I used to love this place, but the most recent visit was truly one of the worst service experiences I have ever dealt with. We had a larger party, which was confirmed and reserved over a week prior. Our server was extremely rude and was not writing any of our orders down and had to come back multiple times to get drink orders again because she forgot. Then another server comes and literally yanks all of the menus away before we had even ordered our main dishes, we literally had to get up and chase him down to ask for them back. When it came time to pay, our server was extremely aggressive insisting certain people pay first and more money. We understand that the 20% gratuity had been added because of the size of our group but bill totals were not adding up and she was not showing anyone the breakdown on their bill. A couple people ended up paying over $80 for just a drink, salad and an appetizer which is most certainly not the total for this. We all agreed upon leaving that we will never ever return here again for our girls dinner. This place has truly gone down hill, with rude staff, expensive food that isn't anything special and adding extra charges to bills without explanation. There are so many better options for dinner and drinks in the Charlottesville area, don't waste your time here!
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 3
Service: 1
Paul Gifford
They served me raw chicken. The staff was very nice and made good about it, but I’m just so thoroughly grossed out. I will not be returning.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 1
Service: 5
Patricia Redmond
Food was ok, not remarkable. Had eggs Benedict with pork belly and bloody mary hollandaise. Pork belly was bland hollandaise overpowering. Service was great, bloody Mary tasty
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Corey Jones
The food was phenomenal but the service was the worst I've ever had in a while. We sat outside and while the other servers were great and checked on the tables behind us diligently and frequently for some reason our table was all but ignored by our server. Waited 15 minutes to have our order taken and were never checked on again. It got to the point where I was unsure of who our actual server was (he kind of stopped by on the fly and never again) then I had to walk inside and ask "how do I get my check?" I'm not usually one to give a bad review but this was an unacceptable experience because again we were watching all other tables be served well and often, considering they were not packed.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 1
Inacamper
There are so many fantastic restaurants in Charlottesville near the downtown mall; we’ve tried many but Tonic is our favorite because of the creative and fresh menu, delicious drinks and al fresco vibes. Our favorites are vegetarian creations like grits and Brussels, and unique special soups. Last night we tried a new appetizer with ricotta, apples and caramelized onions served with artisan sourdough (chef’s kiss)…
Seems like every time I eat here some of the dishes are excellent and some are just so so. But overall a good experience and will be going back again.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 5
Arabella Bonsor
Fresh flavors and great cocktails
Vegetarian options: Vegan options available
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Open Faced Tomato Sandwich, Crispy Potatoes, Grits
Elizabeth Kerr
I simply can't say enough about this restaurant. It has a hip interior and an incredibly large patio for dining al fresco. I sat at the bar and was thoroughly entertained by the entire staff, but especially Wils. He was knowledgeable and engaging. He suggested a Portuguese red called Santar Vinho Tinto and it is worth getting again.
I ate an entirely vegetarian meal and it was filling and tasty. I had the roasted peaches and whipped ricotta with basil and pistachios and the open-faced tomato sandwich with smashed avocado, feta, and roasted corn salad. Yum! Thanks again for feeding me.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Sandwich
Yel Galo
This is about the service mistake of including the meal tax in computing for the preset tip amounts for us to choose when paying the bill. We just had cocktail drinks and dinner at the bar at 6:00pm. The drinks and food was alright and the atmosphere was very good. The bartender was nice and she closed our bill. However she included the meal tax in computing for the preset tip amounts. She just presented us the electronic screen that shows the total bill amount which includes the meal tax and the corresponding tip amount for 15, 20, and 20% tip rate. There was no breakdown of the items ordered and order total amount excluding the meal tax. I was only able to see the details after the credit was charged when she printed the invoice and the receipt. When I checked the receipt and invoice later, I saw that the bartender included the meal tax in computing for the tip amounts which is wrong. A customer should not pay a tip for the meal tax. Please present the breakdown of the items ordered and the total first before charged the customer’s credit card. This gives a bad aftertaste to a good dining experience.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
Ali Drew
Wonderful dinner and service. We were so happy that the heat broke and we were able to eat outside. Our server kept our water glasses full which was very appreciated since it was still warm. I am Gluten, Dairy and soy free so I always worry what I'll be able to eat. The server helped me pick and I got the brussel sprouts over grits with chicken. I also had a few cocktails, My husband had the salmon burger The Ego Boost is a really nice cocktail, I would recommend it if you like bourbon. We finished the night with the GF almond and olive oil cake that was to die for. Excellent dinner and experience overall.
The food was fresh and delicious, as usual. I highly recommend trying the salad with salmon patties.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Sad Salmon Burger, Salad with Salmon Patty
Dror Pikielny
Fantastic experience. Spot on cocktails and excellent food. Very welcoming. I will definitely return.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Eric Fafoglia
Excellent cocktails. Was even able to bring our dog and hung out on the patio. Great vibes.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Mark Hogan
Tonic has a great vibe, very friendly and attentive staff. the food was excellent.....recommend highly.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Ixchel
Always grateful for vegan options. Food was good; portions were small; a little pricey. I had the potato soup and roasted eggplant small plate. I didn’t see outdoor seating unless they share the courtyard. ?
