I was craving a good burger in Cville and decided to try Boylan Heights. It was a busy Friday night but my friend and I were seated quickly. Our waitress was prompt and courteous.
I ordered the Room 121 and my buddy had the Varsity (chili). The burgers were correctly cooked to our preferences and packed plenty of flavor. The ingredients and toppings were fresh.
The only complaint I have is that the open wall to the patio made the rest of the restaurant cold. Hence, the temperature of our food cooled considerably fast. No biggy for me because I'm a fast eater!
I was here with a group of people this past Saturday evening after the Foxfield races.
I have never received worse service at a restaurant. It took at least 45 minutes for us to get our food. We were seemingly forgotten about. When our food did come it was not at the same time. The food runner had no idea who had what or even which burgers he had in his hands to distribute. The sides he brought out didn't not match what we ordered and were mediocre at best. The sweet potato fries were soggy and cold when we got them.
When I confronted the manager expressing the horrible service we received he was initially helpful but did not "take care of us" to a level I felt was reasonable. I expressed that I thought it was reasonable for us to pay for the alcohol we consumed and tip our servers a full rate but we did not want to pay for the food. He wanted to give us gift cards to return despite the fact that all of us were visiting from out of town. To cap things off he insulted me before we left because I was still unhappy with what he was proposing.
I have never been more upset or displeased with a restaurant experience in my entire life. Save yourself the headache and steer clear of this place.
Avoid this place. Stopped in on a Sunday to watch baseball and have a couple of beers. Stood at the door for a few minutes and despite the present of several waiters and bartenders no one greeted us or offered a table or service. We picked out own table and they continued to ignore us for a few more minutes so I walked to the bar with a credit card in hand to start a tab. Even that failed to get any attention at a place that wasn't very busy and had 5 staff working on trying to change a channel. Service sux and I've had brunch here a separate time, which wasn't great either.
Review Source:The upstairs at Boylan was hosting three separate department functions: College of Nursing, Engineering, and Chemistry recruiting weeks. I swindled my way to become friends with each group, got their food which was horrificly inedible, but what do you expect from a college town sports bar.
If you go here, you must have expectations. This is an excellent sports bar with great drink specials (I had $2 domestic bottles all night). That is how to play it. Eat somewhere else and come here after.
I went here for a student event last weekend, and I loved the place! I'm tossing out the extra fifth star on account of the stellar service at Boylan, despite being jam packed on a Friday night. The food was good, the drinks were nice and strong, and the place was very spacious and comfortable. Boylan is definitely a great place to come with a big group.
Review Source:I like this place a lot - had a great turkey burger and loved the fresh jalapeno on my burger. Â Howeverrrr, I wish they had more comfortable seating than just hightop tables and those random couches. Â Also, if you order a draft from upstairs, they have to go downstairs to get it (so you're gonna have to wait awhile....).
Review Source:Hearing of their great burgers, I've been wanting to try them. I got my chance today but I have mixed feelings about the whole place.
Although our waitress was courteous and polite, it took her about twenty five minutes to come to our table to get our order.
I ordered the model UN burger, my husband ordered the varsity while my son created his own. When our burgers arrived, my burger and my husband's were cold. They seemed like they were precooked and just reheated but not heated all the way through. We both thought the taste was good but they could have been great had they been warm enough.
My son liked his and said that his was hot. They got the fries right too. They were hot and yummy.
Overall, was not very impressed.
Because of college kids, traffic and a lack of parking (unless you use the garage), I seldom venture to The Corner. Â Today I went for lunch with my boss and our intern, who schooled us on the Boylan experience.
The burgers really are great. Â I "built" my own burger with beef, bacon, whole grain bun, blue cheese, bibb lettuce, beefsteak tomato, a tad bit of mayo and a side of sweet potato fries. Â Everything was fabulous. Â The burger was cooked perfectly, and it didn't take long for the food to come out. Â I tasted my boss' tater tots, and they were great, as well. Â I would've liked to have gotten a bison burger, but they didn't offer bison.
Perhaps because the waitresses knew our intern, perhaps not, the service was great... friendly and attentive.
If you're looking for a great burger on The Corner, Boylan Heights is it.
Honestly, the food took over 35 minutes to come out and they weren't busy at all. The server also had a terrible attitude and messed our order up once it came to the table and then made it seem like it was our fault. The nachos were really good though, so I will give three stars for that.
