Headmasters Pub

So I stopped in here with my GF a few weeks ago. We were pleasantly surprised by this place. They had pool tables, shuffle board, darts, and antiques for sale. The live music was really good, but it wasn’t so loud, so we were able to still have a good conversation. The bar had a good quality television with an NCAA football game on. Also, the bar had a good beer selection; although, they did not carry Miller Lite (FYI). There was a customer urinating on the wooden deck post outside of the entrance when we were on our way in.

Was told after we ordered it would take 45 minutes for the food to come out. Okay it must be amazing right? NO!!! Came out wrong, soup was cold and other items not good at all! Was charged for a plastic cup of water and the menu states a charge for bottled water only. The manager was too busy sitting at a nearby table eating her cheese fries. Will never return. The only time I want to sit for 2 plus hours is a fine dining experience or good food and drinks with friends.

Came here for dinner on the way home from Shenandoah National Park. The atmosphere was really relaxed and the service was decent. Most people were sitting around the bar watching the Sunday night game. We grabbed a booth and decided to try the pulled pork sandwich and the grilled cheese caprese. The pulled pork was really tender and it hit the spot. The grilled cheese caprese didn’t disappoint either; the multigrain bread was nice and toasty with oozing mozzarella, thin slices of tomato, and really good pesto.

We stopped for lunch after riding Skyline Dr on Friday. It was delicious. I had the Capreese Grilled Cheese!!! Yummy.

How lucky that this place is just a few miles from Old Rag Mountain. Work up a sweat hiking 10 miles or so? Stop by Headmasters Pub on your way back. You won’t be disappointed. Why?
1. Tons of parking. It’s literally impossible to not find a parking spot.
2. Super friendly service. Like, the friendliest people I’ve ever met. Lots of locals at the bar, all of whom are equally friendly. It felt like Cheers.
3. Good beer and good food. Burgers are super juicy, and the fries come with a little seasoning on them.
Also, this place is attached to an antique store, which is fun to peruse. You can also rent golf clubs and do some basic putt putting. I mean basic. But it’s fun. They have a huge patio too if you want to eat outside. Also, the pulled pork always seems to be on special. Although burgers run $ 12. I mean, I get it, you’re the only food within a 50 mile radius. Even still, I can’t wait to go back.

We couldn’t get over how friendly they were here! After a long day of hiking Old Rag, we pulled in for a bathroom and then decided on beer and a burger. The food was AWESOME! Brad, the chef, even came out to make sure the burger was done the way we like it. The server, Britney, was super upbeat, helpful and kind. We were just so impressed with how above and beyond they went. Highly recommend!

The friendliest, most laid back pub I’ve been to in years. I’ve been to MANY! The bartender and server very friendly. There are multiple craft brews to choose from as well as the traditional go-​to bottled beers we’ve been reared on. I had a juicy chipotle burger that was terrific. A great view of the foothills of Skyline Drive thru the windows and from the deck. Just a very calm soothing laid back vibe. They may be out of a few items from time to time, but that’s the trade-​off for being deep in the beautiful mountain country.

When we sat down for dinner there was two other couples and two customers at the bar. We ordered the pot stickers… very tasty! We waited half an hour before we received our dinner. We ordered fish and shrimp tacos. The dinner was AWFUL. The shrimp was over cooked and rubbery. The fish had no seasonings, was over cooked, dry and tough. The waitress, Cynthia was friendly at first til she asked how the dinner was and I told her it wasn’t good. One star only because of the pot stickers.

This is a lovely space with good bar food — burgers and fries are great as is the chicken salad salad, drinkable house wine and live music weekends. Gives new meaning to «spending time in the principal’s office»! Hand me a dunce cap and a glass of house white and I will wait it out! Friendly waitstaff are a real plus, too.

