Lightfoot

Reviews 3

SP

Sparkle Plenty

I have to say my husband and I were beyond disappointed when we dined at Lightfoot the evening of the 29th. We had heard and read amazing reviews, and were celebrating our anniversary so we were very looking forward to a great night. To start with the good, the service really was nice (except for one mishap which Ill detail below) and the building was beautiful. Its a little "old school" in terms of overall ambiance but nice non the less charming. Now onto the bad. Up first I decided that Id like to start dinner with a cocktail. Theres a classic drink I love called a French 75, and to be fair few places know how to make one, so I specifically asked if they knew how because otherwise Id happily order something else. I was told with an exuberant, YES, they did! About 5 minutes later he returned and asked me what was in the drink, and I should have just reordered at that point but I explained the ingredients and he went on his way. He returned a few moments later with a blood red drink that tasted like cough syrup, and I said theres no way! I was immediately scolded and told that French 75s ABSOLUTELY have raspberry liquor in them. Funny coming from someone who just asked me how to make this drink, which ABSOLUTELY does not have raspberry liquor in it. Regardless, I sent it back and ordered a glass of wine. But I didnt appreciate the tone that was given to me. Moving onto the food I should mention my husband and I are big time foodies and what we ate, I wouldnt have fed to my dogs. The menu sounded amazing so we started off with their fried green tomatoes and their scallops on the sweet potato pancake. The fried green tomatoes literally tasted like they had nacho cheese on top of it. Then to add insult to injury the saddest part was this pathetic, unseasoned, uninspired shrimp sitting on top. I couldnt get through eating it. Moving onto the scallop dish, the scallop was cooked beautifully and it was a shame that is was served with something that tasted like dessert. It completely drowned out the scallop flavor. The sweet potato pancake, while delicious, was much too sweet as was the honey sauce that accompanied it. The pineapple salsa helped balance it somewhat, but this, in my opinion should be moved to a brunch menu. I ended up eating the scallops on their own and leaving half the dish behind. Finally, the entrees is where we crashed and burned. At this point I was skeptical of what was to come, but I ordered Mussels (from the app menu) for my entree and my husband ordered the duck. I thought, how could you screw up mussels. Well, they did. They were mushy and the sauce was bland. They had potato strings on top that were soggy by the time they got to me. It wasnt worth the pain of sending back so I ate a few and hid the remaining in my broth. My husbands duck, while well flavored was not cooked properly. But it really did have a nice sauce, I have to give it that. We love Brussels sprouts and again, they sounded amazing with goat cheese and bacon. But the sprouts were not properly cooked, which left a very bitter tasting sprout. I suppose its all about expectation, and we went into our evening expecting a wonderful food experience and its just not what we got. We paid and high tailed ourselves to Tuscarora Mill to enjoy a nice beer and two appetizers since we left 90% of our food behind so our night wasnt a total loss.

A

A Private User

What can I say, after having driven by Lightfoot for a couple of years, but at the wrong time to eat, we finally made a special point of eating there. First entering the restaurant, through the magnificent front doors, and then entering the dining room, one is immediately impressed by the high ceilings, the balcony and the effort that went into making a wonderful destination restaurant. The "soon to be famous" onion soup deserves whatever fame it gets. Mushrooms are not a normal flavoring ingredient in traditional onion soup but are a natural accompaniment to onions and transform the dish into something unique. The combination of cheeses in the crust added to the altogether satisfying nature of the dish. One caution, this is rather a rich dish and could be dinner to those with a small appetite. My wife had the gazpacho which disappeared without a word. I neednt say more. She loved it. My wifes chicken dish (I cant remember what it was called) came out somewhat different than was expected based on the description in the menu. It was fully flavored but was almost a type of stew which was the problem. Other diners seemed to have the same reaction when presented with the dish. I had the pork chop special. This was an unusual boneless pork chop that was well marbled with fat from Japan, the same area where Wagu beef comes from. While I really enjoy "the other white meat" available in American markets, caution must be exercised in its preparation duo its lack of fat. The pork chop served was delightfully moist with a couple of layers of fat (that were discarded) but added a larding to the pork, intensifying the flavors. Served basted lightly with a mild barbeque sauce the pork was a hit. Accompaniments included home made barbeque beans and a apple reduction. The only problem with the pork was, I believe, that carry over heat continued to the center of the chop and by the time I reached the center that part was overcooked. On the other hand, by the time I reached the center of the chop I was full and could not eat another bite. Based on the food alone I believe this would be a 4 star restaurant. What sets Lightfoot apart is the service we enjoyed. We did not get our waiters name and he did not provide it (a welcome change from customary practice). He seemed to appear at all the right times without being intrusive. On a couple of matters he deserves particular praise. In the wine selection we were debating between two different bottles of Grenache. The one we decided on was considerably less expensive than the other and was the one he strongly recommended as being the "much better wine." Also, when it came to ordering dessert we had contemplated ordering separate desserts but he deftly steered us towards one which proved to be a wise move. The table service was magnificent. The wine list is extensive and reasonably priced with even some bargains. A welcome reprieve from the gouging that many restaurants engage in. Many restaurants will charge triple the retail value of a wine which is obnoxious. This was not obviously the case at Lightfoot.

VA

Valerie Sheckler

Our party of 3 had a very disappointing evening Saturday, October 10th. The noise from the party upstairs, the inattentive and apathetic waiter, the poorly prepared and cold food, the managers who didn’t seem to be able to manage a busy Saturday night – Lightfoot failed at every step. We felt that the staff at Lightfoot gave up on our table. The appetizers arrived within a reasonable amount of time. The Wild Mushroom strudel was mostly delicious, but the large separate mushroom tasted charred and burnt. The Honey Ham Biscuits were disappointing – the biscuits were gummy and difficult to eat, almost as if they were undercooked. The biscuit stuck to the roof of your mouth. (And by the way, the very loud party upstairs added to our unpleasant experience. We noticed how unusually loud the dining room was as we first walked in. Having to navigate around loud drunken women in the bathroom was also unpleasant.) The entrees took a long time to get to the table. When they arrived, the Roasted Duck entree was inedible and cold. The gnocchi tasted weird and the BOILED (not sautéed or roasted) Brussels Sprouts were revolting. The Pork Shank entree also had problems. The pork itself was fine but the Bread Pudding with Cheddar and the Broccolini were cold. The French Onion & Field Mushroom Soup wasn’t that good. It was barely warm, the croutons were so soggy they were disintegrating and the soup itself was too salty. Our waiter didn’t come by to check on us – I went to the host stand to have a manager sent to our table. A manager appeared right away. We asked to have the Duck entree replaced with the Steak entree and the 2 cold sides for the Pork entree replaced. The two sides arrived but again there was a problem. Brussels Sprouts arrived instead of the Broccolini. That was fixed fairly quickly. 2 of us finished while the third waited for the Steak Entree Special. The Steak Entree wasn’t particularly impressive either. Our dirty dishes sat on the table until we got the check. Our waiter ignored us for the most part. He didn’t check on us much, bring food, apologize, or take dishes – all he did was take our order. We were surprised when we got the check that we had to pay for our entire very disappointing and poorly prepared dinner. The higher prices charged by restaurants isn’t just for food, it’s for ambience and service as well. I’ve waited tables and I dine out frequently — I understand the challenges of working in a restaurant on a very busy night. I also understand how to handle issues like the ones we faced. Lightfoot Restaurant failed at every single step. I confronted the manager as we left the restaurant about being asked to pay $100 for our poorly prepared meal. He said “sorry”. The other manager just stood there and pretended it wasn’t happening.