The Betty On Davis

Food = 5 (horseradish chicken salad was too good… it’s a hot day and it was perfect!)
Price = 5+ (3 beers and the chicken salad for 18.00 +tip. So cheap for the food quality and top service.)
Experience = 5++ (great staff and regulars here on a Sunday afternoon… hilarious conversations and entertaining characters. Okay… I’ll start watching Game of Thrones… to keep my geek cred.
Easy parking and location… I’ll be back very soon.
Thanks Shannon and LaRay… and the Sunday Crew!

Wonderful little place in Richmond. Very friendly staff and phenomenal food. You won’t be disappointed.

These bartenders still use the word «retard». After I educated them on how hurtful this word was to our society, they still said the R-​word. I will never go back to this establishment.

A half-​dozen visits should give me a good sense of this place, and my goodness it’s consistent: consistently tasty, consistently friendly, consistently creative and satisfying. You don’t leave The Betty on Davis feeling ho-​hum. You leave wondering how soon you can come back. (After all, you only tried one of their can’t-miss daily specials. And everyone was so nice!)
Recently, while dealing with some new dietary restrictions, they basically created a dish from scratch with no fuss or furrowed brows – and it was excellent. They’ve also been known to recommend cheaper wines or beers when asked to choose between a couple of options, and to encourage hanging out as long as you like, even if your tab is small.
These easygoing tendencies don’t seem to suggest a business poorly run. To the contrary, since they opening in 2014 they’ve simplified their menu, focusing on what they do best and presumably saving money along the way. But as ever, they want their customers to feel at home – and they’re succeeding. This rightly felt like my neighborhood joint when I lived a block away. The Betty is a mile away now, but she’s as familiar as ever.
Other restaurants in town might rise to higher culinary heights (you’ve got to reserve five stars for the very best), but there are few spots more satisfying.

OMG. Ate at the Sunday brunch and got the pulled pork croquette over grits. Best thing I’ve had in Richmond. It’s no joke. I have no idea why this restaurant wasn’t packed. Oh, and they had a DJ in that little place. Super cute. I’d go back in a heartbeat.

WoW!
From the hostess to Dave the bartender (think Cheers) to the lovely Indre (our server) service was warm, personal, and on point!
We were a party of 7 on a busy Saturday night. We were treated like we were the only folks dining.
Everyone ‘s food was fantastic. The shrimp & chorizo gumbo was authentic and must have taken a couple of days to bring out those flavors. Housemade ice cream and cream puff were home runs!
It looks like they make everything from scratch with local seasonal ingredients.

I totally love this place. It’s kind of like Cheers with great food. The menu is updated comfort classics; warm and hearty and full of flavor. The service was excellent, and the atmosphere (and even the name of the place) is a lot of fun.

Yum Kale salad and Chorizo mussels were both perfectly delicious. Nice wine selection too.
Walking distance from the Art Museum.

I can’t offer a full review since we came in late in the evening after getting kicked out of Panera in Carytown, but I was digging the vibe on a random Thursday night. I went in for drinks and grabbed some of their fries which were amazing right out of the fryer. The music was fun and very 90s on this particular night and the bartender was lively and having a good time. Things were quiet when we went in as a lot of diners were finishing up around 9 but a bar crowd showed up around 10 or 11 and the bar area was rather busy.
I’ll have to stop back in and try the food so I can update this review.

Despite the hype surrounding this place, I wasn’t feeling it. I hate it when this happens. Maybe I went on an off day? Maybe my expectations were too high? Whatever the case, this place was generally just Ok.
My mom and I spent a long morning at the Christmas Parade and were starving after packing up. The Betty on Davis was the closest restaurant so that’s where we ended up. I had just had someone tell me about the amazing meal there, so I was excited to try it out.
We both got the platters. They were able to give me chicken spaetzle as a protein instead of grilled chicken. I ordered sautéed zucchini and french fries as my 2 sides. My mom got grilled chicken with kale and potato salad. My chicken spaetzle was pretty good, but the zucchini was the star of the show. I did not like my fries at all. They were super greasy and disappointing. My mom thought her chicken was dry, but she did like her potato salad and kale.
We both left really underwhelmed by the food and service and agreed that we probably won’t be back.

Visited on a Friday night.
I love the build your own platter with a protein and two sides. The meatballs and sausage are two stable protein staples. Tonight I had the warm German potato salad and zucchini. As usual a wonderful meal.
The wait staff were friendly and attentive.
I wish the beer selection was better, while there were craft beers, the options were too few.

Nice little spot, small restaurant/​bar. Service is great, very attentive and quick.
Arugula salad with grilled chicken is simple and delicious. Maybe a little light in the chicken. Sautéed kale is tasty.
Calamari is ok. Cut very thin, tastes like mostly breaking. Sauces are good, honey sriracha, almost like a honey mustard with a little Asian feel, and the aioli which is a garlicky lemon cream sauce, reminds me of tartar but much better.
It’s hard to find shrimp and grits that I don’t like. Grits are perfect. Shrimp is good. There is a lot of chorizo, and the texture is a little tough but it’s still good. Maybe a little too much some bites got very salty. Loved the pickled onions on top, but wish the cherry tomatoes were cooked a little.
All in all a very solid place to grab a quick bite

