The Swinging Bridge

A neat place, good atmosphere, great service, the only issue was the food, had the White Buffalo sandwich, way too much gristle and fat, couldn’t chew the tough meat. Jonny desert was awesome.
Larry

The restaurant is attached to the general store. The atmosphere is cool and customer service is great. Staff is very friendly. The buffalo bbq was ok. It wasn’t what I expected. It reminded me a lot of lloyds bbq which you get from the supermarket.

Disappointed. Took my parent there, long 2hr drive. Food was ok, but not great. Service was the absolute worse. I would think that far out they would have a better menu and be nicer to their customers. I will never waste my time or recommend to anyone to eat there.

Apparently this restaurant is known for its down-​home weekend meals of traditional regional country cooking whereas I only had lunch here on a weekday so there is that to consider in gauging my review. I had a club sandwich and iced tea and both were fine by all means but not exceptional. The service is very attentive and the interior is very, very country-​cute with ample taxidermy so it will appeal to some folks and not to others at all.
To me, it felt like it was trying too hard, honestly. It’s much like Cracker Barrel in its decorative approach but just… More. Either for better or worse, it’s very cloyingly country. So there is a feeling of theme park tourism to things over an ambience of authenticity. The weekday lunch menu is mainly sandwiches and burgers and not country or southern favorites like fried chicken so be prepared also for that. If you’re in Paint Bank probably worth stopping in but not worth a special trip at all in my view.

Beautiful grounds and atmosphere. Service was friendly. But this review is about the food. I regret not getting the bison burger, maybe it could have saved the experience; it will be the what-​could-​have-​been.
A party of eight. Let’s start with the ribs. 16 $ for cold dry and tough. I could have sworn they scrapped it off 311 and used a MAC truck to tenderize it. They have this giant smoker building so I had I hopes. To bad.
The sweet potato fries were okay.
The mozzarella sticks were the best part. Sad.
The chicken smothered was «nasty» per grandma and my fiancé.
Prime rib was over cooked but I am told it was tasty.
The best part of the meal was the applesauce.
My advice: come for the scenery then get a bag of chips from the store and go home and eat.

Good place for breakfast. Try the logger breakfast platter.

Nice little restaurant tucked away in the mountains. Beautiful ride from the Roanoke area to get here. They serve buffalo burgers from buffalo raise right around the road. Service was a little slow but it was a week day 2 hours before close (5pm). Food was great but a little pricey (14 bucks for a burger and fries). There are a lot of interesting items in the store that is connected for sale. I wouldnt eat her every day but the experience is worth the drive. Also, check out the virginia state trout hatchery while you are in paint bank.

This is a very cool ol place. Great country setting paired with southern country food. They make great buffalo burgers. The place itself is clean and would make a great day trip to see. It’s like eating in an old lodge or cabin in the woods. There’s a little gift shop too.

Known for the buffalo but every time we have ordered it always came out to dry. So stay away from that and its all been great. For an app order the deep fried green beans very very tasty!

