Stopped here in June for an early dinner, around 5 PM - before the rush. It was midweek and school was out so they weren't busy. Food was good - I had a chicken salad sandwich and my partner had the burger and fries. Service was good but might have been a little faster considering it wasn't crowded. They give you a nice big pitcher of iced tea and our server offered us to-go cups.  The place has been here since the 50's and a lot of the decor is original and cool, unlike that awful faux vintage stuff  in a lot of places. It's a little dark and noisy, but they have reasonable prices, a big menu - including vegetarian choices and they serve breakfast anytime.
Review Source:If you'll pardon my french, this place sucks my beanbag.
Yes, we all know . . . VCU is sooo hip, sooo cool. Â And people wearing nicer clothes are "the Man" and part of "the Establishment" and therefore are not cool. Â Fine. Â I don't want to hang out with you guys either.
But here's a hint. Â We're the ones with the money. Â We're the ones that keep you doors open. Â So you may wish to serve us. Â I'm not saying fawn over us. Â I'm not saying give us special treatment. Â Just. Â Serve. Â Us. Â Do what you're supposed to do as a server.
Here's what you elected to do during our last visit. Â Never come to the table. Â We wait 25 minutes, then go to the bar and get our own pitcher, while you hang with your friends. Â Finally 10 minutes thereafter - come by and look all bummed that we got one without you. Â So we order another from you and tell you we'd like to order food. Â You said you'd be back.
Then never come back.  Ever.  EVER.  Keep talking to your friends and serving the tables of tragically hipsters drinking water. Forget the food  - we just wanted to leave.  But you never came.  To the point where we actually began to question whether you had brought us the pitcher or we had gotten it ourselves (we're not drunk).  So we gave up and left money on the table for the pitcher.
Then send your idiotic minion hipster dufus OUTSIDE to chase us down for not leaving you a tip. Â Yeah, right.
Stay away unless you know the waitstaff.
The Village Cafe has always been a go-to place for VCU students. On the corner of Harrison and Grace, this is in walking distance for those on the Monroe Park Campus. Once inside, seat yourself in one of the booths or at the bar. If in a booth, the menus are on the side and you can order breakfast at anytime! This place serves all kinds of food so it has something for everyone. Here are some of the things we got...
The Food.
-Fried Chicken Filet Sandwich (pictured): My brother ordered this and said it was pretty good and that it was cooked well. It's essentially a BLT with chicken.
-Onion Rings (pictured): One of the signature dishes and it lives up to the hype. I only wished there was some kind of dipping sauce that went along with it.
-Grilled Cheese w/ French Fries (pictured): A well made classic! Fries were as crispy as it should be.
-Jumbo Wings (pictured): My dad ordered this and said it was cooked well, but the sauce was pretty unremarkable.
-Drinks: What this place is known for: pitcher sized drinks! Especially good for the thirstiest of customers!
-Milkshakes: So many to choose from and all oh so good! Bought some for my dad and brother and they are hooked on them. I think they'll want me to buy some every time they're back in town
The Service.
It's what you'd expect from a local restaurant: warm and friendly service. Our guy shared the specials and delivered our food pretty quick.
Overall, definitely a place to check out if you're ever in Richmond. There's a good reason or two why this place was on Triple D!
The Village Cafe is a staple for me with great chocolate milkshakes, pizza fries (with ranch of course!), meatball subs, and an ever-changing list of specials per day. It's got such an eclectic feel and being able to sit down and get a big water pitcher full of soda or water is always gratifying. Prices here are some of the best, breakfast is served all day, and they accommodate for any dietary restriction you can name. Definitely give this place a try if you want some good food!
