Hermitage Grill’s a no-hurry kind of spot

Cold, smoky, slow and absolutely delightful, the Hermitage Grill is the perfect spot for the working lunch for people not particularly concerned with getting back to work.

A recent lunch for two stretched out for well more than an hour. It was hard to figure out why -- the five people seated were already eating when we walked in, and we ordered standard fare off the menu -- but just as hard to care.

If you make your way from downtown deep into Lakeside at lunchtime, you shouldn't bother to hurry yourself.

The food ranged from pretty good to mostly good, and the ambience was delightful. The timing left something to be desired, but the help was nice enough, so we're not really complaining about that.

A blackened-tuna sandwich ($7.75) was pretty good. The spice blend on the filet, cooked just as ordered, had enough kick to merit the "blackened" label.

A tomato slice and shredded iceberg lettuce didn't add much flavor, but they'd be easy enough to push aside.

At the waitress' suggestion, the plate came with fries instead of chips. Unless you're partial to plain ripple chips, the fries are well worth the extra dollar. They, like the tuna, were spiced just right.

A veggie wrap was mostly good, and quite festive with the green wrap set against a red plate. Mushrooms, roasted red peppers, carrots and cucumbers in a garlic-heavy hummus proved to be a nice combination, though maybe not if your day were to include any situation in which you might worry about garlic breath.

The big drawback to the wrap was raw onion. A quite tasty ingredient, on occasion, but not in half-inch chunks.

Both plates came with a cole slawlike salad. It was a perfect treat for big fans of mayo, a goopy mess for the rest of us.

The real reason to find the Hermitage Grill is to share a small room with a crowd that doesn't mind popping the top on a longneck at noon or draining a few glasses of red wine.

And who knows, maybe the oddly vibrant original artwork decorating the place looks a bit more normal after a drink or two.

Contact Zachary Reid at (804) 775-8179 or .

The Hermitage Grill