Trummer’s On Main

The food here was just ok. My husband and I had the 4 course tasting menu with wine pairing. Nothing really stood out for either of us, not even the wine. It was all prepared and plated nicely. But none of the food really wowed us. Usually we walk away saying a dish was amazing or that glass of wine is something we should buy bottles of. Given the price point, I can’t say it lived up to it.
The service here is definitely subpar for fine dining too! My husband went an entire course without water. I almost finished an entire course before they brought out the wine pairing. We waited ages for our dessert course; the table next to us got their dessert first even though they started their dinner way later than us. They did apologize explaining they were behind and tried to make it up with coffee, but then failed to bring said coffee until I mentioned it later when they finally brought out our dessert. I can understand a hiccup, but for a fine dining establishment it is unacceptable to have this many mishaps.
Having dined in many fine dining restaurants all over the world (from Gordon Ramsey to Thomas Keller) this place ranks as one of the worse restaurants we’ve ever been to. We definitely won’t be returning any time soon.

Food is OK but overpriced. For example we had a four course tasting of carpaccio, followed by rockfish over scallop rice cake, flank steak with brussel sprouts and the popcorn ice cream. For $ 50 each, we got a slice of carpaccio which was OK, 2 ounces of over cooked fishy rockfish, 4 ounces of flank steak and popcorn ice cream with un-​popped kernels in it. The seating for two was next to another table for two, which neither of us liked. With wine we spent close to $ 200. Service was good but tried a little to hard to be pretentious. Meh.

Everything about this place was amazing! The staffs were very polite and accommodating. The food was amazing (if you get a chance, I highly recommend the halibut ceviche!) Oddly enough, the night that I went there, the bar area was more tamed than the eating area (not that this is a bad thing) — Easily one of the best place I’ve been to.

We did an auction for my son’s preschool, and someone (not the restaurant) donated a gift certificate for this place and it was the hottest item in the auction. I didn’t win it, but after all that fuss I wanted to try it out. We went there on New Years Day (evening).
Honestly I don’t understand why all my friends think this is the best place ever. It’s just meh. When we first walked in the place on the floor level, no one greeted us and we stood there a good two minutes before anyone approached us. The guy took us up the elevator and it was very awkward because he didn’t speak to us at all.
The inside is lovely in the upstairs part of the restaurant, in some of the tables. But our table didn’t even have a table cloth on it and it was just like a regular four top that you would find at Denny’s.
Our server was chatting with a lady at another table and she kept hitting on him in French right in front of her «date» and we could hear the whole thing, which was bizarre. The owner/​manager (?) was walking around asking people how they liked their food, but he did not stop at our table or even look at us. okay.
We ordered a mushroom ravioli appetizer which was like, two raviolis but cost about $ 12. Then the server recommended a seafood dish to me, which was supposed to be outstanding, so I ordered it, and later found out it was $ 35 and it was not really all that. It was served with risotto which was a bright neon green which tasted pretty okay, but not fabulous. The seafood was just okay. My husband ordered duck, which he loves and never gets to order. He was disappointed and said it was overcooked. How does one overcook duck? I don’t know, I don’t ever order it because I think it’s gross, but I was disappointed for him because it was supposed to be a special dinner and it was pretty blah. Also our dessert was blah. I got a, um, I don’t even remember? that tells you something, and my husband got a figgy pudding which he said was dry and blah.
Our total bill was almost $ 200 without the tip.
I don’t think we will be coming back here. I just don’t get why everyone freaks out about it and I cannot for the life of me understand why people would actually bring children here for dinner. There were several small children in the restaurant when we first got here. Seriously, people?
no.

