Chuy's — Restaurant in Virginia

It's located next to Smokey Bones. we were pleasantly surprised with Chuy's. The parking lot was pretty full but there was only one family in front of me. The dining room was filled with families, some with children of various ages. We were almost immediately taken to our table and as we started to look at the menu a server brought us chips and salsa, asked us for a drink order. The chips were freshly deep fried, warm and lightly salty. The salsa is also homemade and deliciously spicy. Approximately 3 minutes later they were there. The waiter asked if we had any questions or were we ready to order. We gave him the order. I was really surprised how quickly he brought the Tortilla Soup and said he wanted to give us time to eat it before the entres came. The soup bowl was big enough for 2. It was loaded with freshly grilled chicken breast, vegetables, melted cheese and tortilla strips. It was very spicy although perfect for us. I thought it might be the highlight of our dinner. However It wasn't. My fajitas were loaded with strips of freshly grilled tender steak, chicken breast, chunks of grilled vegetables. It came with 3 large fluffy homemade flour tortilla wrappers, a huge bowl of Spanish rice, shredded lettuce, salsa, refried beans, sour cream and chunks of avacado. My wife had grilled chicken with Spanish rice, grilled vegetables, 1/2 avacado, and refried beans. She had them bring several Thai red peppers to kick it up a notch. The iced tea was very good as were the prices. As we left we were thanked by the waiter, the person who brought our food, the girl who took our dishes and sanitized the booth, the manager and the hostesses. One of them even opened the door for us. Chuy's might be the best Tex-Mex...

Bottom line: three stars is rounded up for the 2.5 I'd really like to give. Nostalgia is probably the only thing bringing me back.

5/2025 Update: The last couple of times I came here things had improved, but based on my latest visit they're in decline again. First off--don't bother using the link from the Chuy's website to put yourself on the wait-list. I signed up and got a text confirmation. But when we got to the restaurant and checked in, the host stand had no idea what I was talking about. "Uh, we don't really do that." Second--service was sub-par. Dishes stacked up and refills were slow, and one of our entrees wasn't put in. The mistake was corrected fairly quickly, but I would have expected at least a drive-by from the manager to check on us. Absolutely no attempt to sell us dessert. Lastly--$2.50 for a side of sour cream?! If we'd been told when we ordered it we probably would have still gotten it, but it was a little shocking when the bill came.

Previously: As someone who lived in Austin for a number of years and who has eaten at the original Chuy's several times, I really wanted to love this place. I've been twice now, and the food is decent, but the service has been really poor. Long waits between visits, empty drinks, stacked dirty dishes on several tables, etc. Finally, I can't recommend the sopapillas. Got them twice (trying to be optimistic) and they were terrible both times. They're too thick, and still taste of raw dough. It wouldn't surprise me if they were baked and not fried. All in all, there's not much to recommend Chuy's over its next door neighbor...

First let me explain the most horrible service we ever received at any restaurant! The host who sat us was the only thing that was great!! He was very nice and apologetic! Anywho.. We were visiting from out of town and we were familiar with Chuy's from our city of Richmond always great service there!

We arrived at 734p!.. And another couple were seated about 2 mins later at another table and another party sat about 5 mins after that. Why in the hell they got their drinks, chips and actual order food b4 anyone came to our table. The server didn't tell us her name nor knew it was National Burritos Day! She was rude and really acted that she didn't like her job! So we waited for almost an hour for our food and by this time both tables that came after us had ate their food and actual paid the check and was leaving.

When the food finally came the chicken in my wife's Salad was raw and cold like it just came out of the freezer and it wasn't cooked all the way thru! One of ladies who was bringing out food did offer to replace the salad but my wife declined and by this time I was frustrated and we just paid for the sodas and left! We ask for a manger and waited for additional 10 mins come to find out she was in the bathroom! So we never met the mgr! Again the host did try to make things right but we had enough and had to drive back to Richmond hungry!!

The waitress needs to be retrained or find another profession... Our experience was really horrible! Its sad because we love chuys and we frequent the one in out town regularly...