchen keep churning out cold meals that sho

We visited as a large group one Friday evening. I was the first one to arrive and walked in and scoped the place out. One of the owners approached me and asked how many people in my party. When I told him I thought it was 8 – 10, he was rather terse and rude with me — he told me they could not currently accommodate a group of that size and to come back in an hour. He could have been a whole lot more polite about it…
Unbeknownst to me — someone in my group had called ahead and secured a reservation — so we did not have to wait an hour and we sat outside out back.
We ordered some appetizers to share, including the Dill pickles (Dill Devils) and crab tots — both were tasty.
The craft beer selection was pretty good. I would have liked to see a larger selection of locally brewed beers and ales… I tried several different IPAs. All were enjoyable.
Our server was a young lady who was very friendly, energetic, and personable, unlike the stressed out, gruff manager/​owner…

Unassuming, renovation of a gas station into a gastro pub. Clean and simple inside with a variety of seating in the back facing a pleasant tree-​lined walking trail.
The crab tots were just the right mix of crab meat and potato fried to a delightful crisp served with a nice spoon off tangy dipping sauce. Loved these as an appetizer.
The dill devils were a first to me. I really didn’t expect to enjoy a huge dill pickle cut in half with egg salad on top as much as I did. Definitely give these a chance.
For dinner, I had the chili and cheese over polenta fries. Very good. The chili was tasty with just the right amount of cheese and the polenta fries were perfectly crisp.
Others at my table enjoyed the lamb burger with a lovely mint parsley pesto and an Italian burger special featuring roasted eggplant and Burrata cheese. Also, the Brat served with Braised red cabbage on a pretzel roll was very good.
Honorable mention: consider the adult root beer float for dessert. It’s a scoop of French vanilla ice cream over Sweet Baby Jesus porter. Yum.
A few things we’ll look back to see if it improves: burgers ordered rare were served not quite pink though still delicious and juicy. I personally prefer a bit more pink in my rare burgers.

Just moved to town from outside Portland, OR. Not sure what we would find in the way of food in a small town. So glad we came in.
Ordered the Crab Tots and Dill Devils to start. We stopped short of licking the plates to be civilized. For entrees we ordered the Crab and Hash and the Chili Cheese Polenta Bowl. The Crab and Hash was amazing, perfect technique in prep and presentation. The Chili Cheese Polenta Bowl didn’t quite get finished only because it is huge.
More beers on tap than you could drink in a month, at one a day of course.
Next time we might skip the app to save room for an adult sundae.