For our last meal of 2015, we decided to dine at Trummer’s On Main. Best. decision. EVER! I agree with the comments of fellow Unilocalers Adrienne M. and Lia M. — this is definitely one of the best meals I’ve had in recent memory.
We came for their Capodanno a Venezia «New Year’s Eve in Venice» Tasting Menu and boy was it a treat. The restaurant is much bigger than I expected, with three levels. The lower level and bar area was packed, and we were lead to the second level to their main dining room. It’s a beautiful space with a high ceiling and floor to ceiling windows. The dining tables were decorated with black and gold cone hats, glitter tiaras, masks, and horns for guests to use at midnight.
Our dinner began with some yummy warm bread served with white bean and roasted garlic purée. I’m used to receiving butter or olive oil with my bread, so the white bean and roasted garlic purée was a nice surprise. We then enjoyed the following items:
— First course: Acciughe e Patata Croccanti (Crispy Boqueron & Potato)
— Second course: Vitello Tonnato (Shaved ruby veal and tuna tartar with caper emulsion)
— Third course: Pesce Rosso (Bronzino with avruga sabayon, frigitello peppers, and garlic & parsley risotto)
— Fourth course: Anatra e Castagno Gnocchi (Duck & Chestnut Gnocchi with parsnip, black truffles, roasted chestnuts, and cognac sauce)
— Fifth course: Di Manzo alla Griglia Filetto e Breve Costola Lasagna (Grilled Beef Tenderloin & Short Rib Lasagna with sunchoke purée, swiss chard, oyster mushrooms, and truffle demi glacé)
— Palate cleanser: Basil lime consommé with macerated grapefruit
— Sixth course: Studio di Cioccolata e Nocciola al Tartufo (Hazelnut cream profiterole covered in milk chocolate mousse, candied cocoa nibs, Nutella powder, milk jam, and fior di latte gelato)
The food was simply amazing, and the presentation of each dish was beautiful. As dinner progressed, each course was better than the last! It was hard for us to choose our favorite course because everything was delicious. I literally licked all of my plates clean! If I was forced to choose, the standouts for me were the third, fifth, and sixth courses. The bronzino was pan fried to perfection — crispy on the outside perfectly tender, moist, and flaky on the inside — and the garlic and parsley risotto was fantastic and very flavorful. The grilled beef tenderloin was simply amazing paired with the short rib lasagna, but my favorite part of this dish was the yummy truffle demi glacé and oyster mushrooms. The dessert was perfect for me since I love the combination of chocolate and hazelnut. Also worth mentioning is the palate cleanser which came after the fifth course. After experiencing all the rich and complex flavors of the previous five courses, the tangy and citrusy basil lime consommé with macerated grapefruit as a surprise shock to our taste buds that left us begging for more.
Besides the spectacular food, the service was also phenomenal. All of the servers did an amazing job of taking care of us, answering our questions, bringing us whatever we needed, and changing our silverware between each course. During dinner, we were also treated to some special «live» entertainment, with three mimes roaming around the different dining areas interacting with diners and performing acts such as balancing a wine glass on their forehead and juggling fire torches! Before the clock struck 12, we were all given glasses of champagne to ring in the New Year.
Although it may be a trek out to Clifton, I highly recommend Trummer’s On Main. Our experience at this restaurant was the perfect way to ring in the New Year and is a no brainer for my first Unilocal review of 2016!

Been on numerous occassions, had tastings all but once for lunch. Great service, great drinks, sensational food, beautiful building and ambiance. We’ve sat outside a few times which we love but dampens the elegance from interior dining. There are some stellar reviews on here that give it 4 stars, including a recent one that calls it the best restaurant in VA with no complaints. This is a crime. It’s not a world ranking folks. It’s not like there can be only one 5 in the country. This is an easy 5, must try, both locally and as a moderate drive.

