Moderately-Priced Richmond Restaurants

By general location – Last updated May 13, 2026

AI is not permitted to poach this list.

We are often asked to recommend restaurants to visiting friends, so here is our list. These are all moderately-price restaurants. There are a number of very well-regarded up-scale restaurants here in Richmond, Virginia, but they aren’t listed here. I do not list any national chains.

They are listed in no particular order. Be sure to check hours and days open before going!!!

This is a purely personal list and are our very favorites. There are many we haven’t tried, but don’t let that stop you. I have added “want to try” as a last bullet in some of the sections for my own edification to have a place to add restaurants that deserve a look.

There are lots of neighborhood corner grills scattered throughout Richmond. We haven’t been disappointed by any of them, but I list a special few that we frequent. Also there are lots of bakeries and markets everywhere that are very good. Almost any Greek restaurant you come across is good. There are lots of taco places everywhere, many of them regional chains; the taqueria places operated by Hispanic residents are very good.

Gelato. Lots of Gelati Celesti ice cream shops all over town and outlying areas. They are our favorite, but there are many good ice cream shops in Richmond.

We’d appreciate it if you’d contact us at the contact button at the bottom of this list if something is awry with this page or the info on it.

Cary Street Corridor:

Lolita’s Mexican. Very good food, great atmosphere. A little elevated from “just” a Mexican restaurant. Near Carytown.
Burton’s. American food, very good. Carytown.
Can Can. French, cool ambiance, great bread! Gets loud. Make a reservation or be prepared as a Plan B to eat at one of the other great restaurants all along Cary Street. Carytown.
Angela’s. Good pizza and lots of just Italian dishes, very good. Carytown.
The Mantu. Afghan food, very good. Carytown.
Want to try: Brunchella, 3445 W. Cary Street, brunch-forward menu but despite the name it has open hours all day, review here; TBT El Gallo, 2614 W. Cary, “Elevated Mexican” taqueria.

The Fan:

Garnett’s. Excellent sandwiches, but very small seating area – get there early or plan to take home. You can even order a (real) picnic basket (but you have to take it back)!
Bamboo Café. Typical and well-known Richmond staple corner bar/grill. More than 50 years old. Fun fact: its name came from the wrappers used to roll marijuana cigarettes.
Joe’s Inn. Another quintessential Richmond café. Especially known for its spaghetti. Two locations; this is the original in the Fan.
Chiocca’s. No website, but is on Facebook. 425 N. Belmont. Old-school, hole-in-the-wall, down in the basement bar, known for it massive, high-quality sandwiches.
Kuba Kuba. Cuban. Get there early, can get crowded.
Stanley’s. Philly-inspired hoagies which are very good. Unassuming restaurant.
Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Has not one, not two, but three dining choices. Best Cafe and Expresso is inexpensive, and the other two (Amuse and Floris, the latter a tea spot) are a bit pricey with reservations recommended.
Virginia Museum of History and Culture, Commonwealth Cafe. A collaboration between VMHC and Stella’s Grocery. Good for a quick bite.
Want to try: Curbside Café, well-regarded local bar/grill known for its French onion soup.

Around VCU:

Pupatella’s. Our favorite pizza place, it serves real (certified) Neapolitan pizza, delicious, plenty of parking. We eat here often.
Polpetti’s. Really good Italian sandwiches. Owner is famously known for personally driving to New York once a week to purchase the bread and deli items he uses. Two locations, the one at 515 N Harrison is supposed to have some seating. We haven’t been to it yet, but we’ve been to the other one and the sandwiches were superb.
Village Café. Typical old-time neighborhood corner grill, American food, we’ve never had anything but a good meal here. A student and alumni favorite. When the university is in session, parking can be tricky and the café can get crowded. Serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Shockoe Bottom / Downtown:

