Dining Near Luray

[catharine]

Hi all - I will be in Luray Saturday night, and was wondering if there was anywhere in the town or the surrounding area that would be worthwhile for dinner. Nothing too heavy, as I'll be attending a triathlon training clinic the following morning. Thanks!

Catharine

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[The following posts have been split into separate threads:

Southern Kitchen (SRJ)]

[MelGold]

Hi all - I will be in Luray Saturday night, and was wondering if there was anywhere in the town or the surrounding area that would be worthwhile for dinner. Nothing too heavy, as I'll be attending a triathlon training clinic the following morning. Thanks!

Catharine

Are you doing the Luray Tri in August? I swam in the relay there last year...great course. My friend, who does a ton of triathlons did a write up on her blog from last year's triathlon (http://katiedavison....luray-fest.html) and mentions going to Uncle Buck's a couple of times (42 East Main Street - 540.743.2323). There's a full list here: http://www.ganderisl...estaurants.html

Good luck!

[catharine]

Are you doing the Luray Tri in August? I swam in the relay there last year...great course. My friend, who does a ton of triathlons did a write up on her blog from last year's triathlon (http://katiedavison....luray-fest.html) and mentions going to Uncle Buck's a couple of times (42 East Main Street - 540.743.2323). There's a full list here: http://www.ganderisl...estaurants.html

Good luck!

No. I'm doing the Columbia Tri 5/18 (at the same time as the picnic ) and the NJ State Tri. I'll check out her blog. Thanks.

[Waitman]

I'm not sure there's anything worth going out of your way for in Luray, based on a couple of overnights there. Of course, you're only a half hour from Little Washington, and that inn , or Front Royal and Apartment 2G. If you don't want to drive, though, you might want to consider packing a picnic.

[The Hersch]

I ate at a restaurant in Luray back in (I think) 1979. It was called "Brown's Chinese Restaurant", and it was quite possibly the worst Chinese restaurant I ever encountered in my life. Remarkably, I see via Google that it's still in business. Online comments feature praise such as "Don't go here!" and "Beware!". You could go there.

[pax]

Heh, have you been to Luray? The best you could hope for is that your flea bag no-tel has a microwave.

[durwoodx]

Has anything here improved at all? We will be there Aug 13-15 for the Luray Triathlon (wife is doing both days crazy woman) and while we got reservations at Inn at Little Washington on Sat we still need sustenance on Friday night. Any ideas at all? Anyone? Really. Good food in Luray? Anyone?

[dcs]

Has anything here improved at all? We will be there Aug 13-15 for the Luray Triathlon (wife is doing both days crazy woman) and while we got reservations at Inn at Little Washington on Sat we still need sustenance on Friday night. Any ideas at all? Anyone? Really. Good food in Luray? Anyone?

I had a passable lunch a few years back at Artisans Grill. I see it is open for dinner until 9pm on Fridays. Tough town for food, Luray is.

[Kibbee Nayee]

I have heard from a friend that A Moment to Remember was not too bad for German food....

http://www.a-moment2remember.com

[catharine]

Hello fellow triathlete (or spouse of a triathlete)!

I never did explore the Luray dining scene. Are you really eating at the Inn at Little Washington the night after the Oly and before the sprint? Can I join you?

It isn't gourmet, but if you need a meal Friday night, please feel free to be my guests at our Team Z tent at the race site. The tradition is to keep the grills going for breakfast, lunch and dinner. We'll arrive Friday afternoon and leave Sunday (camping at the race site). Not sure what's on the menu, but it is always a ton of fun. PM me if you're interested or you just want to meet up at the race.

[Miami Danny]

It has been awhile, but I used to spend a lot of time in Luray-the chain hotel on the main drag, I believe it is a Best Western, had a pretty good country-style breakfast. I used to get the decent fried chicken at the terrible Chinese restaurant (Brown's), but everyone else hated the place, and everyone but me got violently ill from their food. Unless you are immune to food-borne illnesses, I recommend you dine elsewhere. And by elsewhere, I mean in another town.

[liz2041]

I think it may be a restaurant (I have never eaten there) but you have to check out the Rainbow Place ( I have no idea what the name is but you can't miss it) on 211 outside of Luray. It's on the left hand side as you travel west out of Luray. I stumbled in there looking for wine when we were staying out near Stanley. Cross the threshold and you enter into a world of magical crystals, sno-globes and all kinds of f-ed up fairy stuff. Hang tough through that section and make a right after the weird stuff part and they have this insanely unbelieveable wine selection. All unique stuff from all over the world, most of it covered in dust. It was truly a bizzare experience, but I got 3 or 4 great bottles of wine there. I think it is an ice cream parlor also. I made my group go back with me on the way back out of town b/c no one believed me.

[durwoodx]

Well I can certainly add another place NOT to visit in Luray - the Brick Oven Pizza place just to the west of the intersection of 211 and 340. Crust rivals Papa John's, cheese was the bad kind of chewy, and it had (the horror) powdered garlic all over the top of it.

We ate a couple of times at the Speakeasy and Circa '33 in the Mimslyn Inn (since we were staying there and got a surprise free voucher with our package) which was not terrible. The wings were actually all right, but the taps in the bar need to be cleaned something fierce (skun-KY!)

Sadly what was (by all accounts) the only "real" restaurant in town, the Artisan Grill, has been shut down due to a fire for a good while and will be for the foreseeable future.

[schulju]

My husband and I visited the Caverns in Luray a few years ago. On a tip from our guide, we left the main gate, crossed over Hwy. 211 and took a left when the street ended at Main. Within a block or two on the left was a little cafe. I can't recall the name, but it was before you got anywhere near the "downtown" area. I had the best grilled cheese sandwhich there! Hubby had a turkey or meatloaf speacial..something like that. It was pleasant, casual, "country-style" food. I can't locate a name and it doesn't pop up on Google when I look in the area so I don't even know if it's still there. If it is, it may be the best food in Luray based on previous comments.

