Thanks to a small band of visionary Richmond natives, the capital’s restaurant scene is rising to that of some major metros.
Prolific restaurateur Michelle Williams got charged about the restaurant business while serving cocktails during her college days. Williams’ breakout year was 1995, when she opened her first restaurant, Hard Shell, in the historic Shockoe Slip area. It was a risk, she says, because nothing much else was around.
“Our typical approach has always been to look around our neighborhoods and see what’s missing in the way of dining. In those days downtown, there wasn’t much around except steakhouses—certainly no seafood,” Williams remembers.
Turned out her hunch was right, and in ’98 she began a restaurant row build-out with the debut of Europa. Specializing in tapas, sandwiches and paella, that concept came about because of the way Williams personally likes to eat—small amounts rather than large meals. Today, with subsequent additions, she has four distinct eateries side by side near the river. Cha Cha Cantina caters to Mexican tastes and The Lucky Buddha is a lively restaurant and lounge serving cutting-edge Pan-Asian cuisine in a sleek setting. Only 16 blocks away is hearty American fare at The Hill Cafe on the east side of downtown Richmond.
Near Williams’ river row is a good reminder of Richmond’s Dixie roots. Julep’s, a creation of Richmonder Bill Cabaniss and his wife Amy, is the place to sample new and classic Southern cuisine and drink—especially signature Mint Juleps that are made with the obligatory shaved ice. Julep’s intimate two-level surroundings are upscale and romantic inside the city’s oldest commercial building, circa 1817. Southern-inspired selections are on the menu, including fried green tomatoes, spicy Cajun frog legs, Bourbon pecan pie, and Sally Lunn bread pudding.
Hip and historic Carytown is up on its luck with the addition of Christopher Ripp’s French bistro, Can Can Brasserie. Ripp is a second-generation Richmond restaurateur who left for a while to study at the Culinary Institute of America in New York, travel the world, idle a while in Paris, and then cook in some New York kitchens. When he returned to Richmond, he thought he’d do an Italian kitchen. But the Art Deco space he liked had bistro written all over it.
The Can Can decor is unmistakably bistro, from the high ceilings and tiled floors right down to the 54-foot-long, zinc-top bar that was hand-crafted in France.
