"The seating area was beautiful and comfortable, so I had very high hopes. The food was good, for the most part. I ordered the crab cake appetizer, which was pretty good. My brother-in-law had the smoked trout, and it was meh. I had the steak frites as an entree. The steak was actually really good. There just wasn't enough of it. Maybe 3 ounces cooked weight, if we're being generous. The fries looked and tasted like they came out of the frozen food aisle of the grocery store. Not worth the price point. The service was terrible. Granted, it was Thanksgiving Day. Having worked in the service industry before, I always like to take the opportunity to leave a nice, big tip when I'm dining out on a holiday. Unfortunately, our waitress simply forgot we existed. She brought us our drink order. Then, a different waitress came to our table to take our order, noting that our waitress had gotten tied up. Perfectly understandable. A runner brought all of our food. Nobody came to refill our drinks at any point during the meal. Nobody came to clear our plates. Or bring us the dessert we had already ordered. Or ask us if we were ready for our check. Eventually, the other waitress stopped to ask us if we needed anything. We let her know that we needed the desserts we had ordered to-go, and we needed the check. She had to hunt down our original waitress so our ticket could be closed out. I would not go back."

"The atmosphere is absolutely beautiful. Our server Mallory was very friendly and attentive. Unfortunately the food was very disappointing. The grilled wings were almost inedible and came with a mushroom (we think it was mushroom) garlic topping that ruined the whole plate. The small plate truffle potatoes came soaked in butter or oil. The steak was decent but the fries it came with were also soaked in truffle oil to the point of them being soggy. The steak also came with the unappetizing mushroom mixture on top. The Nashville hot chicken and waffles were actually very good- aside from the fact it came with sweet pickles instead of dill, kimchi on the waffle?, and no ranch as advertised on the menu. The most disappointing part was we ordered the flourless chocolate torte and asked for no caramel sauce. It came out with caramel sauce and the server apologized immediately once we mentioned it and brought us a new one. The new cake had caramel sauce remnants underneath the cake, making it obvious they picked up the cake and wiped off the plate (worrisome for allergies). Such a shame for the food to be disappointing in such a gorgeous restaurant."

"I read the reviews and came in with the expectation that the food wasn’t going to be good but the atmosphere was incredible. The atmosphere was awesome! The tall wall with windows and comfy chairs make this place very nice. I had the trout appetizer, chicken and waffles for main course and apple pie for desert. Everything was full of flavor and exceeding my expectations! No idea what those reviews were about…"

"My husband and I decided to try The Conservatory at the Omni for Restaurant Week this year, hoping it might defy the more critical reviews we’d seen. Unfortunately, our experience confirmed many of the concerns others had raised — and then some. From the very first course, it was clear we were in for a rough dining experience. I ordered the roasted cauliflower, which was unfortunately overwhelmed by an unpleasant chimichurri sauce that did it no favors. My husband’s crabcakes arrived lukewarm, though he did note they seemed to contain real crab meat. We both selected the steak and fries for our entrée. Despite ordering different levels of doneness — rare and medium — both steaks were burnt and overcooked, tasting more like dry, charred meat than anything resembling quality steak. I can say confidently it was the worst steak I’ve had in Charlottesville. The fries were passable, but nothing memorable — just enough to keep the meal from being entirely dismal. Dessert was our last hope for some redemption. We ordered the flourless chocolate cake, which was described as being served with salted caramel and fruit. In reality, it was topped with store-bought Hershey’s chocolate and caramel sauces. The cake itself was the most enjoyable part of the meal, but only because it was sweet and had a decent texture — not because it stood out in any real culinary way. The only redeeming aspects of the evening were the lovely ambiance at the Omni and our waiter (and food servers) who were warm, attentive, and genuinely kind. It’s a shame that the service and setting are let down by food that simply doesn’t measure up."

"Came here for restaurant week to celebrate my mom’s 75th birthday! I usually rely on reviews to make my reservation choices but thought I’d try this place even though the reviews are mixed because I really liked the look of their menu… I’m shocked that there are some negative reviews about the service and the food because both aspects were perfect! We were greeted kindly, sat immediately, and waited on attentively. The three course restaurant week menu had so many options that our group of four had a hard time choosing and then everyone was happy with their choices. The portions were large which I was surprised by since it was a three course price fixe menu ($35) and they gave a complimentary cocktail to my mom for her birthday! The espresso martinis were strong and delicious. And despite being an atrium set up, it was not too loud - very pleasant atmosphere. Upscale without feeling uppity"