2nd time here cool little place, drink service was excellent, tasted well also. The caviar was great flavors just small 3 little potato chips, French onion soup was lacking any flavor and it took forever to get some salt to add to it to add flavor actually waited so long was finished eating by the time they remembered the salt after asking 2x. It's place to stop for drinks for me don't think I'd eat dinner there.

Love Alley Light. Amazing cocktails, great menu.... Owners are friendly and I always meet interesting people at the bar. Ambience is also one of the reasons I love spending time here.

The Alley Light popped up on our radar while searching for speakeasy's on our short trip to Charlottesville. We visited the place at around 8:30 on a Saturday and the place was swamped. We got a standing table in 5 mins but since we had to wait 30 mins for a place at the bar. Even though they note down your information for a waitlist on a piece of roughed up paper, their waitlist system was pretty efficient. The drinks selection isn't vast but well curated. They also had a decent selection of mocktails (which isn't usually the case). We ordered the Grapefruit and Guava soda and the 1890 Absinthe Martini. Both hit the spots. The servers were nice and overall the vibe was chill.

We stopped in here while passing through Charlottesville and really enjoyed it. Cocktails were great; solid wine list; and fantastic French menu with lots of specials

Just went for celebratory drinks with friends and loved the atmosphere, very classy! The drinks aren't ridiculously overpriced but definitely not the cheapest around, about 12-17$ per cocktail. Also they have an option to describe your tastes and the bartender can make you a mystery cocktail!

We got lost looking for this place but luckily my friend had given me a hint saying that while there is no restaurant name it was literally the door below the "alleylight" in an alley. haha Great place to go on date. My date asked me to dressed up in a suit jacket and dress shoes. While this is not a requirement (most ppl came in with a t shirt, polo or casual button up), I would say this is one of the more upscale locales in Charlottesville. We got the seafood plate, the special risotto, calamari, and two desserts. Service was excellent when they spilled the dessert on my date they offered to pay the dry cleaning and even took it off the bill for us. Pretty cheap for an "upscale" date and hopefully I get the chance to come again!

A little tricky to find this place, but you literally go into the alley and it's the place with the light on top. Up a stairwell and voila! It's a great date night spot, pretty spacious and doesn't feel cramped. Nice ambiance. We ordered the beef marrow (comes with 4 escargot on top), beef tartare, salmon tartare (yes - we love tartare!), spiced broccolini (surprisingly good!) and the spicy honey glazed duck breast. My favorites were the tartares and the broccolini. The duck breast was just okay. Great customer service and friendly staff.

Huge fans we are now! You actually have to work to find this place. What a hidden gem. The place has charm. Staff are amazing. Make reservations and do not request to sit by the window. Those two tables sit very low to the floor. Not good for this old man. We tried a variety of items. All were good. Service, staff, and the overall experience were excellent and we shall return. Keep up the great work you folks are doing.

Awesome spot for a cocktail! Espresso martinis were Service at the bar was fantastic. We didn't sit in the main restaurant but it was beautiful and quaint with a speakeasy vibe to it. Can be romantic or a cool spot for friends. Need a reservation for dinner for sure!

Charlottesville, who knew you had such amazing speakeasies! We got the chance to stop by Alley Light on a road trip through Cville and it was such an interesting treat. We went on a Monday and assumed it wouldn't be busy but they were fully booked for reservations so we decided to arrive right when they opened at 5 pm. It's really hard to find but that makes it all the more fun - it's tucked away in an alley with no signage just an old wooden door. We walked in and went to the hostess who mentioned they were fully booked but offered us a table as long as we could get in and out in 1.5 hours - no problem at all and we were super grateful to get the chance to try it! We sat at the bar which had a paired down food menu with all of their delicious cocktails. It was cozy, dimly lit and the ambiance was spot on for what you'd want in a speakeasy. We split the tartare, pork terrine, and artichokes au gratin and two of their cocktail specials. Everything was fatty, creamy, and decadent - great for a cold winter day! Already planning my trip back but this time I'll make reservations!