Review Source:Love the build-your-own burger and the consistently amazing service here. Â Whenever friends from home come to visit me, I always take them here first for a filling burger and some fried potato bits. The academic theme, from the names of the burgers to the scantron to the list of beers, is pretty clever, and this space is great for big groups. Â The first floor has some smaller tables, while the upstairs has a whole lounge area dedicated to a few hours of guzzling beers.
Ask for a sample of their Boylan sauce (one ingredient is maple syrup, so ... if you're not a fan of sweet sauces, steer clear) and pour it over your burger, fries, and deep fried potato salad. I don't really like the English muffin as the bread base for the burger, because it falls apart so easily and then I spend the rest of the evening engulfed in a mountain of stained napkins.
Also: thanks Boylan for broadcasting the Olympics on nearly all of your flat-screen TVs. Â Watching the various reactions to the diving performances made for endless entertainment.
Every thing from the bread to the meat to the produce to the beer is from local merchants around Charlottesville. Build your own or choose from their delish burger combos or you can build your own using an academic scantron to complete your order. Good selection for the kiddos. Great music. Probably quite busy when school is in session. You can even get tater tots.
Review Source:I went to this place years ago when it was called Orbitz. Ever since Orbitz closed down and Boylan Heights opened in it's place, I haven't really felt the need to check it out. I haven't eaten red meat for over a decade so it didn't really seem to be a place I should try. A couple of months ago my new doctor put me on a special restricted diet to help improve my thyroid disease, and in the pamphlet he gave me he listed Boylan Heights as having an amazing veggie burger made from quinoa. It's the burger on the menu called "The Valedictorian." Last week I went to check it out. It really was good! I got the sweet potato fries as a side dish. I probably won't be eating much else on the menu but when I am craving a veggie burger for lunch, I will be heading here.
Review Source:The best burger I have tasted in Charlottesville! I build my own when I go, and top it with bleu cheese and onions. When you are craving a burger, this is the place to go. I have never eaten here at the dinner hour, but understand that this place becomes quite the party after a certain hour. If you are looking for that, then this is one of the most popular spots on the corner. However, if you are like me and prefer a more intimate bar setting, I would recommend going here for lunch, particularly when the weather is nice and they open the large windows.
Review Source:I came here a lot in the second half of 2011, before moving away, because my vegetarian partner loves their veggie burgers. Â Heck, I'm an omnivore and *I* really like the veggie burgers. Â I always had a good burger and the service was always just fine, and it's nice to be able to go to a beer-and-burger joint with a vegetarian when they *also* get a good meal.
Review Source:I know most people come here for burgers- and I wish we had tried some- but we opted for a Sunday brunch. Â Both of us had ordered the Boylan Mary (bloody mary) and they were both well done- extra spicy, how we like it! Â Then our dishes were Garden Benedict (very well done- I liked the salsa and chiptole sauce!). Â The grits that came with were rich, but not overly so. Â The other dish was the Eggs and Toast with the housebrowns. Â Simple, but very well done. Â And the housebrowns- I wish I had ordered them! Â
The atomsphere of this place was great, for kids, college students and anyone else interested. Â You don't feel rushed (on a Sunday morning) and you can enjoy a game on TV or just catching up with friends. Â Lots of space to sit, so you don't feel like everyone is on top of you.
We ate here on the spur-of-the-moment because Mellow Mushroom was CLOSED the day after Christmas. To our delight, everything we ordered was delicious, including some new-to-us items like pork wings and fried potato salad. Burgers were terrific and service very attentive (thank you, Bailey!) . Glad we stopped here and would definitely come back.
Review Source:College area sports bar and burger joint--but with a difference: Â The beef is raised locally, organic, and aged like a fine steak before grinding the hamburger. Â There is a huge choice of sauces, cheeses, and other toppings and you can choose from the preprogrammed burgers or design your own. Â I rank it way above 5 Guys burger restaurants.
Re the Cole slaw, it's coarse cut purple cabbage with a mild dressing that let's the cabbage flavor come through. Â I liked, wife did not.
Oh Boylan, how I love thee. Having a great burger joint in my backyard is now a necessity thanks to Boylan. I don't know how I survived without it.