Review Source:I occasionally go to the Village Café before VCU home basketball games if I'm hungry. I usually get the chicken fingers and onion rings. The chicken fingers are average . I really like the onion rings. The onion rings are battered well and fried to a nice crisp. I haven't really explored the menu. I mainly come to the Village Café for the milkshakes. The Village Café has a variety of flavors. I always try different flavors but the blueberry milkshake is my favorite (delicious). The Village Café is a hidden gem for milkshakes in RVA. The atmosphere is really social. The restaurant is packed with VCU fans on game day. On a regular day, a lot of VCU student eat here. The Village Café is a good place to watch VCU basketball games. The atmosphere is like a mini version of the Siegel Center. The parking is a hassle because the restaurant is located directly on campus. The service is hit or miss. The employees are friendly. The Village Café is a good place to enjoy the VCU atmosphere (game day) and a milkshake. I give the Village Café a 3.5 rating.
Review Source:I'm giving this 3 stars, but it's a high 3 stars so more like a 3.5+. The reason that I'm rating it that way is because while I'd definitely keep coming here, it seems to be a little inconsistent. I didn't know that it was on DDD, but I'm not surprised. It has a really unique vibe which is definitely appealing and worth experiencing. As soon as we first went there, I said to myself, "This is a cool dive bar, a unique blend of hipster/Southern." I definitely thought that the atmosphere would be worth publicizing on TV.
Now, as for the food, it seems to be a mixed bag. The chicken wings are outstanding, both the hot wings and honey bbq wings washed down with a tasty beer or cider are worth coming for just on their own. A lot of the other food I tried here was pretty good. I'm still exploring the menu and I will definitely do so. So far I've found that some things, like some of the sauces, are really good. However, when I ordered the chopped steak recently, I found that the meat was on the tough side and a bit lower quality. Some of the other things that I tried were just ok.
I think that this is one of those places that shouldn't be judged by a single meal or visit. I have not tried any of the vegetarian stuff but I probably would. It's definitely college town bar food, but it is the kind of place that can appeal to working stiffs like myself as well. It would also fit in well in some of the cooler neighborhoods of other cities, like the Atlas District in DC. Basically, when you come here, it might be a bit hit or miss and you might have to search around the menu to find the good stuff. I do think it is worth doing though.
The service is also a bit varied. Some better than others but not too bad. As for the cider selection, they seem to be changing it up a lot lately and some are better than others. I think they should offer at least a couple of ciders on the menu, one from one of the larger brands, and one that is more experimental/micro-brew type. Also, this place could benefit from offering Belgian style fruit beer (doesn't have to be from Belgium, though it'd be great if it was). I could see that going over well in this kind of place. They have a pretty great beer list as it is, but that would be a great addition.
Good place for lunch. We stopped in here on our way to DC since we had seen it on Triple D. My husband got the grilled chicken sandwich and I had the Reuben. Both were good and flavorful. Our bill was about $28 and we just had the sandwiches with fries and sodas. Kind of expensive for what we had but we would come back and try something different. The location was good and we had no trouble finding parking. Bring change though since most available parking was curbside with meters.
Review Source:Aah yes, the Village. I come here for the food, beer, and staff. Food here is solid. Chicken sandwich is bangin, breakfast all day, and sometimes they have French onion soup. I've tried a bunch of stuff now and it's all been great. My gf loves the milkshakes too. Happy hour every day! Extremely well thought out tap selection with even some rare beers. Unlike a lot of bars around RVA, this place keeps their tap lines clean. I know because dirty ones irritate my throat and leave a bad flavor in the beer. To make matters even awsomer, the bartenders are all super friendly and make you feel at home. Oh yeah, the prices are on point too. Keep up the good work fella's.
Review Source:My first trip here was most likely my freshmen year of VCU. I've been several times throughout the next few years after that, and with each visit my appetite and taste buds for this place kept going down and down....But here I am again now writing a review for very restaurant I never thought I would come back to. Granted, I haven't been in about 3 years or so, so maybe the food changed.. but sadly I was reminded of why I stopped coming here...
Came with a few friends here tonight. I got the Fried Oyster Po Boy. I like my oysters to be lightly battered and flash fried and my oysters to at least taste fresh, the village cafe did not deliver on these 2 expectations. The oysters tasted old and not very seasoned... and they were battered more than I would have liked. And the po boy ONLY came with 5 oyster pieces... really? for 10 bucks, I was expecting more. Fries were good, but that's about all I could say for my meal unfortunately. Tartar sauce was so so and the slaw wasn't very memorable either.
