The Dahlia

Great Lynchburg spot — cool seating in the basement bar. I had the tilapia fish tacos which were great. The key lime pie (also from across the way at Blue Marlin I believe) is also very good. Have been eating that for years.

Went on March 2, 2016 with a party of 8 for my son’s birthday and here it is on the 3^rd and I am writing a review on Unilocal.Why? Because this was absolutely the best overall dining experience we have ever had in Lynchburg.
Appetizers — Reuben Egg Roll and Fried Green Beans both fantastic.
Between the 8 of us we had 5 different entrees, the fish tacos, salmon, ahi tuna, Jameson flat-​iron steaks and the lamb shank. Which one should you order? It doesn’t matter, they were all excellent. The flat-​iron steaks were probably the lowest ranked at 9 out of 10. The fish tacos 9.5 out of 10 and both fish dishes and the lamb shank an absolute 10 out of 10.
Yeah, but what about the service? 10 out of 10.
Desserts? 9 out of 10.
The only thing you need to know is that if I was driving by and saw this place I wouldn’t go in expecting a great meal, I would think it was the local tavern and expect a cold beer and average pub food. If you are in Lynchburg looking for a gourmet meal at pub prices this is the place to go.
Including 2 appetizers, 8 dinners, 5 desserts, two cocktails and a bunch of beers, and the taxes, is was only $ 25 per person.
You might find an equally as good place in Lynchburg but I guarantee there is nothing better.

Food and Atmosphere were awesome. The shrimp and grits hit the spot. Even though the place was packed, the service was amazing. Great happy hour specials also! Would highly recommend.

From what I understand, this is the oldest restaurant in Lynchburg. And I can understand how it’s been able to stay around for so long! I had the Lynchburger while I was here (I think that was what it was called… anyway it’s a huge burger with a fried egg) and it may quite possible have been the best burger I’ve ever had. It’s a small place, so seating is very limited, but if you have to wait, it’s worth it. Can’t wait to go back.

American
A totally unexpected, but completely welcome experience here in Lynchburg. A small and unassuming place from the outside does not really set the expectation of the yummy food and drink served here.
Medium sized bar in the center of the main level with super friendly bartender action — got us off to a great start. There is seating all around the main floor level and there is also a darker lower level with a smaller bar and more seating.
The menu is pretty good sized and there are quite a few specials on any given night. Everything can be cooked the way you like it and they are extremely helpful with making suggestions.
Enjoy great tunes playing in the back ground while you sip your cocktail and await your dinner. We were having such a good time there that we did not want to leave.
We ended up with dessert as well, which we typically do not do. Everything was outstanding.
You need to check it out.
Parking on the street.

Anton is the best. Ask for him. He’ll give you the specials in his Bulgarian accent and rev you up on the specials. Best fresh seafood in Lynchburg and the local ‘hole in the wall’ dive look from the outside, fools you. On the inside it’s classy, no really you get the best of both worlds. Hole in the wall class, gotta love it.

Best lunch in Lynchburg! My lovely bride and I shared the iceberg lettuce wedge with Russian dressing. I devoured the crab cakes and she enjoyed the sea scallops. We could not pass up the desserts, Godiva chocolate cake and a slice of authentic key lime pie. Excellent service, too.

We came here on a Friday night and it was packed. Every table was taken and what shocked us was that there was only one waitress for all of the tables on the top floor. She somehow managed to juggle all of the tables pretty well and was very attentive. It was a bit loud in the restaurant and some people were getting out of hand which made it a little annoying to try to talk over. I ordered the steak and my wife ordered the pulled pork. The pork was ok but nothing fantastic. My steak was not cooked correct and was borderline raw in the middle. We have heard great things so we may try to come back and order something different. The waitress on the top floor deserves an award or some type of medal for the juggling act she pulls off!

The Dahlia the sort of place you might drive by without noticing, as the exterior is a bit unassuming. Once inside, however, the food will make you want to come back.
The menu covers a lot of pub style favorites, with a heavy emphasis on seafood (which comes from the seafood market next door). Everything I’ve ever ordered has been extremely well cooked, and only once was I disappointed with the way something was seasoned (creamed spinach that was a little too garlicky for my liking).
The staff have always been very friendly and helpful, and service is generally quick enough (though on busy nights it can slow down, but I think that’s fair). It’s nice to come to a place where the servers pay enough attention to recognize you after a few visits, and it makes me happy to give them repeat business.
Overall I think the food is very well priced, especially considering the large amount of seafood on offer, and everything is as well cooked as I’ve had it anywhere.

Wonderful atmosphere with dim lighting and inviting music.
Get the seared scallops appetizer, amazing!
We love the house salad w/​the house Dijon vinaigrette. And then the fish tacos! They are wonderful with a good amount of spice.
We will be back!

Hands down the best food in the lynchburg area… by a long shot. Delicious steak, awesome fresh fish… ohhhh the oysters. Their grits are addictive.
Love the atmosphere. Real chill, always playing cool music and completely unpretentious.

