Located in the Kimpton, this was a super convenient bite to eat before a concert. Much more affordable than the other dining in the hotel, this casual bar setting still gives you an upscale vibe with its decor and cocktail menu. The burger was delicious and the chicken sandwich was glutinous and so good. Fries aren't much to write home about, and a hand cut would sure elevate this review. They were short staffed and there were some struggles to keep up with the customer requests leading to some tense exchanges. If you're not in a rush, it's a great fast dinner! read more

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Listen I have been at the good sport 4 nights in a row! Finally ate a burger in the last night and it was great!! That dang Kimpton applewood bacon is fabulous and the burger was great. Service is a little spotty. Seems like the waiter is the bar tender most nights too. But I loved my "last word" made by Alex. read more

Located in the Kimpton Forum hotel on grounds (smack dab near law school and business school). Small pub like food menu with a good selection of draft beers and beverages; variety of comfy seating options, indoor and outdoor, with good views of multiple HDTVs. Our party celebrated my UVA 3rd year daughter's bday -- the whole place joined in song! Down the hatch burger was fantastic, top 5 burgers I've eaten in 2025. read more

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I ordered a salad for take-out, and was very disappointed with it. It is an $18 dollar salad, and I threw half of it away. This is the menu description: crispy wontons, shredded napa cabbage, sesame chicken, mandarin oranges, honey roasted peanuts, cucumber, cilantro, red onion, sesame dressing. That is not what I got. My salad had a few pieces of kale, lots of inedible chunks of brussels sprouts that were brown, and zero napa cabbage. I think there was one peanut in it, no cucumbers, no cilantro and parsley in its place. The chicken was flavorless, and the sesame dressing tasted nothing like sesame dressing. If you don't have half of the ingredients, don't offer it that day. My friend ordered a vegetarian sandwich, and also threw more than half of it out after biting into something extremely hard. read more

I came here with a family member and we got lucky with timing during UVA graduation weekend in getting a table without a reservation. We sat outside. Our waiter Jason was awesome! We did the corn ribs for an appetizer and then I did the Wagyu sliders which were so delicious and it comes with crispy fries. Really nice vibes. read more

The Good Sport - corn Lacto Milk Stout, Left Hand, Colorado, 6% - Bars Near Me - Charlottesville, Virginia

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I came here for a business lunch and the food was excellent and the service was also great. Would be back again for lunch. This restaurant is located inside the Darden Hotel, I would recommend dressing business casual. You can park with the valet and the restaurant will comp the fee which is convenient. The inside is very comfortable and service is quick and efficient. I had the shrimp tacos and my colleague had a Cobb salad. He said his food was good and the portion seemed generous. My shrimp tacos were perfect and the mango salsa was delicious. I would definitely be back. read more

I had a chopped salad that was not chopped and the worse carrot cake that I've ever tasted. The cake was more like a candy bar. It was hard, not taste, no nuts. I honestly couldn't believe how awful my meal was. Came in town for a conference and didn't want to wander out to find food. I'll not eat there again and recommend you stay away. read more

The food and drinks were both great. Our service was good as well however we did have concern with our server/bartender. She was condescending to the other employees who seemed to be possibly new, and younger. And this was all done in front of and in earshot of us which is not appropriate and definitely made the environment not as enjoyable. I also think the prices need adjustments, either include the fries with the sandwiches or lower the prices for the includes chips. The fries were delicious but the total of $19 for a chicken salad sandwich and fries was a bit high in my opinion for the quality of the sandwich. We would likely give it another shot because we did enjoy the meal. read more

I dined here for a business lunch. Friendly, prompt service. Excellent shrimp Caesar salad. My colleagues enjoyed their food as well.

Full disclosure: I teach at Darden, where the Good Sport is located. I'm here a lot by happenstance, but I'd still say it's an excellent spot. At least in terms of square footage, it's equal parts indoor and outdoor. If the weather inspires you to hang outside, this is a good choice. But the thing that really inspired me to write this is the chicharrones: they serve incredible fresh (still crackling) chicharrones with a tremendous complement of guacamole- I highly recommend giving them a try. Fun fact: I just ran into our dean and he told me the chicharrones are on the menu since they were a favorite of Frank Sands, Sr. who helped build the hotel. read more

The Good Sport - fresh chicharrones w/ a lot of guacamole - Bars Near Me - Charlottesville, Virginia

Really bad experience. We ordered two soups and one arrived at room temperature. We were offered a salad in place of chips and got chips. We ordered a grilled cheese sandwich and basically got a sandwich with a lot of fatty ham and very little cheese and it was barely toasted. We stopped ordering and got out. read more

For a hotel restaurant, this is pretty good. Casual vibe and convenient for hotel guests. I don't think a reservation is necessary. Service can be be improved. I had to look for our server for assistance more often than I expected to. The wait was also long for anything we asked for. The food portions are inconsistent. When I ordered the berries and burrata salad, there were two times more berries, burrata, and baguette slices when I dined in compared to when I ordered them via room service. Also, the kids chicken quesadilla when ordered a second time was missing the guacamole. And the first time was missing the sour cream. The chicken curry wrap is delicious. The berries and burrata salad was the best salad I've ever had. I love the candied tomatoes. You can add grilled chicken or shrimp to it. The grilled chicken is generously seasoned, and the shrimp is fried and tasted like fried calamari. There is indoor and patio dining. read more