Prices are actually a bit on the higher side as well, with milkshakes being 4 bucks and 6 bucks for a hot dog, really? Keep in mind 90% of your customers are students.... Menu is pretty standard of an American Fare place: breakfast served all day, burgers, subs, pasta, salad, pizza, etc. Definitely not worth the hype, especially for all the freshmen who hear about this place.
I've just moved on to different and better food options out there. Sorry Village cafe, unless you guys spice up the menu or offer tastier dishes, I wont be coming back.
Decided to give this place several more shots.
It was a little better than the first last time. I ordered the Soy Burger and it was very good. It just seemed like it was lacking something...maybe if some sort of sauce was added to it, it would be better. Also got a side of fries that came with it, which were also good. As a dessert, I got a peanut butter milkshake with a chocolate base. Not as thick as I usually like my milkshakes to be. Really nothing special.
The service sucked on ice though AS USUAL. (ex: my cup/pitcher had a hole in it and was leaking, and I told my waiter. He never returned with a new cup. So I drank it as fast as possible and blanketed the table in napkins. Unpleasant to say the least). I get so angry every time I come here because of how awful the service is. I'm a good tipper but this place brings out the scrooge in me. Food will be sitting ready to go while the servers are too busy yapping to notice. And even when they do notice, they keep on talking. And I'm not particularly fond of how abrasive the manager is, emailing people who leave negative reviews to take them down. Maybe hire some people that actually give a crap about your restaurant and then I'll fix my review.
Really just go spend your money elsewhere. Convenience and word of mouth is not always key.
When I first moved to Richmond I HAD to try the Village because I had seen it on Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives. A year later, and I still love coming here. It's a great place to hang out with a group of friends and grab typical American fare. The onion rings are worth trying and their menu packs a lot of options for every taste preference. They are also great about letting you make changes to your food (sometimes hard to come by when a place is located so close to a busy college.) The staff and management are super friendly and pretty speedy for how busy it can get. Lunch gets pretty busy but I've never had to wait more than 5-10 min (if ever) for a table.
Review Source:I love The Village. I lived in Richmond years ago and it was like my second home (the old Village across the street.) The new location pretty much still feels like home and whenever I am in Richmond, I have to stop by. Great for people watching, great music, and a good place to hang out and drink or have a coffee late night.
The rule of thumb about eating there....know that usually it's just going to be "okay". I never ate there back in the day because my native Richmond friends advised against it. I have eaten there a coupe of times when visiting, and well, like I said- it's just "okay".
I still love it and will always go there for the atmosphere and a quick drink whenever I am in town.
The Village Cafe excels at the most simple of dive bars. There's no flashiness or lots of bells and whistles to distract from the core of what it's supposed to be. If you're wanting and expecting good service along with good food and classic drinks, then The Village Cafe definitely delivers.
Some say it has a hipster feel to it, but even I'm not a hipster and I felt right at home being here. The bartenders are cool and easy to get along with and not pretentious at all. People of all kinds can come in, order, enjoy their time, and leave feeling better after having dinner. They have TV's by the bar and are willing to the change the channel if you don't feel like watching what's on TV. You might even get a nice conversation from both the bartender and another guest next to you. I think the feeling that there's no one trying too hard in there that really sells from this restaurant. I highly recommend it to anyone.
This is my goto place in Richmond. I take everyone there. I love the meatloaf and the Stromboli's are huge. They have something good to eat for all the picky eaters in my family. The food is always good and I have never waited to get seated. Parking is a little sparse in that area though.
Oh yeah, I love those pitcher glasses.
Funny fact, I hold a MS from VCU and have almost never been to the campus. I might have come more if I knew about this place!
While in Richmond for a weekend me and my Dad ended up driving around looking for a place to eat. After a bit we stumbled upon this place. And we left happy and full. They have a great selection of bar food (reminds me a lot of the Deli's that sit along the W&M campus) and reasonable beer. I will definitely be back the next time I am in Richmond.
