Great food, lovely service! The music played taps and then cut off for a little bit- but that made us chuckle more than anything!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Zoee K
The food is the best modern Italian I’ve had in richmond, the chef is an artist! The service is impeccable every time! The atmosphere is very comfortable. I love this hidden gem, it is definitely worth checking out!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Hallie Bereny
Unfortunately, this was a very poor experience. The food did not justify the price, and the service was unprofessional. Our waitress complained about her to a random person that she was only person working , charged us for a more expensive wine than ordered, rang in the wrong food, and that has to wait for redo and she did say anything . We also struggled to get her attention. We won’t be returning.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 2
Service: 2
Claudia Del Valle
Delicious Food at The Berkeley Hotel. We happened to walk in on NYE and had a delicious meal. The chef is very talented and a very nice guy. Check this place out, you won't be disappointed!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Ron Semel
The chef is an artist, and the food is fantastic!!!!!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Jennifer Hoctor
Terrible Experience at Chef’s Kitchen – Do Not Go I wanted to love our experience at Chef’s Kitchen, but I simply cannot recommend it. We chose it for a family dinner on Sunday, December 28, 2025, because of its amazing reviews and location in Shockoe Slip. We even had a 7:45 PM reservation – the wide-open availability that evening should have been our first clue something was off.
Last night was arguably one of our worst dining experiences in Richmond in the past five years. The place was severely understaffed, with apparently only two people running everything: the one and only server (on his very first day) and a man we think was the chef who ended up taking orders and helping with frint of house duties.
Despite the reservation, we waited 15 minutes just for a table to be cleaned. Throughout the meal, three other tables remained dirty and piled with dishes the entire time. When our entrees started arriving, the empty appetizer plates were still cluttering our table – they were never cleared. To make room, I ended up bussing the dishes myself to one of those uncleaned tables.
Drink service was excruciating: it took 15-20 minutes just to place our order (initial bourbon choices were Jim Beam or Evan Williams until we learned there was Woodford Reserve – we got the literal last drops, resulting in weak, overly sweet Old Fashioneds that were charged double). In total, from ordering to actually receiving the drinks, it took over an hour – we were about to leave when the server/bartender finally brought them. Later, when someone wanted an additional drink, we had to walk up to the bar ourselves to order it. We also ordered a bottle of wine that never came (in retrospect, a blessing given the final bill).
The presumed chef came over to take our food order. We explained the long wait and said we couldn’t stay if dinner would take just as long. He promised it wouldn’t, so – buoyed by the great reviews – we stayed, hoping the food would save the night. We were sadly mistaken.
The best part of the meal was the appetizers: the calamari was good, and the burrata salad was decent. That’s where the positives ended. • The “house-made” linguine was severely oversalted. • The vodka rigatoni with salmon (may have a slightly different official name) had little to no salmon. • The pork chop was undercooked. For 7 people we ordered 2 apps, 2 salads, one personal-size pizza, 4 entrees, 2 beers, and 5 very weak (but apparently very expensive) cocktails. The total bill with tip was over $350. I almost fell out of my chair. I don’t mind paying for a good experience and good food, but this was atrocious on both counts.
No management in sight all evening, no acknowledgment of the problems, and no effort to make it right beyond the server’s sincere apologies. I genuinely felt sorry for him – he tried his best but was clearly undertrained and left alone to handle everything: bartending, serving four tables (including two large parties), and end-of-night cleanup. When we were ready to pay, we waited and waited; eventually I went to the bar myself to ask for the check while he was stocking shelves.
All in all, the experience lasted almost 3 hours in a half-empty restaurant with dirty tables everywhere. The new waiter has real potential and I hope he finds a place that staffs properly and serves high-quality food – but Chef’s Kitchen is not it. For this price, Richmond has truly great Italian restaurants like Edo’s Squid, Gersi, Dinamo, La Grotta, or Mama Cucina. We should have trusted our gut and left early. Save your money and time – go elsewhere. 1/5 stars.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Chau Cao
Pleasantly surprise tonight. We were in a pinch and needed a nice restaurant last minute. I have never been here before, although it's right across the street from tobacco company, a place I've been many times. The food was good. The atmosphere was excellent. The service was great. It's very quiet inside. The prices are not bad compared to what they offered. I would even dare to say that the prices are pretty good.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Creyona Macklin
No exaggeration… the Alfredo is bomb. I should’ve taken a photo but I got the mushroom pasta(with no mushrooms lol) and requested chicken, broccoli, and chili flakes (cooked with not on side)
Food: 5
Rebecca Cook
The food and service was great! We had three courses and every single dish was fantastic!!
came for thankgiving, absolutely knocked it out of the park. couldn't recommend this place enough, pork chop was sooo yummy. plate was cleaned <3
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Fernando brown
Our experience at the Chef’s Kitchen at the Berkeley Hotel was excellent. We will be going there again.
