Maude & the Bear, a small restaurant and inn in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley, has been named one of America’s 50 best restaurants for 2025, according to The New York Times. The Staunton location is the only Virginia restaurant on this year’s list.
The NYT list also listed two restaurants in Washington, DC: Kwame Onwuachi’s Dōgon at The Salamander DC and La’ Shukran, a sophisticated Levantine restaurant.
The Times said its choices were based on anonymous visits by critics to hundreds of restaurants around the country, with the 2025 selections ranging from Boston to Austin, according to The New York Times.
Housed in a renovated 1926 Montgomery Ward kit home, Maude & the Bear pairs historic architecture with a tightly focused, seasonal menu. Tasting menus are offered Thursday through Saturday by reservation only, the restaurant said on its website.
Chef Ian Boden, who trained in New York City before returning to Virginia, leads the kitchen with an emphasis on local ingredients and modern twists on traditional dishes. Current offerings include a red miso carrot purée with toasted dates and charred Meyer lemon, the restaurant said.
Eric Asimov, a food critic for the New York Times, said, “Mr. Boden’s food shows a deep understanding of how to combine great seasonal ingredients into dishes that are both new and complex.” The article talked about foods like ramp focaccia with schmaltz and a rutabaga salad, ramp agnolotti with butterbeans, leeks, and morels, and a dry-aged rib-eye with hickory nuts.
The recognition is expected to draw more visitors to Staunton and bolster Virginia’s reputation for destination dining outside its major cities. Maude & the Bear lists three tasting menu tiers ranging from $90 to $300, with optional wine pairings, and requires reservations, according to the restaurant.
Maude & the Bear is at 1106 North Augusta Street in Staunton. More details on the 2025 list are available from The New York Times, while menu, pricing and booking information are on the restaurant’s website.
A global media for the latest news, entertainment, music fashion, and more.
