It was very easy to make a reservation although the hotel was completely booked. The noise level was somewhat bothersome. Our waitress on Wednesday was excellent. We enjoyed the Bavarian pretzels, brisket sliders, and curry chicken salad.
S E
The food and staff are top notch!!! The burger and pretzel bites are fire!!!! Taylor runs a great ship over there!!!! Thanks again The Good Sport!!!!
JustPassingThrough
Beautiful hotel, home to The Good Sport. Very lively crowd, energized by a U of Virginia televised basketball game and Super Bowl Weekend. From the valet parking staff to the host to the waitress, the staff was friendly, welcoming, and efficient. The cobb salad was beautifully presented; the smash burger, served with tasty waffle fries, was great. Highly recommended.
McRa
We visited The Good Sport prior to a basketball game at nearby JPJ areana. Predictably, the place was crowded with fans and very loud. We had made reservations and were promptly seated (with a choice of seats) and service was well paced and quick depsite the nearly full capacity. Would like to visit again on a non-event day. We ordered the chicken sandwich with salad and the fish tacos with fries. Both were fresh and filling. Order came with two large tacos.
HenryJ
The only option for lunch in this fabulous new hotel. It's really a sports bar but service was great, food very good, portions BIG! Enjoyed it when the patio was open last fall.
Mikheil N.
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.
My Reviews
Rating: 3.5 on UVA game night. Solid 4 rating other times.I've been here three times. The food is great pub food, with a fairly good variety. However, if you go on a game night, they are understaffed, and the service is not great.If you must go on UVA game night, make a reservation for 5:15 p.m. or earlier; 5 p.m. is better.If your reservation is at 5:30 p.m., you will miss the tip-off.As an example, we were seated promptly at 5:30 p.m. (we showed up at 5:15 p.m.). The table was ready, but they didn't want to seat us because of the busyness of the place.There was no water and no one to check on us until we flagged someone down at 5:55 p.m. Food didn't show up until 6:25 p.m. Lesson learned.I would recommend this place, just not on a game night unless you get the 5pm seating. They are quite busy.
It was before a basketball game and packed. Not enough servers. Our guy did his best but it was forever to get a drink and food. Salads had no dressing and the grilled cheese was black/burnt. They seemed overwhelmed
CharlesH
burger and steak frites were excellent, Italian Montepuciano wine was nice and reasonable in price. excellent upscale pub atmosphere. service was fine even though it was Christmas. Valet parking easy to use and free but for the tip. I wonder how many columns you can put on a hotel facade, I was not able to count them all easily.
Dj Patterson
Great grilled cheese. Fried pickles were pretty good too.
Service was incredibly slow and seemed more interested in cleaning to leave than servicing the table. The food was not very good. My wife got the Wagyu Brisket Sliders and they were really chewy and hard to eat. The fried chicken sandwich was mostly breading. Overall, not a great experience. I most likely will not return.
Emma E.
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.
PatrickW
Every time I eat at The Good Sport the staff seem to be overwhelmed by the number of people they have to serve. Leadership needs to figure out the ebbs and flows of the restaurant and have it adequately staffed to accommodate all traffic levels.
CarolynC
All the food was freshly prepared. Every ingredient in my very ample cobb salad was fresh and the salad's presentation was beautiful. They let me substitute cheeses, and I was most appreciative!
KimberleyD
Food is good, it's pub fare in a hotel. The waitress we had wasn't friendly and seemed annoyed that she had to serve us. Pricey for the area but you are paying for the ambiance.
It was very easy to make a reservation although the hotel was completely booked. The noise level was somewhat bothersome. Our waitress on Wednesday was excellent. We enjoyed the Bavarian pretzels, brisket sliders, and curry chicken salad.
The food and staff are top notch!!! The burger and pretzel bites are fire!!!! Taylor runs a great ship over there!!!! Thanks again The Good Sport!!!!
Beautiful hotel, home to The Good Sport. Very lively crowd, energized by a U of Virginia televised basketball game and Super Bowl Weekend. From the valet parking staff to the host to the waitress, the staff was friendly, welcoming, and efficient. The cobb salad was beautifully presented; the smash burger, served with tasty waffle fries, was great. Highly recommended.
We visited The Good Sport prior to a basketball game at nearby JPJ areana. Predictably, the place was crowded with fans and very loud. We had made reservations and were promptly seated (with a choice of seats) and service was well paced and quick depsite the nearly full capacity. Would like to visit again on a non-event day. We ordered the chicken sandwich with salad and the fish tacos with fries. Both were fresh and filling. Order came with two large tacos.
The only option for lunch in this fabulous new hotel. It's really a sports bar but service was great, food very good, portions BIG! Enjoyed it when the patio was open last fall.
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.
Rating: 3.5 on UVA game night. Solid 4 rating other times.I've been here three times. The food is great pub food, with a fairly good variety. However, if you go on a game night, they are understaffed, and the service is not great.If you must go on UVA game night, make a reservation for 5:15 p.m. or earlier; 5 p.m. is better.If your reservation is at 5:30 p.m., you will miss the tip-off.As an example, we were seated promptly at 5:30 p.m. (we showed up at 5:15 p.m.). The table was ready, but they didn't want to seat us because of the busyness of the place.There was no water and no one to check on us until we flagged someone down at 5:55 p.m. Food didn't show up until 6:25 p.m. Lesson learned.I would recommend this place, just not on a game night unless you get the 5pm seating. They are quite busy.
It was before a basketball game and packed. Not enough servers. Our guy did his best but it was forever to get a drink and food. Salads had no dressing and the grilled cheese was black/burnt. They seemed overwhelmed
burger and steak frites were excellent, Italian Montepuciano wine was nice and reasonable in price. excellent upscale pub atmosphere. service was fine even though it was Christmas. Valet parking easy to use and free but for the tip. I wonder how many columns you can put on a hotel facade, I was not able to count them all easily.
Great grilled cheese. Fried pickles were pretty good too.
Restaurantji Recommends
Service was incredibly slow and seemed more interested in cleaning to leave than servicing the table. The food was not very good. My wife got the Wagyu Brisket Sliders and they were really chewy and hard to eat. The fried chicken sandwich was mostly breading. Overall, not a great experience. I most likely will not return.
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.
Every time I eat at The Good Sport the staff seem to be overwhelmed by the number of people they have to serve. Leadership needs to figure out the ebbs and flows of the restaurant and have it adequately staffed to accommodate all traffic levels.
All the food was freshly prepared. Every ingredient in my very ample cobb salad was fresh and the salad's presentation was beautiful. They let me substitute cheeses, and I was most appreciative!
Food is good, it's pub fare in a hotel. The waitress we had wasn't friendly and seemed annoyed that she had to serve us. Pricey for the area but you are paying for the ambiance.