Worst meal/restaurant in Richmond? You decide!

I guess it’s been a reasonable passing of time for people to forget or not know about the UF drama.

We ordered 2 half cup soup half sandwich lunch combos there, no drinks, and they rang us up at $50. I was shocked. Especially when the food came and the half sandwich is literally half a normal piece of white bread with a tiny cup of tomato soup. I ended up mentioning it to the manager at the end because I was sick at how much we paid while still leaving hungry. It ended up they actually had rang us up wrong and it was only $36. Still a ton but not as bad. Sure as hell never going back.

Honestly it warms my heart to see them listed third on this post.

Owner was weird too

I've only ever been to the one in Midlothian, but I swear I've had maybe the worst coffee I've ever tasted there. It was... Shocking.

Somehow everything I’ve ever gotten there was dry.

Totally agree. I'm not sure how they managed to produce such mediocre and sad sandwiches on such a consistent basis. The employees would almost always be involved in some personal conversations or looking at their phones before taking your order. The only reason I went back was because they were champs at securing good locations with nice atmosphere. It is a shame. They had such a good thing going and just squandered it.

lmao YES, I feel like sometimes they straight up don’t use salt. But this was the first place I ever ate in RVA, so it’s nostalgic for me.

The Daily is fine, it's the perfect spot to take suburban relatives with unadventurous pallets and still find vegan food and good coffee.

They could use a larger spice rack though, yes

Yes! They are so overrated! The food is SO bland.

My dad used to say that’s where Jim Henson got the idea for the rats skating on the griddle in Muppets Take Manhattan.

I don't think 3rd street will ever be topped. Went in there after a show at twisters and someone took a bloody shit all over the bathroom, it stayed that way until the following day so I'm told. The entire place stunk, still makes me gag. There was another place around the corner from 3rd, I forget the name, but it was like truck stop food and they had "event" chairs at basic tables, really nasty too.

I never actually ate there. They'd give me the menu and I'd realize I can't read.

Got food poisoning there twice. However, I also met D'Angelo and Qestlove there too, so I'd say it's was probably worth it.

Was 19 year old me a beast or something?? We would walk from Cabaniss Hall there late at night. Often not totally sober. I remember the coffee sucking more than the food sucking. I never got sick. I'd do the club sandwich, the burger, I don't remember what else they had. I got low standards and aggressive as fuck gut probiotics lol.

Everyone was like "4th Street is better!!" It's like no shit but it's crowded with a wait in the witching hours, while 3rd would be empty for some reason.

Saison had by far the weirdest looking presentation on the dishes. Ok, but damn weird looking food and combos. They had really complex, high quality drinks which is cool except each one took like 15 minutes to make so that was a shitshow lol

We call it the Butthouse. People who think that's fine dining have no taste lol

That place is a straight up shit hole with an okay view. We made reservations for outside (because we had a newborn), drove 20 min to get there and were denied. They accepted our fucking reservation and then denied it. Worse that that was the fucking rat I saw. Managers were also assholes to my wife.

All of their restaurants are terrible. They run casa del barco as well and that and the boathouse are two of the absolute worst restaurants I’ve ever eaten at. Casa del barco’s salsa is like watered down marinara sauce. It’s brutally bad. 

I went there baked as fuck once at midnight and I'm pretty sure the cashier was even more fucked up than me

Got halfway through a McDouble from there when I was too tired to notice it was still raw. Puked for 2 days.

Called corporate who sent me gift cards that would only work for that McDs.

The incessant classical music outside didn’t give you a hint?

Definitely the worst smelling, but the food is worse at the one on Chamberlayne.

Used to work for the HVAC company that serviced the refrigeration at Sticky Rice. The stories the guys would tell about literally being showered with floods of roaches when they opened the units, their shoes sticking to the floors, rodent droppings everywhere…shudder. We stopped sending our techs there. Disgusting doesn’t begin to cover it. Absolutely do not eat at Sticky Rice. Ever.

Never eat the sushi at Sticky Rice. Stick to booze and tots.

Three times?!!

I saw a rat run across the floor during bingo one night. I never had another tot.

That's nuts. I used to eat it literally every week but that was 20ish years ago...

trust me i’ve seen what the stanley’s folks had to do to modernize that kitchen and it was let’s just say…a fuckin lot. i think one of them told me it was like 10 microwaves the robin inn had in there when they got the keys lol

They put pepperoni in their spaghetti. Unforgivable!

Overwhelmingly underwhelming

Any meal at Social52 tbh. Not about to pay $15+ for 3 mid tacos 🤔

Their tagine was aight.

The curry dipping sauce with their fries 🤩

I liked the food at Cous Cous

On the other hand, Baja Bean Company gave me a chicken pineapple sandwich with the pineapple rind still on. (It was outside at night, the patio was poorly lit, and I thought it was crunchy from grill charring.)

