Skyland Dining Room

Not Vegetarian Friendly.
Had problems with the breakfast menu there. Almost all the platters automatically come with meat of some kind. I was told I could order without, but no substitution and probably no price adjustment. Eight dollars seemed a bit steep for a couple of pancakes. Got the oatmeal instead.
Dinner menu is not much better. Very few vegetarian choices. I went to Luray for lunch one day. A cute town with several places to eat. A bit of a drive from Skyland, but a nice change of pace.

I was very pleasantly surprised by the dining here, and might even go as far to say that this has been one of my favorite National Park dining options. The menu is pretty short but their food is quite good. Service is also quick and friendly, and the views are excelente. They have a tap room net door with a pretty good selection of beers and other drinks. By far my favorite dish was the blackberry ice cream cake with graham crackers crust and blackberry compote on top — yum!

They use locally grown, organic food. Only had breakfast but I will ever back again. The bad reviews are from those expecting something as if they were in the city, you are not. Good food, great view.

View was breathtaking, which was a good thing, because the food and service were abysmal. Sullen hostess, slow server. (He was very friendly, but super-​slow. .. we got our drinks at the same time as our food after a 10+ minute wait). Wow, the food was bad. Surprisingly bad. Prettily presented, but bad. We arrived at the tail end of lunch service on a Saturday, and most of what we ordered had clearly been sitting under a heat lamp for far too long. Worst: ancient corn cakes. Hush puppies swimming in grease. Rubbery, dry polenta. Fast-​food-​esque fish and chips. Extremely overpriced for the quality. Beer and wine were good, though.

Good experience here — very good meal, good service and reasonable prices for the setting. Gorgeous view with a beautiful sunset too. It was off season — may be different at peak, but we’re going back tomorrow.

I saw the negative reviews before, but we came anyway since it’s so convenient when staying here. In our experience the negative reviews were not justified. The food was good and the service was flawless, and we had 2 dinners and 2 breakfasts here. Don’t be turned off without trying it yourself!

I really wanted to eat at the Skyland Restaurant because of the stunning view and great menu. Unfortunately, I was only able to enjoy the view outside my window. The food was over-​priced for what we received. The pasta had no noticeable sauce, extra ingredients that were not listed on the menu, and no seasoning. We also ordered the Catfish and Trout. While the fish was cooked beautifully, the fish was essentially tasteless as there was no seasoning. The appetizer, corn fritters and hush puppies, was really tasty.
This restaurant needs a chef that will improve the quality of the dishes. Management also needs to do something about these lukewarm reviews on Unilocal.I wish I had read other reviews before coming here. The staff works hard and a few changes in the kitchen could be all that’s needed.

Nice view, but way overpriced for very average food. There are better local restaurants. Find one.

We have been dining at this restaurant for more than a decade, and while we’ve always known the view and drive were better than the food, this was by far our worst experience. The Staff needs training badly, and the food was below par – even knowing it wasn’t expected to be great. In short, poor quality pasta dish (nonexistent sauce or cheese), poor quality children’s pasta (worst marinara ever), stale fries in my hubby’s fish lunch, barely warm toppings on burgers, forgotten bacon, Luke warm fries for the rest of us, and more. Take in the view and then drive back to town to eat!

I did something today that I have never done before. I took a drive down Skyline during peak leaf season. I know right? I must be crazy! Anyways, I entered the park at Front Royal and by the time I made it to Skyland, where I intended to turn around and head back, I was pretty hungry and thirsty. The Tap Room had just opened so I decided to eat there. I was the first person in (they really had JUST opened) so I had my pick of tables. They are all about the same; the real view is in the dining room (which had JUST closed). The room filled up pretty quickly and it took a bit of time before someone came to take my order. I settled for a bowl of the vegetarian chili and a hefeweizen.
The beer came out promptly and the food came out a few minutes later. The beer, by Devil’s Backbone, was unremarkable, but the chili was surprisingly good. It is made with northern beans, black beans, and peppers, and come with sour cream and a mix of jack and cheddar cheese (both on the side). I was going to ask them not to bring sour cream but I forgot and I ended up being glad I had it. The chili is not thick but is more like a bean soup and the sour cream thickened the broth nicely. A few spritzes of tabasco sauce and it was exactly the right level of picante. It was hot and tasted freshly made and it went down pretty fast. It was accompanied by some pretty good french fries that would have been much better if they were hotter. They weren’t cold, just… not hot enough.
The menu in the tap room tends to things like chili, soup, queasadillas, burgers, wings, and salads. They have a couple of entrees (fish and chips, and chicken), and, if what saw passing on its way to other tables some amazing looking desserts. Alas, I needed to hit the road so no ice cream blackberry pie for me. The beer menu is very limited but had some solid choices and they also have wine and a few fancy drinks (mostly made with something called Virginia Lightening which doesn’t sound dangerous at all). I would suspect that all these things are available in the regular dining, along with an expanded menu. There is also a small café out front by the fireplace with stuff like bagels and pastries and small sandwiches to take out and beverages. The service was great; my server was very friendly and helpful and reasonably prompt. With tax and tip the whole thing was only $ 20 and it was well worth it.
If I find myself out that way again, I will certainly stop in again, and probably make time for some dessert.

