Emilio's will ALWAYS be Rick's to me. Â This dive-y spot is known for its Friday night jazz jams. Â Yesterday was one of my brothers' birthday, and we ended up at Rick's (sorry) to celebrate. Â Another brother came to play sax. Â It was the first time the three of us had been there in YEARS. Â It was a GREAT time. Â It is a very welcoming environment for musicians to come and "sit in." Â There were people there from Charlottesville, D.C., Canada and Russia, and everybody gets to play. Â And solo! Â Saxophones, trombones, trumpets... oh my! Â Lady E (who has been singing at Rick's for over 23 years) is a most entertaining emcee and singer, and she made sure everyone in the place knew it was my brother's birthday. Â It really made him feel celebrated, I'm sure. Â If you come for Friday night jazz sit ins, get there by 9 p.m. so you can get a good seat.
Live music every night. Â Open mic night on Mondays. Â Oh, the food is not that great (had the rice w/ sausage and shrimp... kinda like a jambalya only supposed to be Spanish). Â The bartender more than makes up for it, though. Â And Christopher is a great waiter. Â Enjoy!
What can I say, I was excited about tapas....but it just didn't pan out (pun intended)
Executive summary - don't eat here.
First, i've been there plenty of times for drinks. I've actually been coming here for the last 15 years even before it was Emilio's. It's a fun spot, but not unlike any other joint in the fan.
First, the wine list isn't bad. Decent prices, decent selection. We ordered a white, but it came out cool and not cold. Now i'm all for serving wine at the proper temperature but I wished this was about 10 degrees cooler.
The service was great, no complaints there.
The food, oh the food. The menu was creative and everything sounded delicious. Unfortunately things just weren't executed well. We started with bread and salsa. The bread was a normal hoagie roll cut into almost slices. No taste, no texture. The salsa was good, and it was only two bucks...I guess I can't complain. Next we had their signature shrimp and garlic dish. 6 overcooked shrimp swimming in a sea of olive oil and garlic. The funny thing is, it didn't taste like anything. Tons of garlic in the dish, no garlic flavor in the shrimp and they were completely under seasoned. The ham croquettes were good, as were the potatoes jonny, but I'm pretty sure the "aioli" was just mayonnaise  with some paprika. The rest of our dishes were crap though. The eggplant came out with the skin on, and lacked any sort of flavor. Now the pork skewers had tons of flavor, but I think they used all of the salt in the kitchen on these. Maybe if they had saved some for the other dishes they would have been better. On top tasting like a salt lick, they had a similar texture. I think my belt would have been easier to eat.
To top it all off we had a coupon from <a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Frestaurant.com&s=c5fe485af4df376130bee54f875814d79c4d7913e1258123b1206d2bdbf4873b" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://restaurant.com</a>, where we had to spend at least $50 (the bill was $55, after a $22 bottle of wine). We bought it because it did not state anything about excluding alcohol so we assumed it was okay. When we tried to use it, they said it says it excludes alcohol on the website. I didn't see anything on the website (I pulled it up on my phone). Then they said that the coupon says that they have to comply with ABC laws, which means they can't discount alcohol. I told them that they wouldn't be discounting alcohol because we ordered more than $25 in food and they could apply it to the food. They stood firm and said that they couldn't do it, the $50 had to be before the alcohol. The server was wonderful throughout this, but the owner was just being a twat. We told her that she should have the owner fix it on the website so it's clear.
I would have given it one star, but I have to say $55 for 6 dishes and a bottle of wine ain't bad. If it had been more expensive I would have been really upset. Luckily I just learned my lesson and I will not go back for dinner.
** This review is for the drinking and Friday night jazz alone **
Emilio's has some of the best live jazz in the city. Friday nights are raucous, lively and filled with fun. Grab a pitcher of sangria and get ready to enjoy some wild music. Lady E is always a good performance, and I encourage you to grab someone and dance. On a good night you'll get some great dancing in the middle and you should definitely join in. Be ready to scream and howl when asked though on Friday nights, because you're not enjoying Emilio's til you do.
Be sure to tip your bartender heartily because they're excellent here and will give you great service if you have fun, tip well and strike up chit-chat with them.
*Rated on food..not atmosphere.
I was SO excited about this place because 1. i love spanish food. 2. tapas are always a fun way to get a variety of food. Plus the menu looks very promising.
Talk about disappointment.
