Blue Atlas Restaurant and Market — Restaurant in Richmond

Textbook gentrification. With only a few designated parking spaces for the restaurant I had to park in front of someone's house and walk. I'd imagine the neighborhood liked it better before all of their parking was taken up by businesses they can't afford to patronize.

The decor of Blue Atlas was straight from the trendy-new-upscale-establishment.com starter pack. Nothing unique about it at all. Almost like there is a team of people who travel around opening new places that all look alike and then roll some dice with marketing team approved words on them to get the name.

Over the last decade or more cell phones at the dinner table have really put up a wall in terms of interaction. You see couples on dates not even talking. They just stare down at their phones. Games or challenges have been implemented to keep people from checking their notifications during a meal. Android has a turn over to shhh feature. What does Blue Atlas do... They start you off by not offering a menu and having to bury your face in your cell phone to read the menu and order. Don't blame covid. Just bring me a piece of paper.

Poorly designed acoustics. Flat glass, high ceilings, and reflective surfaces chosen for aesthetics with no real acoustic treatment meant for a loud, even when they aren't busy, dining environment. I sat at a table beside the bar. Right beside the bar. A gentleman's behind was inches from my elbow. Pretty cool.

Over priced tapas style of mixed world cuisine. A gimmick to try and look boutique and fresh. Truthfully, there is a reason you don't go to a sushi restaurant and get a bean burrito. Blue Atlas at Artisan Hill (kill me before someone tosses another corporate word combo in there)... Focus on one thing and do it well. Don't be the pizza place that serves salad and...

Blue Atlas is one of my favorite restaurants in Richmond, especially for seafood. The conceit is simple and clever. The menu rotates through at least four countries at a time, so each visit feels like a small itinerary of sharing plates. Atlas is the right name. You take a little trip while you eat.

The setting adds to the charm. The restaurant lives inside an old school building, which is as unusual as it sounds. You come through the front doors, walk a hallway past what look like administrative restrooms, and step into a lively room connected to a bottle shop. Out back there is a patio with gardens and long views toward quieter parts of the city. It is vibrant, welcoming, quirky in the best way. The wine list is small but thoughtful, with a pretty fair range by the glass.

What keeps me coming back is how consistently well the kitchen threads flavor, balance, and restraint across styles. Steamed mussels arrive in a sauce that is concentrated and clean rather than salty or muddled. The Georgian flatbread is properly sumptuous. The shumai with carrot and ginger purée are bright and delicate. Scallops are seared right, then set in a green curry that privileges aromatics and layered flavor over heat. I have also had a French inflected lobster salad folded into crêpes with celery root purée, preserved lemon, sorrel, and a brown butter vinaigrette, and it hit that sweet spot where richness and acidity meet and neither shouts. It felt genuinely French, as much as the other dishes truly felt like they could have been served in the countries that inspired them.

It would be easy for a globe-trotting menu to feel scattered. Here it coheres. Techniques are careful, seasoning is judicious, and the seafood is treated with respect. I plan to return...

So we went to blue Atlas for happy hour, and we went for Easter brunch. It might not be fair to judge it on Easter brunch if we were just reviewing this on the basis of the happy hour we went I would’ve given it five stars let’s look at the positive first we went for a happy hour, and we had the Georgian bread which was incredible and we had this cauliflower that was yummy as can be . We really enjoyed our mixed drinks, and they did have a small discount for happy hour on the drinks. The atmosphere was lovely and the staff at night was very knowledgeable. We had such a good experience. We decided that we were gonna come back for brunch. We sat outside and it was lovely atmosphere outside, and I incredible view of the city. I did not find our waiter terribly knowledgeable and we tried to wave him down several times to get a cup of coffee but we had to ask someone else. Also even on the drip they charge you for a 2nd cup, which I think is a little crazy fair enough on a latte or cappuccino, but for drip coffee. I have to say we were very disappointed, overall by Sunday brunch on Easter. We thought the food tasted good overall and the tater tot were incredible. The Benedict was very small but tasty. The steak was tasty and my friend who had the bon Minh liked his bon Minh very much. we tried to order desserts, but they didn’t have any desserts. I’m not the biggest eater and I walked away hungry. Please be aware they also charge you with no choice a 20% service charge which the waiter did point out. I’m still hung up the that they charge me for a 2nd cup of coffee drip coffee. It was OK, I give it another try because we enjoyed our happy hour so much but Easter brunch was a big...