So its hard to rate this place, because I put them in the same category as Restaurant Eve, but its certainly NOT better than Restaurant Eve, which I gave a 5 star (obviously deserved!)…so this place gets a 4.
WE had a very nice evening here. We came for date night and had a reservation, but had to wait almost fifteen minutes to get seated. Not sure what that was about but that was not the greatest of starts.
We chose to get a few drinks off the menu instead of wine and do the 5 and 7 course menus. I chose the 7 course so I could try the soup and cheese plate (that is the only difference).
I appreciated very much that they happily took into consideration our dietary considerations, and made alterations to it to accommodate us.
I ordered the pear drink and that was REALLY strong, but not bad. I also really enjoyed their signature drink.
I really liked the lobster and beets on apple «stuff» (essentially high end jello lol). That was REALLY good. We had another course that involved scallops and spatzel with mushrooms that was fantastic, and another that involved duck… it was just really good all around.
Dessert ended up being a fruitcake type bundt cake with some yummy sauce and chocolate, but it wasn’t that good,…so they were kind enough to bring us a different dessert (a gingerbread cake) that was a wonderful replacement.
They were really catering and kind and we really enjoyed our service and our server.
Overall great experience, especially if you want to go to a higher-​end restaurant this far into virginia. However, I’d still recommend Restaurant Eve instead. Its on another level (and you’ll pay the same amount).
I want to come back and try the brunch, it sounds like this is a great spot for it, and since we already really liked the food here, it will be worth a try!

The first moment I walked into the door I felt welcomed. I was greeted with a smile and was immediately seated. The customer service was phenomenal. The waiter gave us great recommendations on food and drink selections. However, I was not impressed by my main entrée which was a lamb burger. Not to say that it wasn’t good. Simply saying «I» was not impressed due to the fact that the Bantum Pub in Atlanta Georgia has the best lamb burger on this earth… just saying.
I will definitely be returning to experience their 5 and 7 course meal. I am almost certain that their wines, and other menu selections rival that of any 5 star restaurant in America. Make sure to try the Titanic drink. The cured meat selection was just ok. Overall I think you will be pleased. The atmosphere was very romantic and nice. Definitely worth a try.

I came here twice, once two years ago for my birthday and once last week for brunch.
Both times were amazing. The first time for dinner, my boyfriend at the time reserved a special table for us. It was on the platform area and we were the only ones seated there. At the time my stomach wasn’t happy with heavy amounts of gluten but they were so accommodating and created an entire chef’s tasting catered around that request. The chef even came out and made sure the food was okay. Service was on point and the food was great.
Fast forward to this year, I am able to eat gluten again. (I really think my doctor made it up that I was sensitive to it, most miserable years of my life) But ANYWAYS, I came with my boyfriend and another couple. We ordered the pastry basket and beet pickled deviled eggs for starters.
The basket — cinnamon rolls was a skip but the pumpkin scones and the biscuits were so so good. SO GOOD. I wanted to buy the scones and biscuits to take home.
Deviled Eggs — yummy, good flavors
Our group ordered the shrimp & grits, baked avocado egg, chicken and waffles & eggs benedict. All winners. We all loved all our entrees. But the favorite of the group was the chicken and waffles. The seasoning was tasty and the waffle was light reminiscent of Swedish style waffles, thin, a little chewy and slightly sweet. I loved it.
Will definitely be back!

I would give this place a 3.5 stars. Took my husband here to celebrate his birthday last week. We were asked if it’s for a special event when we first checked in, though I have already put that down when I make the reservation on OpenTable. The receptionist brought us upstairs and sat us near the entrance and right next to three other seated tables while the rest of the room was empty. I thought it was strange since we already mentioned that it’s for a special celebration, then why weren’t we seated at a more private area since none of the rest of tables were reserved. She was also keep insisting to take our jackets. Though we already told her from the beginning that we were fine. So when the waiter came, we requested to be reseated next to the window instead.
The menu is relatively small which was easy to choose from. I definitely recommend the Titanic drink and chips dip, they were very good. Smoked Salmon Tartar was good, but hard to share because everything falls apart if you try to cut/​divide it. The chicken liver mouse was not quite what I imagined/​expected, but we liked it as well. If you like lamb, definitely try the lamb burger, the flavor was very strong. We also ordered the Octopus Bolognese, appetizer size. The plate was very small, but since we had three appetizers/​starter dishes, it was just enough.
We came in at 6pm, the staff attendance was pretty good since it was not busy. I also like our waiter, he knew the menu very well and was able to answer all of our questions. Overall, the place is pretty nice and the price is not too expensive.

