We're out-of-towners so this is a sample of one but we are frequent travelers so this review is based on experience and comparison with similar restaurants. Ambience is good, well-lit, clean and classy. Good jazz music playing in the background. Wait staff is nice, courteous and neatly dressed. Drinks are good. Have a good number of selection. Bartender is great. Knowledgeable and good conversationalist. Where the restaurant fails is their food. We ordered steak and pork chops. Steak was ordered cooked medium but came out medium rare. We pointed this out, came back to the kitchen to be cooked some more, came back to us and it was still the same. We asked if they sous vide the meat and they said no they don't. That's probably why. Pork chop was ordered medium and came out to be more well done. It was dry and had no flavor. Food presentation was mediocre at best. Worst part is the price. They are asking for champagne prices but you are given Boone's farm wine. Prices here are comparable to Metzger or Roosevelt's at Richmond, but quality here is well below.
Leif
Very limited wine selections. Food was good but the salmon overcooked. Cream brûlée had had lumps inside it. Not very appealing. Waitress suggested an expensive white wine which we choose anther at a mid range price. Obviously she did not know her wines as she had to have assistance uncorking the bottle we choose. It will probably be a while before we try the restaurant again.
Joseph
I was disappointed, but probably because of the hype. It was definitely not the quality I expected for the prices. The food was ok, but not amazing.
Jay Rollins
My wife and I went here for our anniversary last weekend. Our server was wonderful, she told us they had been very busy and were slightly backed up but you would have never known. Food was excellent. I had the pork chop and my wife had the fillet, both of which were prepared very well. Wonderful place, we will definitely come back when we are in town again.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
G7593AAjosephm
We had a reservation but were told we couldn’t be seated because there were not enough menus. Finally got seated after a 15 minute wait while others who had reservations got seated right away. Server must have been new. We had to ask for bread and water refills. We were never offered coffee or a dessert menu after supper. Food wasn’t worth the price. The crabcake was soggy from being drowned in remoulade. The salmon was ordered medium and arrived well done. This could have been one of the most disappointing dinners we have had in quite a while
Mary
We had high expectations for Shoemaker's as from experience the boutique hotels have character and generally good food. Last night's dinner (9/12) was extremely disappointing. Two of us had the 8 oz filets - suspiciously under weight (yes, I have 30 years in the F&B business). One of us had the strip. Degree of doneness was good but the meat was very tough. Next the menu promised asparagus and seasonal vegetables. What arrived was overcooked broccolini (yuck) and a single carrot that was so undercooked that one couldn't cut it. Mashed potatoes were okay but under seasoned; the baked potato arrived arrayed in tin foil - who does that these days and when asked what I wanted on the baked potato it was applied in the kitchen before I even had a chance to season the potato. The desserts weren't worth a review. This is too bad as you have an attractive and quaint building, a historical reference to the area and a simple limited menu. You should be able to put out top quality food for the price you are charging. Service was adequate but otherwise unremarkable. I hope you can pull things together and get Lynchburg as great fine dining establishment.
Sherri
Went two nights in a row. Loved the ribeye steak, pork belly, and Ahi appetizer! Jess the bartender was great!
Steve
We had an overall favorable experience. The meals were all high quality. A significant problem is the lack of parking.
Tree Weaves
Average for a hotel chain upscale restaurant at a Marriott exactly what you’d expect and not in a good way if you have taste. Not particularly bad tho just slightly low quality and high price point.