4.5 Stars
The Swinging Bridge is an awesome place to enjoy a meal with family. It is especially nice on a warm day, because the best thing about this place is the atmosphere. A lot of that amazing atmosphere is outside of the doors of the restaurant.
We came here on Mother’s Day after church, so there was obviously a wait. Unlike with most place, we were more than willing to wait for our lunch because there was so much to do and see in the mean time.
The restaurant sits on a big piece of property with flowing water, a pond full of fish, rocking chairs, an old mill, horse shoes, corn hole, and a sprawling back lawn to just soak up some sun and enjoy friends and family. They also have a general store up front that is filled with old favorites such as glass bottle sodas and old fashioned candy. Upstairs they have a year round Christmas Store that has multiple trinkets, small gifts, and souvenirs. To get from one side of the store to the other there is an indoor swinging bridge (the namesake). The point is that you’re not going to get bored while waiting for a table and you may choose to stay after you finish your meal.
Once our table was ready, we were all seated at a long table (there were 7 of us) by the nice stone fireplace. The stone fireplace is surrounded by dark leather couches and is a nice place to sit and enjoy a cup of coffee.
Since this place is known for their buffalo items, I decided to order the Buffalo Burger. The buffalo are raised a couple of miles down the road, so its about as fresh as it gets. We even decided to take a ride after lunch and check out where our food came from. The buffalo burger came out and it was delicious. Also, it is much better for you than angus, so that’s just another reason to order one. For my side I got the sweet potato fries. They were crispy, which is hard to do with a sweet potato fry, and came with a dipping sauce that kind of tasted like something you would put on a cinnamon bun. If you like sweets, this is a great combination. Speaking of sweets, the sweet tea was exactly as it should be, diabetes inducing sweet.
The service was great and all of the wait staff seemed to be enjoying their jobs, even though they were overwhelmed by the Mother’s Day crowd. This place is covered with signs and little hidden items around the store, so if the conversation lulls you always have something new to look at. This place is proud of their southern heritage, and this is apparent by the delicious food that they make and the hospitable manner in which they treat their customers.
The Swinging Bridge is a destination restaurant that you could make a day out of visiting. The food is an added bonus and is very good, especially the buffalo items. Great place to bring family on a sunday afternoon.

Come for the experience, more than the food. Set in a scenic, agricultural valley amid National Forest, the Swinging Bridge is the only restaurant for probably at least 25 miles anywhere around. It’s part of the historic railroad hamlet of Paint Bank, which was bought and restored wholesale by a financier from New Jersey, who was convicted of fraud and conspiracy in the 1980s, and his widow. No expense was spared, and playful, creative touches were added. There is a general store, a mill with creek, a lodging house, and a gas station. Plus a wide back porch, the eponymous indoor swinging bridge, and lawn games.
Would that the food were good! Almost everything I’ve eaten here has been lacking. The Angus beef chopped steak is spongy and nothing special, though sweet and salty and edible, and the cheese steak, oddly, is dressed with mayonnaise. No thought to flavor combination is put into the iceberg house salad, and it’s topped with cheap sliced cheeses and soggy, shredded pieces of, the menu says, bacon. The Italian dressing is refrigerated and corn syrupy and obviously not made fresh from scratch. The brown beans are served completely unseasoned and floating in water. The succotash (lima beans and corn; on special) was served the same way. The surface of the tomato bisque (another special) was pocked with oil. The lemonade is too sweet.
When they’re good, the fried onion strings are delicious! Though sometimes they’re too fried or stuck together. Also, the chicken tenders are moist and fine, though plain and boring.
Food 3 + ambiance 8 + value 5 + service 5 = overall 4.5 /​10 (forgettable)

Southern Cooking + Buffalo + Hole in the Wall town = LOVE
This was a random drive by discovery while out for a drive with my mom. We *loved* the general store, the cool big-​leather-​couch lounge area in front of the fire with a coffee table full of books and the restaurant.
The nearby Blue Ridge mountains and the long, flowing lawn behind the store make this place almost paradisic. And the food is really great. I had a pulled Buffalo Bar-​B-​Q with «Sweet Tater Fries» and coleslaw. The only drawback I can think of is that they don’t serve alcohol and a beer would have been great with the sandwich.
Buffalo is their specialty; there are a number of buffalo farms nearby. You can buy frozen buffalo from the general store on your way out. And Moon Pies. And RC Cola. And candy you haven’t seen in years. And upstairs you’ll find everything from ornaments and country kitsch to fishing lures and shotguns.
If you happen to be in this area; The Swinging Bridge and General Store is a can’t miss.
If you *aren’t* in this area but live nearby in or around Roanoke, this place is the perfect destination for lunch on a weekend cruise.

Wonderful helpful friendly staff… tons of things to look at in and around the restaurant… the absolute BEST barbeque I have ever had… and its buffalo… you can ride up the road and see the buffalo grazing… incredible food and service… very reasonable prices… well worth the drive! and its a beautiful scenic drive… take ur camera… enjoy the adorable accents and food