Uncle Bucks

Before we begin, I’d like to make it clear that this is intended to be a constructive review. I do not intend to bash this restaurant, only to share things I think could be improved.
My fiancé and I were looking for a bite after a long day and at first glance, we had high hopes for this place. The bartender was nice, albeit a bit fake, but at the end of the shift, who isn’t? The food was as expected, I wasn’t disappointed (although being just about famished may have skewed my perception) but the food wasn’t enough to make up for the service.
My fiancé asked for his burger to be cooked medium and was informed that they are all cooked to the same temperature. Unfortunately, this was too well done for his tastes. We were given the bill without asking for it, and ended up opening another tab for another round anyway. The couple of guys next to us were treated very dismissively. One man had mentioned lightheartedly that he would have liked to taste more alcohol in his Long Island iced tea, and the bartender told him rather curtly that if the wrong amount of liquor was used, it wouldn’t be a Long Island, it would be a glass of trash. While she is correct in that a cocktail is measured and shouldn’t be tampered with just to get a buzz, I felt that there was a more graceful way to respond to the customer. Perhaps offering to make it with less mixer for a stronger taste or offering to add another shot for the applicable up charge.
She gave the men their bill without their asking for it, and proceeded to talk trash about them after they had left. Citing reasons such as being sketchy and threatening. Call me old fashioned, but gossiping about your customers to your other customers is a bit uncouth.
While the bartender had some bad habits, it’s nothing that can’t be improved upon, and I believe this restaurant has a lot of potential.

Atmosphere on bar side was really nice & waitress greeted us quickly but everything after that was slow (except for the check) & unsatisfying.
Breakfast hash was cold & something I have never seen as hash before — basically fried potatoes with 1inch shaved pieces of ham? Biscuit was cold. Requested well done potatoes & were not.
Country fried steak was pretty good.
One waitress in there seemed more on the ball but ours & others were very lukewarm/​lacking eye contact/​disengaged. We’re hiking & not that picky but wouldn’t go back.

Just ok, we had the breakfast bowl and the B&G. There is gravy on basically everything, and it is nothing special but it hits the spot if that’s what you are looking for. I think the gravy could use more sausage and the biscuits were s bit dry.

We passed by Luray from the trip. My family and I think we would have a good spirit to have Lunch in this restaurant, but we got the worst experience to eat there. We found the manager running the restaurant and waitresses are very dishonest. I would not recommend anyone enters this restaurant from the long trip.

I give it a star for service the food was awful. Uncle bucks wing sauce is ketchup and hot sauce mixed. The ribs say fall of the bone they were far from it. Worst ribs I have ever had in my life they were hard and very chewy. Uncle bucks special rib sauce is ketchup and BBQ sauce mix. It was not good at all even the Cole slaw was gross. If you are visiting Luray Caverns avoid this place like the plague.

Stopped in for breakfast after touring the caverns on the day before. I had the «Redneck Benedict» which was a biscuit, sausage, scrambled eggs, and sausage gravy served with a side of home fries. It was delicious and exactly what I needed on a cold rainy Sunday morning.

We were greeted by a waitress that acted like she was annoyed and were told the wait was a minute as we sat down to wait she grabbed menus and walked past us and put them on the table… didn’t even tell us the table was for us. We sat next to the window that was leaking water into pans and a cold door. Our waitress finally showed up and took our orders, she was inconsistent with what the menu said my food came with. Then when we got our food she put the plates on the table and walked away immediately, didn’t ask if we needed anything (which I did need ketchup and had to grab it from another table). Also never had our drinks refilled. Found two hairs on my food but couldn’t even say anything because we only saw our waitress 3 times, one to take our order, one to give us our food and one to give us a check. Will NEVER go back.

Good old fashioned American food. Reasonably priced and convenient location. Our waitress could have smiled, at least once. But lunch was good.

Breakfast all day! Yay!!! This place was exactly what I expected in a small town Virginia diner. Large menu with lots of local-​inspired dishes and variety. Look closely at their menu and you will see many unusual surprises.
Went here on the last day of my vacation and was craving breakfast for dinner. If I’d known about this place earlier, I would have eaten there several times during my trip. I ordered the buckwheat pancakes — fluffy and delicious. My boyfriend ordered the biscuits and gravy (not sausage gravy, for those who don’t eat pork). We were both very satisfied with the food, service and ambiance.
Great place! I will definitely go back next time I visit!

Stopped in for a late lunch on a very busy Saturday. Great menu, food was very good as were the prices. The staff was extremely busy but handled it well and still managed to be friendly while keeping up with all the customers. Nice place to stop with the family while visiting the local attractions.