Awesome food. Awesome plating. Literally a basic person’s dream here. Brunch here is awesome, from 1pm-​2pm on certain days, they have $ 5 mimosas and $ 8 bloody Mary’s. I had the mimosa and «it’s always sunny in clifton»., all the food was prepared at a good time and the food tasted epic. I hate Brussel sprouts, but the way the chef makes it was divine. The pork belly was cooked to perfection, along with the egg. Awesome brunch portion.
I also shared the popcorn ice cream with my friend. Really good popcorn and perfect ice cream! The little salted caramel bits were to die for as well. ¹⁰⁄₁₀ would recommend. There is ample parking as well.

OMG! This place is just great! Whole experience, 5 stars.
Food was excellent as well as service. My sister and I did 5 course meal, every dishes were very good.
Their signature cocktail drink, Titanic is highly recommended. A little bit of bitterness in cocktail cleans your palate for next dish.
My favorite dishes were lobster salad and duck. The salad were very refreshing with apple jello on the bottom of plate with thinly sliced beets. I personally don’t like beets but surprisingly I really enjoyed whole dish. Oh, and duck dish was just excellent.
We spent around $ 240 including tax and tips, but it was all worth it. I will definitely go back there again for bone marrow appetizer.

To the point:
Food, ok to average.
Service terrible. Unacceptable (SEE Review below)
Made for an unenjoyable evening
We won’t be returning.
–Suspicious of all these 5 star reviews, I’ve dined at 5 star establishments, has the potential, but it is not.
–after reading other reviews, a common theme found is. Poor to below average service.
REVIEW:
Wife surprised me with reservations at Trummers, 10−13−15, for their Octoberfest themed menu. We had been here last year and the food and ambiance were good, so anticipated another nice evening out. Arrived for our 6:30 reservation and were immediately seated (party of 3). We noticed the place had a few people at the downstairs bar and about half the tables occupied on the upper level. So, not very busy…
Ordered appetizers and beverages about 6:35 from our waiter Chris, they arrived timely and then he must have forgotten about us the rest of the evening.
About 10 minutes later another couple was seated across from us and ordered.
15 minutes later, our beverages empty, appetizers finished, no service staff for refills. The food order arrives for the couple seated next to us.
Service staff STILL not checking on us, beverages, etc… Or anything else. After several minutes a senior server comes by, I flag him down inquiring when our food would arrive, we need more beverages etc. explained that others arrived after us and had already been served and eating (almost the identical meals we had ordered) and we were still waiting for ours. He apologizes and tells us he’ll check.
Several minutes later after the senior server must have spoken to him, our server Chris comes by asking if we would like more beverages, I originally wanted to try more of their beer selection, however, because I was beginning to become irritated over the delays I just settled for the water we had… I inquire again about our order explaining the same story to him and he apologizes and tells us he’ll check on it. Also telling us he’ll take care us because of the delay
After 50 minutes from when we ordered, our food arrives. We eat and finish, another server passes by our table and asks and brings us take-​home boxes. We pack our take home and our original waiter returns, sees us packing up our things and says he apologizes for the delay and asks if we would like some complimentary German style cake and ice cream. We figure that sounded good, we were considering something light afterwards and also it seemed like a nice gesture considering the terribly long delays and poor service.
After another 15 minutes, (a total of 90 minutes in the restaurant) and no dessert arriving,(and not seeing our waiter) we decide we’re tired and begin to leave. As we board the elevator, our waiter walks by us and tells us to enjoy the evening. We tell him thank you, but also that the dessert he had promised us for the long delays, never arrived… He states,” it never came up to your table?”… We told him no and he says back to us is, «I’m sorry it didn’t come, good night»
Yeah, not impressed. For the upscale style (and prices) Trummers tries to offer, it falls way short. Not worth the money (about $ 90 plus tip). It doesn’t matter how nice your establishment looks, if your service is terrible, its an overall BAD EXPERIENCE. This was such an occasion.
Save your money, all show, no substance, we were treated very poorly, this was a terrible restaurant experience, we will spend out dining $ elsewhere, we won’t be back. WR