For less than $10 you can make your own burger consisting of organic angus beef from Virginia farms, cheese, a sauce and three toppings. You can add premium toppings for just a little extra. Things like muenster cheese, tzatziki sauce, fried eggs, avocado, roasted red peppers and fried green tomatoes are at your disposal when creating a burger. You can also opt for a turkey burger or veggie burger if beef isn't your thing. Every burger comes with delicious curly fries which can be changed to sweet potato fries for $1. There are also burgers on the menu already created by Boylan. And if a burger isn't what your looking for, you can choose from their salads, sandwiches and appetizers.
Boylan offers a Sunday brunch that looks to have expanded since I last went, so I can't comment fully on that.
I docked Boylan one star for not serving a full-menu on days of home football games. I understand it gets extremely busy, but taking away the reason why people come to your restaurant - the create your own burger - isn't the greatest idea. And because I've seen it mentioned in other reviews, you can have your burger cooked however you please. You just need to ask.
A nice local spot that offers a quality burger at a reasonable price. They have a bunch of appetizing, pre-designed burgers but they also give you a build your own option. If you build your own, you fill out an awesome little scantron form and have tons of options for every single part of your burger. I went with a beef patty, wheat bun, sriracha mayo, Boylan's sauce, raw onions, mushrooms, and Virginia ham ($1 extra). It was a deliciously juicy burger and the fries balanced with  it really well. Next time I go in I'll definitely make an even more deluxe burger and sample some of the beers.
Review Source:Boylan uses grass fed beef (super A+) and sources all of their buns from the local bakery, Albemarle Baking Company. The burgers are huge and delicious. Â If you don't like one of their pre-selected combinations, you can "build your own" using a scan-tron sheet (remember scantron??)
The only one I've ever had that was "meh" was their veggie burger -- only because it fell apart, was difficult to eat, and was kind of bland.
The fries (both sweet potato and normal) are excellent and are sprinkled with rough cut sea salt. I would stay away from the fried pickles though -- they have a bit too much breading on them.
All of the sodas are served in biodegradable plastic cups as well. The plethora of flat screened TVs also makes this a good place to hang out and watch the game.
This review is for their Sunday BRUNCH. It does not apply to their regular menu, which I actually think is pretty good (4 stars for the vegan burger bowl).
I asked the waitress what she would recommend for BRUNCH. She suggested the Huevos Rancheros. The presentation was pretty pathetic (1 star). It looked like bad cafeteria food. And the hash browns were basically just clumpy cheese slop.
I sent the food back because it was cold. How do you make people wait more than 45 minutes and then serve food that is not hot?? My fellow diners' food wasn't hot either, but they felt bad about sending it back. Luckily the waitress was nice about reheating the food.
Once the food came out hot, it was OK. The pork was tasty. But the "cheese" was gloopy fake cheese product that looked like hollandaise sauce. And the egg was overcooked.
It didn't seem like restaurant food. It reminded me of a recipe you'd use at a summer camp to teach kids out to cook. Very disappointing.
Visited here one night for what I though would be a delicious, exotic Burger. What I ended up getting was something I probably could have very easily replicated at home. The bun was frankly the highlight of the meal. I was never asked how I would have liked my Burger cooked (medium) so I was disappointed when it was anything less.
The meat was less than flavorful. It seemed as though this was a situation where the expectation was that the condiments were going to satisfy my craving for flavor.
I like to drink water with my dinner. I don't like the taste I'd my food to be masked my soda or beer. Both my wife and I were immediately hit with the nostalgia of childhood summers and drinking from the hose when we sipped our waters. Because the water tasted like it was a from a rubber hose, or as my wife put it "it tastes like fertilizer". Disappointment all in all.
visit on 6/29/2011
I like this place. Good burgers - I've tried beef, turkey, and vegetarian, and they're all good. Good beer - not huge, but good selection of local and regional beers with great happy hour pricing. Good space - a variety of really great spaces to hang out including upstairs lounge area, good bar, and great outdoor patio space to have a beer on a warm summer evening. This place just has a lot of really good things going for it.
You know a place is great when you are in town for three days and you find yourself going there TWICE.
Such is the case with Boylan Heights. Â Fantastic house-made vegetarian burger (not such an easy feat), made from protein-rich quinoa. Â Crispy and sweet - but not too greasy - sweet potato fries. Â Perfectly dressed caesar salad - with vegetarian dressing, no less!
Nice vibe, good people. Â Great music. Â Good location with open feel and outdoor seating.... winning!
