Orzo Kitchen & Wine Bar

I hosted a group dinner of 17 people in the loft area of Orzo on a Friday night. We organized a prix-​fixe menu and were pleased with how many options we were able to select. Once we were there, the food was all delicious, and the whole party seemed impressed by the selection. The staff were attentive but not overzealous, and when there was a mistake made with an order, they were super speedy in fixing it. The ambience of the restaurant was absolutely lovely — cozy and romantic — I felt like their website didn’t do the charm of the place justice. All in all a great place and I would definitely recommend Orzo to those planning larger-​group dinners!

A random find as we were driving to downtown C’Ville. Great atmosphere and the food so good we almost decided to eat every meal here. Highly recommend for a nice meal in an easy location.

Here for dinner with my daughter. At first our service was a little bit rough but then everything g smoothed out. The atmosphere and the food were great. We had the oysters for our appetizer and some great bread with hummus. Then we had the pork chop. It was juicy and perfectly cooked. Great food and a good environment!

Attentive and friendly service! The butternut squash soup and the salads are also delicious! They also have a great wine list. The location is great as it is connected to the Main Street market so there is a parking lot and you can stop by the market for some wine, bread, and cheese after dinner. I will definitely be back!

Orzo gets better and better. They have expanded but the food is wonderful and the service is still exemplary.

Great food. Reasonable service if a bit slow. Parking is a real pain, but we’ll go back the food is that good.

Absolutely spectacular evening! We made our Christmas Eve reservations back in September to eat dinner at Orzo. We were breaking tradition a bit but it was so worth it! The atmosphere was light and jovial; our server was Todd (request him, you won’t be sorry); the owner remembered us from months ago and checked in on us; the food… WOWZA! Even the table we sat at was wonderful… my mom and I were able to sit next to each other rather than holler at each other across the table. Being that it was Christmas Eve, I would have expected someone working to be a bit out of sorts but that was not the case. Everyone was family and appeared to be right where they wanted to be at that time! Thank you for a lovely evening and a new tradition.

One of my favorite places to eat out at in Charlottesville. I have been there 4 – 5 times total and it’s never disappointed. They have great fresh pasta and their steaks are cooked perfectly the way you want it. You know their ingredients are all local and seasonal as well!

I’ve been to Orzo 3 – 4 times for dinner and a couple of times for lunch, and it is a great option for Mediterranean/​Italian food in Charlottesville. The service and food are consistently good. The market risotto is one of my favorite dishes.

It’s the only place in town where you might have a wait for lunch — and dinner — every day of the week. And, they’re going on ten years. Nuff said

Great food! Our experience was a little tainted by slow service during restaurant week, when we were rushing to get to a movie afterwards. We’ll have to go back and try it another time.

So anyone who is looking to have a 3 hour meal, this is the place to dine.
Slow service, mediocre food, excellent visual presentation however.

43 minutes from order to food in hand.
Had to order to go as wife was feeling ill. Entire time at restaurant 64 minutes.
Food good, so not one star, but wait unacceptable.

Mussels are different but great!
House salad nice and light. Great service and ambiance. Great wine list. It’s stays on the rotation!

Amazing wine pairings for a great holiday meal. The staff was attentive without being intrusive and were very knowledgable regarding pairings. Overall it was a wonderful experience, that added to my enjoyment of my trip to wine country immensely. The food was an 7 of 10. It’s a great place to celebrate a birthday, have a romantic meal or drinks after work.

A bit disappointing on some levels but did have highlights that balanced out the experience.
Average apps —
*Complimentary bread w/​hummus — Thought that it would have been better w/​warm pita, not a cold baguette and hummus was bland.
*Seared Greek Halloumi Cheese — Wished it was traditional Saganaki so it would have been more exciting. Not worth the $ 11 for the disproportionate amount of bread (more baguette!) to cheese.
*Beef Carpaccio — Actually ordered this at another restaurant on the Downtown Mall on the same weekend — C&O. Beef here wasn’t as high quality but this one was still one of my fav of all apps we had at Orzo because of the crisp breaded egg on top.
Mediocre mains —
*I tasted my husband’s Duroc Pork Chop w/​polenta and mushroom purée — quite salty and meat was a bit dry (informed the server and she apologized)
*I enjoyed my Braised Colorado Lamb much more as the meat was juicy and tender but I did think there was a ton of tzatziki spread over the top that would have been better on the side, as I usually see it at restaurants.
Divine drink —
*I loved my Passionfruit Mojito! Not too sweet and very refreshing. Best part of my whole dining experience (besides the company of my husband and friends, of course!)
Tip for big groups —
*Make a reservation on Opentable and request the upstairs for a more intimate/​private setting in the restaurant!

Delicious food all around!!! I had a linguine carbonara dish that was a nice twist on a classic carbonara with melt in your mouth pork belly, sweet corn and garlic in a parmesan broth topped with a poached egg. I’d go back for it, if I’m ever in Charlottesville again!
Friends had the chicken confit (off the special gluten free menu!), a Greek salad, and the homemade ravioli which were all spectacular as well.
The bread and hummus they bring you to begin wasn’t «the best» I’d ever had as the waitress had claimed, but it wasn’t bad. Wished I had room for dessert but oh well!
Nice romantic ambiance and a well rounded menu keep this place in business I’m sure!

Really can’t say enough good things about this place. From the quality of the food, the wait staff, to the atmosphere, Orzo is just wonderful.
We had dinner reservations for two of us on a Friday night.
We started with the Butchers Board of cured meats, which comes with chocolate cherry bread and pickled veggies. It was a great selection of meats and veggies along with mustards.
Next we had the Portuguese octopus. This was our first experience with octopus and we both really enjoyed it. Really good seasoning on it and a great grilled flavor. The chorizo sofrito really made the dish.
Next we had a sous vide pork which was absolutely incredible. The flavors were just stunning and the pork just melted in your mouth.
For entre I had the artichoke and sheep’s milk ricotta ravioli and the bf had the aspen ridge flat iron steak. Both entrées were cooked perfectly. The ravioli definitely tasted hand made in house. This is a rare thing in Cville as most pasta dishes served in other restaurants seem to be premade. The steak had a wonderful seasoning and was cooked to a perfect medium temperature.

Went here for dinner based on the Unilocal reviews and a recommendation. Orzo was an excellent place for dinner. Started out with the grilled octopus which was excellent. The sauce it came with paired well with the octopus. For dinner I had the Italian Mac n Cheese which I thought was very good but I can’t say it was excellent. I was looking forward to it based on the reviews here on Unilocal.I was somewhat disappointed since to me it was more of pasta with a cheese sauce and not a mac n cheese. I shared part of the meal with a friend so I got to try the trout. That was excellent.
The service was top notch. The waitress was very friendly and made an excellent recommendation on the wine. Water glasses were kept filled and although attentive to our needs wasn’t overly done.

Decided to grab X-​mas day eve lunch at Orzo. Ordered Market Risotto. I was expecting delicious pasta. It turned out to be some concoction of rice (brown?) and vegetables, with some cheese thrown in. Not at all yummy. Given the prices at this place, and the taste of the food — I’d say Meh. I’ve experienced better.
Loved the ambience, and décor though! High expectations fall flat.