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    Mockingbird

    4.1 (108 reviews)
    Closed 5:00 pm - 9:00 PM

    Mockingbird Photos

    Business Info

    MOCKINGBIRD ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Classy
    Outdoor seating
    Dogs allowed
    Good for groups

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    Recommended Reviews - Mockingbird

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    Local Bison Hanger Steak
    Ara A.

    First time here and it was very tasty. Started with the cocktail, bees knees. Then for dinner I had bison, i ordered it med rare but it was slightly overcooked but it didn't take away from the taste. The steak was very tender and flavored well. I switched the green beans side with the shaved Brussels but the quantity was lacking but tasted well.

    Hidden tchotchkes
    Devynn B.

    Loved a Sunday night dinner here. I ordered the hanger steak (medium rare) and it was delicious. Wonderful service, food, and atmosphere. Thank you!

    Bison Hanger Steak with Mashed Potatoes and Okra

    We had a great dinner before a concert at JPJ Arena. The staff were very friendly and were a nice balance of attentive and giving us space to enjoy our meal. I had the bison hanger steak which was perfectly cooked medium rare. My Dad had the shrimp and grits and our server was kind enough to quickly bring an extra order of grits when asked. The dessert I ordered was okay but I could have gone without. Would try their homemade ice cream instead if I go back.

    Mississippi Mud Cup
    Stephanie J.

    Fried Green tomatoes- perfectly fried Pork belly- perfectly fried pork belly and the dressing from the salad pairs well. This dish was my favorite out of all items. More pieces of pork belly for the order would be nice Biscuits and honey butter- soft biscuit pairs well with the sweet butter Baked Mac and cheese- I like the noodle chosen for this dish but the dish was bland with a semi crunchy topping Not-so-classic pot roast- I chose this restaurant because I had the taste for pot roast. Presentation was beautiful and I loved the textures from the medium chunks of potatoes in the mashed potatoes to the tender fresh haricot verts. However, the beef was bland which was disappointing as the plate was priced at $28 Banana pudding- typical banana pudding Mississippi mud pie- too sweet for my liking but perfect for those who have a sweet tooth and love chocolate

    Fried Green Tomatoes

    Fabulous food! Sweet potato puree to die for, fried green tomatoes were wonderful. Hubby had bison hanger steak and loved it while daughter ate the salmon. Everything was so good, highly recommend!

    crab rangoon
    Renee P.

    i don't eat american cuisine very often but this was yummy. very hearty and portion size was perfect imo the texture and flavors were toooo good would be a nice date night place!

    Lauren M.

    Great curb appeal. I would love to host an outdoor event here...the space is just warm and super inviting. The southern cuisine options drew us in, but the surprising real vegan keilbasa was a no-brainer for me & my vegan-eating foodie bae. I loved the bison steak, but it definitely could've used more salt to bring out that natural flavor. The corn muffins were unfortunately dry, but I love that the veggies had some fully vegan options. Just make sure you specific if thats what you want. The service was great. I'd go back and give them another chance; but there a quite a few good restaurants in Charlottesville so we'll see.

    Flank steak with lime cilantro rice
    Leslie G.

    We chose to dine at Mockingbird the night prior to Valentine's Day. Staff was extremely pleasant and gave wonderful advice. The beer/wine selection was fabulous. We each had 2 beers which were very tasty. We ordered a biscuit basket with 5 biscuits and three toppings. We each ate one biscuit and really enjoyed it. We each had the flank steak special. My boyfriend's was cooked perfectly and he thoroughly enjoyed everything. Mine, unfortunately was a tad under the medium rare I ordered. Also the accompanied veggies were not warm. However I am not complaining because I should have mentioned it and did not. I am sure they would gladly have taken care of it. We also ordered dessert. We chose the apple raspberry crisp. It was a beautiful blend of flavors. I would recommend a different serving dish for this. It was served in a small footed dish with a plate under it. We had a hard time trying to eat it out of the dish so we poured it into the plate and enjoyed every bite. The decor and structure itself were gorgeous. The lighting and plants added a nice ambience. We would definitely visit again. Mockingbird again.

    Our table wasn't ready when we arrived inexplicably on time. So we went to the bar where the bartender pretended to be nice but wasn't really. We had to order our drinks twice despite being hilariously funny the first time we ordered. We then decided to just stay at the bar because they wouldn't tell us where our table was so we could stare menacingly at the people fucking up our reservation. By the time we ordered our food and it actually arrived, lifetimes had passed and my once young looking friend had suddenly gained 30 pounds and her hair had turned gray. It was very strange because she used to be so young and pretty. We took the food to go at that point because we had shit to do. We ate the food drunkenly at home many hours later - except for the overpriced steak. That we fed to the dog - and inadvertently the baby when she found a chunk of it on the side table. 4/10, won't go back.

    jackfruit BBQ
    Emily B.