I had my highschool prom dinner at cous cous. I think I had the cous cous.

The best Richmond bar ever.

So many good, hazy memories from their karaoke nights

Mom's Siam

I'm assuming you mean the OG CaryTown location? They're always understaffed and busy which is why, but the food is worth it honestly. If you want mostly the same menu and a lot more chill, try their second location in Shockoe Slip.

They fell off in 2018. Used to be good.

Imo the food is still really good but it definitely feels like some health inspectors are getting paid off or something. So many places have such a reputation for food poisoning or pests and vermin.

Lolita’s guac is a laughable quantity.

The daily is ass. For a full bar/mexican food menur open until like 2 am lolitas kicks ass.

Whaaaaat I’ve been to Lolita’s twice & it was amazing (the drinks too). I’m too broke to eat there anymore but I make their molletes all the time at home

Oh fuck! Not only does 3rd street diner do one good but this reallly hits it out of the park.

I kinda just assumed every chipotle was like that. I've only been four times and got terrible shits after every visit. These were four different Chipotles, by the way. 👀

I miss Panda Veg 😭 . The memories of walking there every Friday to feast at the buffet. Forgot all about that place since moving out of the city 15 years ago. RIP

Their “vegan” pizza is also the worst vegan pizza in the city.

This is actually a compliment for that place. I’ve heard much worse

It was good 15 years ago. Stopped going 5-6 years ago as it became consistently filthy inside with un-clean tables and front of house staff that clearly didn't give a shit.

Neat building and cool outdoor location for a nice day, but it is in dire need of a raise in expectations for staff, and probably also needs a raise in pay as it's always shit management that underpays and allows poor service/cleanliness.

It's too bad, I used to drive from the burbs to eat there.

By far the worst meal ive ever had, frozen pizza is 100x better than Bottoms Up

Roastologys coffee is so mid, I’m not sure why people rave about it on here

Ahh man not cool. Sorry that happened to your mom! Same shit happened to my dad at a bar in Nags Head. Walked in and he tripped over a part of the floor that was elevated, like a stair, and he tripped and ate shit and this douchey, sandy haired old guy with his family just straight up laughed at my dad. I wanted to knock his fucking teeth out so bad. We cursed them out and proceeded to leave, but that laugh will always stick with me.

Another one that went downhill. Their apps and drinks used to be solid.

It's definitely a little plain-y but it's got great GF options. Just order takeout or delivery and heat your food up at home lol.

En Su Boca is gross period.

The one time I got carnitas tacos, I wondered if it was actually canned cat food.

The drinks, on the other hand, are great.

Just ate at Wongs (south side) tonight and the bar service was shit. Not remotely busy. We placed our order, and we were done with the appetizer when the bartender was like “I forgot to put your food in, just did it. Do y’all want another beer??” Thinking we might get comped a free round, we said yes. She charged us for everything - just felt off.

The shrimp taco had literally 1 shrimp on it.

The fish taco tasted like shit and I basically said a prayer after eating it.

second for Wong Gonzales

Shafer is fine dining compared to Hibbs.

Shafer is pretty good especially if you’ve visited other colleges

The chipotle on grace is awful

I had a dining plan when the dining hall was in Hibbs. Lost 12 pounds the first semester. Shafer Court still looks like fancy pants stuff to me to this day. Y'all young whippersnappers don't know how good you got it. Get off my lawn.

I’m not sure if you know, but that’s a college dining hall…

I had a coworker go recently and wow; horrible time. The people were so kind and sweet that my coworker bought extra pastries to bring us (recommended by the employee as “the best thing we make”) it was a rock hard over-baked to hell cinnamon roll with plain buttercream frosting on top? ((I’m a baker who used to make cinnamon rolls for my job, I’ve never made any with anything other than cream cheese frosting)) And this cookie bar that was burnt and didn’t taste good. They were super frustrated by the whole experience because it wasn’t cheap and then when they tried to talk to the owner-not even asking for a refund-they just guilted them with “well we’re new, it is what it is” but this was just a month ago and I think at this point they’ve been open a while.

Oooof. The cinnamon roll I got there had no cinnamon and was raw and cold.

This place sucks. Coffee was horrible and so were the pastries :(

They took a bit to find their groove I think. I went a week after they opened and they just had two types of cinnamon roll type things. When I went back last weekend, they had muffins, tarts, and huge variety of other pastries. What we got was great, maybe not the best bakery in Richmond but certainly not bad by any measure.

And they argue with people who review them online - raw is raw is raw. It's not fucking "gooey"

I miss Anthony's!

Waffle house

I love their chicken tinga too tho 😩

I think Laura Lee’s can be a tad overpriced depending on what you order, but I’ve always loved my meals there!

