Stanardsville Restaurants

Had a GREAT experience at Public Fish and Oyster. The food, as always, was great, yet it was the service that really was excellent. Our server, Cody, went above and beyond to make our evening so enjoyable, and was so friendly and knowledgeable about the menu. The bartender overheard us ordering our cocktails and had our drinks out to us within seconds. It was astonishing. The atmosphere was happy, and energetic, yet the noise level was low enough that we could carry on a conversation, and the restaurant was not overcrowded. It was very pleasant. We were not rushed from our table and had a great meal, with a well thought out wine list. We cannot wait to return.

Great food. Very very very delicious! Real food that feeds the soul. Service is great as well. Attention to detail and good ability to to serve courses in order and when table is ready. Small recommendations would be to fry foods in lard/tallow as opposed to seed oils. And as I age--I find the bar top tables and chairs to be uncomfortable; but there are lower chairs available--you may want to request them if bar top seating is uncomfortable. I never like paying fine dining prices and then being seated at a bar height table-but for this restaurant-- the food is so good I go with the seating flow! Highly recommend!

The entire experience, from the exquisite menu to the people who welcome and served us, was and continues to be an event we cherish!

Our reservation was for 6:30pm but we arrived from out of town an hour early. We decided to see if we could be accommodated and the restaurant staff immediately said it wasn't a problem and seated us in their beautiful dining room upstairs. That set the tone for a wonderful dining experience. We had the bison empanada and goat cheese salad as starters and they were both delicious. The gnocchi bolognese and steak frites were perfect confort food for a cold evening. We rounded off the meal with the flourless chocolate cake--if you love dark chocolate like we do this is a standout dessert--and the mixed berry cobbler which was light and perfectly sized. Even though the restaurant filled up quite a bit while we were there, the wait staff were attentive and friendly. We came here on a friend's recommendation and will be recommending The Local to others!

Overall, five star. Nitpicks: we both had surf and turf. Wife’s steak was overcooked, more than requested medium rare. They offered to replace it but that would be wasteful. Accompanying shrimp were peel and eat which was unexpected. Otherwise, no complaints. We would go again if in the area. The inn was a great place to stay.