A HIDDEN GEM. The atmosphere here is especially what I cherish about the Dahlia. They’re always playing blues, the lighting is just right, and the service is friendly. I recall a few of my favorite times with friends as well as date nights have been here, and when my parents came to visit I took them here because I knew they’d love this place.
The food is also so great, I grew up in Florida and am really happy to find a place in this town with good seafood. My favorites are the Fish Tacos (which may be the best fish tacos in town) and the Pub Style Fish Sandwich. They also have one of the best slices of key lime pie I’ve found in this area. (I try it everywhere because I’m still searching for the perfect one.)
From the outside you may not be sure what kind of experience you’re in for but I promise you’re doing yourself a great disservice to pass this place up!

My friends and I returned to the Dahlia last week and had a wonderful meal. All of our food was delicious. The lamb especially was excellent. The service was very good.
Thank you for making my birthday dinner so nice. I look forward to coming back. If my next experience is as good as this one, it’ll be a five star visit.

This place is awesome! The food was amazing, the server was super nice, and the chef came and said hello at the end. HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!!

Awesome awesome place! One of my favorite places in Lynchburg! They have good food, service and beers! I have not had one bad thing since I’ve been frequenting this establishment. I would recommend that everyone check this place out!
My wife always orders the shrimp and grits because she loves them soooooo much! I always get something different and have not been let down once!

The Dahlia does not look promising from the outside or by its surroundings. However, it is well worth going in.
It has a big bar and some small tables, the décor is simple, nice and inviting. The service is friendly and fast.
They have a short list of good beers, I had a very good stout that was not on the menu, so it might be worth asking if they have any unlisted beers. The food menu is not long, but it is full of interesting, original choices from well outside of the beaten path.
The food was excellent. We had a very good rib eye that was way better than anything from any chain like Outback or Longhorn. It was perfectly medium rare, as we ordered it, very juicy and full of flavor.
The lamb shank was fantastic. Lamb is my favorite meat, and this was one of the best I have ever had. The meat was flavorful and not overly gamy, as is many times the case with lamb. It was braised to the best point, the outside seal was caramelized, and the inside just fell apart. The sauce was also fantastic, deep in flavor, perfect in condiments. I wish they had served bread to be able to sop up all the sauce.
You have a choice of two sides with each entrée, We tried the fries (2), the cheese grits and broccoli. The broccoli was served at the perfect point of steaming. The fries were very well fried, crispy outside, good quality potatoes, and soft inside. Although I don’t usually like grits, these were good, well balanced in spices and cheesy.
As i have a family member at a nearby college, I’m sure I’ll be able to enjoy the food at The Dahlia more than once. And I’m thankful for that.

I wanted to like this place, but so far my experience has been lackluster. On my first visit, I ordered the fish and chips (one of my favorite dishes). The fish was pretty good, though it seemed heavy on the batter. The ‘chips’ seemed like overly-​salted, frozen french fries. For $ 12, I was expecting something much better.
In my most recent visit a few days ago, I tried the SOB Burger (swiss, onion, bacon). I ordered it medium with fries. What I received was a well-​done burger with oddly melted swiss cheese and the same frozen french fries.
All-​in-​all, not a great food experience, but the staff is friendly. The atmosphere is cool and has a lot of things going for it. The food just needs some work.

We stopped by here for a couple drinks and apps. The place was not busy at all that afternoon — only one other couple.
The bartender was friendly enough. We ordered the oysters, the beer cheese soup, and the Reuben spring roll — I had a beer and she had a bloody mary. The food was good — I was pleasantly surprised. The drinks were good too — a nice selection of beer, and her bloody mary was spicy as she asked.
I’d like to come back and check this place out at night — the bartender told us it gets pretty lively, and that there is even another floor to the establishment that opens.

Had the pleasure to eat here twice recently both times for a late lunch. so the place was not crowded at all. Nice small bar and a handfull of tables in the place. Really fresh and tasty seafood. Had fish and chips and they were very good. Scallop and Fried Oyster appetitizer were both very good also. 5 or 6 good beers on tap, like Fat Tire and Legend Brown Ale and a good 30+ bottles to choose from also. Very friendly staff and met the manager also, made me feel welcome and thankful for my business. If I had one complaint is the need for a door into the kitchen as you can look directly in and what you see is the dishwashing station. not the best view when you want to enjoy a meal.
My lunchmate had a burger with a fried egg topper and it was reportedly very good also. so it seems all the food is good! Give it a try if your in the burg… Lynchburg VA that is.

Good restaurant. The atmosphere reminded me a lot of a pub in London and the service was very good, maybe because we were one of only a couple parties at the time.
For the appetizers the oysters were great. It’s hard to find a place in Lynchburg that serves fresh raw oysters. The friend pickles were also amazing. Many places try to have them but The Dahlia does it right.
The steak was a little bit over cooked but well seasoned and enjoyable. Swordfish was on special and was fresh and flavorful. I would recommend getting the hash browns as a side. They were fried very well and it was nice to have a different side besides the usual french fries.
All in all I would recommend The Dahlia for a casual dining experience.