The Palms

A great little eatery in a cozy little town! it is located right in the heart of main street/old town that was beautifully decorated for the holiday season/Christmas. We found parking easily that cold Sunday evening in December. We were a party of 5 and were seated right away. We were seated in a booth and it was plenty comfortable for your party. Service was quick and friendly and our waitresses southern drawl was so welcoming. The food was excellent! The waffles with fried chicken and a sweet and spicy sauce was everyone's favorite. My burger was just what the doctor ordered after a hike in the cold at Natural Bridge. The fries were good. The fried green tomatoes and the crab dip were standard fare - yet comforting. The house salad looked so fresh I almost wanted to eat it even though I was craving something warm. The brisket melt was really good too. The drinks were strong so make sure you have DD. Price about right for the quality of the food and service. I'd definitely go again when I take family and friends to visit Natural Bridge.

Outstanding, well everything. We went in at opening. 11am Greeted at the front door with a smile. First impressions is a clean location with an old time feel. Bar is well stocked and plenty of people working. Service was good, attentive and all smiles. A+ Food was appetizing well cooked and had flavor. Overall we will drive 2 hours just to eat at Palms.

Palms had a laid back bar feel, but was absolutely good to bring kids. Service was fine, our waitress was training and seemed bit nervous. All the food was a little underwhelming, the meatloaf was pretty good. The fish and chips were tough and dry. Fried pickle appetizer was a rather meager portion.

This is an old place, built in the 1800s, that has lots of character. There is a decent size bar with a few TVs. We were getting our food to go and decided to eat it there. Glad we did. The bar tender was great and loved the atmosphere. Lots of people and great energy. We had the bacon royale burger, the southern red eye burger and the pimento BLT. All 3 were great. The burgers were juicy and the home made pimento cheese was great! We got the chips, just ordinary potato chips and pasta salad, which was really good. They had about 8 beers on tap. If you're in Lexington you have to check this place out.

Lots of very attentive waitresses at The Palms. we were greeted by a smiling face who seated us in a booth. We just discovered this little town of Lexington and have been back twice since. For dinner, we ordered the fried green tomatoes which came with a delicious pimento cheese topping. We shared a pizza and a salad, which was plenty for two. Very good service and a friendly atmosphere. It’s a cozy pub feel.

We stopped in for a quick dinner on our way through the area. My brisket melt was excellent (much better than the burger) as was my wife's grapefruit gimlet.

Gahhhhhhhh. Wow. Wow wow wow wow. Truly fantastic. I toured the VMI Museum then decided I’d go into town for lunch, settled on the Palms at random, and I’ve truly never been so satisfied with a burger/sandwich/salad/taco place. This restaurant has absolutely everything to satisfy a group, and the food was high quality, hot, flavorful, and DEEEEELICIOUS! Staff (Callie? I think her name was?) is attentive, friendly, and smiley all over. Girl with short red curly hair ran our food, and kitchen made things quickly and fantastically. I got the steak sandwich with fries, horseradish on the fries. I can’t even express how delicious this was. Cleared my plate for sure!!

We were on our way to WV and ended up stopping in Lexington for dinner and found this gem. The service was so attentive and friendly. My family ordered the greek salad with salmon, green chili burger, chicken salad croissant, and fish & chips. Everything was amazing! I had the fish and chips and it was one of the crispiest ones I've ever had in the US. We also loved their fries and how crispy they were too. The food was all extremely reasonably priced and while we didn't try the drinks, we were amazed at the prices. I'm so glad we stopped here and had a sit down meal instead of choosing to eat while driving because it was phenomenal.

One of the worst meals I've ever had. Their online menu does not include any entrees, just burgers and pizza and such. The They do have five entree choices that are not included online. We were told that is because the items are subject to change. But the entrees are included on a printed menu, which obviously isn't changeable. Ok. So I had the pork chops. Two cookie cutter frozen and very heavily process slabs of mush. I've had better food on airlplanes. Every entree comes with collards, with no available veggie substitutions. Collards? Really? My wife got the fish tacos from the regular menu with onion rings. Obviously prefrozen rings that were soft and greasy. The fish tasted like grocery store fish sticks. Neither of us could bring ourselves to finish our dinners, and left hungry, minus $50.