I went to UVA undergrad and this place used to be called Orbitz which was an uber-sketchy pool hall. Â We stopped by Boylan Heights for brunch/lunch on a Sunday morning and it was delightful! Â Downstairs was pretty loud and cramped for space but upstairs was quiet and had tons of tables. Â The service was slow and were the food and company not so wonderful, I'd probably be really annoyed, but the rest made up for it. Â I got a Boylan Mary to start and it was SO divine! Â The celery was the biggest piece of celery I've ever seen. Â Seriously, it was enormous, thank goodness I like celery... Â But the drink was salty and the perfect post-night out beverage.
I got the Room 121 (101? Â I'm not sure what the number is) burger and it was the most delicious thing ever! Â Oh my goodness! Â Yum! Â Our whole group was really pleased, having come in with that "oh, it's just burgers" mentality. Â The loaded tots are good, the curly fries are amazing and the drinks have enormous celery. Â Two thumbs up. Â Until it gets closed by the time I go back to Cville again.
I had a great time here with some buddies the other night. The bartender hooked me up on my drink. He didn't know how to make it (Grateful Dead - all time favorite drink), but after I described it, he hit it dead on! I wish I remembered his name cuz he was definitely a top notch bartender. Drinks were a little pricey though. The Grateful Dead ran me $11.00. The 2 floor layout is really cool. I spent the bulk of the time upstairs, where there's another bar, pool tables, and a few arcades. I was gonna SCHOOL this chick in Buck Hunter, but it took my quarters. She got lucky, LOL! Truth be told, I watched her play, and girl could shoot! I probably would've ended up strapped to the hood of her car, LOL! 4 stars Boylan!
Review Source:I'd recommend them put the bun on the grill for a little bit, to give them a slightly harder texture, but mainly to prevent them from getting soggy from the toppings that are placed in the burger.
Overall, all the burgers that my table ordered were well received, but the amount of fries was underwhelming. Â Lastly, service was good. because we didn't really order that many items, I can't judge how well they do with larger parties/orders.
i will definitely come back again if i pass by c-ville.
Came mid-afternoon with a group to let loose with some beers and snacks. Nachos are pretty good. Didn't have any burgers but they LOOK good. Fries are not so great. Mozzarella sticks are ok. Kind of overpriced though.
A pitcher of Bud was $8. I don't know if it was because we were the only people in there on a Thursday early afternoon, but the guy serving/bartending for us was super nice and even gave us half-priced pitchers since we bought so many and was there for so long. He also made us some delicious shots. Still not sure if it was worth the tab that we rang up though.
Great place to hang out with a group though.
We went there at night. Â It was really, really dark inside. Â So dark that it was almost impossible to read the menu. Â
That aside, the atmosphere was nice. Â Kind of an upscale casual. Â Quite a few students were there, which is to be expected during the school year. Â
I had a made-to-order hamburger. Â It was pretty cool to be able to fill out a bubble-sheet with all the stuff I wanted on the burger. Â They have a ton of things to choose from for a burger. Â My wife had the fried pickle chips as an appetizer, and she said they were awesome. Â I'm not a fan of pickles.
The burger was an above-average restaurant burger. Â I found it to be a little too greasy for me, but that might have been due to the fact that they really loaded it with cheese. Â Next time I go, I'll leave the cheese off. Â
Service was very good, and the bar seemed efficient. Â They had Yuengling on tap, which was good for me. Â Seemed like that had a respectable selection of beer.
Fun, college themed restaurant with excellent burgers. Â I love creating my own burger on a scantron sheet with tons of options, and I have never had a bad combination! Â I love that they use sweet pickles instead of dill, btw.
I tried the fried potato salad, and while it sounds interesting, it was just potato salad with a crispy skin, nothing too exciting. Â Next time I will try the sweet potato fries.
We tried the s'mores the first time we went, which was a mistake. Â Stick with the burgers if you come here.
Stopped in with a large group of friends at around 3 p.m. Â The bartender was friendly enough and extremely efficient. Â She told us we could order with her and then head upstairs and she would make sure our food found us.
I got a beef burger with pepper jack cheese, caramelized onions, fresh jalapenos and chipotle mayo, as well as a side of sweet potato fries. Â The burger was fine. Â The meat tasted great and was well-seasoned, and the caramelized onions were delicious and plentiful. Â I was disappointed, though, that my burger had very little spice. Â All of the seeds and membranes had been removed from the fresh jalapenos, robbing them of their heat. Â I tasted no pepper flavor at all in the cheese, and the chipotle mayo was only barely there. Â The sweet potato fries were tasty enough and not at all greasy, but they were a little overcooked and a little oversalted, both of which took away from the sweet potato flavor.