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The Good Sport is a surprisingly great place to eat or grab drinks. From the blockbuster items of their menu, I'd highlight fried pickle appetizers (delicious), pretzel bites (that come with awesome sauce), spicy chicken sandwich (with arugula salad side), and burrata salad. From their special cocktails, make sure you try sourly fresh penicillin. Yummy. Service at the place is also nice and fairly quick. Their waiters waitresses are really polite and give honest advice on what (not) to try. Last but definitely not least, the atmosphere at The Good Sport is an amalgamation of moody and chill. I love it. read more

Having eaten at TGS numerous times since they opened, it's sad to report that what I would have initially given a 4-5 star review now can only be 2 stars. Service remains good, though it used to be even higher quality and more attentive. My visit there this week required me to get up once to ask the server for something - staff was talking amongst themselves. Otherwise friendly and timely. The decline in food is where the stars drop off. What was once a full menu with apps and entrees, is now a slim-pickings menu. No fried oysters, no sliders, hardly an appetizer section at all really. Slim, measly fries. None of the entrees come with any sides. When I inquired, I was told that they come with "a side of pickles" (sliced "coin" style pickles in a small pile, as it turned out). That's it. The fried cod sandwich consisted of two pinky-sized strips of fish, barely enough to feed a 3 year old. The giant bun I suppose was meant to hide it and act as filler. The burger was a good size and delicious however, but a different style than the double-smash burger of old. And why can't a burger come with a side of fries anymore?? Where did all of their previously excellent options go? One can only hope this is a slimmer summer menu while students are out of town, but I have my doubts. Lastly, the price. $137 after tip for two people to have cocktails, a burger, and a fish sandwich. Something does not compute here. I'm sure that Darden/Kimpton have bills to pay, but passing it off onto the pub diners isn't the way to do it. read more

Hit or miss. Waiter was great but very overwhelmed. Kitchen was clearly overwhelmed. Food was good. Staff was super friendly. Pros: Being able to get a reservation graduation weekend Fries Dry rub BBQ wings Staff Deviled eggs were pretty good Everyone enjoyed their food and cocktails Cons: Appetizers came out AFTER our meals (I would've expected them to be comped at that point for a hotel of this caliber but they weren't) Not enough dressing on salad...I couldn't even tell it had dressing on it. Once the restaurant filled up service was slow but they only had one waiter so they get a pass on this We would definitely go back and will review again. I will say menu is limited (would be a great lunch place and go for dinner knowing it's a smaller menu but everything was good) and we left sort of unsatisfied but I think that was because of food not coming out in the right order. read more

I can see a scenario where on a better night and different menu choices it could be a 4 star. The appetizers were pretty good. Their fries are excellent, and the aioli dipping sauce was good. The arancini bolognese was good. The Caesar salad was not good - the dressing had almost no taste (did they forget a key ingredient like vinegar?) and we could not finish it. The presentation of the chopped salad was unappetizing. Service was just ok - most of the servers seemed to be trying hard, but lack of experience and organization was coming through to make the service a bit uncomfortable. Service overall was very slow. Music was too loud. I am a fan of a place having a limited menu and doing a few things very well, but their menu overall was very limited. They had too many cases of the same type of thing with variations. This can work for lunch, but not dinner; we didn't even get dessert - only choices were carrot cake and apple fritters, no ice cream. read more

Started with a cocktail, the Cavalier Had just the right amount of kick for me, and was quite delicious and came in a timely manner. Appetizer, the oysters shared plate, delicious better than I ever could've expected. Can't wait to have them again. Entrée the smash burger I did add tomato because I love tomatoes! Absolutely, perfect and definitely a full meal. Skipped the fries and had the side salad, which is a new menu item. It was absolutely perfect. Could not have had a better meal, especially for the kind of money I spent. I was fortunate enough to meet chef, Greg ! He is an incredible chef, and an incredible person, made sure everything I had was perfect Well done (The Good Sport) much appreciate ... read more

Very solid casual new restaurant. The pub restaurant to the exquisite Birch & Bloom fine dining restaurant at the Kimpton Forum, but just because it's lower priced and casual does not mean you'll be disappointed. It's great. read more

We've been twice since they recently opened. We're local and always looking for places to drop in and enjoy a casual meal. They are getting things straightened out with training and IT but are doing a very nice job. The food is outstanding! Best burger I've had. I have some food sensitivities and the second time we walked in the manager approached and welcomed us back and let us know that he and the chef had spoken and were prepared to accommodate with another great meal. They really do want to be open for everyone including us locals! Thanks Dave, Kimpton and The Good Sport. read more

I really don't like the new menu. Please bring back some of the old items like pretzel bites, cheese curds and brisket slider! Please give fries or salad with sandwiches again. We have been regulars but tonight was pretty disappointing. read more