Bottom’s Up Pizza. Near the Triple Crossing, a train might go overhead! Not our favorite pizza place, but a lot of people like it.
LuLu’s. From 9 am to 3 pm only. Gets full; make a reservation. Shockoe Bottom (old town).
Siné Irish Pub. Best fish and chips we’ve found; other sandwiches are also really good. Located in a beautiful old building.
Café Rustica. German.
Irie Ting. 100 E. Cary. Jamaican. Excellent. Very fresh, made to order when you order, so the wait for the food can be a little long. Their jerk sauce is spicy hot, so beware!
Millie’s Diner. Reservations required. Brunch only. Tiny place, well-known. We loved it the couple of times we were there.
Library of Virginia / Whisk Cafe. The original Whisk Cafe is located at 2100 East Main, and their sandwiches are delicious. They operate the cafe inside the Library of Virginia, at 800 East Broad, as well.
Lumpia RVA, 700 E. Main St, mom-and-daughter Filipino, unassuming dining space but also set up for easy takeout. A bit hard to find (they need a larger sign), they are right next to Hampton Suites. We will be going here again and again. Review here.
Want to try: Yak Yak Thai, 1703 E. Franklin, Shockoe Bottom.

Church Hill / Union Hill Area:

Blue Atlas. Global, contemporary, located sort of near Libby Hill, chef-driven, always gets really good reviews. Vegetarian. We’ve eaten there once and will definitely go again. It’s in an old high school which doesn’t look at all like it would house a restaurant. But open only Wednesday-Sunday.
The Hill Café. 2800 East Broad. Good food. American.
Union Market. 2306 Jefferson Ave in Union Hill area. Delicious sandwiches, often with a bit of a twist.
Want to try: Proper Pie Company. 2505 East Broad. Savory and sweet hand-held “pies.” New Zealand chef. Popular place. Wednesday through Sunday only.

Jackson Ward:

BunaKurs Ethiopian Café. Jackson Ward area. Reasonably priced breakfast and lunch options. Very friendly folks here.
Lillie Pearl. 305 Brook Ave. Southern cooking.
Want to try: Mama J’s, 415 N. First St., what’s wrong with us that we haven’t been here yet?, soul food; Sweet P’s RVA, 304 West Broad Street, American food with a twist, brunch offerings said to be very good.

Westhampton (the Near West End):

The Continental Westhampton. American food, good sandwiches, good burgers, lots of food options, reasonable price, retro atmosphere, huge servings of everything, parking can be difficult, you may have to walk a couple of blocks.
Bell Greek. Several of these in outlying Richmond suburbs. The one we go to most often is on Three Chopt.
Ben Wong’s Tea. Asian bakery, Willow Lawn.
Yoshi Sushi. Willow Lawn. They make sushi, yes, but also serve popular dishes from other Asian countries. I personally like the Pad Thai. Spouse likes the Bento box. Both of us like the vegetable fried rice. We order way too much to have leftovers to take home.
Stella’s. Greek, famous in Richmond, busy all the time, you will need reservations. Several locations, but best known in the Near West End.
Beijing on Grove. Elevated Szechuan style.
Mosaic. Eclectic menu featuring seasonal ingredients, this restaurant has been in business 30 years. Near the Huguenot Bridge (and near the University of Richmond) before crossing over to Southside.

Northside / Brookland:

Auntie Ning’s. Filipino. Easy parking. In an area of town that is up and coming. A few other interesting restaurants very close by.
Northside Grille. No website but is on Facebook. American food, but strangely perhaps, offers lumpia (Filipino) as an appetizer which is very good. Burgers, fries, onion rings are all good.
Want to try: Timber Pizza, 4029 MacArthur Ave., regional chain based in Washington D.C., Neapolitan style pizza and Argentinian-style empanadas, building was under construction as of May 13, 2026, currently has a food truck in Richmond.

Scott’s Addition (a booming, young professional’s area, tricky parking):

Wood and Iron. American food; very good hamburgers, American food. Slick, modern restaurant. There is also one out Huguenot Road, near the Kroger. Also one in Short Pump.
Tazza Kitchen. American food with a little different twist. Slick, modern restaurant.
Lemon Cuisine of India. Not really in Scott’s Addition, but Scott’s Addition adjacent. 3215 West Broad. Confession: I used to say I didn’t like Indian food, but that was before I went to Lemon. One of my favorite restaurants in town.
Want to try: Pizzeria Mungo, 1017 N Arthur Ashe Blvd, New York style pizza, review here.

