The Roosevelt

Tiny little restaurant with interesting menu. We tried multiple dishes and they were all wonderful. Great service too. Will return – can’t wait!

Sunday Brunch was Excellent!!! Food — outstanding Service — outstanding!!!
Win …Win…

I am shocked that I have not reviewed this place yet! Everything about the Roosevelt is perfection! The décor, the drinks, the food, the service, I cant say enough good things about all of them.
The drinks blow me away every time. I am typically a glass of wine kind of girl but at the Roosevelt, give me a cocktail! My favorite is the southern gin fizz (seasonal I believe). The idea of buttermilk in a drink sounds awful, BUT it is out of this world delicious! The bitters display also makes me really happy
I have never tasted anything on the menu that wasn’t crazy good. From the pasta, to the meat, to the potato bacon gratin, to the delicious peanut butter pie, everything is perfect! They even make chicken taste spectacular!
Do yourself a favor and get in here asap!

My family and I have been here multiple times and have never been disappointed. From the appetizers to dessert, everything has always been on point! The atmosphere is a cool, Churchilly vibe with old pictures and exposed vent/​heat piping overhead. We had the pimento cheese with pork grinds to start, unusual and awesome. We got the chicken, scallop, and rockfish dishes. All our entrees were great; we licked the plates clean. The peanut butter pie got demolished as well. The Roosevelt is always a good treat for a special occasion.

Small cozy place. First things first, it was really cold. Every time someone would open the door, the temperature in the place would drop about 10 degrees. They need to get one of those doorways which prevents cold from getting inside.
The drinks deserve 5 stars themselves! We had a hot toddy and irish coffee. The time and effort those bartenders put into each drink is amazing.
Dinner had a 3 course prix fixe menu. For appetizer we had an anchovy salad with burrata cheese, and a rock shrimp slider. The anchovy salad was very salty and not really appetizing. The rock shrimp slider was pretty good on the other hand, but not anything spectacular.
For the main course, we had the steak and rock fish. The steak came out cold, had to return it back to chicken. The rock fish was extremely fishy and unpleasant. For such a highly rated restaurant i really had higher expectations.
Will not come back for food, only drinks. :(

Went here last night for Unilocal supper club and was not disappointed. Before heading to the restaurant, I checked out a bunch of reviews online to see what to order and everything had good reviews!
When we were seated, we all ordered one of their signature cocktails. I got the Montenegro Bay which had amaro Montenegro, smith and cross rum, honey liqueur, lemon, grapefruit, allspice, nutmeg and absinthe. The flavors were amazing but fair warning, the drinks are STRONG!
A bunch of our group ordered apps… Personally I was more interested in saving room for dessert but they all looked amazing!
I ordered one of the specials, the crab cake and got broccolini instead of fries. It was DELICIOUS and just the right about of food.
For dessert I got the chocolate pudding with orange cream and pistachios. Very flavorful but I was so full from dinner I was only able to eat half.
Would definitely come back here again just to try some of the other dishes!

Holy deliciousness, Batman! I went for the Unilocal Supper club last night, and I can honestly say that I didn’t have a single bad thing while I was there. I was the first to arrive. The atmosphere is very relaxed and cozy. It’s not a large interior, but not cramped either. I was with a party of 8. There was one other large party there and some other couples. Everything was spaced out just right so you didn’t feel like you were sitting on someone’s lap. The service was excellent. They answered all our questions, made great recommendations, and they were present without being overbearing. Food was placed and drinks were refilled with the stealth like skills of a ninja.
Now for the food… I ordered the cornbread and the brussel sprouts for everyone to share. The cornbread comes with maple bourbon butter which made it oh so good. And the brussel sprouts… yum-​effin-​o! I highly recommend that you order them. Since I’m vegetarian, I got the roasted vegetable plate. It was really good. A mix of veggies all served over cheese grits. The dessert menu isn’t large, but my chocolate pudding was very good. Like I said, I have no complaints about this place. I can’t wait to go back!