Thomas “Tom” Morris
Went here for our anniversary, as it’s where we went when I proposed. It was a shockingly bad experience, beginning to end. It took us 45 minutes to be seen, to even be first served. Like I was literally setting timers on my phone for when we’d walk out and THATs when we’d get seen, we’d get drinks, our order would get taken, our food would come out. That happens when a restaurant is slammed, but it just continued into the night when they slowed down. We watched the server have a full blown conversation with other customers while we sat with empty glasses and no check. Half the menu was not available, which happens, but it doesn’t sit well with the rest of what happened. The appetizer we did manage to order was soft shell crab and neither of us could eat it because it tasted like pond water. Like I hadn’t eaten all day and still couldn’t finish it, because it was literally repulsive. We didn’t get any bread until about an hour into being seated. The entrees were good, as expected. The drinks were tasty. She comped our dessert as it was our anniversary, which was very kind. The desserts were also very good. All this bad experience can be brushed away if it wasn’t the price tag it is. Thats expected, but if you pay for high end service, and get one step up from a slap in the face… it just doesn’t sit well. Really disappointed, Shoemaker’s.
Update: We reached out with a very polite and informative email to the address they provided, twice. We have not heard back. It’s difficult not to assume the replies are in bad faith.
We LOVE the Craddock Terry Hotel and all the staff are terrific. The idea of staying in the spectacular rooms, all beams and brick and soaring ceilings etc etc and to simply walk a few steps to a great bar and restaurant is (or should be) a perfect get-away weekend event.
Shoemakers is beautiful. But unfortunately, the food is not at all up to the standard one would expect. Two entrees from their limited menu were not available. Our dinners were tepid and both needed to be reheated. The scallops were just about OK, the twin lobster tails were distasteful. Better to buy from Costco and just follow the directions.
The service was outstanding. The employees could not have been more welcoming.
So there is a problem with this restaurant. We will not be back.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 2
Service: 4
Bobby
We went June 19th which was during Lynchburg Restaurant Week and Shoemaker's was participating (or so we thought). Once we arrived we asked our server about Restaurant Week and he thought it was the following week. I then told him that their website said it was happening currently and was pretty positive I was correct. He went and asked and sure enough it was the night we were there. So, we placed our order off of the Restaurant Week menu. A few minutes later our server came back and said he was sorry, but they didn't have the necessary inventory in stock to fulfill our order. That was very disappointing as my wife had based our visit to this particular restaurant on that particular menu. Thankfully they were generous enough to honor the pricing and select off their normal menu. My thought process on it all is why even participate in Restaurant Week if you're not going to inform your staff about it, or be able to honor the menu that you've provided. The other issues that I have were that I understand they were going for a retro Jazz type of atmosphere. Which is fine, but maybe a different mix of songs would be better rather than the same trumpet it felt like we listened to the entire time we were there, which brings me to my last point. Our reservation was at 6pm and we arrived a little early at 5:45. Thankfully they were able to seat us early. We didn't leave the restaurant until around 7:45 and they didn't seek to really get very busy until about ~7pm. Two hours seems like a long time for two people dine. Overall, the food was fantastic. We enjoyed the restaurant itself and the ambiance for the most part (other than the same sounding Jazz music, which is just personal preference). We didn't see any necessary reason it should've taken two hours to eat and were pretty disappointed about the Restaurant Week menu issue. Overall our experience was about a 3.5/5 and could've been higher if not for a few manageable issues.
Cam Bradley
My wife and I had set up a reservation a few weeks in advance to celebrate Father’s Day along with our 5 year wedding anniversary. We do no longer live in Lynchburg and came to visit for the weekend.
A couple hours before the reservation, the restaurant called and left a voicemail saying they could not hold our reservation tonight.
For a restaurant of this caliber where I’ve had previously great experiences, this was extremely disappointing and, truthfully, inexcusable.
Jeremiah Potter
Been trying to call them for multiple days (on the days they're open) to buy a gift card and ask questions... No one will answer or respond
Service: 1
Tracy Cooper
The biggest problem was parking. We need handicap parking. The hotel was booked full so when we parked in handicap parking the lot attendant said I could not park there. We have handicap tags because we need them. I informed them we were not at the hotel but had reservations at the restaurant. He said he would have our car towed while we were eating. I had to talk to the front desk to convince them to let a handicap customer park in handicap parking. Only after telling them I would file a complaint with ADA did they sack off and let us park there.
