lightfoot restaurant

lightfoot restauratnt old town leesburg. for those of you contemplating a nice dinner spot in leesburg, va, then the lightfoot restaurant is not theplaceto choose. the decor is nice, that is all can say was good. from the beginning, theplacewas packed and the reservations were starting to walk through the door and get backed up. the bar was packed as well with awaiting reservations. there were people there with 7pm reservations just being seated at 8pm. but what is all the wait and the hype about? good food? good service? in my opinion, not really both, especially the food. what drew us to the restaurant was the menu we spotted online. but as soon as the soup came out with the appetizer and salad, nothing lived up to it's hype. the descriptions were accurate, but the flavor did not deliver. the french onion soup was bad and didn't have much flavor from what you were expecting. i think they used too much truffle oil which completely over powers the true flavor of the soup. after a few spoonfuls, we had to set it aside. on to the calamari, it was not as we were expecting. we thought it would have a hint of spice and heat due to the peppers integrated into the plate, but nothing at all, it was a complete let down. also, the calamari lacked flavor, the batter was bland and the calamari weak. the 'po boy' salad with fried oysters another bad decision. the salad was nothing spectacular, the salad had no pop and the oysters had no real flavor as well. moving on the the entrees, we both ordered the 8oz filet mignon medium with the chive mashed potatoes and fried onions on top with asparagus spears. the filet was overcooked and had the texture of that of sirloin. again, the filet had no flavor at all, to top that, the bernaise sauce was bland and added nothing to the plate. to cap the night off, we ordered dessert just to round out the night, expecting much of the same, but feeling a bit optimistic, the mocha ya ya was the dessert of choice. again, the dessert was a let down, it was too dense and heavy, not really what you would expect from something that is supposed to be a flourless chocolate cake, and again, had no real flavor to it. however, the coffee that was ordered to go along with the dessert was the only high point of the dinner! needless to say, we did not have a memorable dinner. they do advertise this restaurant in urbanspoon as a very priceyplaceto eat. they are correct, they are fairly pricey. i have no problem go to pricey places to eat, i never have a problem with the check. but i do have a problem when it is pricey and it does not live up to its' name. i'm not quite sure why people were there waiting for a table close to an hour and a half when you can go to your local corporate restuarant, i.e. outback and get a steak that tastes good as well as cooked to how you order it. for those of you that would like a nice night out and spend some money, then lightfoot restaurant should not be an option. for the money, the food does not deliver and the service is average at best. look into other restaurants around the area would be my advice.

leesburg's finest fine-dining. it's been around a long while, and has a --gasp!-- nice atmosphere. the building used to be a bank (the vault door is still there. adds a nice touch to any bathroom). surprisingly reasonable prices, too.
frankly, i don't know how thisplacehas so many bad reviews. maybe it's because i tend to go during lunch, when it's nearly empty. maybe it's because i don't automatically attempt to order the fanciest things on the menu. regardless, lightfoot is a great place, but if you are averse to ordering something that "sounds plain" on the menu, you might not be quite as impressed. for example, always ask for a bar menu in addition to the regular dinner menu and never discount the grilled cheese of the day. it's often surprisingly exceptional especially when it has prosciutto, and always a great deal. the spicy groovy meatloaf sandwich is one of the best things ever, and the remoulade it comes with is excellent for dipping fries in, too. the chicken philly is great as well. great burgers, too. always get a bowl of soup--tomato bisque is delicious.
sure, their fancier stuff that looks like a work of art is good, too, but it's that simple meatloaf sandwich that keeps me coming back.

awful restaurant. thisplacecame highly rated and it was flat out terrrible! to start with, the hostess had an attitude and sat us for dinner, in the bar area. the bartender was our waiter, and of course, he was busy at the bar. a busboy asked if we were told the specials, and we said "no". he said he did not know them but went and got a paper from the kitchen and read them to us. my husband got the shrimp and grits appetizer. grits were good, shrimp was undercooked and fishy. i got oysters rockefeller. generally a pretty standard recipe of spinach and hollandaise sauce. well, no hollandaise, not sure any spinach either, just really small oysters (may have been 1/2 oysters) that were covered in cheese and supposedly had ham--- they tasted like pepperoni pizza--- ugh! then, after a really long wait, out came the food. my husband got the seafood stew off the menu. it seemed to be in an overly salty beef broth. for him to say something is salty it had to be ocean water salty. i got the highly recommended pork chop special stuffed with sour dough and sausage prepared medium. it was cold, it was gray, not trimmed (a lot of fat) it was stuffed with stuffing croutons and pieces of sausage, it was tough, had a big piece of gristle running through it, was overcooked and bland. the bartender gave each of us a free drink for the lack of service. whoopie. we will never recommend or return.

sorry lightfoot won't come back. last time i was there was two years ago, as i promess myself to never go back. so as far as the food they serve now i don't know. but my memory of it is very poorly executed dish, not very creative and expensive for what you get. my biggest desapointment was the service. for me, there is a lot of other very niceplaceto eat in leesburg.

thisplaceis totally overrated and way too expensive. the food at lightfoot, on my last 2 visits, has been mediocre at best. the chicken's too dry, the steak nothing fancy, the coffee not worth mentioning. service, when we were sitting outside was pretty much non-existent. on the plus side, lightfoot continues to have a very nice atmosphere, and is a doable choice for lunch, when the pricing is realistic. amongst american restaurants in leesburg, lightfoot ranks #4 after winekitchen, tuskies and blue ridge grill