Shula's American Kitchen, Richmond, VA — Restaurant in Short Pump

I have eaten at several of Shula’s steakhouses around the country and my wife and I really enjoy Catalinas, their seafood forward concept that recently opened in Charlotte. I walked into the Hilton Hotel and Spa Richmond Short Pump in RVA. The room was fine and I was happy to see Don Shula’s brand on the in house restaurant. I was at the end of the third day of a grinding business trip and was really looking forward to a great steak with good sides without leaving the property. I walk in and they’re only a few people at tables and a few at the bar so I had a seat thinking I would soon be set. The server was prompt and brought me out water and a cocktail very quickly. I ordered the Aji tuna salad as an appetizer and was told that it was a full meal and they did not do side salads and could not do a small portion. I asked for prime rib, medium rare and they told me prime rib was not available. So I ordered a steak frite medium rare, substituted a loaded, baked potato for the fries and asked for the broccolini, but without the chili crisp. A very short time later, I was brought a steak which had clearly been cut before it was grilled because it was dried out, well done and bland. The baked potato was barely lukewarm, and the “broccolini“ was actually an arugula salad with some pickled onions. In a dynamic retail marketplace like the Short Pump area with so many excellent choices this restaurant is nowhere near meeting the standards that Shulas’s demands of its other locations. Que sera. I made a bad choice for dinner. Hilton made a terrible choice for this restaurant. I will say the server was prompt and apologetic, and he comped me my cocktail. Thanks for that and thanks for offering to bring me a fresh plate, but after seeing what I was served I did not care to give it another try and certainly...

Appetizers were phenomenal! Cornbread was sweet, soft and buttery. The New Orleans BBQ shrimp had a lot of flavor and the bread it was paired with had a nice char and went beautifully with the sauce with the shrimp. But that was the highlight of the evening. The service was well below average. We watched people who were seated after we ordered get their food before us. The waitress came up to me about 30 minutes after we had ordered and said she forgot to tell me they didn’t have any shrimp to go with the steak I ordered. I just wonder if this is what held up our food from being made. The steak I ordered was cooked properly but failed to impress. My biggest issue of the night was the “pomme purée”. If you’re going to call mashed potatoes by a fancy name then it better be good. They had the audacity to call it pomme purée and then serve me a flavorless pile of instant mashed potatoes that a 10 year old could have made better in a microwave. Which that’s what it looks like. It looks like it came out of a microwave and then served on a skillet. And they charge you almost $10 for it. What a joke. My wife had the goat cheese ravioli. Nothing too special here either. I love goat cheese and so does she but these flavors just don’t seem to be cohesive on the plate. You’re better off eating goat cheese off of a cracker. Great place to get appetizers but don’t expect too much with dinner and honestly just don’t waste your...

Well this was not our first time at Shula's but was the first time eating in the bar lounge area. The last few times at the restaurant was a great and amazing experience. I can not say the same for this visit. The only reason we ate in the lounge area was so that we could watch the Tarheel game. Now we knew we would be giving up the experience by doing this but I didn't think that we would be subjected to a rude, unresponsive, and incompetent waitress. She totally should not have been working there. Her personality was not suited for that type of high level restaurant/bar lounge. She just came across as not wanting to do her job and not having a good attitude. That is not what I'm use to when I eat anywhere like this. Even the food wasn't as good as previous visits. But the crab mac and cheese was delicious. I know for the next time (if there is a next time) we will definitely dine in...