If you’re traveling to Harrisonburg, VA for any reason there is one thing the town is not short on, and that is restaurants! You have a huge diverse selection of restaurants all over the ‘burg from your chains to many local places to hang out. I know how it is to be new to the area (since we tend to move often) and figure out where we’d like to eat, whether for a date night or with the kiddos, so I wanted to spend today highlighting a few of my favorite restaurants (as well as the locals favorites) that you need to check out at some point.
Now, one important thing to note is that this is a very tiny selection I’m showing you. There truly are some amazing restaurants that I won’t talk about in much detail but deserve some checkin’ out. Some of these are: A Bowl of Good, Taste of Thai, Beyond, Dave’s Taverna, & Little Grill.
But for the sake of space and your time, here are some of the favorites for you.
1. Billy Jacks– This is a great local burger joint that also has great beer. The fries here are amazing and definitely worth it. There are multiple sliders as options and they offer specials on different nights of the week. It is a local college hang out so not the greatest place for kids and can get really cramped at night. Just find a seat when you go in, don’t wait to be seated. The Pear/blackberry hard cider is amazing!!!
2. Billy Madison’s– Is a newbie in the area that just opened up. I am so excited to go here because they have shrimp & grits! This is a Southern Foods and Whiskey bar. I haven’t been there yet so don’t know if the atmosphere is good for kids or not but anyone that serves up good shrimp & grits is definitely getting a thumbs up from me!
3. Clementine’s– AMAZING!!!!! Totally a great place for a date or girls’ hang out night. It’s also a great place to take kids during the day. The restaurant has art work covering their walls and a stage in the back where live music plays certain nights during the week. There are amazing appetizers there, but don’t get the Cesar salad. It’s a chunk of lettuce head dressed up. Besides that, everything else is good, especially their hummus! Oh, my favorite there is the mint lemonade!!!
Another benefit to Clementine’s is that they have an outside patio seating for seasonal days. Wonderful to take kiddos during the day; they can be louder and not bother anyone. Plus you’re surrounded in bamboo and herbs!
4. AAAhhhh, this doesn’t look like much but this warehouse downtown is the front of an amazing little treasure called Bella Luna! Amazing Brick oven pizzas with great wine!!! Kids are good any time there and it’s super healthy. A little pricey so I’ve only taken the boys on a date with me there, but definitely a place I go with the hubby for date nights. Their Afton Pizza is devine!!!!
5. Rounding out number 5 is Union Station– a great local restaurant on the edge of downtown. This place is loaded with historical memorabilia and photos from the ‘burg in its earliest times. It’s a great place for kids to go and the kids’ meals are under $6 for a meal and drink. The meals used to be served in frisbees but not sure if they still do this. I will say the pasta dishes are super bland there, so a waste of time. But the sandwiches and bbq platters are amazing!!! Now if you’re without the kiddos and want to save some $, go to the bar side. The food is 1/2 the price on that side!!! Last time I took Noah, my oldest, we sat in an elevator!!!!
6. Chop House- My favorite place!!!!! Not for kids unless you’re loaded. Now that I’ve prefaced that let me explain. So the Chop House has two sections to the restaurant. There is the quaint section that is a great date night place but super pricey. You can choose your own seasonings for your steaks and the food is mouth watering. The other side of the restaurant is the bar side but super classy. They also have some live music some times. The menu is a little bit smaller but the food is just as amazing and their fries are amazing! They have great beer and wine and just a super classy atmosphere to hang out with friends but with 1/2 the price of the other side. Their chocolate cheesecake is amazing!!!!
So there you go, my intro to some of the favorites of Harrisonburg. I do have to quickly mention A Bowl of Good again because it’s somewhere I take the kids or eat when I need healthy wholesome food. They grow a lot of their food in their garden during seasonal times and almost everything is from local sources. It truly is a bowl of something good for your body. A little more pricier if you have a large family but worth it! You can also buy their soups to go in large containers!!
Also, a new restaurant about to open a little on the outskirt of downtown is The Golden Pony. I have heard amazing things about what this restaurant will offer so hoping to check it out before we leave town.
And did anyone ask about ice cream?! Kline’s, need I say more.
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