TJ's at The Jefferson Hotel

For a five star hotel to have such horrible dinner service in the bar is just unacceptable. My 30 year old son said epic dinner fail. How sad. It’s an absolutely magical hotel to visit. However if you’re a 5 star hotel your bar and dining experience should reflect that

We had a delightful reunion lunch. It was quiet and calm and we had a serious and fun catch up after my friend moved to Arizona. The food was delicious. The gluten free bun for my smash burger was delicious - not a small feat ! And there was even a scrumptious gluten free cheesecake dessert. :Kudos to T J's for honoring those of us who eat gluten free.

Our meals were absolutely delicious. But the service was terrible. It took over 45 minutes to get a cocktail and since there was a large party there as well we were told we weren't allowed to order certain items until they ordered. The manager came over and apologized many times and he was very very friendly. The food like I said was great, but service not so much.

The service was really slow - most of the food was good but I wouldn’t say great. Music was turned down too low to hear. $120 for 3 turkey sandwiches and an omelet is too pricey. It is the Jefferson of course but it’s TJs and not Le Maire - the pricing should not be comparable.

underwhelming and very overpriced...My mom ordered the chicken salad sandwich which she described as "ok" and ordered salad as her side which was comprised of some wilted greens and tasteless dressing. My burger was fine but nothing special and my daughter ordered a Caesar salad which were little iceburg lettuce wedges and some dressing - I didn't see any croutons, shaved parm etc. She added chicken to her salad which ended up being a tiny roasted chicken leg (very unappealing) and some cut up roasted chicken on the side. Total for Caesar salad with the chicken addition, $22.00. Hey Jefferson, you really need to step up your game because the food is mediocre at best!! Save your money and eat somewhere else. The food at Applebee's is honestly better than this.

I don't feel our server knew as much about the entrees and salads as he thought he did. I ordered a mixed greens salad and was told the dressing was an apple flavored vinaigrette, my friend ordered the spinach salad. When the salads came I commented to the server that I did not taste apple in the dressing, he said the spinach salad had the apple flavored vinaigrette. My friend asked for additional dressing and when it came it was the color and consistency of Honey Mustard, it was good but was not a vinaigrette. My mixed greens salad really didn't have much taste except for the saltiness of the prosciutto. When I asked if I could substitute another vegetable for the Kale with my Chicken breast, the server said the Chef did not like to substitute but there wasn't that much Kale on the plate. I would have been satisfied with additional Squash or another vegetable on the menu. The Kale was the side dish for the Chicken, it was not part of the sauce or mixed with Squash, the Chicken and the Squash was delicious, it just would have been nice to have a side with the meal. My friends and I get together every year at the Jefferson to celebrate Christmas, sometimes at TJ's, sometimes at Lemarie and we've never had any issues. We will come back next year.

overpriced,but you can't beat the decorations and atmosphere.

Wait staff was nice but it took 45 minutes to get our lunch. We also had to continually flag down staff to respond to our needs (refills etc)

Our experience was wonderful in all ways! Food, wait staff and decorations were beautiful

We go annually to see the lobby and decorations. Eat at T.J.’s. Very disappointed in food this year. Extremely limited menu. Very small servings and very big prices. Crab cake was $22.00 and maybe there was 3 tablespoons of crab. Served on an English muffin. I could fit the entire sandwich in one hand. Cheesecake slice was $8.00. 3 bites and gone. Very disappointed this year.

The Jefferson at Christmas is wonderful including lunch at TJ’s! The food and service were both excellent! I was disappointed however that they had sold out of the turkey sandwich and I had to make another choice!

The wonderful Xmas sights and sounds were very lovely. However, the food was a real disappointment. I could have gotten a better omelet anywhere. Your menu selection was minimal at best. For a “Grand” hotel as yours the food was a real let down.
Drove from Williamsburg and met friends from Charlottesville and was embarrassed for them as it was my suggestion to meet at your hotel.

