Summit Restaurant

We celebrated my son’s graduation here and they were so accommodating as our plans changed and we were trying to fit in dinner between three graduation times! Abdul is a sweetheart and so kind over the phone. Cassey was also so kind and worked to fit us in. The food was good. I highly recommend Summit. Wonderful customer service.

The Summit brings a much needed upscale dining establishment to Christiansburg, and it really should have five stars, but after my experience there, I just can’t give them that.
Food: It was hard to read the menu in the dim lit place at night, but I found the cracbcakes to sound delicious– and boy were they. I’m from Maryland so I tend to be a seafood snob, and these blew me out of the water. The meat was delicious and the pasta it sat on was perfect. My date ate one of the steak options and loved it as well. We appreciated the sweet potato bisque that was provided with bread as well before our meal.
The service is what really fell flat. Our waitress was very inattentive and did not check in. At the end of the meal, she charged us for a different tables meal, and correcting the situation took an unreasonable amount of time. The chef was the one who corrected it so I assume he’s the manager too.
Random bits: The door under their staircase is labeled the Harry Potter room, and they turned the music off on everyone dining in our room at 8:15, which made it extremely quiet and awkward.

Best meal to be had in southwest Virginia. Great atmosphere and our server was great also. One chef cooks and prepares the meal from beginning to end. We can’t wait to go back!

This was my first time here, after having heard of the restaurant four years ago. I was expecting a very special occasion due to the high price tag, and our 11^th wedding anniversary was the chosen one. I have only to say that I regret having missed such a culinary pleasure for four years! This was the best dinning experience we had for a long time.
Everything was prepared to perfection (duck with raspberry sauce and stuffed chicken with apricots), the portions were very generous considering the upper class dishes, the atmosphere was fantastic and designed to the last detail (tapestry, curtains, furniture, lighting, music… everything), and the service impeccable (great service manners, dress code, silverware, plates, complimentary soup). There’s really not much more to ask for a place like this. We’ve traveled and dinned at numerous places around Europe and US cities, and the Summit can really stand out in every one of them. Absolutely recommended for any special occasion where paying something extra is worth every penny!

Brilliant atmosphere. The outside deck and porch covered by twinkling lights makes for a very romantic setting. The inside is also pretty and has nice furnishings. Very expansive food and wine selection. The calamari was delicious and so was the lemon butter sauce that accompanied it. The salads were of good quality and tastes very fresh. Unfortunately the appetizers fell flat. The swan was drenched in a sauce that tasted like watered down ketchup and paired with a potato that had no flavor. The tipsy filet was cooked well but tasted fairly typical. Overall the service was nice but slow and our water glasses sat empty most of the night. Overall not bad but for the price you pay there are better options in the area.

My boyfriend and I went here to celebrate my birthday this weekend. I haven’t lived in the area for very long and we have kind of despaired of finding anything other than pub grub for the college crowd. I found The Summit online and suggested we try it out, since the place looked beautiful. We went in expecting lovely décor and rather mediocre food.
We were very pleasantly surprised. The hostess/​also waitress was very kind and helpful, and had that rare but wonderful ability to always be there when you wanted to see her and never be there when you wanted privacy. We were seated in front of a roaring fire in a Victorian room with high ceilings and low lighting. (Note: I liked the roaring fire. My boyfriend started to roast after awhile and the hostess obligingly turned down the heat).
The waitress brought out mugs of pumpkin soup compliments of the chef for us. It was quite creamy and I don’t care for cream-​based soups, so I only had a spoon or two of mine, but it was a thoughtful gesture nonetheless. We ordered stuffed mushrooms as an appetizer, which turned out to be one giant stuffed mushroom cut into four pieces. It was a mountain of succulent lump crab meat.
For the entrée, I ordered duck with a raspberry sauce and my boyfriend ordered the New York strip steak. Both of these cuts of meat were prepared to perfection. My duck was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, and my boyfriend’s steak was seared medium-​rare and had an incredibly flavorful crust. We both agreed it was the best steak we’d eaten in ages. Our only complaint was that both dishes were very, very generously sauced. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but my duck got a little bit lost in all the raspberry sauce. The accompaniments to our entrees (mashed potatoes and green beans) were nice if not particularly special in anyway.
We finished with a slice of key lime pie, which was like a lime-​flavored cloud. It rivaled a key lime pie that I had on Sanibel Island once, which is saying something.
This was the perfect restaurant for a winter’s evening celebration. Our first trip was certainly not our last.

The meal was exceptional. We have just moved here from San Diego so we know what good food is. There were 4 in the party and every one was extremely happy with there meal. I had the crab cakes and they were loaded with lump crab meat. The rest of the party had The Chicken, Strip Steak and Italian angle and they all raved about the food.
I didn’t give it 5 stars because the service was less than acceptable. We waited quite a while before anyone came to our table to take drink orders or just say Hello. The service was slow. Our dinner took 2 hours.
That being said I will go back, the is that good.

