Lightfoot Restaurant

What an amazing dinner! I brought my family from out of town to Lightfoot. It's a personal favorite of mine. They were blown away by how great the food an service was. Chris took such great care of us. My kids even said he was the best writer they've ever had, and I have to agree. When my little one spilled her drink, he was right there to help clean it up and make her not feel embarrassed. Love the atmosphere and food too.

*This ended up longer than I expected - here is a quick take: Had a very disappointing Valentine's dinner date - we weren't sat in the actual restaurant area - we were placed in an isolated banquet area with an over burdened waitress who couldn't provide timely service - I received an email the next day from a manager there asking for feedback - which I then provided - and have not heard back*nnThe full story:nnMy girlfriend and I had dinner here on Valentine’s day evening, and as it was our first time at this restaurant we were excited to give it a try – I had made the dinner reservation two weeks prior. Unfortunately, it ended up being quite a disappointing experience.nnWhen we entered the restaurant, we were greeted by the beautiful, cozy, and romantic atmosphere: the interior decoration is beautiful mix of hardwood paneling, red leather booths, a large fireplace, and an open second floor landing with a live piano band. As the host was taking us to our seats, he started climbing the stairs to the area where the piano band was playing – we were excited as we thought we would have a table near the band! Then the host guided us past the piano and the surrounding tables and took us into a separate room. I suspect this room is typically used for private parties/banquets – it was large, bland/no decoration, with 6 – 8 tables spaced far apart – it seemed very empty, and it was very quiet – almost eerily quiet. As we sat down, we couldn’t help but feel like we were being banished from the warm and vibrant atmosphere that the normal areas of the restaurant contained – even the other people dining in this room seemed glum/disappointed.nnTo make matters worse, there was only one waitress with a British-sounding accent that was taking care of all the tables in this room, as well as the tables around the piano band. She did her best, but everything took a long time – it took 20 minutes for our initial drink order to arrive – and when we ordered an appetizer, she encouraged us to order our main course as well – so much for a romantic a dinner date…..nnTo summarize: Lightfoot seems like a nice establishment - if you actually get to sit in the actual restaurant area - but we were placed in a cafeteria-like banquet room, isolated from the rest of establishment, with an over-burdened waitress would couldn’t provide timely service.nnI don’t typically write negative reviews, but the day after Valentine’s I received an email from a manager at Lightfoot asking for feedback on our dining experience – I replied to her email stating I was disappointed, and would appreciate the opportunity to talk to her on the phone (and provided my phone #) – never got a call or email response…..That just added salt to the wound…..

This was our first visit. We recently moved to Aldie, Va and was looking for a perfect Valentine's Dinner location. Lightfoot did not disappoint. The service was excellent form start to finish and the food was a mouthwatering treat. We will definitely be back in the near future. Special thanks to Tim the bartender for taking care of us in a super busy environment! Bravo!!

My wife and I always look forward to visiting around Christmas time. We bring our niece for a fantastic dinner. We've been doing this for years. Tim has been our server since we started eating at Lightfoot some 18 years ago. He is very knowledgeable and professional. He's always been spot on with his meal suggestions and wine pairings. This truly is our favorite restaurant, especially for special occasions. Keep up the incredibly good work.

This is one of our favorite restaurants in Northern Virginia. It never disappoints. We had a very small rehearsal dinner for my sons wedding this weekend. We had a private room and it was beautifully set up and prepared for our arrival. Then we were promptly greeted and fresh drinks in hand within minutes. We tried most of the appetizers: ham biscuits, fried green tomatoes (a MUST), deviled eggs, fried oysters and crab nachos! Wow! Every morsel was hot, fresh and delicious!!nOur entrees were fantastically prepared and promptly served. Shrimp and grits, lamb, fried chicken, rockfish, filet- each entree was meticulously prepared and presented. LOVED IT! We ended the evening with Guinness brownies and espressos.nI don’t see how the reception tonight will top this dinner! Thank you for the excellent service Chris! And thank you Carrie for the gorgeous space and your hospitality! I know my son and daughter in law will be talking about this experience for years to come.