BEST DARN RESTAURANT IVE BEEN TO IN VA. SERIOUSLY.
I had Trummer’s On Main on my bookmark list for so long I’d forgotten it was there. Kinda like how I forgot about Rose’s, but that’s neither here nor there. I may have waited a while to get to it, but boy am I glad I finally arrived.
It took me around 20min to find Trummer’s. Tucked on a small street, just off the beaten path of Main, I wasn’t sure that my GPS navigated in the right direction. I was actually a little fearful that I my car would get stuck on the small two lane street and some mass murderer would find me and offer a «little help.» Yea. expect large plots of land, cows and horses, and random roadkill.
Meanwhile, I arrived, eager to meet and dine with a fellow Unilocaler. I’d reviewed the menu prior to arrival, but that factor still didn’t prepare me for all the greatly articulated menu items. We started off fairly light with deviled eggs and fresh oysters. The eggs, pickled in beet juice and topped with bacon, chives, and and salmon roe. Although delicate, the deviled eggs could have been salted a tad better, which is ironic to me because of the bacon (no, Im not a salt hog, but want my food to taste like something. The oysters were mild and very fresh. Of these, I was completely satisfied.
The Foie Gras was, of course, salty, but the saltiness was offset by the sweetness of the berries and mildness of the onion ice cream. I was pleasantly surprised how much I enjoyed the interesting taste of the dish.
I had the lamb loin as an entrée. Tender juicy and very flavorful, my eyes rolled to the back of my head with the first taste. My mouth tingled with delight. The tzatziki sauce was possibly the best I’ve had in my long legged life. SERIOUSLY. The couscous was tender and seasoned well.
For dessert, I ordered the popcorn ice cream. After a hearty meal, I needed something light. The ice cream was definitely interesting. I expected the popcorn to light and airy, more tender than the hard kernels offered. On the other hand, the popcorn was definitely a noticeable flavor aspect in the ice cream. Nothing to get excited about.
Overall, Trummer’s on Main was one of the best dinning experiences in the area. Period. The food speaks for itself without the fluff of nice waiters and good drinks (although those things were good as well).
Quick Notes:
–Order EVERYTHING :)

Food was phenomenal, but service was slow. Our waiter would disappear for long stretches, and we’d have to wait for what we needed. They served a terrific Firestone Wookey Jack in a frozen glass. Why?! That should never be done to anything better than a Corona.

If you’re not sold on the food, the service and atmosphere will. But why wouldn’t you? The food is great.
The four of us decided that we just have to try out Trummer’s on Main. The reviews are positive, the photos look tempting, and the location is great (who doesn’t love Clifton?)
The décor is as what you would expect for a semi fine-​dining experience, with lots of touches of marine life and seafood arts. We were seated on the top floor where the room is even larger, and is about 20% full.
The staff are extremely friendly, and they’re definitely knowledgable about the menu — and beyond. It was funny how there were several staff who attended our table throughout the night, but we didn’t mind it. It was as if we were getting to know everyone in the restaurant!
I’m not going to spend too much time describing the food as other reviewers here are pretty spot on. It’s delicious. The four of us decided to try a little bit of everything, so we got a full experience of the menu!
It’s as what you would expect from a place like Trummer’s. Some dishes were a bit too salty for my taste, but I was the only one complaining on the table, so perhaps it’s a matter of preference.
Overall, a pleasant dining experience. The unique food did leave me feeling very satisfied, but the most memorable of all is the ambiance and experience with the staff. That alone made everything multiple times better. Can’t recommend this restaurant enough!