Nothing tasted fresh, but you can't really expect that from bar food. Now, i didn't try their paella because my fiance can't eat it, so we didn't venture to what could have been great, maybe. We got the gambas, scallops in pesto, mussels in marinara, pork tenderloin, chorizos, and goat cheese in marinara. Don't know if we picked the best of the best, but we felt like we got a variety.
The gambas were shrimp in olive oil, garlic and red pepper. Not real garlic, but jarred garlic and way too much of it. That wasn't so bad, it was ok. Then we got the pork tenderloin in a "wine sauce". DON'T. EVER. GET IT. Â It was basically red wine poured over pork, then thrown on the grill with bell peppers that weren't grilled all the way. The wine wasn't reduced and it was just AWFUL. The scallops were undercooked and cold in the middle...but the pesto was okay. The mussels were okay, you can tell they were frozen for a LONG time. But the sauce on them were pretty good. The goat cheese and marinara was not that great either....it was just cheese melted into jarred marinara sauce. With burned toast points. The sausages were actually okay. But you can't really mess up pre made sausage that you microwave.
We had a coupon so it was ok i guess. The service was great, the crowd seemed fun, and it seems like a great place to party and listen to music. But food? I will not ever eat there again.
If you love to dance, love cocktails, and love great service, this is the place for you. Â If you want a quiet place to have dinner on a Tuesday, Friday or Saturday night, come here and change your plans and have a better night than you had planned!
I arranged to host my friend's bachelorette party here and called to find out what kind of entertainment they had scheduled for the night of the party.  Chad, an owner of the Fan location, told me we could schedule private salsa lessons for the evening, in addition to our dinner and drinks.  We confirmed everything the week prior and gave final head counts so they could be prepared for us.  The night was absolutely perfect! Chad delivered exceptional service, above and beyond anything I have ever experienced anywhere else.  We had pitchers of sangria, diva juice shooters, and all ordered tapas, with one person ordering paella and one person ordering the spicy burger (which I'm told was very spicy!).  Tapas ordered: bocado del cielo, croquets de jamón y pollo, chorizo, and empanadas (many choices). Food was DEE-LI-SHUS! Our dance lessons were phenomenal! We learned salsa, in addition to bachata, regetón, cha cha, and merengue. The DJ/dance instructor had the perfect music selection for the night too.  The bride-to-be had an amazing time and was gushing about our night all the next morning. Â
Quick tips: Paella takes a long time to cook. Â It is made to order and is so worth the wait. Â If you plan on ordering paella, order it first so it can cook while you eat your tapas. Tapas are small plates, and you would do best to order multiple tapas instead of doubling the portion, because that way you get to taste a little of everything! Parking is also available in the lot just past the restaurant (heading east on Broad).
The bride-to-be and I used to come to Emilio's when we were in college at VCU. Â The live jazz on Friday nights is spectacular! The place gets incredibly crowded, so get there early to get a table! Tuesdays they have free salsa lessons at 7 (I think it's at 7), and salsa night the rest of the night. Â The place gets so hopping that customers start dancing outside on the sidewalk.
Some of the best gazpacho this side of Spain. Â Great service. Â This was the one by Short Pump. Â The tile benches were beautiful. Â I had the meat and cheese plate which had plenty of food, looked great and had an excellent variety of meats and cheeses. Â I will definitely go back. Â Â We were there early so it was quiet with no bar scene.
Review Source:I have only been to Emilio's on Mondays for their open mic night, so read my review in that context.
Emilio's is really only worthy of its bar scene - I would go somewhere else when dining out. The tables look like an afterthought, and the ambiance is non-existant.
That being said, if you're looking for somewhere to enjoy some live music with strong drinks and a slight dive bar feel to it, Emilio's is okay - just okay.
I've always gotten great service at the bar on their Monday open mic nights. The crowd that comes out is typical to the young Richmond scene - that is, lots of hippies and a few shadier types. The music is great though! Lots of bluesy rock and roll and psychedelic acts, if you're into that.
Drinks are decently cheap, and depending on who's making them the drinks are usually pretty stiff as well.
I have ordered food at the bar twice - the first time, just a cheese plate to tide me over. It came out quickly with an interesting array of Spanish cheese drizzled in olive oil. However, no bread or crackers provided? Huh? I had to ask for bread, which the bartender took out of a plastic bag in front of me, popped in the toaster oven, and proceeded to forget about as she chatted away in the kitchen for a good 10 minutes. I literally had to go behind the bar and get the bread out of the toaster oven myself before it caught fire. The second time, I ordered bread with salsa off the tapas menu. Salsa was incredible, bread once again straight out of the bag.
