Chefs Kitchen — Restaurant in Richmond

Where do I start?

For a restaurant that asks for $10 to confirm a reservation on Valentine’s Day, you would expect to be at least seated on time.

We were seated 30 minutes after arrival even though we arrived on time. We were originally seated in the wrong section (Founder’s) even though we had clearly asked for a different section (Dining).

After 15 minutes of waiting, our server, without introducing her name, came to us and we ordered everything (drinks, starter and main course) because it was very clear this would be a long night.

Our drinks came 30 minutes after we ordered. Our starter came 15 minutes after that even though we had ordered everything together.

At the time of writing, it’s been over 1.5 hours since our arrival (1 hour after being seated) and our main course still has not arrived.

For a place that has 4.5+ star review, I do not know how things can go this wrong. I honestly do not believe in the authenticity of these reviews.

This is Valentine’s Day so you would expect them to have prepared.

I am giving the Service also a 1-star review because our server didn’t even make an effort to apologize or explain what was happening.

Neighboring tables are also rolling their eyes on what’s happening. Never coming back to this place no matter...

I made a reservation for Chef's Kitchen in Richmond through Toast (that's what came up in the Google search). Most time slots were unavailable and I had to select the 8:00pm time. I also had to pay a $10 booking fee. When we arrived, the place was empty except for two people at the bar and two people at one table. There was a doorbell on the hostess stand with a sign to ring for service. Before we rang, the bartender greeted us and told us to have a seat anywhere we wanted. The space was old and dingy. There were dirty tables and crumbs all over the stained carpet. We sat for maybe 30 seconds then got up and left. The restaurant did not match the pictures posted online of the interior. The pictures were from an upscale, modern looking place. It was a complete bait-and-switch. I had absolutely no interest in spending the second half of that initial minute inside. I'm so very disappointed in this place. I've heard wonderful things about the Midlothian location and was thrilled to find that they had a location in Richmond. Knowing that the owners would allow their name to be on this location has turned me from even being willing to try the other spot. We left and had a fabulous dinner at Brazen on...

This was one of the worst dining experiences.

We had a dinner reservation for 7pm on Valentine’s Day. We received our food after 10pm.

Everything took forever. During our 3+ hours in the restaurant, we only saw one server. Although she was trying her best to take care of everyone - there was no way.

Drinks took forever. The table was never cleared. At 9:30 we were asked if we got our food that we ordered at 7:30. We had not. When our food finally came, the salmon was dry and not what described on the menu. My husband’s meal was not even what he ordered.

Couples around us were leaving without eating. Even the bartender got to go home before we were able to eat. I guess if we wanted cocktails with dinner, that wasn’t an option.

I never once saw a manager rounding to address the problems.

We will not be returning or recommending.

In fact, I left the restaurant with a mild limp due to my butt bring numb from sitting for...