    Mockingbird was an amazing dining experience. It is in the Belmont area which is great for avoiding the crowds of downtown Charlottesville and the corner but heads up is that you usually still need a reservation on busy weekends! I also love that they have their own private parking lot. Last time I was here the biscuits were recommended to me. The biscuits are so soft and the spreads are amazing. I believe you can order as many biscuits as you want to order the spreads too. It's a great deal! Mockingbird is a nice dining experience that serves other southern US food as well. The jackfruit BBQ was amazing and I also loved the crawfish pi boy. I had never had one of these before and it was well done! Portion size varies so be sure to ask your wait staff if you are concerned about this. They even gave us a birthday dessert and we're so accommodating for our large group. The bathrooms are super clean and the bar is beautiful. You can't go wrong sitting inside or outside.

    Not-So-Classic Pot Roast

    I'm we needed a new place to try and we're able to get in last Saturday evening. We had a great table right in the front window. Service was fast and efficient. Food was great.

    Local Bison Hanger Steak--it was so tender and delicious!! I can't wait to have it again!
    Michelle F.

    Stopped here on a whim. We ate at the bar. Service was friendly and fast. The food was delicious and they had a nice selection big wines and mixed drinks. The restaurant is quaint, old brick, rustic, cozy and clean and fresh. Will definitely be returning.

    Bison Hanger Steak with mash potato's and green beans
    John G.

    First timer's here. We went on a Thursday evening. This place is located in the Belmont district. Bring your wallet. No reservations are required but recommended. The place has charm. We were seated promptly. Service was excellent. My wife got the Salmon. I got the Bison Hanger Steak. Everything was excellent. We both cleaned our plate. Not one compliant. I would definitely go again. I bet this place is rocking on Friday or Saturday evening.

    Fried green tomatoes

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    Bartender was attentive, food was cooked perfectly with homely vibes. Restaurant has extensive outdoor seating.

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    Ask the Community - Mockingbird

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    Southern Crescent Galley and Bar

    4.0(115 reviews)
    0.1 mi
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    I posted this revues on Google and also sent an email to the restaurant explaining how frustrating…read moreour experience was. They neither responded to my email nor the review with any sort of explanation or apology which suggests that they don't really care. So I'll share this on Yelp too so others are aware of their poor customer service. We visited this restaurant with a group of seven and were excited to try it, especially because the outdoor seating area looked like a great spot for dinner. Unfortunately, the experience ended up being very disappointing. Service was extremely slow and disorganized from the start. About 15 minutes after ordering, a different waitress brought food to our table that we hadn't ordered, then quickly took it away without much explanation. From there, things only got worse. Our meals came out slowly over the course of 30-45 minutes, just one or two plates at a time, with no communication about the delays. Our four-year-old waited nearly 45 minutes for a simple order of fish sticks. Even basic service was lacking. We had to ask multiple times for something as simple as an apple juice refill, and it still took far too long to arrive. Toward the end of the meal, our waitress stopped checking on our table altogether, which made it difficult to order dessert. The food itself was pretty good, which is the only reason this isn't a one-star review. However, the poor service and lack of attentiveness completely overshadowed the experience. Overall, it was frustrating and disappointing, and we don't plan to return.

    Great drinks and really nice atmosphere when the weather is perfect to sit outside. The food is…read morealso very good. The beignet was very dense and was not exactly like the ones you get in New Orleans but it was still amazing as a dessert on its own without the comparison.

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    Southern Crescent Galley and Bar - The entrance to the house!

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    The entrance to the house!

    tavola

    tavola

    4.1(451 reviews)
    0.0 mi
    $$$

    What a lovely and charming restaurant! Dined this evening with my family during our stay in…read moreCharlottesville and everything was really great. We began with very well crafted cocktails and I had the most delightful mocktail, an Unlit Gimlet; so bright and fresh and the pink peppercorn garnish was the perfect counter to the sweet. Food from beginning to end was fabulous. Servings sizes were filling and just right and not overly huge. So enjoyed our pastas from the Bolognese, the Carbonara, the Raucci, and the Primaverili (a perfect bite of spring green). Of the four, our table's favorite was the capellini gamberi Raucci but I wouldn't hesitate to order any of our selections. Sides of roasted fennel with oranges (the best fennel I've had) and the cauliflower were beautifully done. Appetizers enjoyed were the Roman artichokes, bread and olive oil, and olives. We ended the evening with the chèvre cheesecake, affogato and espressos. Service was professional, yet friendly and very welcoming. Thank you for an unforgettable evening!

