The Manor House

My parents and I ventured out on Sunday to give their brunch a try. The grounds are beyond gorgeous and the inside of The Manor House was breath taking. The food was very good and, surprisingly, the prices were very reasonable! (3 brunch entries, one coffee, one mimosa came out to a little over $ 50.) Here are a few observation:
* Like many fancier places, the menu is limited. However, if you order a brunch entrée you also get free pastries/​fruit (croissants, scones, several types of small pastries) and free small desserts.
* The food itself was very tasty. My french toast was very good though it wasn’t as good as the chicken confit — I regretted not getting that!
I would certainly try them out for lunch or dinner.
The only downsides were:
* The inside is very chilly! Bring a jacket or a wrap!
* We had 11:30 am reservations, 30 minutes after they opened, and they were already sold out of an item. Since the dining room was nearly empty, the only thing I could think was that the inn itself was booked and the guests were the reason or they didn’t make enough.
* The website recommended «business casual or better» for dress but we saw a couple come in wearing jeans, folks from the spa wandering about in robes and very casually dressed folks walking through to the small bar next to us. (This isn’t necessarily the fault of the restaurant but it is disconcerting when you’ve gone to the trouble of dressing up.)

The Manor House staff is amazing! I was there in August and had some car trouble. It was a 90 degree day and Nate, Tanner, and Taylor took time away from their jobs to help me. They were so kind. Lifesavers!

I have never walked into a restaurant and was so pleased with the environment, but so disappointed in the food and quality of service. The potential is another Inn at Little Washington. However, the reality is an inexperienced service staff and flavorless food. I had the Fried Sweetbreads for an appetizer. The texture was good, but it had no taste. The black sauce was vague in flavor and offered nothing. My date had the consommé with squab meatballs. Again flavorless and cold in temperature. For my entre I was a to have a medium rare to medium prime rib, but what I received was the end piece of the rib that was well done, heavy, hard, and cold with very little au jus beneath the meat. Again with very little flavor. My date had the bone in pork chop which had decent flavor but slightly over cooked. The wine and dessert save Valentine’s Day dinner. The service staff say unbelievable thing. We were waiting a longer than usually time between the appetizer and entre. Our server came over and said, «I spoke to the chef and he said your entrees are next». I looked at my date and said, «the chef didn’t say that». Meanwhile 4 other tables receive entrees and we still waited another 25 minutes. This place has too much potential to be a great restaurant, but Ownership needs to dig deep and attract a seriously experience chef and staff. Not fair to be charging what they do for food they serve.

If I could give the manor house 10 stars, I would! We went here for valentines day dinner and the service, food, ambience, everything was just exceptional! The waitstaff is knowledgeable about the incredible history of the 1800s stone structure and there are plenty of placards on the wall in the hall to the restroom that give you more information if you’re hungry for it! They have some great local beer and wine selections and the food was cooked to perfection. I can’t wait to go back in the day time for lunch and to explore the grounds, stunning place that I wish I could visit every single day!

We came for Sunday brunch. Beautiful space and location. Two brunches and two drinks with tip $ 130. Good food but poached eggs too runny. Good service and excellent salmon and shrimp. Will come back but maybe for drinks and apps.

Took my wife to the Poplar Inn Manor House Restaurant today for lunch to celebrate our 26^th Wedding Anniversary.
This was our first visit, we were enamored by the beauty of the original stone home and the property in general was wonderful.
We were warmly greeted and seated in the main dining hall (which is truly magnificent) next to a blazing warm fire.
Our sever was perfect, very accommodating — but what I REALLY liked is she wasn’t on top of us every thirty seconds asking if we needed anything.
This is a place of relaxation, meals should not be rushed, one should be left to enjoy the warmth of the inn as they dine… and on this occasion I wanted to enjoy conversation with my wife — not be rushed through my meal.
The food was outstanding (!) and very reasonably priced.
I had a mushroom strudel with lemon butter and a salad ($ 11.00) and my wife had Quiche and salad ($ 12.00). Both meals were delicious…
Gentlemen, if you dine for lunch order the Club — holy smokes the man next to me ordered the club and I am not exaggerating the meat was 2″ — 3″ thick — it was a great looking sandwhich. I will be ordering this on my next visit.
For desert we split a piece of chocolate cake which had raspberry filling, whipped cream and was topped with a chocolate syrup. It was also ordained with homemade mint ice cream in a crust — I love mint ice cream and this was the best I have ever had! The desert was on the higher side at $ 14.00 but it’s what you should expect for this quality and I’d order it again on my next visit in a heart beat.
The entire meal from start to finish had wonderful flavor and the serving size was peferct.
So that’s my review, the Poplar Inn Manor House was exceptional, the food, the service and the setting were all wonderful and exceeded our expectations.
I look forward to coming back soon…