Food: 4 stars
Service: 2 stars
I ordered the chicken quesadilla (4 pieces) as and appetizer and the quarter fried chicken (2 pieces) and mashed potatoes as the main course. Also gave the blackberry ice cream pie (big portion) a try. The food was overall pretty good.
Even though the food was good… the service was by far the worst service I have ever received at a restaurant. This was my one and only time visiting this restaurant and we had «chad» as our server. From the looks of it, most of the other servers seemed pleasant and nice. Im pretty sure we were just less fortunate with the waiter we got stuck with. He didnt know anything about the menu and came off in a very rude way when talking to us. He acted like he could care less and unfortunately I dont think being a waiter is the best choice of jobs for him. I watched his demeanor with the other tables and I could tell they were unsatisfied also. The restaurant in general wasn’t bad. It has a great view and the food was good and was served in big portions. If you get stuck with him as a waiter just request a new one and your experience will be good. I dont wanna bash the restaurant at all bc it wasn’t the issue. Just the one waiter we got stuck with…

It is apparent that Delaware North is either deliberately managing this place into the ground in an effort to squeeze every penny out of a lucrative concession contract or they are so entirely incompetent that they just don’t know any better.
We’ve visited Skyland twice this year, once in June and again in August and it is stunning how poorly managed this restaurant is.
I’ll speak specifically about this latest trip.
The resort was full this weekend, and consequently the restaurant and taproom were slammed since they are the only game in town for food.
The staff could not have worked any harder. I have never seen a group of people work so damned hard to make something work in the face of impossible circumstances. The bartender was acting as the bartender for the bar area and the restaurant area. He was also acting as his own bar back, bringing kegs up from the store room, waiting on tables for food and drink, retrieving his food orders from the kitchen and busing his own tables.
The average wait for a beer was 30 – 40 minutes but it wasn’t for the lack of effort on the part of the staff. They simply didn’t have enough staff. I think I heard the bartender say that they were operating at 50% of their staffing.
Is this because the management won’t hire/​schedule people? Did people not show?
We spent 3 hours there just to have a couple of drinks and appetizers. Absurd.
What is the fundamental problem here that over the course of two visits that it is abundantly clear that Delaware North just doesn’t give a damn so long as they are pocketing the money from this cash cow?
This place needs to be investigated by OIG for fraud and mismanagement.

Things must be different now. The service was prompt and attentive. The food very good. We had the turkey dinner, shrimp and grits and the steak.
Turkey dinner consisted of hand carved turkey with pan gravy. Turkey was moist and tasty, gravy was under seasoned but not greasy (a far worse crime). I got a double order of broccoli, a scoop of dressing and a small cup of cranberry sauce. The broccoli portion was large, steamed and not overcooked or frozen. The cranberry and dressing were too small, but both tasty, cranberry was tart, dressing moist and nicely flavored with sage.
The steak was excellent, didn’t try the mashed potatoes.
I didn’t sample the Shrimp and Grits. My wife said she enjoyed it very much, but regretted not asking for half sauce or sauce on the side, as the sauce was good, but just too much.
It’s quite possible they’ve shaken thing up or that we just chose well. Only down note was that one dinner was served on a chipped plate, that shouldn’t happen.

View: 5 stars — if you are lucky, you can sit by the window and look at the distant ridges of Washington/​Jefferson NP.
Location: 4 stars — in proximity of numerous trailheads
Price: 3 stars — overpriced due to absence of any competition
Food: 2 stars — read below
Service: 1 star — read below
Skyland, do something about your level of service!
I understand that you don’t have much competition being the only dining spot in the mountains. But hey, I get more smiles from the inner city meter maids than from your lovely waitresses working in one of the most beautiful places in the US!
And your food… If I knew your Shenandoah roasted chicken would be as dry as California, I’d bring some sauce with me, because ketchup is all they can offer at Skyland.