    We went to tavola tonight for my partners birthday and overall we had a good time and would be…read moreback. Between us, we did 3 cocktails, 2 apps, 2 entrees and 2 desserts and the bill came to about $220 tax and tip included. The restaurant had their main door closed (maybe they always do?) so we entered through a narrow back alley entrance into their bar. Parking is kinda tough. We did arrive a few mins early to our reservation and watched a table of 2 and 4 get seated before us which was a bit frustrating (it seemed like the host knew them and maybe they were given preference). Additionally, despite the reservation saying it was for my partners birthday it was not mentioned while we were being sat or by our server during our meal. Other restaurants in town (particularly Orzo and C&O) are really good about noticing these reservation notes and ensuring they are acknowledged. Both restaurants have also provided complimentary dessert or champagne and so it was a bit of a bummer it seemed to not be noticed at all. The ambiance was also much louder than we expected. Unfortunately we got sat next to 4 very drunk rowdy women which can't be helped but we could hardly hear each other over how loud the room was. The vibe was more of a nice dinner out with friends than romantic intimate dinner we hoped for. The music was upbeat and funky. Not a bad thing just maybe a misfit for what we were hoping for this evening. I haven't been here before so it might have been nicer to be sat in a quieter corner since it was just the two of us (not sure if that would have been possible). Our server Ginger was nice. She did provide a list of special for the evening which we ordered a few of. Food wise, tavola, in my opinion, certainly beats mockingbird or the local which are its two neighboring restaurants I've been to. It's actually not even a close comparison the food is significantly better imo. For starters we had the fried artichoke in aioli. Delicious - 5/5. Only problem was there wasn't more of it! The bread was from alb baking co and was served with olive oil. It was fine. Not the best bread or oil I've had. For drinks we had the alpine air (gin, pear, lemon, rosemary I think) and some pear cocktail (pear simple, Tito's, maybe pear liqueur?). My partner had an espresso martini with dessert. All cocktails were 5/5. Very good. For entrees we had the duck rotini and the pork special with collard greens and potatos au gratin. The rotini duck was interesting. I liked the flavor profile of duck, cocoa (in the pasta), pickled chiles and mushroom. I did feel like the flavor combination was so rich I wish they would have been a little more bold with the cocoa flavor. To be honest, it got lost and was completely overpowered by the mushroom flavor in the sauce. The sauce itself felt more of like a butter and fell a bit flat. The duck was chopped into small pieces and I just felt like the execution of this dish didn't do the ingredients justice. I wish they had done a braised duck breast in maybe a cocoa-orange sauce as I thought the cocoa duck combination was quite smart. I felt like the pasta version of these flavors just fell a bit flat and ended up feeling a bit bland as the mushroom was the only prominent note. Overall, I'd give this a 3/5. Neither of us were wowed by it but I think the flavors are ambitious and interesting. The pork on the other hand was fabulous. The pork was cooked perfectly in what felt like a wine reduction and was incredibly tender, no knife needed. The potatoes au gratin were a tad on the underdone side and had a bit more bite than maybe I expected but the flavor with the caramelized onion on top was fabulous. The collard greens are some of the best I've ever had. I love collard greens and am quite picky and these were amazing. I wanted a whole plate of them. 5/5. We ordered Brussels and pancetta on the side and this was also a 5/5. Very good. For dessert we had the tiramisu and the cheese plate. The tiramisu, frankly, was a 2/5. The lady fingers were totally soaking and the dessert was actually just a wet blob. The texture was just not good. The cheese plate was fine, 3/5. It was served with grilled crostini, cherries and candied walnuts. The cheeses themselves were a soft maybe goat cheese, what felt like pepper jack, and then two hard cheeses similar to Parmesan. None of them were particularly flavorful or compelling. I wish the plate had been served with some sort of jelly or sweet spread to accompany the cheeses as I felt the bread nut cheese combo was a bit too dry. Overall, I would say the main foods we had were very good and I think next time we may try their more traditional italian pastas like the carbonara or the bucatini. Overall I think the food here is very good and we would be back.

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    Tonic

    Tonic

    4.2(97 reviews)
    0.4 mi

    High end creative food with a not pretentious vibe. The miso maple salmon and the grilled pork chop…read morewith hominy and crimini shrooms are my fav mains. Multiple layers of flavor and all the right textures. Visually appealing on the plate as well. Solid cocktail list here. I'm a big fan that they go old school with a hot toddy. The applejack brandy added to that is a nice touch. Service is excellent here. Prices reasonable given the quality of the dishes. Will be back the next time I'm in town for sure. Take out orders here https://orders.cake.net/11301553 Reservations via Resy.