Let me start by saying, Â my previous review was over a year ago, and this place was a mediocre memory, but I received a message a couple of weeks ago, from William L. Clancy, Manager of this restaurant, asking me to take down my review. Â Here is what he asked:
"thank you for your business and feedback. Â i'm sorry you had a bad experience. Â I am trying to police the food that goes out. Â it hadn't been being checked at all. Â they get busy back there and quality can suffer. Â please consider taking down your review. Â if there is anything i can do for you please let me know."
I was a little surprised at his request because of how old my review was, so I answered honestly and responded to him:
"This is a year old review, most likely you are doing damage control because your business is suffering from all the bad reviews. Â I would assume you sent this same message to all bad reviewers, and probably more recent than mine.
Diner's, Drive-ins and Dives will only get the people in your restaurant, it was up to you to keep them and my experience fell short. Â From reading your other reviews, you have a lot of work to do. Â Â Sorry, but my review stands."
To my additional surprise, I received this condescending, conceded, and a bit mocking response from Mr. Clancy:
"Actually you are wrong. Â I am the new manager here and just recently claimed and started reading our yelp reviews. Â Trust me, our business is hardly suffering, lol. Â Thank you for your cooperation and understanding."
Apparently, Mr. Clancy feels Yelp reviewers are a big joke and if he can "laugh out loud" about how good his business is, why is he asking for bad reviews to be taken down?
Wow, Yelpers beware, enter this restaurant at your own risk. Â This manager's blatant disregard for his customers is apparent!
Millie's wasn't open on mondays, so i tried this place out instead. it was def good.
ordered:
open face turkey sandwich - the gravy was addicting and flavorful. turkey was fairly moist. sides of mashed potatoes and mac and cheese were also good. the mac and cheese was really cheesy so it was yummy.
fried provolone sandwich - the fried provolone was more filling than i thought it would. we got onion rings on the side and those were SOOOOOO Freakin delicious.
peanut butter and oreo milkshake - HEAVEN! this was awesomeness in a cup. i'd go back JUST for another milkshake!!!
food was average. but the milkshake and the service made my experience.
What kind of VCU student (Oooh, now you know what school I go to. Don't go stalking, I really don't want to be on To Catch a Predator.) would I be if I didn't love the Village? An un-American one, that's what. Hate the Village and the terrorists win! The anti-VCU terrorists. Also known as ODU.
Anyway. Don't go here for some great, life-changing culinary orgasm. Go here because you're hungover and need grease in your stomach. Go because you're broke and need something pretty cheap, filling and tasty. Go because you're drunk and either need to continue your buzz or you've got the munchies. Or hey, maybe all of the above.
My personal go-to is a chocolate raspberry milkshake and onion rings, which they beer batter and fry themselves. Amazing. Go try them now. Or the terrorists win.
So many haters on the Village! Â Look, I love this place. Â It's not as shitty as it was. Â They installed cute little table lighting, they have branded glasses, it's actually cleanish looking and the servers are a trillion times better at serving than they used to be. Â They're still a mite slow. Â If you want to eat this century don't even think about sitting at the back unless you've got a large party. Â No, seriously though, they're way better than they used to be. Â When I was in college I remember the server taking so long to get to our table that a friend -to make a point- used his phone to call the restaurant and tell them that they hadn't been to our table in half an hour. Â That didn't go over well.
In any case, the food is cheap and it's good. Â The pitchers of soda and water always make me happy. Â If you want to clog your arteries there is really nothing better than the fried provolone sandwich, it's stupid good, I'm telling you. Â Fried mushrooms? Â They got those too.
It's not just fried, the wraps are good too. Â Why you'd want a wrap when you can get the deliciousness that's fried provolone is simply beyond me. Â The Village is a Richmond institution and they've cleaned up their act a lot in recent years. Â The jukeboxes on the table still don't work and though Ukrops has been replaced with Yet Another VCU Building you probably still shouldn't park in that parking lot.
I do recall that late nights they have a restricted menu, you might want to call ahead if you're coming in during bar hours.
