Admittedly, Restaurant Week probably isn’t the best time to visit a restaurant for the first time. Dining rooms are packed, kitchens are slammed and servers bounce from table to table without a second to spare. But if a restaurant can deliver under that kind of pressure, it says far more about its character than a quiet Thursday night ever could.
I visited The Local this past Restaurant Week with four of my dearest friends. Nestled in the heart of the historic Belmont district, the restaurant offers a variety of farm-to-table dishes that highlight Virginia’s agricultural abundance. Even on one of its busiest days of the year, The Local made us five newcomers feel like beloved regulars, earning its titular distinction.
This upscale gastropub is open from 5 – 9 p.m. every day of the week — aside from Friday and Saturday when they stay open until 10…