A disappointing experience starting from the moment we entered the building. Reception began with the «receptionist» insisting my reservation was under a different name, and I had to search the monitor and point out the reservation myself. She acted annoyed and didn’t even offer to take our winter coats — No greeting at all.
At our [freezing] table the 1^st thing we were told was «we are under new management — «an Oh NO! feeling came upon us». After ordering, a server came up with a tray of small teacups and said «Amus. Amus… did you order this?» and quickly walked away, then came back and put them down.
This Amuse Bouche was orange in color, unstrained, overwhelmingly spicy and tasted like a liquefied slimjim with a hint of Bandaid. We moved on to corn chowder that was a grayish color and was served with no spoon. The Arugula salad had no Arugula and no dressing at all —
We ordered wine, and it never came.
The server came out with the entrees and said «OK I have 2 of these — who’s is this and who wants theirs first? One of them seemed to have sauce and one did not, same dish…
RibEye: Flavorless, Poor cut of meat — extremely fatty– [not USDA] soggy, weird garlicky fries
DuckBreast: «Crispy Duck Breast» was chewy and tasted like nothing
Bacon Wrapped Filet: Cooked perfectly, but placed on a bed of celery root that was unedible.
Scallops: Cooked perfectly, but the sauce was the Amuse Bouche stuff, luckily it was on the outside, so you could eat it without — served with Bok Choy– tough and inedible.
Dessert: Good — but seemed like pre-​fab but okay — certainly no pastry chef here.
We asked for the check and waited FOREVER–
It is so sad to take such a beautiful setting and not pay the money for a Top Chef — we won’t be back until service and food is improved.
[ a couple with a 6yr old child came in and was seated at a table for 2 — they said they needed a larger table and were told I’m sorry and pulled up a chair for the child-​[ there were tables]

So The Manor House Restaurant was closed but has reopened under new ownership. My main lady and I ventured out there for wine and appetizers. We sat in the rearranged lounge which has new carpet and a nice vibe. Very quiet and cozy. We ordered the only Pinot Noir on the menu. Pricey and not really worth what we paid for it. No flavor or body at all. We would have ordered a bottle of something but they have NO affordable bottles of wine on the menu. A real let down. I’ve been to very few restaurants over the years that didn’t have at least a few bottles in the $ 30 dollar range. Don’t expect that here. To go with our wine we ordered Kobe beef sliders and lobster risotto. Both spot on dishes that I would definitely order again. Moving out to the patio for a wine tasting event we were treated to an excellent tasting of Boxwood wines. We sampled all that the young lady had to offer and then ordered a bottle. Unfortunately no one could tell us the price for the bottle but we ordered it anyway. $ 48/​bottle, much more than I would normally pay and worth more in the $ 25 — $ 30 range. Once we sat out on the patio we were treated to a great duet of guitar players which really added to the atmosphere. Still hungry we ordered the grilled Caesar salad, I’d give it a 2.5 out of 5, and some seasoned french fries with truffle oil that were out of this world. I’d return for these fries alone. Spot on service made the evening enjoyable. Several things this place is missing. No cheese plate on the appetizer menu, and the appetizer menu needs to be expanded as well. Also add some affordable wine by the bottle. Throw us a bone and give us a couple of $ 30/​bottle offerings. If not we probably won’t make this place a frequent stop as most of their by the glass offerings are in the $ 13 — $ 16 range.