C & O Restaurant

Very simple menu, one page. We shared the artichoke hearts which were amazing. Then I had the trout and my husband had the duck. Both appeared to be small portions but we were really full due to the richness of the ingredients. My trout was nicely cooked with crispy skin.
Clientele was a bit older but classy!

Came here for restaurant week with a friend so the menu may be different. Overall, amazing 5 star quality food but small portions.
1^st course: smoked trout was absolute perfection. The dill, Apple relish and other hint of ingredients complemented the trout very well.
2^nd course: steak perigueux was cooked to a perfect medium and served with delicious mashed potato purée. The steak was on the smaller side but it was barely enough to fill me up.
3^rd: bittersweet chocolate mousse. Enough said.
The ambiance of C and O was very classy yet comfortable. The waiter was very friendly and recommended an excellent bottle of red wine.

I had really high expectations for C&O based on reviews and friends’ recommendations. But overall I’d call it a very mediocre experience. My husband and I had a reservation on a Tuesday night for his birthday, and when we got there the restaurant had some other parties but was by no means busy. We were taken upstairs and given a somewhat uncomfortable table in the middle of the room. There were 4 other tables open along the wall and in the corners that were much nicer, so we asked to be moved to one of those (I know, annoying, but still). It seemed strange to give us a subpar table when they had so many available.
The service was unfortunately just terrible. The host and waiter were very nice, but it ends there. The host ended up taking our order for our first round of drinks. The waiter barely spoke and only came over to take our order. We were never told about specials.
The food was good, but nothing life changing. We started with the duck gnocchi. It kind of reminded me of a beef stew. The sauce was nice but the dish itself left a lot to be desired and wasn’t salted very well. I had the NY strip steak. I asked for it without mushrooms, which I had assumed was somewhat of a sauce, but I think maybe it was more of a side, because all I got was the steak on a plate. It would have been nice had the waiter explained the dish to me, but like I said, he really didn’t speak. Luckily the steak was cooked perfectly with a nice char but like the duck, was in dire need of seasoning. My husband got the steak chinoise. The sauce on this dish was really delicious, however, I feel like it was hiding a very overcooked steak underneath. He said it was fine but the pieces that I could see looked much more well done than the medium he ordered. After a while the waiter finally came by to ask if I wanted more wine, and pretty much ignored/didn’t hear my husband as he asked for the beer menu. After we finished eating we sat there for a very long time. The waiter wouldn’t even look at us. There were a few other tables in the room at the time, but it would have been nice to be checked on. We opted not to have dessert because we wanted to get to a nice bar after dinner for a birthday drink. Unfortunately by the time we sat there waiting for the waiter to clear our plates, bring us our check, then take the check, most of the bars on our list closed.
I was torn on how many stars to give because while the restaurant is charming and the staff is nice, the service was just so slow and lacking. Very small details like my husband’s wine glass never being taken from the table (he didn’t have wine), to being given the appetizer without plates to share, were disappointing. At this price point (~32 for a steak) there are places in town that are newer, more innovative, and have much better service.

This is a fancy schmancy place. High quality, high cost, great ambiance. You take dates here to impress sort of place (in fact I’m pretty sure I was the only person here not on a date but I digress). I was just visiting Charlottesville for work but I had been told by several friends I needed to check out C&O. Fairly unassuming exterior, it feels like an old home thats been turned into a restaurant (which it probably has). Fairly narrow interior, with tables upstairs and a narrow stair case near the entrance taking you down to the basement where there is the bar and some more tables.
Service at the bar was prompt and polite. Bartender made solid effort at conversation. With a couple orders of red wine I got the veal appetizer and veal entrée (I know, probably a tad excessive). The dishes were prepared quite differently from each other and I thought they were good compliment with each other. The veal appetizer was amazing. I wanted to lick the plate clean. Just a wonderful carmelized flavor to it. The veal was juicy and tender. Im used to getting veal parmigian so it took me a second to realize that I hadn’t gotten steak when it came out. But it was very good.
All in all, I was impressed but this is a place you go to on special occasions.

The bar area downstairs is a really great spot to get tasty cocktails and apps. It has a really good secluded atmosphere.

