reedm Posted June 17, 2019 Share Posted June 17, 2019 Scored a reservation for four this Friday, and I'm certainly looking forward to it. A friend of mine ate there two or three times before the place became well-known, and he thoroughly enjoyed it. It's a bit of a drive, even from Ashburn, but I know it will be great. Haven't read anything here--has anyone been? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reedm Posted June 25, 2019 Author Share Posted June 25, 2019 A wonderful experience which I'd highly recommend to others on this board. My personal observations and pictures will be forthcoming. In the meanwhile, I recommend you sign up for a waiting list reservation and/or reserve a spot when you have the opportunity. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keithstg Posted June 25, 2019 Share Posted June 25, 2019 20 hours ago, reedm said: A wonderful experience which I'd highly recommend to others on this board. My personal observations and pictures will be forthcoming. In the meanwhile, I recommend you sign up for a waiting list reservation and/or reserve a spot when you have the opportunity. I wonder if they have changed the waiting list reservation policy. We have been on the waiting list for several dates and have had emails letting us know a time had opened up, but alas have never been successful in getting through early enough to snag the table. Anyway, glad you had a great experience and we will keep trying! Apparently I am not alone in my plight! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reedm Posted June 30, 2019 Author Share Posted June 30, 2019 On 6/24/2019 at 9:22 PM, Keithstg said: I wonder if they have changed the waiting list reservation policy. We have been on the waiting list for several dates and have had emails letting us know a time had opened up, but alas have never been successful in getting through early enough to snag the table. Anyway, glad you had a great experience and we will keep trying! Apparently I am not alone in my plight! I believe the reservation system is essentially the same. My reservation was obtained by complete luck--I was checking my email and the waitlist email appeared. They did change the time of day the reservations open--staying up until midnight to snag a spot was not too popular. 🙂 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post reedm Posted June 30, 2019 Author Popular Post Share Posted June 30, 2019 First things first: If you are willing to make the drive to Sperryville and you have the means to pay for a great evening, find a way to make a reservation. Our evening at Three Blacksmiths was wonderful. We would return without a second thought. John and Diane MacPherson are wonderful proprietors and hosts. I find it somewhat remarkable they can provide such wonderful food and drink with a total of 5 people. We (a party of four) arrived on time for the one and only 7pm seating. There is no bar or waiting area in the restaurant, so like the other guests, we were shown to our table as soon as we walked in. We received a warm welcome by Diane, and then John delivered sparkling wine, which was more than welcome after a long drive. I'll try to keep this brief. The menu is set unless dietary accommodations are requested in advance. The only choice to make is for beverages. Everyone chose the drink pairing ($70), but drinks are available a la carte as well. The set menu is currently $128 pp, plus 20% service charge and tax. All in, the price worked out to about $250 pp. As a rule, Three Blacksmiths sources their food and drink locally, and the menu certainly reflected that during our visit. My descriptions do not do the food or drink justice, trust me. Amuse bouche with sorrel leaf filled with an herbed cheese* (I don't recall the filling), hearth roasted vegetables with aioli, and maitake mushroom on a small piece of puff pastry. Wonderful. "Carrots and Radicchio". Impossibly thin carrot slices with carrot syrup and carrot top pesto, served with a soft boiled bantam hen egg. Bread and home made butter. The bread was house made pecan sunflower (?) bread served with two types of house made butter. One was sprinkled with sea salt, and the other was nasturtium butter. The bread was served in a box layered with warm river rocks, and it was fantastic. We all made the mistake of assuming the bread was all we were going to get, so some of us (aka me) slathered copious amounts of butter onto the bread. Lo and behold, more bread arrived. The pictured drink is Dolin Blanc with a twist. It was a unanimous favorite, and I think there may have been something more than a twist. Chilled courgette soup. We all loved this as well--a chilled zucchini soup with finely diced zucchini for texture, and dill oil for flavor. This was a surprise dish of steelhead trout, roe, and strawberry oil. Extremely fresh and refreshing. I loved the detail of the dishes, fork and spoon. "Whippoorwill Spring Pea Agnolotti". This dish was sublime. The prosciutto was perfectly crisp, and balanced the smooth pasta, chees filling, and broth perfectly. We all agreed the Maison Shaps Bourgogne Aligote was a perfect match. John provided some interesting background about the wine, as well. Shaps is one of the few vintners who produces wine in both Virginia and France. Striploin with smoked potato puree, chioggia beet, young garlic, and broccoline. This was another excellent and creative dish. The beef was cooked perfectly, and the jus was a combination of beef juice and beet juice. Fork tender. The granache was another perfect pairing. The "Elder Dida Elixer" was the drink pairing for dessert. The Dida distillery is a short drive a way, and connected to Rappahannock Cellars, which is our favorite Va winery. The cocktail contained gin, and elderflower liquore was very creative, and a great match for the dessert. The Rappahannock Berry Cobbler was a perfect finish. The ginger shortcake was crisp and light, and it was easy to tell the berries were very fresh. I'd certainly never enjoyed Spruce Tip gelato before, but this dessert was killer. Coffee and tea were included with the price of dinner. The French press coffee was welcome for the long drive home. We spent just over 3 hours at the Three Blacksmiths, yet it seemed like minutes. 