Kiln in Virginia

"I finally tried this fine dining establishment in Old Town and I wish I hadn’t waited. Kiln celebrates its one year anniversary soon. Located within the Heron Hotel, Kiln is the full dining experience that accompanies the hotel’s rooftop lounge and speakeasy. Kudos to the designer/s here, every piece is chic and modern. It’s so cute here! The drinks have cute names like Unicorn Tears and Soul Kitchen and they’re tasty. Manager Theo and Ian our server provided excellent service. Theo was kind enough to share his inspiration behind naming the Unicorn cocktail and Ian told us all about the exciting things happening this summer. I’m looking forward to returning for their summer menu. The bread contained seaweed and included a special salted butter. I’ve never had such fluffy rolls, I’m not sure how else to describe them. They weren’t heavy and I didn’t feel stuffed after eating two. The short rib was tender and full of flavor, I loved it. The 18 hour cabbage included bits of artichoke and ground mustard, it’s an interesting but tasty take. I also had asparagus with a hollandaise sauce overtop. This was an excellent dining and service experience. It’s a smaller menu, but I appreciate that simplicity. I look forward to exploring the cocktail menu at one of their happy hours soon."

"Fantastic and innovative food. Great service. I highly recommend sitting at the counter to get a good view of the food being prepared. Fairly pricey, but that’s to be expected. Perfect for a nice date."

"We have been meaning to try Kiln for a while, and were not disappointed. The restaurant is cozy. The servers were all very dedicated and attentive. And the food was delicious! The cabbage in particular impressed us. Kiln is working hard to serve its hotel clientele from around the country while competing in Old Town - a difficult line to walk. I hope Kiln will continue to learn and grow and become another Old Town staple."

"​I admit I was initially skeptical of the 4.0 Google rating—which can feel a little low for a restaurant of this caliber—but after visiting for Restaurant Week, I have to agree that it is an accurate score. This place definitely deserves a 4/5: it’s good, but falls short of being great. ​The Good: The ambiance is wonderful. The decor has a cozy, upscale 60s-70s vibe, and the open kitchen adds a great energy to the room. The staff were also a highlight in terms of attitude; everyone was incredibly friendly and went above and beyond to engage with our toddler, which we really appreciated. ​The Not-So-Good: For the price point ($55/person for the restaurant week menu, before cocktails), the value just wasn't there. While the food was mostly good, it was hampered by under-seasoning and wildly inconsistent portion sizes. One main dish was so large two people couldn't finish it, while another was essentially four bites of food. The other courses were consistently small, in line with other high cuisine restaurants. ​The service pacing was also hit-or-miss. While the staff was lovely, the waits between courses were long, and flagging someone down for the check (or even having them ask if we were ready) took much longer than it should have. ​Verdict: Kiln is a beautiful space with a lot of potential, but the kitchen and service pacing need to tighten up to justify the price."

"I’m surprised by the low reviews for this place! The restaurant (and the hotel it’s in) are beautiful, and the food was genuinely good. I loved that the kitchen is open concept, you can actually watch your food being prepared and see the clean kitchen. We visited during Restaurant Week and thought the quality for the price was excellent. The octopus was tender, the trout arrived hot and perfectly cooked, and the peanut butter pie was rich and delicious, with an especially tasty cream on top. If I had to nitpick, the buns were just okay. I didn’t love the seaweed inside and would have preferred it dusted on top or blended into the butter instead. But overall, a great experience and definitely worth a visit!"

"Very good! Went for a family graduation dinner, had a great wine selection as well as the food. Family loved the oysters and cabbage, and the stand out entres were the gnocchi and the rockfish. Would definitely reccomend."

"Absolutely superb food. I will be coming back for more very soon. Everything was delicately cooked and presented. The flavors were incredible. And the atmosphere is top notch. Highly recommend. Keely was our server and she did great, super welcoming."

"Immediately greeted at the door with good vibes by the hostess, Betty. Super friendly and set the tone right away. We came on a Wednesday night and must’ve missed the rush because it was basically just our group. Perfect for trying a bunch of dishes without feeling like we were holding up the kitchen. Server Guillermo checked in bunch we had water and everything came pretty quickly. We had the 18 hour cabbage (yes, eighteen hours), sweet potatoes, oysters, rockfish, the smash burger (not pictured because I inhaled it), and crispy fries that had everyone lowkey fighting over the last ones. Everything was delicious. We sat at the bar and had a few side conversations with the chef, who explained how the cabbage is made. I already like cabbage, but this was next level. Like, this cabbage has seen some things. The lavender cocktail was probably my least favorite. It looked amazing, just a bit too heavy on the lavender syrup for me. But honestly, still a great meal start to finish. Would definitely come back, and hope Betty’s there to say hi again."