Claire’s At the Depot‎
65 South 3rd Street
Warrenton, VA 20186-3304

Voice: 540.351.1616
Fax: 540.341.0302

claires@clairesrestaurant.com
reservations@clairesrestaurant.com

American | $$

We have been to Claire’s many times for brunch and dinner. I thought it was time to share brunch with everyone. Located in a beautifully renovated train station the tables near the fireplace are a treat as fall arrives. During the summer months several tables are available on the patio if the humidity is not oppressive.

Bruch begins with wonderful Cranberry-Orange Scones.

I started with a terrific she crab soup. It had a nice creamy consistency with ample crab. A little on the salty side but I usually chalk that up to minimizing my salt intake and being a little more sensitive than most people. I will have it again.

My wife and a friend split a nice looking Beet and Goat Cheese Salad with organic baby greens, goat cheese croutons, yellow & red beets, candied walnuts, dried cherries, and poppy seed dressing.

My favorite for brunch at Claire’s has long been the Steak and Eggs with a grilled Black Angus N.Y. strip, Edwards’ peppered bacon, sausage, farm fresh eggs over hard, herbed hash browns and fresh fruit. The steak was cooked perfectly. The homemade sausage had a magnificent earthy taste with just a hint of spiciness. I grew up on dinner type hash brown potatoes shredded and on the crispy side. The herbed hash browns for this dish are good but more like small seasoned breakfast potatoes. I am not sure I would call them hash browns.

My wife chose the Pan Seared Trout with scrambled eggs. The trout was moist and not over cooked. The selection of fruit was all fresh with strawberries ripened to perfection, a surprise for this time of the year.

Our server was the wonderful Tiffany. She was helpful with menu suggestions, took care of our every need, and always had a smile. I hope she helps us on our next visit.

Claire’s brunch can fill up fast after church lets out so reservations are recommend for dinning after noon. The noise level was moderate, around 65 decibels when we arrived, and on the high end of moderate at 75 decibels with nearly every table was taken when we left. On this afternoon I spotted Claire out of her chef’s uniform and in the dining room filling water glasses and observing the flow of staff and guests. I am sure this hands-on approach has a lot to do with the quality of the service.

If you’re looking for a nice Sunday brunch in the country don’t miss Claire’s at the Depot. Warrenton is a lovely town about an hour from Washington, DC and Claire makes it worth the drive.

42461 Lovettsville Rd., Lovettsville, VA 20180
540-822-9017
www.patowmackfarm.com

Farm to Table | $$$$

A note about who prepared our dinner. We joined friends at the restaurant in mid-July before the Great Northern Virginia Chef Shift of 2013 which had the chefs from three prominent restaurants on the move. Chef Chris Edwards from the Restaurant at Patowmack Farm, who prepared our dinner, moved to Sheila Johnson’s recently opened Salamander Resort and Spa in Middleburg. Well known chef Tarver King of the Ashby Inn moved over to the Restaurant at Patowmack Farm and David Dunlap, executive sous chef at the Inn at Little Washington, became the head chef at Ashby Inn.

I started my meal with a light and crispy Chesapeake Bay Jumbo Lump Crab Beignet with sauce remoulade, Delmarva crab spice, and nasturtium leaf. The nasturtium leaf was especially interesting with a sweet and slight tangy taste.

I ordered the Seared Sea Scallops on a bed of hay smoked new potatoes with Swiss chard jelly, summer squash, and a tarragon extract. Evan with our yearly trips to Virginia Beach and the wonderful seafood meals we have I can easily say these were the best scallops I have had. The searing coupled with the smokiness of the potatoes was perfect. The fusion of the squash and tarragon was nice.

Our friend loved their Braised Veal Cheeks with roasted beats, cracked wheat, Swiss chard, and a red wine reduction. The veal melted in your mouth.

Another in our party ordered the Ashley Farm’s Chicken Breast with black garlic puree, button mushrooms, baby spinach, and chicken jus. Ashley Farms of Winston-Salem has been in the business for over 50 years and known for some of the finest poultry available today. Their free range slow growing Heritage breeds are antibiotic, toxin, and pesticide free. She was delighted with the taste and would not hesitate to order it again.

My wife had the Wineberry Sorbet with wild wineberries, blueberry-lime curd, mint meringue, white chocolate and olive oil cake. She loved all the great tasting berries and we were all loved the white chocolate made to look like a fettuccini noodle.

My Lavender Chocolate Mousse with honey nougat, milk chocolate hazelnut crunch, coffee brittle, and blueberry paper was incredible. The coffee brittle was paper thin and sat on top of the lavender infused chocolate mousse.

The view from the glass enclosed greenhouse like dining room looking down on the Potomac River is beautiful. We arrived early and were the first parties seated. Noise level during dinner never got above a moderate 65 decibels. Service was impeccable. We ordered ice tea and were treated to a sweet tea made from Oregon Chai concentrate. When my wife commented to our waitress she thought it might make a nice hot tea in the winter our server returned 5 minutes later with a cup of hot chai for her to sample. Management is lucky to have such thoughtfully aware staff on their team.

Dinner at the Restaurant at Patowmack Farm has been on our list for some time. We were glad to meet with friends and have such a superb meal. Known as one of the true farm to table dining experiences in our area I would recommend it to everyone.