Bernie's Sub & Pizza Shop — Restaurant in Virginia

I will start to say that the Ham and Cheese sub was pretty good. My experience, however, was not. I was in the area and was looking for something quick to pick up that wasn't normal fast food (like McDonalds). I found Bernie's on google maps and I saw they did call ahead to pick up. When I called, the woman on the phone was unpleasant. I had a couple questions since I had never been before, and she came across as if I was a burden or taking up her time, answering very curtly with a tone.

I arrived 15 or so minutes later and when I walked up to the door, I saw the note that said, "Cash Only, 7-11 Has an ATM." That would have been nice to know ahead of time, but I went over to 7-11 to withdraw the cash anyway. The ATM inside was actually out of cash, so I had to make 2 separate purchases at the counter to get cash back (max was $10 per transaction and I knew my sub was more than that). I head back to Bernie's and walked up to the register. I assume it was the same woman on the phone as before based on her tone. I asked her if the chips were in the bag, she said yes, and then I asked about napkins and she pointed to the side table. It really did seem like I was interrupting her day.

When I got back to my car I looked and there was not a bag of chips in the bag. I was so frustrated with the whole thing that I did not feel like going back inside, I'd rather just go home.

Like I said, the sub was pretty good, which would tempt me to return, but the experience left a bad taste in my mouth. As a customer, I felt like...

Have been eating Bernies subs since I came to UR in 1973. Loved the pizza oven toasted crispness of the sandwiches. Usually get the Italian or Roast Beef. Has been worth the drive as I lived in different areas of Richmond over the years. In 2020 moved away until 2024 when I returned. Saturday I attended an afternoon basketball game at UR. Afterwards went by Bernies to pick up an Italian and a Steak and Cheese for the wife and I. Was surprised there were no customers. Got the sandwiches and left. Got home and tried them and was astonished at how bad they were. Italian had no lettuce or tomato, but so many hot peppers I could taste nothing else. It was bad. "Steak" and cheese had some kind of compressed beef loaf layered on the bun with a slice of Swiss cheese between the meat substance. No lettuce, tomato, mushrooms, mayo, oil&vinegar, or anything......but some hot peppers. We ate half the sandwiches and threw out the rest. WHAT HAPPENED TO THIS PLACE?? I used to get great sandwiches there, but these were nothing like the original sandwiches I became accustomed to for nearly 50 years. I was the only customer (after a game with 6000 attending literally a half mile away right before dinnertime??), yet waited over 20 minutes for 2 sandwiches which the "chef" obviously had no idea how to make. I guess every good thing eventually comes to an end. Miss the old Bernies, but...

I really wanted to like this place, and I feel guilty leaving a negative review for an old school sub shop - but objectively, these subs aren't great.

I've tried almost all of the well-known sando spots in Richmond, and used to work at a similar old school joint thats been around for ~75 years, so I think I'm a decent judge of a good sandwich.

The Pros: Really friendly staff. Old school atmosphere.

The Cons: The food isn't great. Cash only. No tomatoes. No free refills.

The menu is really limited. The sandwiches were really dinky and there wasn't much interesting about them. The turkey and Italian sub tasted almost exactly the same - unfortunately pretty similar to the taste of a hot dog. I thought I was going to taste a classic, instead I didn't end up finishing it.

You'll see a lot of reviews from older people here saying Bernie's is great and they've been going there for years. I think they probably have rose tinted glasses on. I love a mom n' pop type of place, but objectively speaking, there are a lot of better...