The Valley Cork

Lots of potential here. The Wine: Overall a well curated wine menu, serving lots of your popular mainstays, with some nice treats hidden throughout. The staff are generally really good at picking out a wine that matches your palette. They have a really nice selection of Virginia wines, though it would be cool to see them get selections from less well-known producers. While I myself like a more eclectic list of wines, I still find the selection to be very strong and well-suited for the location. The Service: Generally very good service, and very friendly. It can be a bit slow at times, leaving you questioning when you will receive your check (but you are always welcome to just walk up and pay), but overall I don't have any complaints. I am not sure who the particular server is, but there is a gentleman who works here who is fantastic when it comes to recommending wines to try out. The Atmosphere: "Warm" yet open. The space is in what used to be a hardware store, and you can tell (in a good way!). One wall is dominated by beautiful shelves, and there is plenty of seating. There is a basement that is used for events. The Food: This is the only area where I find the restaurant could improve. I think I understand the direction they are going (casual food, easy food, nothing that's supposed to knock your socks off). I'm sure some changes will be made in this regard at a later point, and some of the food options are still great to order (the cookie skillet is always great to order for me.. and some of the fried snacks are good). This all being said, I always enjoy coming down to the cork for a glass or three of wine, and a welcoming atmosphere with friendly servers.

The selection of wines is absolutely massive! We typically stick to a Riesling or Chardonnay when at home, so this gave us a great opportunity to branch out. We really enjoyed our charcuterie board - and the pretzels with chocolate a great option for a lighter dessert. We made reservations ahead of time and had a great window table available for us as soon as we arrived. We will definitely come back when we are back in Luray again.

This restaurant was OKISH in terms of food. Don't expect food cooked by a chef with lots of flavor. Also, NOT a lot of vegetarian options. I ordered the Hummus Plate, Mozzarella Sticks, and Pesto Flatbread. The hummus plate had store-bought hummus with crackers and raw carrots. The mozzarella sticks were definitely frozen and heated up. The Pesto Flatbread was very oily and just didn't feel fresh. The servers were friendly and the food was served in a timely manner. NOT the best food.