Wine Enthusiast has named the Chef’s Counter at Burnt Hill Farm in Clarksburg (25001 Burnt Hill Rd.) one of the Best Winery Restaurants in the World, placing the Montgomery County destination alongside just 56 other winery restaurants worldwide. The list includes only 13 restaurants in the United States (video of the experience available below).
In its recognition, Wine Enthusiast praised the experience, writing, “Not just one of the best winery restaurants but also one of the best new(ish) restaurants in the country, Chef’s Counter at Burnt Hill Farm is an intimate tasting counter seating just a handful of guests, with menus shaped by Chef Tae Strain’s Korean-influenced cooking. Ingredients come from the property’s 117-acre regenerative farm, and the experience is enlivened by Burnt Hill’s low-intervention wines.”
The recognition comes just months after Burnt Hill launched the highly curated Chef’s Counter in April. Reservations are released monthly through the winery’s mailing list and routinely sell out within hours. The MoCoShow’s own “Mr. MoCo,” Alex Tsironis, previously called it the best meal he has ever eaten.
The Chef’s Counter offers an intimate 12-seat dining experience overlooking the vineyard, where guests watch Chef-Partner Tae Strain prepare and present a multi-course tasting menu. The menus highlight ingredients grown on Burnt Hill’s 117-acre regenerative farm and throughout the Chesapeake Bay region while reflecting Strain’s unique perspective on Asian American cuisine.
A Maryland native with more than 16 years of culinary experience, Strain previously led kitchens at Michelin-starred restaurants including Momofuku in Washington, D.C., The Progress in San Francisco, and PUBLIC in New York City. Most recently, he founded the ggoma Supper Club, a collaborative tasting menu pop-up celebrating Mid-Atlantic farmers and artisans.
The seasonal menu regularly evolves based on what is harvested from the farm and available from regional producers. Dishes featured during a recent preview included shokupan with sesame honey, carrots with sambal, striped bass with kani miso, dry-aged duck with mandarinquat, mangalitsa pork shoulder ssam, and desserts including the ggoma snowball and sweet potato toffee cake.
The dining experience is paired with Burnt Hill’s low-intervention wines and takes place at a vineyard that has already earned national acclaim. Operated by the team behind Old Westminster Winery, Burnt Hill opened its tasting room in September 2025 and was later recognized by Food & Wine as one of America’s most beautiful vineyards. The property is led by siblings Lisa Hinton, Ashli Johnson, and Drew Baker, whose work has helped elevate Maryland’s reputation as an emerging wine destination.
With just 12 seats available for each service, the Chef’s Counter remains one of the region’s most sought-after dining experiences, and Wine Enthusiast’s latest recognition is likely to make reservations even harder to secure.
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