I used to love this place, but the most recent visit was truly one of the worst service experiences I have ever dealt with. We had a larger party, which was confirmed and reserved over a week prior. Our server was extremely rude and was not writing any of our orders down and had to come back multiple times to get drink orders again because she forgot. Then another server comes and literally yanks all of the menus away before we had even ordered our main dishes, we literally had to get up and chase him down to ask for them back. When it came time to pay, our server was extremely aggressive insisting certain people pay first and more money. We understand that the 20% gratuity had been added because of the size of our group but bill totals were not adding up and she was not showing anyone the breakdown on their bill. A couple people ended up paying over $80 for just a drink, salad and an appetizer which is most certainly not the total for this. We all agreed upon leaving that we will never ever return here again for our girls dinner. This place has truly gone down hill, with rude staff, expensive food that isn't anything special and adding extra charges to bills without explanation. There are so many better options for dinner and drinks in the Charlottesville area, don't waste your time here!
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 3
Service: 1
They served me raw chicken.
The staff was very nice and made good about it, but I’m just so thoroughly grossed out. I will not be returning.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 1
Service: 5
Food was ok, not remarkable. Had eggs Benedict with pork belly and bloody mary hollandaise. Pork belly was bland hollandaise overpowering. Service was great, bloody Mary tasty
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
The food was phenomenal but the service was the worst I've ever had in a while. We sat outside and while the other servers were great and checked on the tables behind us diligently and frequently for some reason our table was all but ignored by our server. Waited 15 minutes to have our order taken and were never checked on again. It got to the point where I was unsure of who our actual server was (he kind of stopped by on the fly and never again) then I had to walk inside and ask "how do I get my check?" I'm not usually one to give a bad review but this was an unacceptable experience because again we were watching all other tables be served well and often, considering they were not packed.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 1
There are so many fantastic restaurants in Charlottesville near the downtown mall; we’ve tried many but Tonic is our favorite because of the creative and fresh menu, delicious drinks and al fresco vibes. Our favorites are vegetarian creations like grits and Brussels, and unique special soups. Last night we tried a new appetizer with ricotta, apples and caramelized onions served with artisan sourdough (chef’s kiss)…
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Curried Sweet Potato Soup, Brussels Mushrooms and Grits, Baked Ricotta
Seems like every time I eat here some of the dishes are excellent and some are just so so. But overall a good experience and will be going back again.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 5
Fresh flavors and great cocktails
Vegetarian options: Vegan options available
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Open Faced Tomato Sandwich, Crispy Potatoes, Grits
I simply can't say enough about this restaurant. It has a hip interior and an incredibly large patio for dining al fresco. I sat at the bar and was thoroughly entertained by the entire staff, but especially Wils. He was knowledgeable and engaging. He suggested a Portuguese red called Santar Vinho Tinto and it is worth getting again.
I ate an entirely vegetarian meal and it was filling and tasty. I had the roasted peaches and whipped ricotta with basil and pistachios and the open-faced tomato sandwich with smashed avocado, feta, and roasted corn salad. Yum! Thanks again for feeding me.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Sandwich
This is about the service mistake of including the meal tax in computing for the preset tip amounts for us to choose when paying the bill.
We just had cocktail drinks and dinner at the bar at 6:00pm. The drinks and food was alright and the atmosphere was very good.
The bartender was nice and she closed our bill. However she included the meal tax in computing for the preset tip amounts. She just presented us the electronic screen that shows the total bill amount which includes the meal tax and the corresponding tip amount for 15, 20, and 20% tip rate. There was no breakdown of the items ordered and order total amount excluding the meal tax. I was only able to see the details after the credit was charged when she printed the invoice and the receipt. When I checked the receipt and invoice later, I saw that the bartender included the meal tax in computing for the tip amounts which is wrong. A customer should not pay a tip for the meal tax.
Please present the breakdown of the items ordered and the total first before charged the customer’s credit card. This gives a bad aftertaste to a good dining experience.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
Wonderful dinner and service. We were so happy that the heat broke and we were able to eat outside. Our server kept our water glasses full which was very appreciated since it was still warm.
I am Gluten, Dairy and soy free so I always worry what I'll be able to eat.
The server helped me pick and I got the brussel sprouts over grits with chicken. I also had a few cocktails,
My husband had the salmon burger
The Ego Boost is a really nice cocktail, I would recommend it if you like bourbon.
We finished the night with the GF almond and olive oil cake that was to die for.
Excellent dinner and experience overall.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
The food was fresh and delicious, as usual. I highly recommend trying the salad with salmon patties.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Sad Salmon Burger, Salad with Salmon Patty
Fantastic experience. Spot on cocktails and excellent food. Very welcoming. I will definitely return.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Excellent cocktails. Was even able to bring our dog and hung out on the patio. Great vibes.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Tonic has a great vibe, very friendly and attentive staff. the food was excellent.....recommend highly.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Always grateful for vegan options. Food was good; portions were small; a little pricey. I had the potato soup and roasted eggplant small plate. I didn’t see outdoor seating unless they share the courtyard. ?
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 5
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