It’s pretty inconspicuous from the outside — a worn brick building with faded letters that read “Restaurant,” and an illuminated sign sporting the Pepsi logo and the words “C&O Restaurant.” C&O is situated on Water Street, on the far end of the Downtown Mall. What used to be a local diner at the C&O railway station has transformed into an intimate, white-tablecloth eatery, specializing in a blend of classical French and modern American fare.
Stepping into the restaurant, I was greeted by the warmth of a floor-to-ceiling furnace and the smile of a hostess. The brick walls and barn wood that line the interior of the restaurant create an intimate setting, which is intensified by flickering gas flames in the hanging lamps.
The ambiance was perfect for the occasion — I wanted to take my date to a nice meal to celebrate his recent acquisition of a culinary internship. With a romantic and quaint front room, the intimate space hosted only about six tables. Our hostess escorted us to a table in the back corner, a dimly lit, secluded two-top.
The room was so quiet that we basically had to whisper to speak to each other. However, I actually found this a refreshing difference from the bustling, noisy restaurant environment I’ve become accustomed to, and enjoyed getting to hear Ray Charles croon every word of “Georgia on My Mind” in the background.
Our waiter set a limewash cardstock menu on our table, offering around 10 appetizer choices and five entrees. I came to learn that the only reason the menu is so limited is that they truly perfect each dish before slating it. After a ton of deliberation, my friend and I made our choices and eagerly awaited their arrival.
About 20 minutes later, the first appetizer that arrived was the Bibb Salad ($13). Atop a bed of crisp bibb lettuce sat two thick, eight-inch-long slabs of gruyère. The greenery was topped with a healthy amount of chives, crunchy homemade croutons and a delicious Dijon-forward vinaigrette. The dressing was rich but not filling, and a ribbon of lemon cut through the creaminess.
The Beef Sirloin Carpaccio came out next. A decadent truffle aioli covered the bottom of the plate, and a massive slab of garlic hash browns rested on top. These potatoes were so crispy that biting into them sounded like crunching potato chips. On top of this golden-brown goodness was an extremely thin layer of tender, melt-in-your-mouth raw beef. A healthy handful of arugula and Parmesan offered the final garnish to this $21 dish. There was an unidentified dressing on top of the arugula that made it soft and wilted, but the crispiness of the potatoes made up for its lack of crunch.
The flavors worked beautifully in tandem, allowing each individual element to shine without overpowering. And while every aspect of the dish was delicious, the potatoes were truly the runaway star of this appetizer.
The last starter to emerge from the kitchen was the homemade bread ($3). It was dense, pillowy and perfectly cooked. The crust was chewy and soft, and the inside had a texture similar to brioche. It was accompanied by a quenelle of whipped, unsalted butter, a choice I thought was a bit strange, but was delicious nonetheless.
For an entree, my friend and I both ordered the Steak Chinois, their specialty dish. I personally believe it’s criminal to have two people order the same thing at a dinner, but this dish gets a special exception. According to our waiter, they tend to cook their steaks on the rarer side, so I ordered mine medium instead of my usual medium-rare. It’s a beautiful piece of tender, flawlessly cooked prime bavette, coated in a rich tamari-ginger sauce. This sauce was absolutely divine — it clearly began with a Maillard reaction, and was presumably deglazed with ample amounts of cream and butter. It was rich, salty and perfectly seasoned, and it served as an incredible gravy for the side of gruyère-thyme potatoes that accompanied it.
Our waiter informed us they’ve been serving this dish since 1979, and their extreme commitment to perfection was evident in every fiber of the meat and each fold of the sauce. Given the eye-bulging price tag — $56 — I will confess that I was hoping for a bit more meat. But the quality of each aspect of the meal was, as far as I’m concerned, unparalleled by other restaurants in the Charlottesville area.
Even though we were so full, I have never skipped dessert in my life. We wanted to keep things on the lighter side after the hefty meal, so we opted for the Huckleberry Sundae ($14). Served in a chilled glass were two scoops of the most incredible vanilla ice cream I have ever had. It had a similar texture to custard — smooth, rich and creamy. The dollop of whipped cream on top had the same decadent creaminess as the ice cream — the only thing that set the whipped cream and the ice cream apart was a subtle discrepancy in texture. The ice cream was topped with homemade streusel and a fresh huckleberry compote. The sauce was flavorful yet not overpowering, allowing the dairy to shine.
After our meal, my friend and I took a digestion walk around the restaurant, where we discovered both upstairs and downstairs seating areas. While the downstairs bar isn’t as lively as it used to be, it offers a nice alternative to the intimate seclusion of the first floor. The upstairs dining area’s ambiance is more similar to that of the first floor but is a bit more lively due to its increased seating capacity. No matter where you sit, I would recommend booking a reservation as far in advance as possible — I booked this two-top a fortnight in advance, and still, the only open slot on the website was at 8:30 p.m. on a Thursday.
As long as you plan ahead, C&O is the perfect spot for a date night, a birthday dinner or a place to impress your parents when they visit Charlottesville. If I were a betting woman, I’d be willing to bet the ranch that whoever you take to the C&O will be incredibly grateful that you did. And whatever you do, make sure everyone orders the Steak Chinois.
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