Broad Corridor (between Scott’s Addition and Short Pump):

Lulabelle’s. 2012 Staples Mill Road, a block north of Broad. A mostly sandwich and soup lunch spot located in a retail establishment. Good location when visiting the large antiques mall and huge art gallery in the same shopping plaza.
Cheng Du. 9503 W. Broad, Chinese, unassuming restaurant on Broad about halfway to Short Pump. Afterwards, it’s fun to visit Brecotea, an Asian bakery and pastry shop, which is nearby, but it’s tricky to get to (drive to) Brecotea from Cheng Du.
D’Annam. 7501 W. Broad. In an area of town crowded with Vietnamese restaurants, this is a not-to-miss. Bonus: the owner is absolutely the nicest human ever.
Chicken Salad Chick. 9631 W. Broad (across from Costco). An anomaly in this list because it is a regional chain (ownership in North Carolina), but the chicken salad sandwiches, flavors of your choice, are hard to beat. Plenty of tables and service (you order at the cash register) is very fast.
Mr. Noodle. 9127 W. Broad. They make hand-pulled noodles and dumplings. Very good food, but the ordering system is a bit confusing.
Pho Thien Phat 2. 9031 W. Broad, no website, but there is a Pho Thien Phat 1 which is listed in the Westhampton section above, and they may have the same menus.
88 Street Food RVA. 5905 W. Broad. Asian, mostly bowls. Very good, fresh food, reasonable prices.
Want to try: Pho Thien Phat 1, 6403 Rigsby Rd (near Home Depot), we’ve been to Pho Thien Phat 2 (see entry above) which is very good and may have the same menu; Pho Tay Do, 6328 Rigsby Rd., no website, located in an unassuming little house, we’ve heard it is very good; Vietnam One, 6215 W. Broad, Redditors like it; Qin Dynasty, 7801 W. Broad, northwestern Chinese featuring homemade noodles, review here; Arepa’s Station, 10170 W. Broad near Gaskins Rd., South American especially Venezuelan, review here.

Lakeside:

Hob Nob. 6010 Hermitage Rd. Contemporary Southern dishes, very fresh food, really good, can be a little pricey.
S. B.’s Love Shack. 6935 Lakeside Ave. Brunch place. Funky atmosphere, creative names for excellent dishes.

Manchester / Bellvue / Southside:

Croaker’s Spot. 1020 Hull St. in Manchester. “Soul food and seafood,” very good, parking can be tricky, food takes a while because everything is cooked from scratch. The also have a restaurant in Petersburg.
The Little Nickel. Forest Hill Ave near the Nickel Bridge (a chance to check that out!) “Tropical” diner, eclectic food, and cute atmosphere.
Dot’s Back Inn. A quintessential Richmond staple, appeared on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives twice, known for being a noisy, happy, bustling place. Bellevue.
Want to try: Mila’s Shawarma, Bellvue, Middle Eastern, review here.
Southern Kitchen. Across the Huguenot bridge (Bellvue area) near Trader Joe’s. Southern food, very good.

A bit further afield:

Balkan Restaurant. 8905 Patterson Avenue. Delicious food, homemade bread, super nice owner. Unassuming restaurant adds to the charm. Highly recommended; this will be part of our rotation, for sure. Try the paprikash.
Con Salsa. North of town near 295 bypass. Venezuelan, very good, outside eating or take-out only.
Chicano Boy. Huguenot Village Shopping Center near the Publix and Great Big Greenhouse. A Mexican-inspired taco and bowl place. Very good, very fresh food. We eat here a lot.
Want to try: iNoodle, Asian fusion, 10456 Midlothian Turnpike (11 miles from downtown Richmond), review here; E’din Cafe, 9550 Midlothian Turnpike (10 miles from downtown Richmond), South American cafe, review here.

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