[Atenna]

Staying in the Luray area 3 days next week; does anyone know of ANY decent restaurant for lunch or dinner in or near Luray? We will likely on eat out one one or two meals. The rest of the time we plan to drink and eat in .

[DonRocks]

Staying in the Luray area 3 days next week; does anyone know of ANY decent restaurant for lunch or dinner in or near Luray? We will likely on eat out one one or two meals. The rest of the time we plan to drink and eat in .

We had a positive post about the Pollock Dining Room.

[Rovers2000]

I was recently out in Luray for a wedding and this is what we stumbled across:

-West Main Street Market - Good sandwiches (blt, chicken breast, etc) and salads (pasta, potato, etc). There are a few tables, but its definitely more of a deli style place.

-Triple Crown BBQ - Outdoor seating, Food truck. Above average BBQ, pulled pork and pit beef.

Its really pretty barren food wise out there but I'd go back to the above two again...I would however strongly suggest checking out Glen Manor (which was probably the highlight of our weekend out there and I'd imagine the leaves are starting to turn) which is about 15 min from Luray...Linden is also closeby but I didn't have the time to stop.

[Mark Dedrick]

I would not eat at Uncle Buck's unless you had no other options. We also found a diner in Stanley (name is escaping me right now) which was decent for breakfast.

[frogprince]

This may be too late but we stumbled across Mr B's BBQ last year when we were passing through. Its the kind of place that one always dreams of discovering, especially when travelling away from home, that dilapidated shack sitting forlornly by the side of the road forsaken by even the most battle-tested world travelers, the creaky weathered swinging door hanging off its last two coppered bolts, the lazy indolent feline that greets you inside and the two pitmasters, sharing enough attitude between them to make a hampden hon blush, whose remain fixated on the the young and the restless flickering on the black and white tube in the corner that one must marvel at the 'cue they produce, given their lackadaisical attitude; but the 'cue, oh! the 'cue!

[DonRocks]

This may be too late but we stumbled across Mr B's BBQ last year when we were passing through. Its the kind of place that one always dreams of discovering, especially when travelling away from home, that dilapidated shack sitting forlornly by the side of the road forsaken by even the most battle-tested world travelers, the creaky weathered swinging door hanging off its last two coppered bolts, the lazy indolent feline that greets you inside and the two pitmasters, sharing enough attitude between them to make a hampden hon blush, whose remain fixated on the the young and the restless flickering on the black and white tube in the corner that one must marvel at the 'cue they produce, given their lackadaisical attitude; but the 'cue, oh! the 'cue!

Mr. B's in White Post is closed; the one in Berryville is still open - do you remember which one you went to?

[There was an existing Dining Near Luray thread which I just merged this into, so the first 14 posts in this thread are now "new-old recommendations."]

Also, see Dining near Skyline Drive.

[liz2041]

We had lunch at the Artisan Grill in town. It was decent enough. Clearly it is the place in town to go after Sunday services.

We have also eaten at the Speakeasy in the Mimslyn Inn. We were there on a Friday evening. It was last year so I don't remember what we ate. The food was just ok but probably better then other choices in town. Just as Artisan is for the church going crowd on Sunday, the speakeasy is apparently the hangout for the chamber of commerce folks and town bigwigs on a Friday evening. The people we met were insanely nice.

[Brian R]

As I just spent a few days in the area, I thought I would give an update.  Artisan Grill is closed, and I did not visit the Mimslyn Inn.

Gathering Grounds was the most interesting in the area, and they are trying to casually upscale the offerings.  They offer sandwiches and homemade baked goods.  On Fridays and Saturdays, they are open until 8:00 PM, and offer 3-4 dinner entrees.  This weekend was a grilled flank steak, stir fried shrimp with vegetables, and a sautéed chicken breast with gravy.  My wife and I both ended up ordering a Turkey Cobb sandwich.  The turkey breast was roasted and thickly sliced, and the bread was warm.   The sandwiches did not have avocado, which for some reason I expected in a sandwich called "Cobb", but my wife and I both enjoyed ours.  Besides a limited number of wines, they also offered Old Hill Cider on tap, which I had never had before.  We each split a slice of chocolate chess pie and a German chocolate brownie, both of which were too rich for us to finish in one go.  I would not call this a destination place to come to Luray for, but if you are there, it's a decent place to try that's a step or three above Uncle Buck's. I'd go back and try their coffee and breakfast.  We had to leave before they opened on Sunday.

We did eat at Uncle Buck's for a pre-hike breakfast, and I had the Chicken Fried Steak, which was passable, and had the advantage of being beef, which I did not have the night before.  

Which is the segue to avoid Hawksbill Diner outside of Stanley, which is just south of Luray.  It was close to our rental on a Friday night where we were tired of driving.  Tons of cars out front offered the promise of a good meal, but it was not to be.  The most positive things about the diner was that it is cheap, and the staff and customers were all super friendly.  The Chicken Fried Steak was a small round fried chicken patty you would put on a sandwich.  My wife had the fried chicken, and the fried batter/breading was so salty, I could only have a couple of bites.  Maybe breakfast is better, but we never went back.

There will be a new restaurant opening soonish in Luray on Main Street, called Moonshadows. The website describes the cooking as, "a rustic blend of international cuisines using unique ingredients sourced locally when possible."  It may be another restaurant worth trying eventually.

So Luray remains an "OK" place, but nothing really outstanding or containing any restaurant I'd go out of my way for.  Both Front Royal and Staunton are both about an hour away, so there's not a lot of alternatives if you are staying in the area.