    Walking up this place has great ambiance, perfect for a first date. The indoor seating was closed…read morebut the outdoor seating was great. The menu was quite promising. Ordered a cucumber chamomile gin and tonic, which left something to be desired. We started with the blackberry salad which on the menu said it also included avocado but there was none on the salad-despite this the salad was great. Our mains were good but not great. The biggest issue I found here was despite our server being very nice while ordering she NEVER checked in on us after anything arrived, never refilled waters either. So although she was nice the service was not good as there were times we wanted to order something else and one of the entrees didn't arrive as it was ordered but our server never checked in. All things considered I think I would only come here to grab a salad or appetizer.

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    Tonic - Marinated mushroom open-faced sandwich, trout rillettes, on the patio

    Marinated mushroom open-faced sandwich, trout rillettes, on the patio

    Tonic - Crispy potatoes with Aleppo pepper ricotta, preserved lemon, and mushroom powder

    Crispy potatoes with Aleppo pepper ricotta, preserved lemon, and mushroom powder

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    Smyrna - BEET SALAD bitter greens, hazelnuts, cacao nibs, kaymak, pomegranate vinaigrette

    Smyrna

    4.7(116 reviews)
    1.0 mi

    Went tonight with my daughter who is a total foodie! The…read moreservice was very personal with our server knowing every detail. The managing partner also came by our table very casually and friendly- I just googled their bios and its very interesting. So I wasn't sure I would like everything we ordered- I only wanted the beet salad. It was amazing!!!!!!! We also had the dip trio which I liked the hummus best with yummy bread. My daughter, her friend and her mom LOVED the calamari and said it was light and delicious. Lamb kebob was tasty. Desert chocoholic was scrumptious and the lemon granita was light and interesting with homemade cotton candy that we laughed looked like ratchet barbie hair but tasted so light. Absolutely delicious!

    SERVICE We came in for a belated Valentine's Day dinner,…read moreand the staff immediately seated us when we got int. Everyone was friendly and professional without being too formal. Our server served us waters and let us peruse the menu. Most spots will have the waiter come by and ask you how things are, and our waiter didn't come by at all after setting down the food which was interesting -- not good nor bad but probably were also busy. AMBIENCE The space felt upscale but still easygoing, which made it perfect for our Valentine's night out. There's no dress code, but most people looked like they'd put a little effort in, matching the polished but comfortable vibe. Loved the open kitchen all the way towards the back by the bookshelf area gave the room some energy without making it feel noisy. Definitely struck a great balance between date-night fancy and laid-back cool and casual. FOOD We started with the Beet Salad Ribbons and the Meze Trio. The beet salad mixed earthy ribbon-sheet beets with hazelnuts and a bright pomegranate vinaigrette that surprised me! Loved the pairing of the beets and cheese and hazelnut crunch. As a texture fan, this really hit the spot! It was colorful, fresh, and really well balanced. The Meze Trio had charred eggplant, a yogurt-goat cheese dip, and a seasonal hummus. Each had its own flavor and texture, and everything felt super fresh and well-seasoned. Favorite was the seasonal hummus. The yogurt-goat cheese dip was good but definitely sweeter than I personally perferred! The Calamari was also quite good and had decent number of chunky pieces that weren't just breading. The only small letdown was the pita bread since we had more dips than pita left. We expected refills might be complimentary, especially for a place like this, but they weren't. Not a big deal, just something that stood out in an otherwise smooth and thoughtful experience! The Manti Dumplings were a highlight too -- probably so much handwork in making these look like they do! The Sharondale mushrooms gave them a rich, savory flavor, and the pepper butter sauce added just the right touch of spice. The burger was also great -- juicy, flavorful, and paired with house fries and an amazing urfa pepper aioli. You could tell both dishes were elevated but still comforting, showing off the chef's fine-dining background in a really approachable way. For dessert, we shared the Baklava Cheesecake and a Chocolate Hazelnut special. The cheesecake was unique -- cheesecake filling sandwiched between baklava. It was delicious but not what I was expected! It was creamy and nutty with pistachio layers, and the chocolate dessert was incredibly rich without being heavy. Both were perfect finishes. We even took home the leftover goat cheese dip because it was that good. Overall, pices were a little on the higher side ($23-$29 for mains, $14 for dessert), but for the quality and thought put into every dish, it felt worth it and would come back again for a special occasion! This was definitely elevated ambience and the food was well executed in our opinion. I can see the hype! Definitely not a spot I'd frequent often but for the special days -- this is it to impress your date or family!

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    Manti Dumplings

    Mockingbird - southern - Updated May 2026

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