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe H Posted July 20, 2019 Share Posted July 20, 2019 This is the most difficult reservation in America and worth the effort. We have been twice since they opened (including two weeks ago) and have two more upcoming reservations-one night next month and one in January of next year. This is my favorite restaurant in the U.S. in part because of the extraordinary ambience, incredible presentation of John and Diane and having now sampled 15+ dishes the honest belief that the overall experience rivals The Inn which is only five miles away. But we prefer Three Blacksmiths. On the website you will see instructions for how to make your on line reservation. Generally they open up 205 days in advance and after you log in at exactly 10:00 AM you will have two, perhaps three minutes to reserve. At 10:02 or 10:03 the 16 seats will be gone. Sixteen seats three nights a week. Occasionally they may add an additional two or four seats but the reservations assume 16. Again, it is worth the effort and extraordinary wait. 6 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe H Posted July 21, 2019 Share Posted July 21, 2019 I must add an addendum: look closely at the photograph of the open kitchen above in reedm’s expressive post. Enlarge it. All of the woodwork was done by hand by the owners. From the ten inch beams to the carving-this is a hand built two hundred year old exquisitely restored Inn in the Alps. Note the soft lighting and candles throughout the photos. Character, romance and quiet comfort. I know of no other restaurant in America like this. It is an extraordinary escape for this side of the Atlantic. And worth the journey on the other side. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lion Posted July 21, 2019 Share Posted July 21, 2019 On 7/20/2019 at 12:51 AM, Joe H said: This is the most difficult reservation in America and worth the effort. We have been twice since they opened (including two weeks ago) and have two more upcoming reservations-one night next month and one in January of next year. This is my favorite restaurant in the U.S. in part because of the extraordinary ambience, incredible presentation of John and Diane and having now sampled 15+ dishes the honest belief that the overall experience rivals The Inn which is only five miles away. But we prefer Three Blacksmiths. On the website you will see instructions for how to make your on line reservation. Generally they open up 205 days in advance and after you log in at exactly 10:00 AM you will have two, perhaps three minutes to reserve. At 10:02 or 10:03 the 16 seats will be gone. Sixteen seats three nights a week. Occasionally they may add an additional two or four seats but the reservations assume 16. Again, it is worth the effort and extraordinary wait. Welcome back Joe! Great to read your recommendation and review! 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keithstg Posted January 4, 2021 Share Posted January 4, 2021 Late to posting this, but attached/ below is a menu from our dinner on 12/5. Really enjoyed the space and atmosphere. Food was excellent as well, though the wine pairings/ list could use some work though the Sipp Mack Riesling was a winner (we did the "premium pairing", noted with diamonds). Headed back on Thursday - reservation times seem to have opened up a bit. Stayed at Hopkins Ordinary which is about 300 yards from the restaurant. I'm decidedly not a B&B person, but enjoyed our stay. There's a brewery located at the Inn, and a minimum of doilies/ chintz. One could make a really nice weekend out of a combo three blacksmiths/ IALW trip. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reedm Posted February 20, 2021 Author Share Posted February 20, 2021 We finally managed a return visit, this time with four of our friends, and we had a fantastic evening. The food and drink were amazing, and despite the COVID protocols in place, the hospitality was wonderful again as well. While all of the food was wonderful, we agreed the Bison tenderloin was a standout dish. Fork tender, with a delicious smokiness. We opted for the reserve wines, which were also wonderful. I'll leave it to the wine experts here to judge the selection, but I found the dessert wine pairing to be especially nice. This time, we spent the night at Hopkins Ordinary, and thoroughly enjoyed it. The proprietors were as nice as could be. (What's in the water in Sperryville?) I too believe Three Blacksmiths is one of the very best restaurants in the area. 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reedm Posted August 23, 2021 Author Share Posted August 23, 2021 https://www.rappnews.com/news/business/three-blacksmiths-owners-sell-the-nationally-acclaimed-sperryville-restaurant/article_a1dcb534-fe9c-11eb-be05-8b201e5b0312.html Quite the change. I wish the new owners great success. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MsDiPesto Posted August 24, 2021 Share Posted August 24, 2021 I wish great success to the new owners and hope diners are able to continue to enjoy the high bar set by the McPhersons. That said, the last thing in the world I wanted when I was in HS was to have my 'rents around all the time. Just sayin'. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ALB Posted August 24, 2021 Share Posted August 24, 2021 2 hours ago, MsDiPesto said: I wish great success to the new owners and hope diners are able to continue to enjoy the high bar set by the McPhersons. That said, the last thing in the world I wanted when I was in HS was to have my 'rents around all the time. Just sayin'. I was just in sperryville, there is NOTHING to do... teens or otherwise All the restaurants I guess other than three blacksmiths, closed at 8 on saturday! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bart Posted August 24, 2021 Share Posted August 24, 2021 This quote on Bibiana from Rapphannock News seems unnecessary. 😂 After six years in Hong Kong, the Addeos moved to Washington, D.C. where Mr. Addeo headed up the kitchens of the since-shittered Osteria Bibiana Enoteca, 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now