Amazing food, great service and a cozy atmosphere. The menu changes constantly to include seasonal, fresh ingredients. They have the coziest fireplace and the bar in the basement is a must to go to after dinner for a drink. It reminds me of the 1800s.

This is a beautiful restaurant nestled on the outskirts of the downtown mall with plenty of charm and class for a special occasion. In some sense I felt as if my date and I were stepping backwards in time upon crossing the threshold in the best sense possible. There was plenty of historic presence in the building itself that made the place intimate and charming. Regarding parking; there is a lot directly across from the restaurant. Make sure to check in with the hostess to receive a parking voucher.
The service was excellent; our server was friendly and could expertly describe the items on the menu which helped in our decision making. I ordered the grouper which had ginger flavoring that was a nice compliment to the white fish. My date ordered the cheese platter, oyster soup which was tasteful and not overpowering in flavor or cream, and bibb salad. All in all we enjoyed our meal.

C&o is amazing. They catered my wedding nov 7 2015, and they really did such an amazing job. The staff is outstanding, the food is too good to be true. When we did the tasting I thought to my self there was no way they can replicate these amazing flavors for 80 people worth of food… But they did. Book them! Eat there! Cristelle is the best in the wedding industry!

Delicious, fantastic, wonderful environment. This restaurant has so much character. It’s very picturesque. The food is scrumptious — Duck Wellington, lamb, New York strip. Mm we would come back all the way from VA Beach for this experience. Wait staff is attentive and professional.

Atmosphere is great but it’s a little overpriced. You have to catch them on their drink specials… otherwise it’s about $ 10 for a glass of house wine. Their tacos are awesome but extremely spicy (the menu doesn’t tell you that).

Not for picky eaters! We came to C&O with high expectations based on the local recommendations. We were very disappointed. The menu was very affluent and we give compliments to the chef for choosing so many pairing but there wasn’t enough. We only had 5 entrées to choose from and really wanted more.
I ordered the pork belly which I know is typically fatty but this thing was all fat. Sure, sacrifice some fat for the good heart center, right? Not when it is 5 ounces! I only had 3 good hearty bites of meat. It came with shrimp, which I was excited about, until it came out to the table. I received 3 pieces of tiny shrimp on the side. Pasta salad was included but that came in a small side dish normally used for dipping sauces.
I was so unhappy and very hungry when I left. We were expecting much more, both in options and portions.
I did enjoy the service and atmosphere, however. They do have nice wine and beer options plus some great cocktails. I would definitely come back for the drinks but will never order food from here again.

Went here for restaurant week with a couple of friends. This was actually my first time and its been recommended by a lot of my friends. As soon as you walk in you can already sense the rustic feel of the place. The restaurant has its own character and it’s complimented by the friendly staff and amazing food. The advantage of going with a group of people is being able to order almost everything on the menu and trying it. I had ordered the shaved pork loin, roasted scallops, and peach melba. The pork loin was just a tad bit salty for me. Scallops were perfect though. I wish I had ordered the chocolate mousse for dessert instead of the peach melba but that’s okay I got to try a sample of it from my friend. Overall, the experience met my expectations. It was an enjoyable dinner and definitely recommend it!

Cool little place downtown. A bit pricey I guess for the area, after all it is a college town. I sat downstairs at the bar and ate, the inside of the place is very cool, it had a speakeasy type feel to it. The food was pretty good, I had a steak and it came out great. All of the food was gooood, just not great. Still I am glad I went and gave it a try, I just was not blown away.

Had a great meal in the Bistro with fresh and local veggies and other local farm products. Nice wine list and attentive staff. A little noisy but still enjoyable.

We did not check the prices prior to choosing this place. The signage outside makes you think you are entering a bar & grill type place. The inside is extremely rustic. Nice atmosphere, white table cloths, etc. good was outstanding and service and staff were great. The reason for the 3 stars is the quantity of food for the price. They serve the entrée with no sides and then you order «table sides». Having experience with an establishment like Ruth’s Chris or Maggiano’s, when you order sides you expect to get enough to feed the whole table. Each side was enough for one person. The steaks were a good portion as well as the lamb, however the halibut for $ 34 was quite the disappointment. So, would we come back again? Probably yes with no kids and would only order steak to feel like we got our money’s worth.