We're out-of-towners so this is a sample of one but we are frequent travelers so this review is based on experience and comparison with similar restaurants. Ambience is good, well-lit, clean and classy. Good jazz music playing in the background. Wait staff is nice, courteous and neatly dressed. Drinks are good. Have a good number of selection. Bartender is great. Knowledgeable and good conversationalist. Where the restaurant fails is their food. We ordered steak and pork chops. Steak was ordered cooked medium but came out medium rare. We pointed this out, came back to the kitchen to be cooked some more, came back to us and it was still the same. We asked if they sous vide the meat and they said no they don't. That's probably why. Pork chop was ordered medium and came out to be more well done. It was dry and had no flavor. Food presentation was mediocre at best. Worst part is the price. They are asking for champagne prices but you are given Boone's farm wine. Prices here are comparable to Metzger or Roosevelt's at Richmond, but quality here is well below.
Very limited wine selections. Food was good but the salmon overcooked. Cream brûlée had had lumps inside it. Not very appealing. Waitress suggested an expensive white wine which we choose anther at a mid range price. Obviously she did not know her wines as she had to have assistance uncorking the bottle we choose. It will probably be a while before we try the restaurant again.
I was disappointed, but probably because of the hype. It was definitely not the quality I expected for the prices. The food was ok, but not amazing.
My wife and I went here for our anniversary last weekend. Our server was wonderful, she told us they had been very busy and were slightly backed up but you would have never known. Food was excellent. I had the pork chop and my wife had the fillet, both of which were prepared very well. Wonderful place, we will definitely come back when we are in town again.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
We had a reservation but were told we couldn’t be seated because there were not enough menus. Finally got seated after a 15 minute wait while others who had reservations got seated right away. Server must have been new. We had to ask for bread and water refills. We were never offered coffee or a dessert menu after supper. Food wasn’t worth the price. The crabcake was soggy from being drowned in remoulade. The salmon was ordered medium and arrived well done. This could have been one of the most disappointing dinners we have had in quite a while
We had high expectations for Shoemaker's as from experience the boutique hotels have character and generally good food. Last night's dinner (9/12) was extremely disappointing. Two of us had the 8 oz filets - suspiciously under weight (yes, I have 30 years in the F&B business). One of us had the strip. Degree of doneness was good but the meat was very tough. Next the menu promised asparagus and seasonal vegetables. What arrived was overcooked broccolini (yuck) and a single carrot that was so undercooked that one couldn't cut it. Mashed potatoes were okay but under seasoned; the baked potato arrived arrayed in tin foil - who does that these days and when asked what I wanted on the baked potato it was applied in the kitchen before I even had a chance to season the potato. The desserts weren't worth a review. This is too bad as you have an attractive and quaint building, a historical reference to the area and a simple limited menu. You should be able to put out top quality food for the price you are charging. Service was adequate but otherwise unremarkable. I hope you can pull things together and get Lynchburg as great fine dining establishment.
Went two nights in a row. Loved the ribeye steak, pork belly, and Ahi appetizer! Jess the bartender was great!
We had an overall favorable experience. The meals were all high quality. A significant problem is the lack of parking.
Average for a hotel chain upscale restaurant at a Marriott exactly what you’d expect and not in a good way if you have taste. Not particularly bad tho just slightly low quality and high price point.
