Thornton River Grille

Thornton River Grille reviews from people who’ve dined at this restaurant. Based on recent rating.

1. j

   joseph

   Washington DC1 review

   1.0

   Dined on December 22, 2018

   1. Overall 1
   2. Food 1
   3. Service 1
   4. Ambience 1

   This restaurant was closed when we arrived. Open table did not notify us that the restaurant was closed and we drove quite a long distance to get there. Our friends also drove many miles. We were very disappointed in the incompetence of Open Table reservations and will never use them again. The restaurant was close down completely and the small store that adjoined the restaurant had a manager that informed us that this closure had happened at the beginning of November. Open table did not inform us and offered no explanation as to why they made a reservation at a restaurant that was no longer in business. Our reservations for December 22 were confirmed in November by Open table. This reservation company is useless and should not be relied upon for any reservations you plan.
   

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2. JC

   JimC

   San Francisco1 review

   1.0

   Dined on December 15, 2018

   1. Overall 1
   2. Food 1
   3. Service 1
   4. Ambience 1

   It was not open! Luckily there were alternative places to eat.
   

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3. CB

   ChrisB

   Jacksonville4 reviews

   1.0

   Dined on December 7, 2018

   1. Overall 1
   2. Food 1
   3. Service 1
   4. Ambience 1

   The restaurant no longer exists. It is now a pizza place.
   

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4. NP

   NP57

   Washington DC46 reviews

   5.0

   Dined on November 2, 2018

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   As usual, I give the Thornton River Grille 5 stars across the board, but I can't recommend it because it just closed. A loss for the neighborhood and for the region. It will be replaced with an expanded Rappahannock Pizza Kitchen, which will continue to offer terrific pizza and, when it reopens in Spring 2019, also creative salads, sandwiches and pastas. The owners are talented and knowledgeable, so here's hoping the reimagined space will be as successful with customers as TRG was for so many years.
   

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5. a

   afisa VIP

   Washington DC79 reviews

   5.0

   Dined on November 1, 2018

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 4

   The Thornton River Grille has been a long time favorite. I am heartbroken that it is renovating and reinventing itself.
   

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6. s

   stevef

   Washington DC37 reviews

   1.0

   Dined on October 31, 2018

   1. Overall 1
   2. Food 3
   3. Service 1
   4. Ambience 1

   You can go back through my reviews on trip advisor and here and see I don't normally write bad reviews. It was the worst dining experience I've ever had in terms of service. We've eaten at Thornton River Grille quite a few times (more than 10) but have never experienced the service we received during our dinner there this time. There were 5 of us and we ordered our food and were waiting quite a while for our food. We all noticed that the table next to us with 4 people had been seated and ordered their food after we had arrived and ordered our food. They received all their food and we had not gotten anything. I waited maybe 5 minutes more and our waitress was standing behind us and I asked her where our food was and she laughed at me. She didn't say anything she just laughed. I said to her "why are you laughing at me?" and she just walked away. When we did receive our food she didn't deliver it and she never came to our table again that night. I have to mention in our reservation that we were celebrating 3 birthdays, my daughter in law and both of my sons birthdays were around that time and they were all visiting from out of state. There was no mention of any of our birthdays. My 35 year old son who is in hospitality and will never criticize slow or poor service was the first to express his surprise at the poor reception we received at Thornton River Grill. I don't know if I could ever go there again and it was my go to place when visiting Skyline Drive.
   

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7. MB

   MarilynB

   Washington DC16 reviews

   3.0

   Dined on October 30, 2018

   1. Overall 3
   2. Food 4
   3. Service 4
   4. Ambience 4

   We've eaten here numerous times over the last few years. Food has always been quite good. Service sometimes spotty but generally good. The last time we visited, the restaurant was out of bread, out of desserts by the time we wanted to order them (at the end of our meal) and, shockingly, out of decaf coffee. Our server was attentive and apologetic. I spoke with her afterwards to express our disappointment in the seeming inattentiveness to having basic staple menu items available, and she confided that the restaurant was actually closing the following week. It apparently is going to be remodeled a bit and reopen as a pizza place. This was really sad news for us. When we come down to the Skyline Drive to hike, which we do often, there is now no really good close farm to table option in Sperryville between the Before & After Cafe/Coffee shop (wonderful) and the new Three Blacksmiths (a rare special occasion place for sure: very trendy, very pricey, totally excellent but booked months out with very limited days of operation). Farewell Thornton River Grille. We are in mourning. You will be sorely missed!!
   

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8. EE

   EricE

   Washington DC6 reviews

   5.0

   Dined on October 27, 2018

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   Always a great place to eat. The food and atmosphere is always great.
   

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9. E

   Erin

   New York City8 reviews

   4.0

   Dined on October 23, 2018

   1. Overall 4
   2. Food 4
   3. Service 4
   4. Ambience 3

   Thornton River Grille was a nice surprise on our trip through the Shenandoah region. We had the steak and the duck and both were cooked to the correct temperature and really nice cuts of meat. The mussel appetizer was also great. The only weaker link was the onion tart, the flavor was good but it was really tiny and didn't seem on the same level as the other food. The lemon creme brulee was also a highlight. It's a very casual atmosphere and a bit bright for a restaurant in the evening but that was not an issue for us as we had just hiked Old Rag and changed/freshened up in the car on the way there. Definitely worth the drive from Luray if you aren't staying in Sperryville.
   

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10. CC

    CC99

    Richmond5 reviews

    2.0

    Dined on October 20, 2018

    1. Overall 2
    2. Food 3
    3. Service 1
    4. Ambience 4

    We usually go for dinner; this was a lunch with friends. Food was okay but not great. Waitress was inattentive and rude. Some of the food we ordered wasn’t brought out. Had to ask for drink refills. One order was completely wrong. Two dessert choices were offered. She returned a few minutes later to say there was a third choice. One in our party changed her order. One person was in the restroom so she said she’d come back. She came back about 10 min. later with desserts. We told her the person who had been in the restroom also wanted the other dessert. She rolled her eyes and asked sarcastically, “does anyone want this other dessert then?” She was snarky, rude, unfriendly, and inattentive. She ruined the experience for us.
    

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