Village Cafe

Doesn't Recommend

ricnow

Joined 3 years ago

Village Cafe. what's up at the Village!

has the ownership changed?

did a recent accounting graduate buy the joint?

unlike the HGTV fans, visiting suburbanites and city hip posers, i won't complain about lack of parking, or the wait for service or the eclectic clientele.

i quite love the quirk and the grit.

I am a neighbor, VCU grad from waaay back, and lifelong frequent customer. Often I bring house guests, family and business associates to the Village,

even though I have endured Village ups and downs.

That said, I cannot imagine the most recent owners allowing the Village - or any restaurant they own - to suffer this downturn in service and food.

They KNOW better.

a few older staff are around and still doing a good job.

but, some excellent senior servers haven't been seen for a while. This often suggests new ownership/management.

and where are the fries?!?

the best fries in town have been replaced with wimpy, soggy, run of the mill, fast food potato mush.

WHAT? did you save a few pennies per pound?

portions are smaller, sides look re used, and customers are charged for some items heretofore considered condiments or compliments.

This feels like the behavior of some inexperienced, penny pinching, wanna be restauranteur

NOT seasoned, successful professionals who would realize these are penny wise, pound foolish mistakes.

Buy it back, please!

Doesn't Recommend

NC Resident

Joined 3 years ago

Horrible service, mediocre food. My family and I went to this cafe because of its showing on Diners, Drive-In's & Dives. We thought, we were in the Richmond area, find a cafe and visit it. It had mixed reviews at the time we were checking it out, but decided to go anyways. It was crowded for a Sunday afternoon, found a place to sit and waited for the wait staff to take our order. That was the worse thing about it - the wait staff. So slow! It took us almost two hours from start to finish just to eat basic food! It took half hour for our appetizers to come out. Whenever the waiter did come by, you needed to ask for everything you needed because you didn't know when you would see him again. It wasn't like that for other tables around us - their wait staff was running their butts off for them. I think ours took a lot of breaks while we were there. The food was mediocre at best. We ordered pancakes, sandwich and stromboli. I have had better elsewhere. I wouldn't recommend this place to anyone. It is a waste of time and money.

Recommends

marinard

Joined 4 years ago

Good food...but surprisingly expensive. We went because of Diners, Drive-ins and Dives. It was a fun atmosphere, and the food was good, but we were surprised that we were not given any guidance when ordering. For example, my 10 year old daughter had a large pizza (that we thought was for an individual). We also were surprised that we were nickel and dimed for some things that are normally included (i.e. being changed for the cheese and lettuce with a burrito...was that perhaps a mistake? I don't know).

We liked it, but it was over $80 for 6 people for lunch...4 being children.

We liked it, but just study the menu, ask questions and check the bill!

Recommends

iliketothinkimcitysavvy

Joined 7 years ago

Home away from home. In this cafe the un - uniformed waiters and waitresses rarely ever ask you how you're doing, but I am perfectly convinced that this is solely because they don't feel the need to ask. How could you not be doing fine when sweet tunes are escaping from an old fashioned juke box player and you are sipping a cold drink from a mini pitcher in place of a glass? (oh yeah, that's right. Mini pitchers are sweet.)

As the Beatles come on and sing of 8 days a week, it will remind you of how you wish you could be there that often. Because with the same prices as any other diner but with bigger portions, the swanky atmosphere, and rich character, you'll want to come back for every meal and just soak in a little piece of downtown.

Now it's true if you want a nice, quiet, or sophistocated place, then I would have to stear you to another venue. But if you want what is practically an artistic experience while sitting down for a fullfilling meal or just a cup of coffee, then you'll find a home at the corner of Harrison and Grace Street, a home in the form of the Village Cafe.

Doesn't Recommend

omaryak

Joined 8 years ago

You get what you pay for. ...assuming, in this case, you wait long enough. The service is blah, the food is blah, and despite the large dining area, there is no non-smoking section, so be prepared to have anything you order tasting a little bit like an ash tray. Come with an oxygen mask.

Recommends

stellie

Joined 9 years ago

Say yay to the Village Cafe!. Although you'll wait a good half-hour or more to get your food, the portions come large enough to satisfy anyone's hunger. Prices are fair, the atmosphere is excellent and you'll forget how long you were waiting for your meal when you're looking at all of the eye-candy surrounding you -- not to mention you'll have fun watching the waiters bouncing around as they serve each of their tables.

Recommends

Contributor

Joined 10 years ago

This VCU-dominated cafe redefines artsy in an oh-so-Richmond way.. The Scene
The cafe's proximity to Virginia Commonwealth University has made it a haven for the artsy crowd. This restaurant is undeniably funky. With a jukebox that screams cutting-edge (you should go take notes on the selections), the Village oozes the new. Remember, it's not polite to stare--the nice pierced and tattooed couple, sitting next to you, have feelings too.

The Food
Some little-known delights include the cheese board, with cheddar, boursin and brie cheeses as well as crusty French bread, apples, melons and other seasonal fruit, served in portions big enough for two. The delicious hash browns, which are really seasoned potatoes, fried with onions to make a wonderful spicy side dish for the cheddar cheese and egg on a fresh biscuit. Don't miss the cheese spaghetti; very tasty, filling and reasonably priced. Word of advice: skip the black bean burger.

Citysearch reviews are based on anonymous multiple visits, and all expenses are paid for by Citysearch.

Doesn't Recommend

NiniLo

Joined 10 years ago

Flo should be here. It's your average trashy diner with average food. The food comes bland, but that's why there's condiments on the table. No frills. What do you expect from a diner? There's no parking.