Didn't have much of a choice with going here as it was a work sponsored dinner. Since it was work sponsored it was free to me... I over paid.
So much was bad here I'm going to stick to the worst item... DONT GET THE CHORIZO... The Chorizo came to our table and looked cooked already but the waitor proceeded to light it on fire then told us to let that flame for about 2 mins then flip em over. We blew the flame out in about 20 seconds. What we were left with were charcoal briquets... I'm pretty sure if I went outside and statred snaking on the briquets in the bottom of the grill they would taste exactly like the chorizo we had. I hate to think what would have happened if we had let them cook another two minutes.
Emilio's is a great place for listening to live music. The decor is kind of bare bones, but it has an aura about it. You almost feel like you're in a laid-back New Orleans bar with the simple setup and the big stage up front where there's usually a group of people playing some great horns.
The mojitos are fantastic. Pefectly mixed and perfectly balanced. There are also some great happy hour specials: happy hour at the bar from 4 to 7 includes half off selected tapas, $1 off all beers, $3 rail liquors, $3 house wines and $4 sangrias. On Mondays happy hour specials continue all night. Tuesday there are $4 sangrias, $4 mojitos and $1 Spanish and Mexican beers. Wednesday is half-price paellas, $2.50 and $1 off beers. Thursday is $5 Jeager bombs and $5 orange crushes.
It's a great place to hang out!
We came here to listen to the live jazz which was GREAT! It's a jam session so anyone can interact with the band which was awesome and let's just say ENTERTAINING! It was nice to learn that they have live music every night and a variety it's not all just jazz. I think next we are going to try their salsa night with dance lessons.
The food was great as well. We got a variety of tapas to start and then a paella. One of the hardest things was narrowing down what tapas to order because they have a very large selection to pick from. The server was very helpful with explaining the dishes. Also, the server was great because they were out of one of the tapas we ordered so she was very knowledgeable by suggesting a replacement that turned out to be worth the inconvenience. The paella did take some time to cook but there is a disclaimer on the menu so we were expecting the long cook time but it was worth it!! It was the first time I had paella and will be looking forward to going back and ordering it again.
I have to say this place has such a variety on their menu and a vast selection for entrainment that it would be hard to get bored. There seemed to be all walks of life enjoying their evening.
What's the word I'm looking for...gross, yes that's it, gross. Went there one Friday to hear jazz and get tapas. No, jazz, just a mediocre guitar player..tapas, well, olives and stale bread if my memory serves me. Dark and damp atmosphere too. Go to Avalon if you want to actually eat tapas.
.
This place does not seem much like a restaurant- at least, not when I was here. I went to listen to some live music with a friend. The music was good, the drinks were decent, and after looking at the food people around us were ordering, I decided to pass. There was dancing and it was fun to people watch- a diverse crowd. It was fun, but it wouldn't be at the top of my list of things to do.
Review Source:We came here with a large group of people who all rave about this place. And the prices were quite reasonable, so that's a plus.
The waitstaff was perfect in that offhand we're-just-really-good-at-this kind of way instead of that prompt, correct trying really hard kind of way. So that was a plus. And the outdoor seating is very nice for those rare non-muggy Richmond nights. They could benefit from those mist-making things that some outdoor places use the rest of the time.
Okay. We were having early dinner so the live music hadn't really started yet, but all the musicians who walked in looked like cool dudes.
And we ordered some tapas. There was a shrimp thing that was good, but a little too garlicky. Now, before you go writing me off as someone who thinks there's such a thing as too much garlic, I am no such person. There can never be enough garlic in the world. But. I need some balance with my garlic. I need some butter, some bread, some thing. And, yeah, everyone dipped their bread in the sauce, but what about those poor shrimp? They were floating around in a garlic IMBALANCE! That's just not right.
And I ordered tilapia in something or other and the waitress said, "Oh, that's really good." And I was like, "Oh, good, I picked something good." Which was good cuz I was a little sad about the shrimp. Anyway. My tilapia. Was a nice piece of tilapia in a smashton of lemon that was kinda a little congealy with the breading and cilantro. It was so much acidity and so much squishiness ruining the nice fish. Yuck. There was so much lemon juice all over the plate that it soaked into my rice and made it inedible, too.
Not wanting to offend people in this obviously foreign culture where they enjoy flavors that overpower their dishes, I didn't send it back or pipe up about my crap-o food. But I sure wanted to.
Everyone except my fiance and I gobbled up all of their food, so maybe he's pregnant and I'm having sympathy experiences. You never know.
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