This is such a great find in Lexington! In the middle of all the great town vibe, is a well priced great service and varied menu. The burgers are excellent, as are the wraps and sandwiches. The warm pretzels were such a surprise on quality, straight-out-of-the-oven tender yet pretzel-like with two dips! Great local beers with two sizes all priced well. A neat place to hang out, or make it a date night. While they do not offer a vegetarian option for burgers and would make a great addition if it became a possibility. The tomato bisque was outstanding (vegetarian) and did offer vegetarian sandwich options! Absolute delight of a place.

Loved everything about this place! In the cutest town and the cutest restaurant! Loved the vibes and location!! Very popular place! Our waitress was the nicest sweetest girl ever! The food was sooo good. Definitely get that drink if you can, it was to die for. That salad was also absolutely amazing, the pizza could have had more vinegar on it but was still so yummy! Would 100% come back!

We stopped in for lunch on the way home from KY to VA. The server was kind and our food came out quickly. It kind of smelled like a dive bar, but everything appeared to be clean. We ordered a sandwich and a burger. Both were good, but nothing to write home about. It was a nice pit stop.

Have supported The Palms for 30 years. Ordered a specialty pizza/lunch. It was not what I ordered. gathering of four at table and did not want to request a replacement pizza due to time. ordered happy hippie, which came with no ricotta garlic cheese, no mozzarella, no feta and two olives. pesto sauce was the base which I DO not like. Outer and under crust was burned which is a turn off! This is my usual go to when ordering at the Palms. Called late afternoon to share disappointment and wrong order. Someone that answered said, "yes I am an asst manager" was not helpful and blew me off. Doubt she was a manager! Palms, if you want locals and WLU to continue to support you, get the order right, support customer service when someone "complains nicely" and offer a replacement pizza ... Super easy! Customer service IS what it is all about and the Palms failed today! BUMMER

Went on a whim. Never been here before. Got an instant likeable vibe in the place. Service was top notch. We split a pretzel and grilled chicken salad. It was so good. We are now fans and will make it a point to go back every time we pass through Lexington, regardless of any graduations going on ;-) . Sorry no photos on this review. I was enjoying the moment.

Got tired driving from Cumberland Falls, KY to Virginia Beach and stopped in Lexington. So glad we found this gem. It's like a historic dive bar but the food is above decent and the service is excellent. They have a very solid draft selection and passable bourbon (sorry folks, that's what I notice because that's my spirit of choice). Music was grooving and vibe is low key but fun and relaxed.

We ventured to Lexington today and had an incredible experience at The Palms! They were busy, so we sat at the bar. Great play list going and lots of laughter and smiles around the place. We met Lee Anne, the bartender and our waitress. She was friendly from the start and very invested is us having a great experience! We ordered the Hot Brown sandwich and the Brisket Melt. Both were so yummy! We asked them to 86 the jalapeños and they kindly obliged. We had a great experience. Excellent menu, great vibes, plenty of drink choices, friendly staff and reasonable prices - what more would you want? Highly recommend and will be back!!

Good food and service. Very casual. We ordered the cobb salad and pizza. Right in the middle of downtown.

Cake here with my groomsmen prior to my wedding. Great service and the hot honey pizza is worth the trip alone!

Whitney was amazing, we had fried green tomatoes and the Mac Daddy pizza... sooo good. try them out, it's our second time here and we will definitely come back again

Wonderful staff (Hayden was a great server!) and exuberant atmosphere. Hubby loved his bacon burger. I can't recommend the brisket sandwich- it was more "brisket flavored" bun. The amount of brisket in that bun was very stingy. The hurricane drinks we both got were very weak. Never again for those choices! 3.5 stars at best.

Pimento blt- 10/10 Brisket melt - 10/10 It should truly be illegal how delicious this food was. If I lived in Lexington, they would know us by name.

We stopped here on way to Williamsburg. Great atmosphere and service. We had the pretzel appetizer, mushroom Swiss burger, tavern burger, French fries and onion rings. The pretzels and burgers were delicious the fries and onions left something to be desired but overall great service and food.

Food, service, ambiance was all excellent! We had a party of six with 2 small children and it was a perfect stop for dinner.

If you're driving through, this is definitely worth the short detour off the interstate. The brisket melt was just as amazing as other reviewers have said. The perfect combination of brisket, cheddar cheese, pickles, jalapeños and bbq sauce. We also had the Cobb salad with grilled chicken. There were generous portions of blue cheese, chunky bacon and tomatoes. I skipped the egg and onion on mine. The staff was very friendly and the place was clean.