Went a number if times on vacation. The staff were always very friendly. They were slightly inconsistent in what came with various menu items but it was always in providing extra free food rather than lacking in quality.
The recommendations we received were spot on. The food was exactly what you would expect when walking into the place.

We had a good dinner at Uncle Buck’s this evening. The trout was very good. They serve breakfast all day, so two of my daughters got chocolate chip pancakes. They were huge, loaded with chocolate chips, and delicious. One serving could’ve easily been shared by the two of them. My wife had three sides for her entrée: Mac and cheese, baked sweet potato and apple sauce. The mac & cheese was homemade and delicious. My mother-​in-​law had the stuffed mushrooms and said they were the best she ever tasted. I had a seafood combo platter comprised of fried shrimp, crab cake, and fried oysters. The fried shrimp were fantastic, but the oysters were a bit fishy tasting. The air conditioning was too cold, but otherwise the atmosphere was very nice. Everyone agreed we would definitely eat here again.

If your visiting luray save yourself a lot of pain and just eat here. Great food great service. We had the real hash, western omelet, sausage and gravy. Tasty and hot. Just one complaint. Pick a thicker better tasting bacon. Charge more, your only as good as your bacon. Make your own.

Unfortunately I can’t comment on the food. We were seated and that’s about it. We waited and waited but no one ever came over to say hello or even get our drink order. However the party that came in after us was attended to w/​in minutes of their arrival. I tried to make eye contact with the 2 employees to get their attention but it was like I was invisible. They just continued to zip by without even glancing at us. So we left. If someone would’ve at least acknowledged our existence & said «I’ll be right with you», I could’ve tolerated the slow service. But I will not give my money to people who flat out ignore us.

Delicious biscuits. Good service for breakfast.

Uncle Bucks is definitely one of the most dependable eateries on Main St, not too far away from the Caverns. Very consistent food. I have had lunch here more than a couple of times and every time it was a great experience. Here are some of things that I have enjoyed here and would definitely recommend.
Baby back ribs: Very well done rack of ribs. They were not fall off the bone as I like em, but still good enough. The layer of BBQ sauce was not overwhelming. The meat was soft and the fries were not heavy or greasy. Slightly overpriced as compared to other items listed on their menu. But not a bad meal at all.
Rainbow trout: Very light and flaky, this came as a duo of fillets. Seasoned very well, the fish was definitely not frozen. The sides — you have an option to pick any 2. The bowl of sweet corn was probably a mistake I would avoid the next time but it was not a deal breaker. The fish itself was the best part and we do not regret having it. Go for the standard sides which are likely to be made fresh rather than coming out of a can.
Fish fry seafood basket: Probably my favorite. The big fillet of haddock was fried with not so heavy a coating. The accompaniments in the form of coleslaw, tartar sauce and the cocktail sauce were great options, Especially the cocktail sauce was pungent and with a kick, The fries were great and this really came in a basket.
Corn bread muffins: These come out as compliments of the house. Very fresh and very moist. The apple butter that came with it was absolutely the icing of the southern touch.
Great service: I did feel I was in south although I feel VA has a very mixed identity and do not consider it essentially south. Still it is south of the Mason-​D line, so it kind of is. And Uncle Bucks clearly had that on display. As I said, quite reliable lunch place that does not disappoint. 3.75 stars.

Avoid at all costs!
We visited this «southern diner» after a rigorous hike in the Shenandoah mountains. Sure we saw that the place was busy but the waiters looked busy so we assumed the kitchen was busy too.
First, we waited 15 minutes! for anyone to take our drinks orders. Then we waited nearly an hour for our food. Nothing exquisite, everything was from their own specials menu. They messed up our order twice! No apologies whatsoever. If our kid wasn’t so hungry and exhausted, we would’ve demanded to see the owner.
When the food finally came out, it was so stale and barely hot. We paid and left.

We’ve stopped by a few times and the food is pretty good. Service is hit or miss. There were times we were seated and were able to order shortly after and then there were times it took 20 – 30 minutes even when there were only a few tables seated.
They do have some items on the menu that no other place around does. Sometimes the food comes out cold, missing an item or after a long wait but overall it’s fairly good.
If the service level were to improve I’d give more stars.

Took a trip to Luray for a weekend getaway. VCU had a conference tournament game that day and the staff was very helpful (even checked to ensure they had the channel for the game when we called.) They took our reservation and put the game on two tvs. The food was good, the service was excellent. Excellent selection of beers!
The only downside was the hostess seemed to be having a bad day.
Most importantly, the Rams won!

Great breakfast! I had Redneck Benedict (biscuit, sausage, eggs, gravy and cheese). The place is smokey if offered bar area, it is VA. Wife had country fried steak and loved it as well. Friendly staff, efficient place, even with crowds.