The Conservatory

We went for the Valentines Day special and it was such a wonderful experience! The curated menu was perfection and the atmosphere was like something from a movie! Well worth the trip!

Had Valentines day dinner with my wife. Food was good, if a little too expensive. Service was courteous and prompt, but somewhat haphazard. We had at least four different staff serving us, and they seemed uncoordinated. Our initial waitress checked in on us about ten minutes after our main courses were served. She offered to bring us our desserts, but another staff member had already brought them to our table, unbeknownst to her.

We did not know this was a restaurant inside a hotel and were impressed by the service after learning that. It felt like it's own little world. The ambience and seating was cozy.

The ambience and environment is spectacular, cocktails were good, and the Restaurant Week menu was enticing and creative, but the food was inconsistent (cold, stale fried plantains were a real disappointment) and the service was not up to par (orders entered incorrectly, items not delivered). For my first time here, I got the sense that The Conservatory is not very serious about being a real food destination. Come here for a cocktail in a great setting and go elsewhere to eat.

Food and ambiance was good, but service left a lot to be desired. There weren't real dinner tables for restaurant week, and they changed the dessert menu without notifying our table and delivered a different sorbet flavor than what we ordered. Would have ordered more drinks if our waiter had offered instead of just dropping off the check and walking away. Will definitely not going back for restaurant week again.

We went for restaurant week and it was good but not the best food I've ever had. Loved the ambiance and the service was very attentive.

Ambiance 10/10 but food was nothing special and not worth the price. Wouldn't eat here again

We arrived at 9pm and the Conservatory was perfect for late dining. Grilled wild mushroom is out of the world. Crab cake, grilled sausage, burger with Pollack wine and Potter cider helped end our long traveling day in the most satisfying way.

The service was terrific. My salmon was very over cooked, the fennel was bitter and the sauce was bland. My husband enjoyed his chicken and waffles

There was nobody to greet us/seat us or confirm reservation, just a bartender. Food was just okay, and certainly overpriced for quality, and service was slow and bad. Drinks forgotten, meals for table delivered 10 min apart. Call yourself what you are - a hotel bar that serves food. You shouldn't take reservations if you can't service the tables.

A nice setting in the Omni hotel. We came for restaurant week and had good service and decent food. We didn't love the creme brulee- it was grainy but otherwise the food (we got salmon and a burger) was good.0

My husband and I decided to try The Conservatory at the Omni for Restaurant Week this year, hoping it might defy the more critical reviews we’d seen. Unfortunately, our experience confirmed many of the concerns others had raised — and then some.

From the very first course, it was clear we were in for a rough dining experience. I ordered the roasted cauliflower, which was unfortunately overwhelmed by an unpleasant chimichurri sauce that did it no favors. My husband’s crabcakes arrived lukewarm, though he did note they seemed to contain real crab meat.

We both selected the steak and fries for our entrée. Despite ordering different levels of doneness — rare and medium — both steaks were burnt and overcooked, tasting more like dry, charred meat than anything resembling quality steak. I can say confidently it was the worst steak I’ve had in Charlottesville. The fries were passable, but nothing memorable — just enough to keep the meal from being entirely dismal.

Dessert was our last hope for some redemption. We ordered the flourless chocolate cake, which was described as being served with salted caramel and fruit. In reality, it was topped with store-bought Hershey’s chocolate and caramel sauces. The cake itself was the most enjoyable part of the meal, but only because it was sweet and had a decent texture — not because it stood out in any real culinary way.

The only redeeming aspects of the evening were the lovely ambiance at the Omni and our waiter (and food servers) who were warm, attentive, and genuinely kind. It’s a shame that the service and setting are let down by food that simply doesn’t measure up.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 1

Service: 5

I read the reviews and came in with the expectation that the food wasn’t going to be good but the atmosphere was incredible. The atmosphere was awesome! The tall wall with windows and comfy chairs make this place very nice. I had the trout appetizer, chicken and waffles for main course and apple pie for desert. Everything was full of flavor and exceeding my expectations! No idea what those reviews were about…

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Do not order the Smoked Trout Tartine. It was in actuality two scoops of very salty trout sitting on two small pieces of toast. Terrible!

We were 5 people so they set up 2 square tables for us, which allowed each person more room than the round tables. We each had a very comfortable chair, rather than a sofa seat, to sit on. The Conservatory decor has many different decorative parts to it; we couldn't decide the theme, although it seemed to fit together. The food was very good, tasty, and sufficient for our early evening meal. The tables are cloth-covered , with cloth napkins, etc. Waitress and man who assisted her were attentive. The Conservatory has a relaxing and comfortable atmosphere, lots of seating available within and nearby. Currently there is free parking and you're located at the beginning of the Downtown Mall, great for walking, browsing, and shopping at not-run-of-the mill stores and restaurants.