Went to a special dinner with out-​of-​town guests in October 2013 (just noticed I’d written review but never submitted it). We are new to the area and wanted to go somewhere nice, and a friend recommended this place. We were disappointed, but there were a few pleasant surprises.
1) Service was EXTREMELY slow, which was strange because there was hardly anyone there and at least 4 different serving staff seen.
2) The server was very sweet but knew NOTHING about the food preparation, ingredients, or gluten-​sensitivity accommodations. She had to leave to ask the chef about ingredients at least 4 times which contributed to the slow service.
3) The pumpkin bisque was the best surprise of the night! Perfect!
4) The food was mediocre. My «seared» tuna was charred black on the corners. The sea bass didn’t seem to be cooked right. The seafood pasta was nothing special. The duck was the best of the four entrees at the table with a great flavor.
5) Pricey. Food not worth the price.

I went here one year for Valentines. The food was simply amazing, some of the best I have ever had in the area. I had to take off some points though because the décor was seriously outdated. The restaurant is an old house so you can imagine eating in various rooms the tables are very close together and it was so quiet you didn’t feel like you could talk.
It is very romantic and I can also see that it might be nice for an intimate gathering with close friends and family.

I was taken here as a surprise for my birthday. This was a very nice dinner; elegant place, but not so elegant you would get kicked out if you wore jeans. Interesting experience; the story of the home is worth checking out; the food was excellent and interesting as it was elegant and traditional including the southern bacon flavor in the fancy green beans. A great place for a celebration.

I’ll just give you a play-​by-​play of the dinner I overpaid for about 20 minutes ago:
1. Service time. Our server didn’t get our drink order until about 15 minutes of waiting. I ordered a Diet-​Coke and was brought a Dr. Pepper. When I finally got the Diet-​Coke, it tasted like water. I imagine they don’t get many people ordering soda (but I couldn’t drink alcohol that night), but they clearly need to double check the quality of it.
2. Caesar salads. Our server said that they were included with the entrées, but we later found out that they weren’t. They tasted alright, but were a bit too salty. The cheese was also in larger strips rather than grated. Came with anchovies that added a bit of a new flavor to the salad, but they were relatively unnecessary, especially because they made the salads even saltier.
2. Sweet-​potato soup. Delicious. Very smooth, very easy to eat, very tasty. I thought things were looking up, but I was wrong.
3. The NY Strip. My girlfriend ordered it and it was tough and somewhat bland. The sauce somewhat made up for it. Green beans were very overcooked and were a sickly shade of green rather than a nice vibrant and healthy color. Mashed potatoes were alright, but not fantastic. A similar portioned meal from Outback Steakhouse would have been better and about ¹⁄₃^rd of the cost. (The NY strip was $ 32.99)
4. The Lobster. Bland again, falling well below a $ 9.99 lobster tail at Outback Steakhouse. It was much bigger, but it just didn’t taste like anything and the butter sauce was necessary for it to be passable. I suspect it was frozen rather than fresh. The shrimp risotto that it came with was good, but the beans, like with the NY strip, were incredibly overcooked.
5. The crème brûlée was quite good, but again, nothing remarkable. It was sweet like a desert should be, but it didn’t have any kind of depth of flavor.
6. Coffee was alright but a bit strong, they didn’t have enough Splenda.
This incredibly disappointing dining experience ended up running us $ 122, and we didn’t order any wine or beer. Service was slow, our server was unclear and made numerous mistakes (including never giving us the rest of our steak in a to-​go box like she offered — just as well, we weren’t going to eat it). Ambiance is alright.
Never again. I rate it 1 star because of how exorbitantly overpriced it is – were it more reasonably priced it would be 2-​stars. But if I’m paying over $ 100 for two people to eat dinner, I expect to be wowed.
Like I said — the exact same meal at Outback Steakhouse would probably be around $ 30. Go there instead.

Excellent food and atmosphere, a great place to bring a special person for a romantic dinner. The food is well worth the price and you get to dine in a beautiful old mansion with a lot of character. Extremely friendly staff.

Wow, my family and I had an INCREDIBLE lunch and experience at The Summit today. The restaurant is not typically open for lunch but the chef/​owner was gracious enough to open up for our party of eight for lunch today. Awesome service, excellent food — some of the best crab cakes any of us had ever had. Word can’t describe our satisfaction with our meal. Thank you so much and we cannot wait to visit again!
P. S. The restaurant is in an old Victorian style home — very charming place with a delightful atmosphere! Great for a special meal!

A nice evening for a large party.
First make sure you have a ressie for a party of 6 or more.
The Atmosphere: Some might call it «stuffy», I think it goes with the Victorian House Motif. It has ambiance and romance and that special outing feel.
The Food: Excellent. I had the lamb and couldn’t have been more pleased. It was full of flavor, excellently plated, and of perfect portion (if not a little too much).
The Wine: Great selection
The Service: Attentive but not invasive or dominating.

