Helen’s Restaurant — Restaurant in Richmond

I came here for my friend's birthday dinner. He ordered the duck and I ordered the burger. His dish was great, but my burger which I ordered medium rare came out well done. Our waitress came by once after dropping off our food to drop off another beer my friend had ordered when we got our food, but didn't not even look at us when she dropped it off or say one word. She walked by on at least 5 other occasions without glancing our way before I finally got up to use the restroom, my food still untouched at least 20 minutes after it was delivered. I came back inside to discover that she had berated my friend when he came back inside from smoking and accused us of trying to walk out on our tab. Oh now she noticed us??? She demanded we pay for the meal immediately and when I asked her to remove the burger she started arguing with me, insisting it hadn't been that long since she had checked on us. After some back and forth she begrudging offered a 50% discount on my order. My meal was completely untouched, except for the burger which I had cut in half to check the temperature. When I fought back she accused me of "having a bad night" and "taking it out on her". I have never been treated so poorly at a restaurant in my life! My friend was so sick of hearing her make excuses that he paid for his own birthday dinner. We called the next day and spoke with the manager who said the chef assured her the burger had been cooked correctly. When I responded that it might've been, but the waitress let it sit in the window forever and over cook she stuck up for the waitress. Eventually she promised that the owner would call us to discuss our experience further, but since then all they've done is ignore our numerous attempts to reach out. There are way too many amazing places in Richmond to eat to EVER come...

Best Brunch in a LONG time. My family visited on Sunday for brunch (our first time here) and we were blown away with the quality of food, service, and establishment. “Serving brunch since 1935” is the sign out front. Here’s the real review this morning: my 1st grader wants to go there this morning before school to get more “of the best pancakes ever”. (You can’t beat that Monday morning review).

I ordered the Veggie Hash (I’m normally a strictly meat/potatoes kind of guy) and was amazed. Curry base made it perfect. My wife ordered the traditional Eggs Benedict - we were very impressed with the fresh quality of their clearly homemade, perfected sauce. (Waitress recommended that I order a side and put it on my hash next time).

Kids ordered a la carte sides actually. Pancakes, huge biscuit, and sausages were to die for (they met a high standard since I’m from Wisconsin).

Best of all, the coffee was excellent. Too often a popular brunch spot has great food but poor coffee (sorry, I hate First Watch’s coffee and is a huge negative for me). Very smooth, and plenty of refills.

They had Shrimp/Grits on the menu, which I rarely order. Next time I’ll ask them to add Shrimp to my Veggie Hash with a side of Hollandaise sauce. I mentioned that to the waitress as we were leaving and she agreed it was a great idea. (If you try it before I do, comment below).

Sorry no food pictures, we forgot. Wife didn’t try their Bloody Mary - next time. I’ll update more food pics next time. A few pics here for a great capture of the atmosphere and 1935 style though using iPhone14ProMax.

Thanks Helen’s for a...

I had consistently poor service from the staff here. The waitresses were generally unhelpful.

I was told on the phone I don't need a reservation to showing up an hour later and being told I should have made a reservation. All staff except for the bartender refused to show me a menu, and the bartender ignored me. I was told No more times than I was told Yes when asking for simple things like a water or a menu. For instance, when we were asked for a drink orders and I tried to order food, the waitress said "would you like anything to drink because that's actually what I asked you?"

It was VERY hot inside and the fans were on low. Wait staff gave up when the remote batteries were dead rather than just pulling the cord. The bathroom was probably around 110° from having an incandescent bulb constantly on in a tiny space with the door shut.

It's clear that the manager here is asleep at the wheel.

Our cobia was overcooked.

You can get much better service, atmosphere, and food at the many amazing restaurants around Richmond. Please try Laura Lee's, Millie's, or even Garnett's for some low key sandwiches with a nicer staff...