I am a visitor of this area so I just picked a random restaurant I found having decent rating, and the food my mom and I got were pretty mid, but the service was good and the wait time on food was normal. We ordered the White Pesto Pizza and Wings with Ale BBQ sauce. The White Pesto pizza was such a disappointment because it could've been good based on the ingredients. The ingredients were fresh and the portion was generous, but the dough was too hard. The pizza was already not cut all the way through and since the dough was hard, it was even harder for us to cut it with regular dining knifes to get slices out of it. I had to scoop the ingredient back to the dough or just eat them separately. The wings reminded of one time when my drunk friend "marinade" some Walmart wings with Frank's RedHot, baked it right enough time that it won't send us to the hospital and called it a day. The menu didn't mention anything about the sauce being hot but it came up pretty hot, and it tasted more like hot sauce than BBQ sauce. The wings themselves were also slimy and boring, like it didn't taste like fried, baked, grilled or anything. It almost tasted like it was microwaved...

Historic Charm and Incredible Food - A New Favorite This restaurant is housed in an old building that feels like it dates back to the 1920s, even though the restaurant itself has been around since the 1970s. The entire area of Lexington is historic, so it hasn't really changed much over the years. The atmosphere is absolutely terrific--warm, nostalgic, and full of character. The food was equally impressive. We started with the fried green tomatoes, which were perfectly crispy and flavorful. I ordered the wafflewich with fried chicken, and it did not disappoint. The syrup was the standout--slightly spicy, slightly sweet, and so good I asked for seconds. I'll definitely be back. This place has all the makings of a staple spot whenever I'm in the area.

The Palms is an old-school pub with very good food options. It has been around since 1975, though the building looks older than that to me. The menu is full of classic bar starters, and a good assortment of entree options. I had a pizza option that is not on the current online menu. I had to look because I couldn't remember the name. It was a meat-lovers type of pie that was really good. Nice hand tossed crust, cooked well, and generous toppings. I'd certainly go back when back in Lexington.

I genuinely have never liked cheeseburgers much before...but the southern red eye burger ALWAYS SLAPS 10/10 recommend. The service staff is also always great!!

The hostess was not nice she said I'll follow you to the table I didn't even know where the table was ... the women wait staff walked around with bitch face on rolling their eyes ...the waiter we had was good the food was so so ...on the way out no one said thank you even though we graciously said thank you ...been going there for over five years never experienced so a cold atmosphere

OH MY GOD THIS WAS THE BEST CHICKEN TENDERS I HAVE EVER HAD! if you are in the area you definitely should go. So good the burger's are great too, for appetizers I recommend there buffalo wings they also were SO GOOD. The waitress's and waiter's were great not too loud and just a beautiful and tasty experience. If you're worried about the temperature they have ceiling fans everywhere that keeps the temperature perfect, I would definitely recommend you should go! PS: I didn't get anything but they do have a bar with a lot of alcoholic beverages.

Smaller restaurant but very quaint. Nothing spectacular on the inside but the food was amazing. Limited menu but everything at our table of 6 was perfect. No complaints.

Had been dying to take my husband here for a couple years! Finally got him to go and to visit Lexington with me. We were super disappointed:( went in on a Thursday for lunch. We were one of two tables dining in, which was fine but lots of staff standing around chatting. Our waitress took our order and I hadn't decided on what I wanted to drink yet because the drink I chose they didn't have anymore which was fine. After 10 minutes of our food order being placed she still never came back and took my drink order. Even after we got our food she didn't check on us. We both ordered ranch with our food and it never came and I ordered my pizza well done and it was barely cooked. We don't eat out often so it's a treat when we do. She came back when we were done and asked if we wanted dessert. We got some which was the highlight of the meal. Got the bill and shocked to see my husbands gin and sprite was $16 and my beer was $9... but whatever... expensive crappy lunch. Definitely won't be back. Sad cuz I thought this was a really good, fun spot in town but mediocre at best and won't risk it again. $75 lunch not worth it

First time here. Really friendly, personable and attentive waitress (Grace). Great casual atmosphere. Baked Crab Dip for an appetizer was delicious. I had the Rockbridge Salad & my husband had the Mushroom Swiss burger for our lunch entree. Both were soooo good. We would definitely come back to The Palms when in Lexington again!

