Bar West — Restaurant in Richmond

4 times now I’ve had an encounter with the manager here or I’d never write this. Yesterday was a graduation for UR law school and we went in to get a 6 top on the deck for a late afternoon celebration. Slowest time in any restaurant. Then? Ugh. The manager was rude. And very weirdly condescending. Told me we could sit on the patio until 4:30 then we’d have to leave because there were reservations and when we called they most emphatically did NOT take reservations which is why I came early with balloons, flowers and cake. So. Humbled and honestly baffled- We sat inside. There were maybe 5 tables in the whole entire restaurant. Then he and other staff were also rude to the kids who assumed they could sit outside since it was empty. It’s a strangely hostile approach. This same guy has been offhandedly rude several times- always acting like he’s really put out to seat you. It’s baffling. The food is bar food. It’s fine. Every time I’m there I’m just recovering from being rude to so never too impressed with the food tbh. They are skating by on their location right now but if you owned this place I’d get rid of bad attitudes. There’s no way I’m the only one who has experienced this. Weirdly you can’t send an email to BarWest which is the only reason I’m writing this at all.I planned to send an email. That’s odd, too. But to have a law school graduation celebration soured for no reason at all...

Made reservations for a Friday night a few days in advance and thankfully, we did since it was poppin'! Everyone thought the food, atmosphere, and service was fantastic.

The salsa macha on the steak with chimichurri, tender greens, and sweet potato puree blew my mind! It is a must-try!

The guac, salsas, and cheese dip were a hit, too!

This is a restaurant where you really get what you pay for-- beautifully prepared, flavorful food in a cool atmosphere. It is worth every penny!

Made a return trip to try their breakfast and it is equally as amazing! Soft, flavorful, fresh tortillas for their breakfast tacos and your choice of their freshly prepared salsas.

AND they serve high quality coffee: Blanchard's. It's rare to find a place that serves great food AND great coffee.

Of course, breakfast is more low key. You walk in and order at the bar and then sit wherever you'd like if you want to eat-in. Seems like to-go would be pretty quick and easy too. They have a little self -serve coffee and water station.

As for parking, there's street parking, as well as a small lot behind the restaurant.

There's always a lot of hype around new restaurants, especially in Richmond, but Coco-dril-o is certainly deserving of it!...

Edit: My original review was for when this place was Cocodrilo. We went back and tried the new Bar West and, sadly, were not nearly as impressed. Drinks took forever and were not good. I'm not sure if the bar crew is new or what, but in the past we'd been so impressed, so it was very unexpected. Fortunately, the server didn't charge us for those, but other than that, service was just ok. Bathrooms were a mess, which was just odd because, again, we came before, and it was such a different vibe. The burger and nachos were good, but pimento was pretty average. Ultimately, I don't think this will be a go-to for us anymore. There are just too many really good places in Richmond.

Cocodrilo: This is currently my favorite restaurant in Richmond. Every time we take someone new they also fall in love. Great cocktails and delicious food always! We tried the dia de los Muertos dinner this weekend and were not disappointed. Myhusbandd doesn'tusuallyy care for chile relleno, but he LOVED this version! We already made another reservation for a few weeks from now when we have friends in town from out of state and...