.. OK FIRST: I must say they have a GREAT cold water. and Lemonade. BECAUSE. Thats all we could have AFTER waiting for MORE THAN 1 Hr at our table .
We went and sat at one of the corner tables. waited for 20 minutes (!!!) for a waitress to come and take orders. and then waited another 30 mins for her to come back with our waters … and then another 20 mins wait for the waitress to come back with our drinks … and then more wait for food, until I went up and asked if they have any ETA on the food since there has already been about an hour wait … NO RESPONSE !. I said we cannot do this any more and wanted to pay for the drinks and leave. the Manager comes in. DIDN’T EVEN APOLOGIZE!. just took the money and off we were out …
. Shenandoah and everything about it is JUST awesome !!. EXCEPT for THIS ONE NASTY. DISGUSTING. experience !! …An experience worth forgetting!

We stayed at the resort recently and due to limited options, ate at the dining room for our meals. We were pretty disappointed in the food. One word: SALT. Not too little but WAY too much. Everything was oversalted. My friends fries were almost inedible. Also, the décor is run down but I’d excuse it for the view. The only problem there? The windows are so dirty, it hinders the view. It’s clear they haven’t been cleaned, inside or out, for some time. I have a lactose allergy so I asked if the rolls at dinner were made with butter or milk. I got a resounding «I don’t know (from the chefs and waitress), so it’s up to you if you want to try…» Hmmm.
Anyway, the food itself was overpriced for what you get. And I wouldn’t mind paying if the quality were worth it. But it’s not. One friend had the roasted chicken and said it was so dry she could barely eat it. I had the tuscan bean dip and it was pretty bland, which is a bit ironic considering how salty everything else is. My friends split the blackberry ice cream pie and said it was the best thing they had there. I can’t attest to that as I couldn’t eat it.
As for the service, only some of the wait staff were very engaged with their customers. Others were more concerned about socializing with co-​workers and could care less that there’s a roomful of people. Our dinner waitress was sweet and warned us we’d have a long wait for food, which was nice. We appreciated the heads up. But she was so nervous through the whole meal it was making us jittery!
Finally, although everyone was very nice, there’s simply no sense of pride in the place. The run-​down décor, grimy windows, dirty silverware we had a one meal, and even a few of the female waitresses who had their shirts untucked (very sloppy looking), it was all just a turn off. I would stay at the resort again, but probably bring more of my own rations rather than relying on the dining room to keep us fed. Our three meals there cost more than the gas and tolls to get there! On the upside, they do have good beer on tap and live music every night.

For the past several years, my husband and I have spent Thanksgiving at the Skyland Resort, staying two nights at the lodge and eating Thanksgiving dinner at the Skyland Dining Room. Since the change in concessioners about a year ago, we have been greatly disappointed in the quality of food and service at the lodge. In November 2014, I spoke with management and they assured me they were addressing several issues regarding the quality of both the food and service at Skyland.
Because we already had reservations, we decided to go ahead and spend 2014 Thanksgiving at the Skyland Lodge and eat at the Skyland Dining Room. I’m pleased to report that we were pleasantly surprised at the turn-​around in the quality of food and service. The food was delicious – both the Thanksgiving Buffet and our day-​after-​Thanksgiving lunches. For example, last year’s stuffing was dry and tasteless. This year the stuffing was moist and tasty.
Whatever they did to turn it around had worked. Skyland is back to great food and service!