Stopped by for lunch as we traveled through Virginia. Used to come here all the time in the 90's. The upgrades they have made are perfect, as they have made this a good place to come for a bite. Hostess and waitress were very friendly and wanted to make sure we had a great experience. They kept our drinks full and made sure we never needed anything. Had a group of 7 and the orders ranged from waffle chicken sandwich to the Rueben. Food was good and exactly what I would expect from a bar. Well worth a stop if you are I. Town and looking for casual.

They have a wide menu and anytime I have eaten there I have always enjoyed my food. The service is very good. The restaurant has a real college town feeling and is fun to patronize. It is a very loud atmosphere and if you want to have a quaint experience this would not be the place I would recommend.

This was a refuge during a summer scholar program at W&L for me nearly 20 years ago. My friends and I probably ate here 6x a week. I remembered this as a friendly, local restaurant and bar with great food and a relaxing atmosphere that doesn't take itself too seriously with really good breaded chicken tenders. It's been a long time since I've been back but it was just as inviting as I remembered with friendly staff and a delicious menu with loads of great Southern-themed food. We were quickly greeted and sat at one of the large booths near the back patio/stair area to the downstairs restrooms. As I mentioned, it's been decades so I saw some new items like the brussel sprouts, fried pickles, and pretzel appetizers as well as a Rueben sandwich and a few burgers that all looked delicious. In the end, I went with the Cobb Salad with corn, red onion, tomato, avocado, egg and bleu cheese with the breaded fried chicken with ranch dressing. It was SO good. A huge portion. I'm glad I didn't order the starter I had in mind. We finished the meal with house-made coconut cream pie that was literally smothered in toasted coconut, was creamy and fresh, and had whipped cream generously portioned out. It was SO good. I was stuffed but I'm glad I decided to treat myself, we did hike all day... Parking was easy with street parking and a few nearby public spaces for all-day and three hour parking in designated lots. Even the sweet tea was on point!

We visit Lexington once a year around this time and always go to The Palms for lunch. We order the Cobb Salad with a grilled chicken breast. This year was as good as usual. They offered a Honey Thyme dressing as one of the dressings offered. We asked the waitress what she thought and she said it as her favorite. Let me say it was excellent and gave a different twist to the salad. We ordered wine with our meal and for dessert shared an Apple Tart dessert piping hot out of the oven topped with French vanilla ice cream drizzled with a Carmel topping. A fantastic meal and the staff was efficient and friendly as usual. We will be back on next years visit. Thank you

10 on 10! The Tacos are awesome and the vibe even better! Our server Nataly was very friendly and she took care of us very well!

Always enjoy gathering here for a delicious dinner and drinks when in Lexington! Customer service is always welcoming and consistent. Love the vibe!

We were driving through Lexington and stopped for a quick bite to eat before going to another place for food (Niko's Grille). The Palms is a nice place for American food. Price & Food (3/5): We got the Wafflewich ($13) with fries ($1.50 additional). Chips comes standard as a side, but we didn't want potato chips in the morning, so we opted for the fries. For $14.50, I would have wanted a bit more waffles and fries. It was basically a piece of fried chicken sandwiched between 2 small waffles. It was delicious though. Service (5/5): Quick and friendly service. Drinks (4/5): We got a sour beer and a spring drink. The beer (Skipping Rock Beer Co. Tropical Gose) was amazing and the spring cocktail (Grapefruit Gimlet) was good, but nothing special, just a normal fruity cocktail. Ambiance (5/5): Good vibes. Lots of people & nice bar.

Benni is an incredible server. Her customer service is out of this world!!! She served my family and the drinks never dried up!!! As soon as the food hit the table, my kids went into destroy mode....here are a few pics I managed to take while having a good time.

. Great food - get the chicken and waffles. Our servers were kind and prompt. Cozy atmosphere and you can tell it's a local favorite. Only complaint is that the drinks menu didn't have prices and they made our drinks very weak. Heads up for hearing sensitive people- It gets very loud as it's not a big space. Otherwise great night out.

We were searching for a local spot eat while on a weekend trip and happed upon this restaurant... it was perfect... our waitress was spot on as well the food and drinks, it was perfect!!