Richmond is making it really freaking hard for me to choose a favorite restaurant. I thought I had my list of faves locked in and then we went to The Roosevelt last night for dinner and it shook things up a bit.
I have had this place bookmarked for I don’t know how long. It’s always been there just staring at me. I love the Church Hill area but I’m not there too often. When I do go, I make sure to hit all of the main places. For some reason, The Roosevelt is just that one place I had never been! Well, ya’ll let me tell you I was missing out! I was so excited when this place was suggested at last month’s Supper Club. I quickly set up a reservation and had been looking forward to it ever since.
Ladies and Gentlemen, I’m here to say we had the time of our lives! Every. Single. Piece. Of. Food. That. Touched. Our. Table. Was. Incredible. Between the entire group we had plenty of different drinks, brussels sprouts, corn bread, chicken wings, pudding, peanut butter pie, pound cake, fried chicken, broccolini, french fries, crab cake sandwich, veggie plate, some type of beef, and more. We ate like Kings and Queens! The star of my meal was everything, actually. The broccolini was especially life changing. I would go there just to get that. It was ridiculously good. Any time you mix garlic, lemon, and olive oil together and put it on anything, it’s a winner. Then there was the fried chicken and fries. Both were fantastic flavor explosions.
I can’t rave about The Roosevelt enough. This was one of the best dining experiences that I’ve ever had. The staff was excellent, friendly, welcoming and didn’t have that suck-​up feeling that you get sometimes in Richmond.
Bravo, Roosevelt, Bravo.

Went here for Unilocal’s February Supper Club with a fairly large group and had an amazing time. The staff was very pleasant and explained the menu for anything we had questions on. There were plenty of food and drink recommendations all around and everything we tasted was amazing.
My biggest tip is for everyone to get something different and share. The menu is so divine that I feel like there are a lot of things you’re not going to want to miss.
Personally I got to try the cornbread and butter, the burrata cheese with brussel sprouts that were to die for, a rock shrimp roll, roasted catfish with collards and ‘dirty’ (i.e. made with pulled pork) farrow, cheesecake panna cotta and foie gras pound cake with salted caramel gelato. I feel like I could write a love letter about the pound cake, but I’ll save that for later.
The atmosphere is very homey and has just enough light that it sets the mood for good food and conversation. Our dinner started at 6 and wrapped up around 8:30 and at no point did I ever feel like our service slacked off or I tasted something I didn’t love.

Tip: Make a rez. The Roosevelt was packed at 7pm on a Friday when we arrived. Luckily, we had a 7:30pm rez… and we needed it.
This restaurant is a bit noisy because they fill every bit of space with seating. Even people at the bar were having dinner — prolly folks who didn’t have a rez. Speaking of seating, the tables are small. Aside from that, the service and food are both excellent.
While we waited, we each tried one of their cocktails. Both were very tasty and beautifully presented albeit a little bit on the small side.
I started with the smoked chicken wings and the white hot sauce was really tasty. My wife started with the burrata cheese and the brussels sprouts were fried to perfection. For an entrée, I had the seared scallops which were slightly underdone for my taste and my wife had the vegetarian platter which she raved about. For desert, we shared the peanut butter pie. Very tasty and a perfect size to share.
We also loved how all their wines are from Virginia.
Accidentally, my wife left her glasses at our table when we left. By the time we walked to our car, my cell phone rang; the Roosevelt called to let us know we left our glasses behind. Nice of them to act so quickly.
Big thumbs up. Pricing was reasonable, too. This would be a 5-​star rating all day long if they had a bit more space and cranked up the ambiance a notch while leaving the excellent food, service, and pricing where it is now.
We’ll be back.

So, I have to bump my rating to 5 stars.
When I think about it, this is one of the top 10 restaurants in Richmond.
The service is always professional.
The food is always flavorful and varied.
The peanut butter pie is divine.
Pretty much hits all the notes.

I dream about the french fries at The Roosevelt.
And their cheeseburger…
And their fried chicken sandwich.
Pretty much everything on their menu.
The Roosevelt has an upscale feel, while still remaining casual enough to not feel stuffy. Their food is the same way. Casual menu items like cheeseburgers and fries made upscale with the addition of craft ingredients and creative fusion. Their craft cocktails are amazing as well.
Fantastic brunch menu. Get there early if you don’t want to wait (and before they start running out of things.)

We live in the Bottom and finally got around to trying The Roosevelt up in Church Hill. SO good! First of all the cocktails were fantastic (Sear sucker and something else yummy with tequila)! We got two apps which we’re HUGE (if we would have known they were so big we’d probably only have gotten one but we like to try everything)… the steamed mussels and the burrata with grilled brussel sprouts. Both excellent! Then I got the rock fish special with grits and my boyfriend got the bistro steak. Lots of great flavor going on. The only downside is that they only have VA wines but our awesome server, Sarah, recommended one that was really great! We will definitely be back to try everything else on the menu!
PS — dont forget to make a reservation. Its small and popular so gets packed! There were lots of people waiting when we left.

Always love coming here. Seems like everything has been thought out. The scene, the food, the sourcing, everything. And did I mention the drinks? Expertly crafted.
Be ready to try combinations you wouldnt expect.
Still trying to get there in time to try the fried chicken. They always run out early and we just can’t make it. But hear it’s awesome.