After watching some of the UCI bike races, we decided to hoof it over to the Betty for some lunch with our out of town guests. I had been anxious to try it and was happy to have an excuse to do so.
Lots of great things were on the specials board. So our part of 4 opted for several fun things. For our starter, we chose the rabbit pâté. We were so intrigued by it, we could not resist it. For our lunches, the fellas both got special of the day «piled high» housemade pastrami sandwiches (the special board was not lying). SIL and I ordered from the menu. She got the Fried Chicken Schnitzel sandwich and I got the Po’Boy.
The pastrami sandwiches arrived piled ridiculously high — pastrami, fixing and the fries — all stacked on the sandwich! So high, it could not be eaten politely. DH proclaimed the pastrami meat to be fantastic and gave it a good go but could not eat the whole thing. BIL could not finish his sandwich either. SIL enjoyed her crispy schnitzel sandwich as well.
As for my PO’Boy… I thought it was a very interesting take on the NOLA classic. It was made with a sauteed shrimp with asian gingery vegetables served in a holllowed out baguette. I thought it was delicious. For my side, I ordered a side of grits. I do not know what they did to these grits, but they have to be just about the best grits I think I have ever had. So light and fluffy. If only I could duplicate it at home!!!
If lunch was this good, I can only imagine how good dinner must be! I look forward to coming back!

I met a friend here for a mid-​afternoon lunch, chosen in part for the reviews and in part because they weren’t going to close the doors at three in the afternoon which is harder to find than you think. The food is excellent on all levels and was inhaled, though neither of us was really hungry enough for dessert. The beer menu is a good one, though the cocktail menu didn’t manage to interest me at all, that may change when I go back to check out dinner. The place was all-​but-​abandoned at the time, so I can’t really speak to normal crowds. The service wasn’t memorable one way or the other, though the woman who waited on us was pleasant. My chair was a little rickety. I liked it, I plan to return, I’m just not feeling especially poetic at the moment.

I had a quick dinner here one Friday evening after a long week. It was packed, but we were quickly seated and the waitress was very attentive, coming by our table and promptly taking drink orders.
My partner and I ordered the same meal (Vegetable Bahn Mi) and we’re both convinced that it’s the best Veggie Bahn Mi in RVA.
The décor is contemporary and chic; fitting for the environment and menu items. We definitely plan to visit again.

Baised on food I would give it a 4 star cause everything was GREAT the downside was the service. I have ordered pick up before and the bar tender that gave me my order was great ! We arrived at the restaurant to no one to seat is so we just picked a table. Upon ordering we werent give any information on the specials and while apps and our meal came out quickly it took forever to get the bill. Fellow Unilocalers the food is grest just know that you might not always get the greatest service.

Went to try this neighborhood spot for dinner with a friend. We were both really happy with our meals. Although the burger (special with avocado and other Mexican inspired toppings) and pasta dishes seem simple they were both tasty. In the middle of the week it was comfortably busy. We wanted to catch up and the food came out blazing fast. Luckily we were able to linger and enjoy our meal and conversation. I just went away with a feeling of this is a cool place to have a meal and feel comfortable.

The place is so cute and cozy inside. The staff is awesome and friendly. I love small places with awesome food and that’s just what we got here. Prices are good and food is amazing. Serving sizes are huge and you will not be disappointed.
We got the mussels with white wine and siracha and they were sooo good.
The pastrami and poor boy sandwiches were also amazing. I love ranch with homemade fries (yes a little white trashy but SO good, hehe), but they don’t have that. However, they have a tasty homemade blue cheese and dill dressing that is a good alternative to ranch on my fries. So, ask for this!!!
We ordered the sugar shack bread pudding and it was very tasty. I loved it, but wished it was hotter. You could tell it was heated up before serving and it just wasn’t hot enough in the middle, but it was still very good.
I can’t wait to come back and it would def be a place where I would come with friends to get a drink.

This charming restaurant tucked away on Davis is cleverly named after American actress Bette Davis from the Golden Age of Hollywood; there’s even one of her quotes written on the wall of their bar area.
Serving up comfort food with a twist, you’ll find unique dishes at reasonable prices and rotating specials on their menu.
–Old Fashioned Betty: delicious cocktail with Buffalo Trace Bourbon
–Curried Eggplant Soup: creamy soup that started off tasty at first bite but then finished bland, didn’t do much for me
–Potato, Mushroom, and Kale Soup: deceptively filling and chock full of flavor, totally want to recreate this at home
–Mussels in Sriracha, white wine, and butter sauce: perfectly spicy broth served with 2 huge slices of Billy Bread. Mussels could have been fresher but I’ve noticed it’s difficult to get super fresh shellfish in Richmond
–French Fries: insane serving of fries for $ 3, ended up using leftovers for breakfast hash the next morning
–Meatball Sub: delicious sammie on amazing bread, great meat to sauce ratio
–Tres Leches Coconut Macaroons: Disappointing :(this dessert should be very moist from soaking in 3 leches but it was SO dry, I counted 0 leche. We did grab the last portion so maybe that explains the dryness. Tasted okay though, but I wouldn’t call this tres leches.
Service was good and it’s definitely a lively atmosphere. I’ll stick to their sandwiches next time I’m here.

Ok. Wait a minute. What???
How am I supposed to enjoy every meal now, after I’ve had the duck special here?
It came with a flash fried poached egg, endives and fried creamy polenta.
Why would they ruin me like this?
The dishes are so well thought out. The ingredients are fresh and you can tell, the chef really cares.
Little things that show they put thought:
1) Flakier sea salt in the arugula salad
3) In the pastrami sandwich, no mustard but mustard seeds instead!
3) Duck cooked medium/​medium-​well… Well done!
4) Coconut macaroon had some amazing fluffy melt in your mouth deliciousness binding everything together.
Oh… And they aren’t one of those places that are scared to serve good sized portions. I’m stuffed
Bravo to my new favorite restaurant!