TL;DR: Great small-town bistro with great food and friendly service. We were passing through Lexington at around lunch time and my wife found The Palms on Yelp. We're glad we stopped in. It's in the old downtown area, across from a lovely park. (There are several shops nearby.) It was busy at 1:15 on a Tuesday which was a good sign. The decor is old-school bistro style, with rows of booths and tables. The menu has something for everyone, with lots of healthy salads, along with sandwiches and burgers to meet most every taste. We had two salads and the tomato soup, which tasted home-made and really yummy. Our server, Carmen, was friendly without being cloying, explained the menu since we were first-timers, and took our order right away. The order did take a bit long to come out of the kitchen, but it was worth the wait, and if you want fast food, go to MacDonald's, right?

We ended up at The Palms during a pit stop from one place to the next. Had only been in Lexington once in my life before. We were seated immediately, service was nice, and the food was really good. My mom and brother enjoyed their crabcakes. My sister enjoyed her reuben. And I enjoyed my soup and salmon salad. Everything was fresh and flavorful. My salmon was every so slightly overcooked, but that was minor. Price was right. Place was clean. Even the bathrooms in the basement were clean. A pleasant experience in the middle of weary road travel.

We happened to stumble on The Palms after being detoured off 81 on our way back to NY. What an awesome spot! Really great hole in the wall restaurant with friendly staff and delicious food. Our server, Victoria was attentive and super friendly. Our 2 year old son fell in love with her . Cannot recommend this place enough.

A nice causal place to sit and eat in Lexington. I have eaten the Bourbon Blue and Bacon Royale burgers, absolutely no complaints and found both of them to be excellent. I am only happy I get to go back to Lexington to try some more on the menu! The people are friendly and the atmosphere relaxed. There is a nice assortment of seating booths, tables, and the bar.

The Palms serves amazing food!!!!Their queso is like heaven.Their staff is so polite especially Allison,both of them!!!!!!! The restaurant is interesting and classy. I would comeback in a heartbeat. No joke!!!!!

Honest review. My pretzel = 3 star, wife's salad was five star. Staff and atmosphere were fine. Not exciting, but definitely worth a drink and a meal.

We got take-out for lunch from The Palms during our trip to Lexington. I generally liked my food, except the burger I got was practically raw (!!) and I ordered my burger medium-well (I guess I've learned for next time to ask for well done?). I was only able to eat half of my burger patty because I really don't like my ground beef raw... I'll make do with a medium temperature steak, but I'm very wary of anything less than medium well for ground beef. We also ordered the waffle burger (tasty) and the fried green tomatoes appetizer, which came with remoulade (this was good, but after it got a bit cold, it didn't taste as great -- it hardened too much). Overall, the food was decent, but I have to knock them a point for serving my burger half raw. If I visit again, I'd ask for the burger to be well done.

Service was good. Steak sandwich and the chef salad were very good. Gluten free bread option was great

Stopped while in the area for a basketball contest between a local school and a national powerhouse in Oak Hill. Great game. Some people listened, others didn't. At any rate- this was a very cool place on the corner of the downtown area. While we were in town, the place was a ghost town, I guess because VMI was on break? which was an added bonus for three of the most boring humans in the Western Hemisphere. We opted to sit at the bar Bc the waitresses didn't seem too keen on helping us- and ordered some food. I was partial to the wafflewich, and didn't hear that another in my party had already ordered it. In attempt to not be a chump, I changed my order to a crab cake sandwich and fries. The service was good- bartender took our orders, dealt with our water orders, and got us in and out. As far as the food, the crab cake was very light and tasty. The tartar aioli or whatever the hell it was named was also good and a tangy addition. Lettuce and tomato was also crisp on the bun as well. Would stop back here if I ever find myself in the area.

Excellent place for a bite and bevie. It's in an old building in the middle of the quaint downtown. We had Savannah Brussels sprouts, cheese curds, Ruben sandwich, burger, clubhouse sandwich. Something for everyone. The staff is pleasant and efficient. Their homemade margaritas - yum. They have a nice cocktail n beer menu. Fair prices too! Return? Definitely!

Awesome restaurant here in Lexington. The Haystack burger was great and my wife got the white pesto pizza and it was amazing. Staff was super friendly and food came out fast.

I love the salads and the blackened salmon. A must visit in Lexington. The staff is always friendly and helpful

The food was delicious and the workers were nice and the mood was chill. Overall a nice place.

I did not see this on my initial yelp search, but I drove by it and it looked inviting. Great atmosphere and great staff and the food was amazing. I had the Cobb salad with grilled salmon and grilled chicken at a very reasonable price. The salmon was bigger than most restaurant entrées. My bartender/server. Jamie was friendly and helpful. I will definitely be back next time. I am in the area!