My friend and I came to C&O for Farm to Table Restaurant Week. As much as we were excited to try thus restaurant, we were a little disappointed by the food. The appetizer we got was rabbit dish. The mushroom was very fresh and highlighted the taste of the fettuccine. However, as a former vegetarian for 2 years, the meat smelled and tasted too strong for me. The main dish featured chicken with asparagus. The chicken was wrapped in ham — not a good combination. Also the white sauce killed the freshness of the chicken. Finally the dessert. I got raspberry frisk. Too sweet and chuncky.
I would not come back again and would not recommend to friends. But then again, keep in mind that I came here for the restaurant week.

In town for work. Everyone recommended this place. Dining room has lots of personality. Our server was friendly and made good suggestions for wine/​food. The food was excellent. The appetizers and sides we tried were the mushrooms, steak tartare (special), lobster salad and carpaccio. All were amazing but the tartare especially. Entrees were great too and the chocolate torte was my favorite.
Next time I’m down here this will be a must stop.
Incidentally I unknowingly are their food at a wedding this past October and remember that being great food as well!

I only get a handful of $ 50 meals, so my standard for those 50 bucks is pretty high. I was very excited to check out C and O this evening. I love French cuisine. I love wine and fresh baked bread with butter. That course of this evening’s meal did not disappoint.
When I first visit a restaurant, I make it a priority to order their signature dishes. Tonight I had their famous vegetable soup and I ordered the Steak Chinoise medium rare. The soup was not bad, but it didn’t inspire me. The steak was even less inspirational. I found that I was struggling very hard to discover it’s flavor. Over all the flavors were relatively mild. Not at all exciting.

My preference for restaurants was completely met at this location in Charlottesville. Quaint, with sincere attention to detail and quality, the restaurant has many different, smaller rooms in which to dine.
We were situated in the first room, which was akin to a corridor that sat 5 small tables. My group took up three of them, so it seemed like the whole room was ours.
The hostess and waiter were extremely knowledgeable and we’re happy to offer honest and excited reviews of each of the appetizers or meals.
We ordered a special appetizer that combined parmesan reggiano with prosciutto and shaved white truffles — melt in your mouth delicious!
We had had a larger lunch, so all but one of us ordered a combination of appetizers instead of an entrée, the price between which was comparable.
My selections were the trout and butternut squash tortellini. I highly enjoyed the trout, mostly because of the combination of elements (beets, greens, cheese). The tortellini was savory, but I felt it was too thick of a pasta for such a light filling. It was cooked aldente, which made it a bit tough.
All other dishes around the table were much enjoyed.
Ambience made this delightful spot one of my favorite spots of the trip.

Now that my husband (fellow Unilocaler Michal F.) and I have lived in Cville for a year, we know what our fav spots are: We came back to C&O for another special occasion — my birthday dinner.
The setting is perfect for a date night as the ambiance is quiet, cozy and dimly lit. Plus, they tried to leave a few empty tables around us and other couples for privacy. Side note: Definitely call in advance for reservations, as they get booked and we had to take an earlier dinner.
We again ordered Beef Carpaccio as an appetizer, and it was just as I remembered it from the year before: High-​quality meat with fresh arugula, salty parm and a crunchy hashed potato.
For our entrees: I got Bass with crab, while Michal got the Ribeye Steak with mushrooms and potatoes. Both were hearty, generous, filling and flavorful dishes. The fish was incredibly fork tender, yet had a crisp sear on the outside — cooked to perfection. The steak was cooked as Michal asked, medium rare, with his fav veggie that reminds him of his childhood in the woods of his grandfather’s farm. We happily traded plates mid-​meal to complete our own «Surf and Turf.»
Dessert — Enjoyed a divine Marscapone Cheesecake. It was tiny but rich. I appreciated how there was no crust and just «filling.» The server put a little candle in the middle for me to blow out — nice touch!
Still need to return for the Late Night menu, as I’m curious how it compares.