I found the space very pleasant in the midafternoon, although it might be much less so when crowded. Â There are comfy leather couches upstairs, and my friends and I enjoyed playing shuffleboard and pool. Â Altogether, I wasn't floored, but I would go back and try a different burger combination.
Where do I start? How about with the over priced burgers served on bread so hard it cut the roof of my mouth and the fries that were burnt to a crisp. I was not impressed, but if that's your thing, go ahead, give it five stars, I certainly never will. The only reason I'm giving it any stars at all is because the theme. The scan tron order forms are creative.
But don't even get me started on late night. I don't get the hype. Take away the name change, the bartenders in ties and a few decorations and you still have Orbits. Oh, and did you know that after a certain time when you order a drink they'll automatically make it a double, and charge you for it, even though its not what you ordered! Ridiculous! and don't request a song from the DJ there on Wednesdays. He'll never play it, he'll tell you to come back next week and make your request earlier in the night. Seriously, how hard is it to add a song to a playlist, and there weren't even that many people there that night so it wasn't like every song he was playing was a request. And when I refer to him I use the term DJ lightly because knowing how to make a playlist on iTunes does not earn you that title. You disappoint me Norbits, you really do. The novelty of your establishment will soon wear off and people will return to Elliewood where they belong.
Thank Gd Orbit went out of business. Srsly? Srsly. That place was kind of a dump and filled with dive bar awkwardness. Ug. And you know what? It's been replaced with a restaurant. A good restaurant. Nay, a great one. This may have to enter the Charlottesville top 10.
Boylan Heights is a burger joint, yes, and Charlottesville is kind of famous for it's amazingly delicious burgers. The White Spot, even chains like Five Guys, have a huge rep for some unknown reason amongst UVA students. I personally don't like either. They're greasy and they don't sit well. I don't want to eat something knowing that it's gonna give me mud butt in about 15 minutes. Yeah, I said mud butt. On yelp. What? So in my opinion, Boylan Heights beats them both hands down. Because the burgers are good. Not like "mm this grease is coating my throat so it must be good." Like actually, really good. And you remember its goodness. It's not like a bad night drinking, which feels good going down but you rarely remember it fondly. Go to Boylan Heights. Don't eat Five Guys and drive.
Ok, now on to an actual review! Boylan Heights hit three notes really well: the beer, the appetizers, the burgers. To be honest, all I had was a Guiness, so I can't talk about more indie beers there. But the menu seemed extensive, and certainly designed to complement this gastropub feel. The appetizers are remarkably good. Who knew corndogs could be this good? Really plump Kosher hot dogs (really, the only good kind, and this coming from someone who worships at the altar of Pork) in a delicious batter with a zingy-but-not-too-zingy sauce. Let's be real, if anyone is going to be prejudiced against a corndog it's me. But these are craveworthy. Plus, you'll be those cool kids who ordered corndogs when everyone else thought it was silly.
Onto the burgers. There are two options for this, the first is to choose from a pre-set selection of 5 or 6 burgers, including the B.O.M.B. (the Burger Of the Month Burger, brought to you by the Redundancy Center for Redundancy). But why do that when you can build your own....on scantron. That's right, in keeping with the "college" theme of the whole restaurant, the menu is on a scantron sheet complete with number two pencils. You can choose the following, all for less than $8:
Type of bun (regular? english muffin? no bun, if you're avoiding carbs, but srsly, who does that nowadays? Atkins is so 2003).
Type of patty (veggie? turkey? beef? - you can double up for an extra $2.something bucks)
A sauce
A cheese
3 regular toppings
Extra money for premium toppings
The options are limitless. Feeling traditional? There's always a beef burger on a bun with mushrooms, onions, bacon, some provolone or swiss, mustard. Or go greek, with turkey and tzatziki sauce with some feta, cucumbers, and olive tapanade. There are probably hundreds of choices. Enjoy.
Oh, and make it a combo with some DELICIOUS sweet potato fries. They're healthier for you than regular fries. Srsly. Sweet potatoes have so many nutrients...most of which leave during the frying process, but ignore that part.
All in all, Boylan Heights may be one of the best Charlottesville has to offer.
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