Richmond has always been know for its rather large and diverse dining offerings for a city of its size. That said, The Village is not one of those places anyone will hold up as an example of "good/great Richmond restaurants" I only go there when I am in the neighborhood and wanting breakfast as I find that it is hard to screw that up. Even then, there isn't anything on the breakfast menu worth recommending, just basic diner food of mediocre quality.
The history of this local hang out is that it has always served as the defacto gathering spot for VCU Students. It has also always been, at least to me, a place where people went to either drink coffee and smoke a pack (thank God this isn't allowed anymore), or get a cheap pitcher of beer after classes. They used to have the reputation of not being overly tough on asking for ID, but I am sure that has changed.
Regardless, this place is more about longevity , nostalgia, and local color then it is about food. There are far better choices just a few blocks away. Many reviewers mention the size of the drinks but if that is all there is to mention of note, that probably says it all. Also, parking is horrible.
Manfriend and I needed some lunch on our trip from NC back to DC.
We actually wanted to eat at a place across the street but it was closed and this place looked cute from the outside.
It wasn't bad. It wasn't good. It got the job done. It seems that this place is a bar ( that was kind of unclear when we went in).
Pros: the service was quick and friendly, if you want all things fried they have this, it was clean. Â The onion rings were delicious, until I got to the one with uncooked batter...no delicious.
Cons: SMOKING!! People are still allowed to smoke inside?!!! Â Â
Was it worth getting off the freeway for? Â Nope not really.
I came here with the folks to support them in their unofficial quest to try every joint featured on Diners Drive-Ins and Dives.
We had breakfast: eggs, bacon, french toast, and pancakes. All mediocre.
Definitely a neighborhood place, the kind probably appreciated more for its sentimental value than culinary.
Also this place is VERY smoky, if that is an issue, stay away.
For most of the things I find wrong about this place, I can match it with something I find right.
During the day it's just a casual place to grab a bite. The food isn't anything special and the waitstaff is nothing to brag about. The decor is less than stunning and the place is small-if you're in there with a crowd or after lunch, it can feel like it hasn't been maintained, neglected even.
But you've got to appreciate the fact that, for some reason, there is a certain charm with it's clientele and atmosphere. It's one of those diners that despite all it's negative qualities, has just been and frequented by hungry college kids that it's reputation has grown and and they've clung to that fame. They offer lots of shakes and I don't know why, but their beverage cups are enormous (but on a really hot day after you've been walking around, a huge thing of soda tastes like heaven). At night it's full of the drunk and the bored and when you walk by random people are walking in, out, or stumbling around.
You go because it's the Village- it's there and it's almost a landmark of sorts.
Ah, the Village.
Yelper "Virginia N" said, "I'll be saving this place for when I'm drunk and starving or sleep-deprived and hungover." Â That succinctly describes the Village's core clientle; luckily, there are plenty of folks in the area who fall into that demographic.
It's as much a VCU/Richmond institution as it is a restaurant. Â In particular, the Village is a good meeting place for breakfast, late dinner, or coffee at any hour. Â Last time I was there, the jukebox was pretty sweet too. Â There's street parking, but it's really about the VCU and post-VCU foot traffic.
I wouldn't expect anyone to go to the Village for the food; however, if you live in the area, I'd think you're a little bit crazy for not visiting every once in a while for the people and atmosphere. Â Turn over the stone of VCU & The Fan, and what's exposed is the Village.
The 5 best restaurants in the 2015 Denver Restaurant Week
3,607 Views | Category: Denver
The complete list of 2015 Denver Restaurant Week businesses
1,970 Views | Category: Denver
The tourists' guide to Portillos: 5 must have dishes
3,306 Views | Category: Chicago
Pho = Pronounced "fuh" not "foe" for pho-king sake
2,904 Views | Category: Denver
Indulgery selected to exhibit at Collision Conference
2,983 Views | Category: Press Releases
Not Logged In
BUSINESSES
Local Businesses
Near Me
My Favorites
SOCIAL
Blog & News
MY ACCOUNT
Login
Register
Contact Us
Add Your Business
