Viceroy: Getting There, But Still Not Quite Hitting the Mark...

(Yeeees yes this post is way overdue.  I went when it first opened, but now that I’ve been there more than once I feel like I have a more accurate view/opinion on the place)

I’ve now visited this restaurant twice, once in early February for a friend’s birthday and once back in October (2013) with some friends just for fun.  The experiences were similar – good food but nothing special, and the service needs work.

The old Café Diem spot at 600 N. Sheppard St., previously known for being a bar specializing in live music, is now a fully renovated restaurant space with a heavy wood décor.

The first time the waitstaff service needed work.  We were able to get sat on time (around 8:15), but despite deciding what we wanted early, having all our orders ready, and the only “appetizer” being one person getting the French onion soup, it took us over two hours to finish our meal.  Our server was impossible to track down and didn’t check on us nearly enough. 

The 2^nd time the kitchen needed work.  One of my friends claimed that her food didn’t come out the way she ordered (but I think she might’ve been confused, for the record), but her boyfriend’s (i.e. the birthday boy) food wasn’t ready with the rest of ours, and by the time it actually came out most of us had finished eating.  But to make up for it, our sweet server brought out his dessert (that I hope was on the house) and held a lighter in front of him while we sang “Happy Birthday” bc she couldn’t find any candles. Aw!

But let’s get down to the important stuff:  how was the food?  

For my first visit, I was the one who ordered the French onion soup.  Yes that’s right, it was ME!  I really hope that wasn’t the reason behind our entrees taking a RIDICULOUSLY long time to come out.  We’re talking an hour.  Anyway, it’s a standard form of the soup, broiled with Fontina and Swiss cheeses with a giant piece of grilled bread in the middle for $7.50. 

For the second time, I had the Viceroy French Onion soup again, so obviously I liked it.  It’s just too much bread though, hiding the plethora of onions underneath it.  I can never finish it all.  I probably won’t be getting it again.

For the main course on my first trip, I had the grilled filet of Angus shoulder tender (medium rare) served with Yucca-purple potato gorgonzola croquette, charred guajillo chile demi and some asparagus for $24. I ordered it medium rare, but it came out a bit too rare if you ask me.  As in it was already getting close to purple before it had completely cooled.  Depending on who you talk to, this could just be the style of cooking they were going for, but it's not what I've adjusted to and come to expect at most Richmond restaurants (outside of CanCan).  But, it was still delicious and perfectly tender (at first haha) and the potatoes were phenomenal.  And just look at that asparagus!

The 2^nd trip I had the seasonal fish (which I believe this night was rockfish) served over handmade fettuccine in a lemon herb crab butter with asparagus, English peas and artichoke hearts for $24.  This dish was irresistible, with the flavors being enhanced perfectly by my glass of sauvignon blanc (yes, BTW, pretty decent wine selection).  The handmade fettuccine was cooked perfectly, and the fish flaked apart every time my fork touched it.  And the sauce went especially well with the English peas IMO.

And I only got a dessert on the 2^nd visit bc the 1^st visit took way too long, and this February trip was in honor of my friend’s birthday (and he was getting dessert sooo…you know, just being polite ;) lol).  For my dessert, I had the Smores.  But clearly, not your typical smores.  These smores involve a Masa graham cookie, Colombian chocolate truffle, torched marshmallow and warm horchata for $8.50.  Now, while this was pretty tastey, it was so impossible to eat it without the marshmallow being pushed out or something falling off that you couldn’t get all of the flavors at once, which I feel is the point of a dessert coming out with all these combinations of flavors.  Plus, it’s messy. Duh.  It was such a pain to eat without enough “Mmmmmm” that I probably won’t order it again.

All-in-all, I don’t think Viceroy is a bad place.  I like what they’ve done with the place, they have a really cool bar, and the food is good… but I think there’s still some work to be done.  The food could be better.  And while the service improved the 2^nd time around, I feel like people expect more for the prices they’re paying.  So in the end I hope Viceroy sticks around, but I think they’re going to have to work a little harder to ensure that they do.

For more information, check out Viceroy's website here.