This place left a real bad taste in my mouth.
When my husband and I walked in, we were struck by the beauty of the building and of the majestic view out over Shenandoah. I was excited for my meal in this gorgeous setting.
That moment of anticipation was the high point of the whole dining experience. I left the restaurant feeling scammed and cheated.
First, the place was huge and almost empty, yet the hostess tried to seat us directly in between two huge groups. I requested a table further away, which was a temporary solution at best because the hostess then filled in all available nearby tables with diners, leaving the majority of the room completely empty.
Second, my husband and I waited. And waited. And waited to be acknowledged by a server. We were there for fifteen minutes before one appeared to even take our beverage order.
The food was atrocious for the price. My chicken pot pie was $ 11. For that, I got a «pie» the size of a saucer. «Pot pie» nothing, that was a damn saucer pie. There were precisely four miniscule little shreds of chicken. The vegetables were canned peas, carrots, and corn. Canned! I don’t know when last I have sat down to a meal and felt so robbed.
My husband’s meal, fish and chips, was at least more substantial in size. But the fish was dry and frozen, and the fries were from a bag.
My chicken saucer pie came with a salad, with blackberry vinaigrette dressing. The taste of the dressing was actually pretty legit, and the pureed blackberries were fresh-​tasting. However it was so full of blackberry seeds that it was extremely unpleasant to eat. I gave up. The kitchen could have put the blackberries through a sieve, but to think of that or take the time to do it would require competence, a sense of pride, and a sieve, none of which I have any reason to believe they possess.
This «restaurant» is nothing but a racket to steal money from unsuspecting diners expecting a good meal in a beautiful location. Lunch for two was $ 39 including tip. A rip-​off.

The Skyland Dining Room was the highlight of my trips to Skyline Drive over the years, because of the great view and the delicious food. I was shocked by how terrible our experience was in October 2014.
Highlights only.
As we were walked to our table, I noticed a 2 in x 2 in chunk of broken glass on the carpet, near a table. Just one chunk, which was probably left behind when the rest was cleaned up.
Every person, thin and not thin alike, that I watched sit in a dining chair for the first time had the same reaction I did: «whoa, is this going to hold up?» Table décor (placemats, silverware) is really old or really cheap.
Husband and I ordered the blackberry lemonade, which I can only describe as pink corn syrup in a glass. Horrid.
We each got side salads. The lettuce was old and limp, the carrot shreds were old and limp, the cucumbers were old… All of it was old. The blackberry vinaigrette had no blackberry flavor.
Husband got the quesadilla, as he’s vegetarian and didn’t want the black bean burger. (A wise choice, looking back in retrospect, as I can only imagine the hockey puck that would have been brought out.) The quesadilla wasn’t terrible, exactly, but no better than you would expect from a crappy restaurant.
I got the chicken pot pie, and this is where I just totally lost all respect for this place. Chicken pot pie — what could be more country and appropriate for the mountains of Virginia on a cool autumn day, right? Ok, let’s talk about this «puff pastry» they advertise on the menu. It was so chewy that I couldn’t cut it with my dull, dollar store-​quality knife. The chicken was — no exaggeration — the worst, most dry chicken I can remember ever eating, anywhere, in my 39 years on this planet. There wasn’t much gravy and, overall, it tasted like a salt lover’s dream. I was offended that they called this dish a chicken pot pie.
Husband still hadn’t learned the blackberry lesson, so he ordered blackberry ice cream for dessert. I tried it. It tasted like berry Kool-​Aid, and not in a good way.
Our waitress, bless her heart, was nice enough, but seemed very frazzled. Other wait staff, however, nearly banged into me every time they walked by — I was close enough to the kitchen door to be near the heaviest of the waiters’ traffic, but absolutely far enough out of their way that I shouldn’t have had to worry about them repeatedly hitting me with their dangling register cards.
The silverware was dirty. The windows to the gorgeous view were dirty. Robert Irvine would die.
The whole ordeal cost $ 35.86, with tax.
Don’t go here.

Located near the North Entrance (between mile markers 41 and 42) of Shenandoah Park, this restaurant services hikers, campers and climbers alike. We arrived after a pleasant afternoon hike along the Appalachian Trail to Stony Man Cliffs & Stony Man Summit. Our goal? To down a humongous slice of locally produced blackberry ice cream pie. The result? Downed that… and a few more apps.
Recs:
1. Blackberry Ice Cream Pie: a huge slice of amazing local blackberry ice cream layered with a graham cracker pie crust and topped with whip cream, blackberry sauce, and a candy lemon. Super worth the $ 8, especially if shared amongst 2 or 3 people.
2. Blueberry wine: delish.
3. Pear wine: even tastier than the blueberry wine. The lack of alcohol-​taste is dangerously awesome.
4. Toasted bread with crab dip ($ 14): arrived hot, though it took awhile. Might not be worth the small portion, but we enjoyed it nonetheless.
The dinner rush starts at 5:30pm, so make sure to get in line early. We came before dinner call, so we only ordered apps and desserts. There is a nice view if you’re seated in the main dining room. The service is unfortunately slow with hard-​to-​flag-​down waiters and there was a long wait for food & restrooms. Nonetheless, our «lunner» was quite satisfactory.