03/24/09

Great Food But Left Unimpressed

by VARNG

Having heard good things about Bacchus, I made a reservation for my mother's birthday. Our group of 5 ordered appetizers, bottles of wine, entrees and sides. All of the food was excellent and everything was great until we mentioned that it was my Mom's birthday and inquired quietly whether they do anything special. They said, "yes, when you order dessert." Honestly, we were stuffed but still wanted to have a little birthday flair so we just ordered some ice cream and post dinner drinks. So what was their birthday special? They simply placed a candle in the ice cream we ordered, lit it and walked away. I will never go back as a result. After spending $250 on food, you'd think they could throw in a piece of cake for a birthday. We certainly didn't need any singing or other attention but a simple smile and some chocolate would be a small investment in customer happiness. Even the lowest level restaurants do that. And the nicer ones in NYC where I spent the last 4 years, always go the extra mile. There are just too many other nice places in Richmond to go without such a cheap philosophy.

• Pros: Diverse Entrees; Sizeable Portions
• Cons: Birthday Celebration; Desserts

01/27/09

Cozy atmosphere

by browneyedview

I live in the fan so it is so ridiculous to me that I visted Bacchus for the first time this past week. While this was just my first visit, I am HOOKED! I absolutely loved everything about this restaurant. The wine and food was delicious and the service was excellent. The atmosphere was so very cozy and romantic. I highly reccomend Bacchus, in fact, I am going back this weekend.

• Pros: Ambience, Service, Food
• Cons: It's the fan, so parking is never that fun. But still worth going!

05/25/08

Excellent Food Excellent Service.

by markperill

This is one of the best restaurants in Richmond. I recommend their pasta dishes and their duck. I also enjoy their use of different varieties of mushrooms. I love mushrooms though. Highly recommended.

02/15/08

Average everything. Must have been because of V-day

by luvtodineandtravel

My husband booked our reservation at Bacchus for Valentines Day several weeks back, and apparently, they were almost fully booked, so I was looking forward to this meal since the restaurant appeared to have a following.

Server was very unhappy and snippy. I don't know if it was because she was working on Valentines day, or whether it was because she was single amongst lots of couples..... Who knows, either way, we found her abrupt the entire meal. She didn't warm up one bit.

Bread was ok, cold rolls. Caesar salad had good dressing, but they must have been rationing it last night, because our salads were almost dry. Dressing was nothing like Tobacco Co! My dinner was ok. I ordered a herb/garlic pasta dish, and my husband, the ahi tuna. He thought the tuna was fantastic, and LOVED it. My pasta was just like any pasta I've had anywhere though. I'm not exactly daring when it comes to experimenting with odd foods, which is why I had the pasta. I had other choices such as duck, quail, etc... But I like to stick with my filets, which they had none.

Did not have many wines by the glass. About one per type of wine. Dessert was on the house for Valentines Diners, but I didn't care for it (a fluffy cheesecake dish), so I passed.

All in all, it was so-so. The ambience was decent. Like that of a typical urban restaurant lacking space. However, they apparently have a lot of patrons, so they must have been doing something right.

We just didn't see it in our experience. I will not be returning probably.

• Pros: ......husbands tuna?
• Cons: salad, service, blah everything

10/09/07

Great spinach dish, good wine - bad fish, horribly treated

by julesagogo

A girlfriend and I went to Bacchus one evening a while back to try a "new" place. We each ordered a glass of wine, a couple of appetizers and a meal to share.

The wine sauce for the sauteed calamari was great but the squid itself was so tough it was inedible. The kind waitress asked us about it and it was returned to the kitchen. Our fish dish arrived and we each took a bite at the same time, and at the same time expectorated the bite.* It felt like I'd licked a nine-volt battery - the fish was bad. The attentive server asked us again about our meal, and we apologetically told her we couldn't eat it. When she returned to the bar/kitchen area (in the main restaurant area), the owner angrily asked "what's wrong now." He then marched over to our table and demanded loudly and angrily to know what our problem was.

The evening ended badly with an argument about him wanting us to NOT pay and us demanding TO pay - and paying - we weren't looking for a free meal. We weren't drunk or disorderly, so I don't understand why this happened, but I'll never return to this cute little neighborhood place as a result.

*sorry for the big word - had to look up a synonym for a word that begins with sp and ends with it that is apparently an inappropriate word here.

• Pros: Sauteed spinach, wine, individual servers
• Cons: Fish, angry owner

The Italian restaurant serves veal marsala and seared scallops and offers a romantic, cozy atmosphere.

by Contributor

In Short
Inside the trendy restaurant, stucco walls and a Tuscan interior greet nicely dressed guests looking for pasta dishes. The often crowded eatery offers a semi private room ideal for special events and can hold up to 14 people. Noteworthy menu items include the rockfish in lobster cream, rigatoni and dessert cocktails, such as espresso martinis. Salads cost roughly $7 and garlic and herb roasted free-range chicken with risotto stuffing costs $20, roasted rack of lamb is $23 and seared beef tenderloin is $25

01/16/06

Excellent Choice!

by cl3v3r0n3

Thought of finding a something new to eat and made a mildly researched decision on Bacchus. We were seated quickly by a very amicable waitress, which is always a plus. The food left us almost speechless. Every moment of it was something to savor.

• Pros: Great food, Open and airy, Good Wines

09/04/05

Awesome!

by kvhuff

Visited Bacchus and loved it!! The bar scene was alive and friendly, great drinks, and food was fresh and delicious!

• Pros: Food, Bar, Ambience

08/15/02

ambiance

by afaunce

wonderful ambiance, excellent food, great bar and great service. my all time favorite place. go!

• Pros: atmosphere, service, food
• Cons: none

08/12/02

excellent

by chamner

My favorite restuarant and bar. Parking for fan is excellent.

• Pros: service, reasonable pricing, great food
• Cons: none