I had a horrible dish at Laura lees once. The bartender could tell my disappointment without me having to say anything. They comped the food and bought me a drink. Respect. Mistakes happen

En su boca served me truly the driest nastiest elote I’ve ever had. The corn looked like it had shriveled up and gone bad. Chicken tacos were dry as well. Drinks were ok at best

Damn Laura Lee’s doesn’t deserve no smoke.

Maybe Laura Lee’s was having an off day. I’ve been there 6 or 7 times and only once was I a bit disappointed with my meal. 

As much as I love En Su Boca, the only thing I really enjoy there is their chips and salsa, and drinks (specifically the cerveza-rita dear god). Their tacos and other food is all right, but nothing worth writing home about. But that’s insane you got so sick from there!

Legends fish and chips tasted fine but had my stomach in knots like never before. Sorry for your stones btw, I’ve heard it’s no picnic.

Also got food poisoning from en su boca and it was BAD. Haven’t been able to go back since. Was also very bummed out by my first meal at Laura Lee’s given the hype.

holy shit, did they fix it?

That’s my worst meal in the city! Slow service, crummy food, a random cinder block in the restroom. Least we didn’t get a giant chunk of metal in our food like the next table over.

I ordered a veggie scramble. 40 minutes later I get some dish loaded with ham. Being my vegetarian self I let the waitress know about the mistake. She acted annoyed and I waited another 40 minutes for my original order.

My husband just walked in on me writing this. I have a 7 year old grudge, so what?!

Never got the hype. Long wait, mediocre food.

This place is hilariously terrible. 30+ minutes for what looked like sandwiches my young boys would make me for Father’s Day. Service is shit too, bartender looked slammed and was waiting tables, looked like only person working and he was moving at about 50% speed

May I direct you to the IHOP on VCU's campus. My roommate got a breakfast burrito once and we did there looking at it ready to be given to us for like 10 minutes as the cashier scrolled on her phone. We were the only ones in there.

How is that Hardee’s still around? I was in that area all the time about 15 years ago and it seems like it was always on fire. Drove past it not too long ago, on fire.

Oh yeah. They're awful. It depends on which crew you get. Sometimes they're great. Sometimes they're not. But if I'm not rushing and want a mediocre sausage egg and cheese biscuit, they're really convenient. 🤤

Agree. I was excited at first to have a Chinese place within walking distance, but after a couple orders I went back to driving out to pickup elsewhere.

How dare you slander East Villa! Ate it many time hungover

Went here for a family brunch birthday celebration and everything was mediocre. No one was happy with their dish.

We didn’t get any stomach issues from that place but can confirm, the entire floor is crazy slick.

The one on west broad? I’ve been three times now and each one was a great experience.

I went to the midlothian one and loved it.

Can confirm. The cooks there are are poorly trained and aren't worth a shit.

The floor was fine to me, just went there for the first time. If you aren’t cooking your meat long enough at an all you can eat hotpot/BBQ place that’s kinda your fault lmfao

I was ready to dispute this but I can’t remember what I had lol. I think I enjoyed it after drinking the entire bottle of cheap champagne for mimosas.

Original NYD is legendary though.

The waitress bragged about them winning best french fries for however many years in a row and then the french fries were so bad 😭

My wife and I walked out on brunch there pre-pandemic and haven’t been back. My wife had undercooked pancakes, I had a cold omelette, cold home fries with congealed grease, the bacon was fucked up, and we waited an hour for it. GOD I miss pre-renovation New York Deli.

I ordered crab fritters to go…had one bite and threw them away, tasted like the whole bag of salt fell in them. Disgusting

I really wish they’d go back to the original vibe and menu

The food was decent many moons ago, like when dont look back was still across the street - I used to know people that cooked there and things like the chicken wings, regular sandwiches, and breakfast was on point.

Fast-forward to now and the food quality has gone down significantly. I was embarrassed after taking a friend there recently.

I'm a fan of Fu Jian on Main, they have a 2-entree-for-$20 that is that classic Chinese-American style. Like it's not authentic Chinese cuisine, but it's also not some trendy fusion joint. I really like their Mala Pork and the hot and sour soup, but the soup isn't the best I've had, but it's perfectly serviceable for when I'm craving it.

Best Chinese is Peking off of west broad! I live right next to the Midlothian location but won't eat there after giving them a few tries.

Yen Ching.

There’s no good Chinese - real Chinese - in RVA anymore since Mandarin Palace closed. They had handmade egg rolls and traditional dishes. None of the pull it out the freezer and cook it crap most places do. Peter Changs and Cheng Du are okay but after ready about CDs bathroom….😭🤮

Agree. Chewys is way better and they aren’t rude dicks.

I got some nasty food poisoning from there many, many years ago and haven’t returned since

I don’t think they know what seasoning is. The only reason my wife and I ever go back is to have poutine and milkshakes. Every other food item I’ve tried has been incredibly bland.