Went here for our anniversary, as it’s where we went when I proposed. It was a shockingly bad experience, beginning to end. It took us 45 minutes to be seen, to even be first served. Like I was literally setting timers on my phone for when we’d walk out and THATs when we’d get seen, we’d get drinks, our order would get taken, our food would come out. That happens when a restaurant is slammed, but it just continued into the night when they slowed down. We watched the server have a full blown conversation with other customers while we sat with empty glasses and no check. Half the menu was not available, which happens, but it doesn’t sit well with the rest of what happened. The appetizer we did manage to order was soft shell crab and neither of us could eat it because it tasted like pond water. Like I hadn’t eaten all day and still couldn’t finish it, because it was literally repulsive. We didn’t get any bread until about an hour into being seated. The entrees were good, as expected. The drinks were tasty. She comped our dessert as it was our anniversary, which was very kind. The desserts were also very good. All this bad experience can be brushed away if it wasn’t the price tag it is. Thats expected, but if you pay for high end service, and get one step up from a slap in the face… it just doesn’t sit well. Really disappointed, Shoemaker’s.
Update: We reached out with a very polite and informative email to the address they provided, twice. We have not heard back. It’s difficult not to assume the replies are in bad faith.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 2
Restaurantji Recommends
We LOVE the Craddock Terry Hotel and all the staff are terrific. The idea of staying in the spectacular rooms, all beams and brick and soaring ceilings etc etc and to simply walk a few steps to a great bar and restaurant is (or should be) a perfect get-away weekend event.
Shoemakers is beautiful. But unfortunately, the food is not at all up to the standard one would expect. Two entrees from their limited menu were not available. Our dinners were tepid and both needed to be reheated. The scallops were just about OK, the twin lobster tails were distasteful. Better to buy from Costco and just follow the directions.
The service was outstanding. The employees could not have been more welcoming.
So there is a problem with this restaurant. We will not be back.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 2
Service: 4
We went June 19th which was during Lynchburg Restaurant Week and Shoemaker's was participating (or so we thought). Once we arrived we asked our server about Restaurant Week and he thought it was the following week. I then told him that their website said it was happening currently and was pretty positive I was correct. He went and asked and sure enough it was the night we were there. So, we placed our order off of the Restaurant Week menu. A few minutes later our server came back and said he was sorry, but they didn't have the necessary inventory in stock to fulfill our order. That was very disappointing as my wife had based our visit to this particular restaurant on that particular menu. Thankfully they were generous enough to honor the pricing and select off their normal menu. My thought process on it all is why even participate in Restaurant Week if you're not going to inform your staff about it, or be able to honor the menu that you've provided. The other issues that I have were that I understand they were going for a retro Jazz type of atmosphere. Which is fine, but maybe a different mix of songs would be better rather than the same trumpet it felt like we listened to the entire time we were there, which brings me to my last point. Our reservation was at 6pm and we arrived a little early at 5:45. Thankfully they were able to seat us early. We didn't leave the restaurant until around 7:45 and they didn't seek to really get very busy until about ~7pm. Two hours seems like a long time for two people dine. Overall, the food was fantastic. We enjoyed the restaurant itself and the ambiance for the most part (other than the same sounding Jazz music, which is just personal preference). We didn't see any necessary reason it should've taken two hours to eat and were pretty disappointed about the Restaurant Week menu issue. Overall our experience was about a 3.5/5 and could've been higher if not for a few manageable issues.
My wife and I had set up a reservation a few weeks in advance to celebrate Father’s Day along with our 5 year wedding anniversary. We do no longer live in Lynchburg and came to visit for the weekend.
A couple hours before the reservation, the restaurant called and left a voicemail saying they could not hold our reservation tonight.
For a restaurant of this caliber where I’ve had previously great experiences, this was extremely disappointing and, truthfully, inexcusable.
Been trying to call them for multiple days (on the days they're open) to buy a gift card and ask questions... No one will answer or respond
Service: 1
The biggest problem was parking. We need handicap parking. The hotel was booked full so when we parked in handicap parking the lot attendant said I could not park there. We have handicap tags because we need them. I informed them we were not at the hotel but had reservations at the restaurant. He said he would have our car towed while we were eating. I had to talk to the front desk to convince them to let a handicap customer park in handicap parking. Only after telling them I would file a complaint with ADA did they sack off and let us park there.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 2
Service: 5
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