The food was to die for, but the dining room felt a little stuffy and out-​dated. I like how the place is separated into rooms like a house (since it IS a house) but it needs a little updating.
My wife and I went for Valentine’s Day and the food was amazing. The menu was limited, but you don’t need a huge menu when the food is so awesome.
Definitely worth a visit.

I agree with everyone on this review. It’s two blocks from our house and even though it’s pricey, it’s one of our favorite places to go. Christiansburg doesn’t have many up-​scale restaurants, but even if there were– we’d still be regulars at the Summit.
The servers are polite (they actually let you eat, but make sure you have what you need) the ambiance is amazing– Victorian setting (and most nights of the week– you can actually get your own room with fireplace– *not on weekends*).
The food was excellent. We always get the grilled eggplant appetizer, because we are in love with their in-​house vinaigrette that is amazing on the salad as well. The New York strip is GREAT!
PLEASE give this place a try. You’ll love it. 5 stars for me are few and far between– especially around here.

This restaurant is by far my favorite upscale place in the area. I haven’t found atmosphere like it anywhere else around and I crave the pasta all the time. Their sauces and dressings are full of flavor. I can tell a lot of care goes into every dish. We’ve been happy with everything we’ve ordered. We go there every chance we get. I’m very selective and this is by far one of my favorite places. We have recommended this restaurant to friends and they all thanked us for the recommendation and loved it as well.

I know I know… I give most places 4 or 5 stars. But this is different. Why am I giving this place 5 stars? Several reasons. You’ll note that I use the word «perfect» not so sparingly in this review.
#1 being the service. Our server had perfect timing. Not too rushed, not too slow. Perfect. While she wasn’t all that chatty (which I’m assuming isn’t really what they’re supposed to go for here) she was indeed friendly and unpretentious, which I like in a server. Since I am one.
#2: The food. We came here for my boyfriend’s 21^st birthday, so it was a special occasion and we couldn’t have picked a better place. Randy had the Italian Angel and I had the Swan (duck). Literally, Randy was in love with every bite. The sauce in his dish was a cream sauce, which had a certain depth that a lot of cream sauces lack, as well as a warmth at the back of the throat, which I also appreciate in a cream sauce. My duck was perfectly cooked (Medium rare) and had a lovely sauce… not overly sweet, a little more on the savory side. I should also mention that we had the stuffed mushrooms as an appetizer (stuffed with crab meat). Delicious! The meatiness of the mushrooms really came through, which you don’t always taste in a mushroom. Sometimes they’re really bland, and mushy. This was not at all mushy. And the crab meat was really fresh and buttery. We had to finish off the sauce that they served with the appetizer with the bread they gave us. Waste not, want not! :-) We also opted for the soup of the day instead of salad, and tonight it was an apple and sweet potato soup. Perfection! Flavorful, great texture, fresh ingredients… just perfect. They also gave us a free dessert because of Randy’s birthday and we chose the Crème Brulee! While it was not the absolute best Crème Brulee I’ve ever had, it was quite good and it was warm on top and cold on the bottom: proof that they made it and burnt the sugar on top just for us! It wasn’t pre-​made! Yay! And you really feel (and know) that they are making the food specially for you… not like it’s pre-​made and they took some sauce out of the fridge and slapped it on some duck. Not at all.
#3: Ambiance. I love that it’s a Victorian house turned restaurant. It’s like a really cool time warp with great food! And the music and décor add to this feel. Also, you never feel rushed to leave here… you feel like you could stay forever (not that you would. I know I hate it when my tables stay forever sometimes…).
So yeah… in short… we both thought it sheer perfection. It didn’t come cheap, but it costs less than what it would in DC for the same quality and service. Can’t beat it here in the New River Valley. The end!

Food is far below average compared some restaurants with same price tag and ambiance.
Both my husband and I thought the dishes we had were very salty and tasteless, and with same vegetable side dishes that does not even go with one of our entries.
I really was disappointed at the food but the atmosphere was fine. nothing fancy though

My wife’s favorite place. Very good food served on time but they take their time with the bill. The atmosphere is decidedly formal but you can get away with nice semi-​formal clothing. I don’t think they’ll turn you away. Just don’t show up in flip-​flops, a t-​shirt and shorts. Jazz runs in the background and it’s good jazz — lots of Ella Fitzgerald the two times I’ve been there.
The food has always been great but you more than pay for it. A typical dinner for two with dessert and coffee will run over $ 100! He’s the best cook in the area and he’s now in Floyd. Really the food is very good but I have had better. I don’t know what other reviewers were talking about or who was cooking it but if the head chef is there it will taste good. I’ve gone to some great «foodie» restaurants and this is good. Note however, that you can get better in the area. Mike G’s cooking in at Floyd is as good if not better. And the chef that use to run Oddfella’s Cantina who is now working above the Harvest Moon was also as good in general.
For the food I give them four stars but for the price they lose one. If I were in New York or DC I’d expect the price to be this high but not in Christiansburg. Hey, if Mike can cook better for lower cost, so can this dude.