The Jefferson is beautiful at Christmas. The food at TJs is only average and very expensive.

One must go to the Jefferson during the holiday season for the decorations. The most beautiful place in town by far. One of my dining companions let it be known we were in no hurry, but this seemed to be an excuse for extremely slow service with no bread or anything else brought to the table for a long time. Another companion partially spilled my glass of wine and no one paid attention or brought me another napkin. Companion B was served soup without a spoon and ended up hunting for one among the empty tables. I left just in time to avoud a parking ticket (a 2 hour lunch seems like plenty of time to be in no hurry). My burger served medium rare with a salad was excellent. Great accommodation of Companion A on gluten-free choices. Holiday decor of the hotel not much evident in this restaurant. We could hear one another, a rarity these days in RVA restaurants.

The holiday decorations were beautiful. The food was average and the service was not the best. I had to ask fir a wait staff. I had to sit for over 20 minutes then had to ask for a waiter.

Just fabulous! Going to The Jefferson at Christmas time is always a treat. Loved our meal at TJ's.

The hotel is beautiful. We wentfor the tree lighting program to start the holidays off in a fun. The hotel was packed with people. Could not even get close to seeing what was happening. Some people dressed nicely, dome people were in Too casual clothes. I was under the impression that a shirt and tie was required for the restaurants. Obviously not so. That said everyone was in a festive mood. We had reservations for TJ restaurant. Plenty of tables in this small seating area. We were sitted by a large table overlooking a table with toddlers having dinner. Bummer. The menu was very limited but in line with a 3 star restaurant. It offeted more wine & liqueur choses than food. Odd plating of food. I ordered chicken that came with squash & kale. The squash was cold and still hard. The chicken was a generous portion. It tasted yucky. My spouse had rockfish with rice and undercooked broccoli served in a bowl. His food was cold as well. You had to request bread. Our server was very nice and attentive. Very disappointing. Our server asked if things were fine but we were just wanting to leave at that point. Beautiful hotel, great staff but oddly seasoned good like from Jefferson’s time. They need a good chef who can serve hot meals with good tasting foods.

Much better food in Richmond. Choices were limited

For the tree lighting. We had not eaten at TJ’s before. Great service from Robert. Tasty food.

Excellent meal - had the pork and my wife had salmon. Service was great - attentive to our needs without being intrusive

I traveled with my family to Richmond to see Hamilton. We secured a 5:45 pm dinner reservation at TJ’s and thought we had enough time to eat at TJ’s before the 8 pm showing. (I had indicated through Open Table that dinner was a special occasion, because we were to see the show.) We ordered our entrees by 6:10 pm. Several parties at the restaurant were trying to have dinner before the show. But the food was not being brought out, and quiet concern was growing in the dining room. At 7:03 pm, our waiter promised that our main entrees would be out within five minutes. He came back at 7:08 with soup spoons only. He said the food was being plated. A couple of minutes later, with still no food, my wife and I decided that we needed to leave. The whole reason for the trip to Richmond was the see the performance.

I went to the front and asked for the check. The hostess eventually presented me with a check for $62.05 — to cover our drinks and appetizers. I gave her my credit card. She returned having charged my card to cover the entrees as well, a total of more than $141. I got very upset and accused the restaurant of stealing from me. The manager eventually appeared, apologized for the service and offered to cover the full tab. All he needed was my credit card. I gave him the card. He returned with a receipt. He undid the $141 charge. But he charged me $62.05. I challenged him for going back on his word. He said I failed to properly communicate with my waiter about needing to leave for the show. So be it. My family didn’t have dinner until after the show — around midnight. I will neither visit TJ’s nor ever do business with the Jefferson Hotel again.

Very nice environment and a professional staff. Limited menu but very well prepared.

This is a great place for a quiet business lunch. The service is great, the food is excellent and the ambiance is unmatched!