Very interesting menu. I had the Fried Skate Wing it was phenomenal. The fried chicken is average. The fried catfish sandwich was decent as well. The thing I like most about this place is its authenticity. A lot of places call themselves Southern, especially in RVA, but this place actually is. For example, they have Alabama White sauce which is very very authentic. Anyone from ‘Bama will tell you their BBQ sauce is white. Also they have a full bar and their bar tenders make great drinks. I had a Red Snapper and it was awesome.
I went to Brunch we had a party of 4. Got there at 10:30 as it opened and had to wait until 11:45. That is the only drawback to this place the wait can be excruciating. I highly recommend making reservations days in advance.

Bottom line: Would I go here again? In a heart beat!
What would I do differently? MAKE A RESERVATION.
The only reason why I gave The Roosevelt 4 stars is because my party of 4 waited soo long table. We were constantly excited then disappointed table after table waiting to be seated. Honestly, it was our fault. Sunday brunch is prime time for any restaurant in Richmond and we’ve should’ve planned ahead. Oh well, you live and you learn.
Now the food, veryyy good. The portion sizes looked small initially, but towards the end of the meal we realized it was perfect. Service was a bit slow because it was a full house, but hey… each dish was worth the wait!

I missed Liz today (she was my first waitress here, and I still love seeing her). I love coming here each month, this establishment is incredible, even if tonight was a little bit busy and I think they may have been somewhat overwhelmed (superstars). It didn’t take long for our table (with reservation) to be ready. Drinks came out within great time, and our server was able to get our orders also in a timely manner. If you haven’t been here, YOU NEED TO EAT HERE! Please, please, please, get the seersucker you will thank me it is delicious

Get here!
The Roosevelt is such a cool little spot in Church Hill. If you haven’t been, you are really missing out. One of best friends was visiting from DC. He always takes me to new, trendy places in DC so I really wanted to impress him. I picked the Roosevelt because every time I go the food is on point.
I ordered the grilled swordfish and he got the steak dish (I can’t remember the cut, sorry). We also added an order of broccoli in fish sauce and cornbread. For drinks we tried the drink special for that Fri night, some sort of whiskey punch.
The swordfish came on a bed of cold black-​eyed peas, fennel, and squid. The fennel got lost but the squid underneath was cooked to perfection. The swordfish was also cooked perfectly and it was a very nice meal. I tried my friend’s steak that came with broccolini and some sort of chimichurri. It was perfect med rare and really flavorful. The broccoli was AMAZING! I have since tried to copy it twice (without success but getting closer). The best part of the cornbread is the crispy part they get on the outside with the maple bourbon butter that I could eat with a spoon (don’t judge me)!
Important to keep in mind that this restaurant changes their menu frequently and they are not very big. They do take reservations and sometimes as a walk-​in, I’ve had to eat at the bar. The host is always so warm and welcoming. He is really helpful with drink and food selections too. If you feel stuck, just ask him. He’ll steer you in the right direction.
You won’t regret checking this place out!

Thank goodness for this place.
My first experience with The Roosevelt, I came with a couple of girlfriends. Get the fizz cocktail. It’s incredible, I would go back just for that drink. I’m a beer drinker, and that damn cocktail is one of the best drinks I’ve ever consumed.
For an appetizer we had fried okra. So yummy and crispy. For dinner I had the pork shoulder over collard greens and cheese grits with a tomato broth. HOLY COW. I felt bad, because my friends were in heavy conversation and I didn’t hear a word that was said. All of my attention was on that plate. Easily one of the best meals I’ve ever had. No leftovers. Worth every penny.
Second experience: right off the bat I ordered the fizz cocktail, because duh. My boyfriend and I split the southern poutine which is French fries with sausage gravy and pimento cheese. My boyfriend said it was his favorite thing he has ever eaten. I ordered another fizz cocktail, obviously. For dinner, I had medium rare steak over cheese grits, zucchini, and a balsamic reduction. He had scallops over cheese grits and a butter sauce. Both meals were incredible. They really know what they’re doing in that kitchen and behind that bar.
I will definitely be back for a third experience (4^th, 5^th, etc). Even if it’s just for that damn cocktail.

What a delightful place!
My boyfriend and I walked in for an early dinner and all the doors were open giving the place a really nice sunny breezy vibe. Everything was rustic and lovely. The servers were wearing cozy looking farm clothing like suspenders and plaid. Service was great. Local draft beer.
I ordered the salad to start and it was constructed beautifully. My guy ordered the wings and I believe it was some sort of Thai Chili sauce. They were good and plentiful. He ordered the Soft Shell Crab special and I opted for the Pork Shoulder.
The pork was done really nice and it came served over slaw and beans with some yellow mustard tucked in. It was delicious and more than enough to eat.
Next time I’m in the Richmond area I would come back!