My husband is quite an amazing gent. If I could afford to, I’d give him the world, simply because he deserves it. But short of that, I like to find places I think he’d like and surprise him by taking him to them.
I’d seen Trummer’s and checked out the menu and decided I wanted to get there one day. We love Clifton and have always enjoyed ourselves at the various local shops and eateries. But we had not been to Trummer’s yet.
The seafood shack was going on. I reasoned this was a good time to check them out. I love seafood. I made 7:00 reservations, but we got there at 6:45, because I also wanted to try their happy hour. Happy hour offered up plenty of noshes, but I wasn’t interested in them, as I was saving room for my dinner. I was, however, double-​fisting drinks. I had a beer and a sazerac. The beer was phenomenal, but the name escapes me. But the sazerac was the winner here. Smooooooooth and heavy and light at the same time. Heavy enough after a hard day and light enough to want to order another.
At about 7:05, both of us double-​fisting our drinks, we headed to our table. I should tell you that the ambiance is wonderful there. It’s very classy, yet comfortable. It’s a great balance.
Since we were doing the seafood pop-​up shop, we were lead upstairs to a room decorated with sea stuff. Shells, nets, etc. Cute!
I wanted to try everything, but I ended up going with the chicken-​fried oysters. They were ok. A lot of breading. Too much breading. But the gravy they came with was great. For my meal, I did a lobster roll. They did it Connecticut style, which I am a fan of (warm with butter, as opposed to cold with mayo). The lobster was perfect. And the roll they served it on was delicious. It came with fries, which was fine with me. They were good. My husband had hush puppies for his appetizer and they were alright. I don’t think I would have ordered a $ 10 plate of hush puppies, but I suppose the heart wants what it wants.
For dessert, we finished things off with a fried cherry pie. It was absolutely amaaaaaaaaaaazing! The cherries were a nice combo and sweet and tart and the crust of the pie was insanely good.
All of that coupled with good service is a win. I definitely want to try more appetizers, as the ones we got were just ok.
We really enjoyed ourselves at Trummer’s and hope to be back sooner rather than later.

This is a nice place to take mom & dad when they are in town or before you head out to Paradise Springs Winery that is mere miles away, but it’s not a place I would casually go to for lunch.
Space — Very nice, a bit on the fancy side though. I felt like this should have been a space for a banquet more than a lunch. It’s a lovely space (and in a former house) but I felt under dressed for the occasion.
Food — Some interesting burger options for Saturday lunch (ex: spicy lamb, sauerkraut, hen egg, corned beef). Not an extensive menu so I recommend checking it out before if you’ve got restrictions.
I am not sure about the other restaurants in the area as my friend took a group of us here, but there didn’t seem to be many so this is a good option if you’re in Old Town Clifton.

Came here in December for a company dinner… the food is so unique and interesting. We each had a variety of things, but I can only review what I tasted unfortunately. It all looked great.
I had the lemon brined chicken breast, oysters, truffle mac and bussels sprouts. All delicious! I was stuffed, that is for sure. Had a few Titanic drinks and a happy camper I was. If you have a more unique palatte I recommend coming here. There is not much otherwise that may be common enough for a picky eater or a light wallet!

**Brunch review only**
Stopped in for brunch yesterday and the place was almost dead. I found that very odd for 1 PM on a Sunday in an area that only has a handful of places to chose from. But I had heard great things about Trummer’s so we went in anyways.
We were whisked upstairs through a very dimly lit halfway into a huge open dinning area with so much beautiful natural light I almost needed sunglasses to focus on anything. I feel like an old lady saying this, but the contrast in lighting actually gave me a headache.
Anyways, onto the food.
They have an excellent selection of specialty cocktails, but unfortunately
our server could not be bothered with us, so it’s a good thing I didn’t want one. He came over two seconds after we were seated to get a drink order, which we weren’t ready for and then after asking if we needed a minute it was another 20 before we saw him again.
My latte was delish and I was content with my sandwich.
Our water was refilled often, but our server was so scarce we only saw him when he dropped off our food and then again to ask us if we wanted dessert.
My husband ordered coffee after brunch and that took another 20 minutes. At first I though maybe they were brewing it on demand, but no, it came from a coffee pot I had been staring at in the back of the room while we were waiting for him to come back.
I’m honestly surprised with the pricing, the atmosphere, and what I have heard of the place previously that the service was so lacking.
Odd.
If we come back and I don’t have 3 spare hours to kill, I will probably just eat at the bar. I would probably recommend you do the same.