Always a good experience. Enjoyed the peanut soup :) Really like the way the valet service is set up so that you can validate your parking and call your car before you ever leave the table. We were a few days early to see all the Christmas decorations, so now we must go back - darn :)

We enjoyed our lunch at TJ's but were disappointed in the food. The atmosphere was very nice, our waitress was exceptional but to be a part of such a fine establishment, the food did disappoint.

Wonderful lunch very much enjoyed by my guests and by me.

Birthday celebration for grandson ❤️

Beautiful setting and good food and service. What more can you ask for?

The food was disappointing. I eat at TJs three or four times a year. The menu changes are not appealing or tasty. The salad accompanying the entrée was really just limp greens with a little oil. No flavor at all. The hummus appetizer and the dessert were very good. Everything else was bad. I had taken a friend to TJs to celebrate her birthday and felt a bit embarrassed.

I had so looked forward to taking out of town friends to lunch, reservations and all.
The beauty of the Jefferson did not compensate up for the food.
The peanut soul was bland and Luke warm. None of us finished it.
The burgers were ok but the salad dressing was tasteless. The chicken salad sandwich produced one comment, ok.
The bread pudding was like a chocolate brownie heated with some sauce. Our water glasses were never replenished.
Now, I have had lunch and dinners at Lamiere on numerous occasions and loved it.
This time was a great disappointment and I was embarrassed. My friends raved about the hotel and did so at dinner the following evening. No mention oh the food.
All of this to say, “I love the Jefferson” but something in food service is terribly wrong. It is nowhere the reputation you deserve or I want for you .
You do it need to publish my review on line, this is strictly for your benefit.

The fried oyster sandwich was tasty. The strawberry and lemon cake was nothing special and did not include fresh strawberries, only a garnish.

Vegan/vegetarian friendly: great 'Beyond Burger' hamburger.

Our server, Amber was friendly, cheerful, efficient and very "yes we can" customer orientated!
Omelets were excellent, salad fresh...
one of us had a sandwich and it was dry and "just okay".
However, overall a GREAT experience.

This is one of my favorite places to take folks when a personal and/or business discussion is taking place. It's not only a beautiful spot, yet quiet most of the time . Great food, good service, too!

By far, one of my favorite places to have lunch. The setting, the service, the food- all divine! I have to get back again, soon.

So,so - expected more in quality of food, service and atmosphere.

Had breakfast at TJ’s while we were staying at the Jefferson Hotel. The service was mediocre; we had to request refills on coffee, grits were not hot (which was quickly remedied, but requested additional butter twice). We had a wait to get the check & then were presented with someone else’s bill.. I know it sounds picky, but for the price ($62 breakfast) I think top notch service is to be expected. We were disappointed.

The food and service were quite good. We enjoyed having lunch there as always.

Very nice meal and the service was excellent as usual.

We brought friends from out of town there for lunch while visiting downtown, thinking they would love the beauty of the hotel, and assuming the food would be as good as the Lemaire just more informal. However, I was very disappointed to say the least. We got there a little early and, even though there were plenty of tables unoccupied, we were told to wait in the lounge area until the table was ready. When finally seated, we looked at the menu and noticed that it was different from the one on line that I had already viewed and had picked out what I wanted. It was not on this menu, so I chose the crab omelet instead of the crab cake sandwich I would have preferred. The dish was bad to say the least. There was, perhaps, one half tsp. of crab in the whole omelet, and it was completely bland and floppy. There was also a shell in there. I have not had a worse omelet anywhere. I could have gone to IHOP and gotten something better for a much better cost. The other diners at the table said their meals were just OK. The catfish was over fried and greasy and the burger was also bland. This was embarrassing for us as we could have taken them anywhere and probably gotten something better. I had also told the reservationist that it was my birthday, but nothing was said by our black waiter or the person at the desk. We will not eat there again. Also, I thought the valet parking was a little too expensive, and it was online which my older husband did not quite understand how to do.