Three and a quarter stars. Plenty of parking in the attached lot. Done browsing the antique home furnishings in the rural Schoolhouse building? Headmaster’s Pub is attached and offers a better bottled beer selection than most suburban bars– at affordable prices. Clean bathrooms past the arcade games and pool tables. There’s barely any Verizon wireless reception here, and none for AT&T. Service was polite, if inexperienced.
Pot stickers were surprisingly edible: crunchier than the thick french fries, with a decent ginger soy dipping sauce. BLT wasn’t particularly special, light on sandwich filler, but the bread was toasted nicely and the wide pickle wedges were solid. The pulled pork sandwich on special was tastier! Too heavy on BBQ sauce, but the meat was tender. Coleslaw was lightly dressed and included some julienned brussels sprout leaves, making it equally appropriate on and off the sandwich. DIY salt and pepper seasoning.

We stopped in today for a quick lunch. Lunch was pretty good, quick? — not so much.
Understanding that it is the peak of the leaf peeping season, one should expect a business so close to Shenandoah NP to be busy, and sure enough they were BUT since that business knows that they’re going to be busy, they should have enough staff working to handle it. Our quick lunch took nearly two hours.
The bar /​wait staff, while polite, was clearly overwhelmed and quite obviously, the kitchen couldn’t keep up.
Again, lunch was good and I would certainly go back, but I think that the next time I go it’ll be off-​season.
Oh. And one of their customers had their dog sitting in the bar! I’m a dog lover but I don’t think they belong in a restaurant.

I heard about Headmaster’s Pub a while back, right before it opened up, but I went there for the first time last night. I think it’s neat that there’s something like this out in Sperryville and I really wish it well. I think the Pub has A LOT of potential, but it needs to make a few changes if it’s going to last. The thing about Rappahannock is that there aren’t many «locals», so when it’s not tourist season, you really need to be providing something that the locals will want to enjoy and that people will drive out of their way for. A Pub, placed right in the middle of Sperryville, is a wonderful idea. The décor is rustic and very, very clean. There is one TV, located behind the bar, and rugs hanging from the walls around the dining area.
The bartender is also the waiter, and he came over to greet us and take our drink order. My husband and I both started with a Bold Rock and decided to order the Pub Fries ($ 5) off the «Bar Menu». For dinner, I ordered the BLT ($ 8) and my husband ordered the Smoked Salmon Sandwich ($ 14). We were there with another couple, who also ordered the Pub Fries and both had the BLT. First thing I’d mention is that the Pub Fries actually came out a few minutes AFTER our sandwiches came out. We didn’t wait long, so that isn’t a complaint, I just think if they were to strategically place when we received our meals — we probably would’ve stayed longer, hence had at least one more drink each. Either way, the food came out and it was nicely presented.
The sandwiches are served on multigrain bread with potato chips and a pickle spear. They use local products when available, which I like. The BLT was good overall, though it’s hard to grade a restaurant on that type of sandwich. My husband’s Smoked Salmon Sandwich was good, but he said it could’ve used at least one-​two more slices of Smoked Salmon (it had one slice) and maybe some chive cream cheese or something to spice it up a bit. It was a little disappointing considering the $ 14 price. His also came with potato chips and a pickle spear. The Pub Fries were good, the right amount of salt and the cheese/​bacon ratio was pretty good. I dipped mine in ranch, his in bleu cheese — both were good. They also offer a Yogurt Curry and another sauce to dip it in, which I’d like to try next time. While we ate, my husband tried 1 or 2 other local beers, while I stuck with my Bold Rock.
While I’m just a foodie and certainly no expert on restaurants, I would like to offer a few things we thought would help them out a lot — because we’d LOVE to see them stick around! Make a statement burger — something delicious and greasy — like only a pub can offer. Fish & Chips… that is almost a requirement to be a pub! ;) The menu offerings are slim as far as an actual meal goes, so if they could offer something like that, I think they may see business improve. Only other thing is more «bar/​pub» style food on the Bar Menu. Fried fish bites, mozzarella sticks, mac & cheese bites — something easy to eat and easy to share. We are excited to go back & hope that they continue to grow.