Thank
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
mike wigginton
Radna was awesome! All Meat pizza was delicious. Lasagna was pretty good. Bread with olive oil is very good.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Cecilia Nelson
The lamb shank!!!!!! Delish.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Don Lichtenstein
We had such an incredible experience at this restaurant. The food was amazing and the servers were very friendly. We are from the DC area and can be pretty snobby but have to say this was an amazing find. Just steps away from the Richmond Mariott Court Yard. You also must try the desert. We had the Panne cotta with Passion fruit. Very special.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Braised Lamb Shank, Passion Fruit Panna Cotta
Great food, lovely service! The music played taps and then cut off for a little bit- but that made us chuckle more than anything!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
The food is the best modern Italian I’ve had in richmond, the chef is an artist! The service is impeccable every time! The atmosphere is very comfortable. I love this hidden gem, it is definitely worth checking out!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Unfortunately, this was a very poor experience. The food did not justify the price, and the service was unprofessional. Our waitress complained about her to a random person that she was only person working , charged us for a more expensive wine than ordered, rang in the wrong food, and that has to wait for redo and she did say anything . We also struggled to get her attention. We won’t be returning.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 2
Service: 2
Delicious Food at The Berkeley Hotel. We happened to walk in on NYE and had a delicious meal. The chef is very talented and a very nice guy. Check this place out, you won't be disappointed!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
The chef is an artist, and the food is fantastic!!!!!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Terrible Experience at Chef’s Kitchen – Do Not Go
I wanted to love our experience at Chef’s Kitchen, but I simply cannot recommend it. We chose it for a family dinner on Sunday, December 28, 2025, because of its amazing reviews and location in Shockoe Slip. We even had a 7:45 PM reservation – the wide-open availability that evening should have been our first clue something was off.
Last night was arguably one of our worst dining experiences in Richmond in the past five years. The place was severely understaffed, with apparently only two people running everything: the one and only server (on his very first day) and a man we think was the chef who ended up taking orders and helping with frint of house duties.
Despite the reservation, we waited 15 minutes just for a table to be cleaned. Throughout the meal, three other tables remained dirty and piled with dishes the entire time. When our entrees started arriving, the empty appetizer plates were still cluttering our table – they were never cleared. To make room, I ended up bussing the dishes myself to one of those uncleaned tables.
Drink service was excruciating: it took 15-20 minutes just to place our order (initial bourbon choices were Jim Beam or Evan Williams until we learned there was Woodford Reserve – we got the literal last drops, resulting in weak, overly sweet Old Fashioneds that were charged double). In total, from ordering to actually receiving the drinks, it took over an hour – we were about to leave when the server/bartender finally brought them. Later, when someone wanted an additional drink, we had to walk up to the bar ourselves to order it. We also ordered a bottle of wine that never came (in retrospect, a blessing given the final bill).
The presumed chef came over to take our food order. We explained the long wait and said we couldn’t stay if dinner would take just as long. He promised it wouldn’t, so – buoyed by the great reviews – we stayed, hoping the food would save the night. We were sadly mistaken.
The best part of the meal was the appetizers: the calamari was good, and the burrata salad was decent. That’s where the positives ended.
• The “house-made” linguine was severely oversalted.
• The vodka rigatoni with salmon (may have a slightly different official name) had little to no salmon.
• The pork chop was undercooked.
For 7 people we ordered 2 apps, 2 salads, one personal-size pizza, 4 entrees, 2 beers, and 5 very weak (but apparently very expensive) cocktails. The total bill with tip was over $350. I almost fell out of my chair. I don’t mind paying for a good experience and good food, but this was atrocious on both counts.
No management in sight all evening, no acknowledgment of the problems, and no effort to make it right beyond the server’s sincere apologies. I genuinely felt sorry for him – he tried his best but was clearly undertrained and left alone to handle everything: bartending, serving four tables (including two large parties), and end-of-night cleanup. When we were ready to pay, we waited and waited; eventually I went to the bar myself to ask for the check while he was stocking shelves.
All in all, the experience lasted almost 3 hours in a half-empty restaurant with dirty tables everywhere. The new waiter has real potential and I hope he finds a place that staffs properly and serves high-quality food – but Chef’s Kitchen is not it.
For this price, Richmond has truly great Italian restaurants like Edo’s Squid, Gersi, Dinamo, La Grotta, or Mama Cucina. We should have trusted our gut and left early. Save your money and time – go elsewhere. 1/5 stars.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Pleasantly surprise tonight. We were in a pinch and needed a nice restaurant last minute. I have never been here before, although it's right across the street from tobacco company, a place I've been many times. The food was good. The atmosphere was excellent. The service was great. It's very quiet inside. The prices are not bad compared to what they offered. I would even dare to say that the prices are pretty good.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
No exaggeration… the Alfredo is bomb.
I should’ve taken a photo but I got the mushroom pasta(with no mushrooms lol) and requested chicken, broccoli, and chili flakes (cooked with not on side)
Food: 5
The food and service was great! We had three courses and every single dish was fantastic!!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Amazing food and dessert!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
came for thankgiving, absolutely knocked it out of the park. couldn't recommend this place enough, pork chop was sooo yummy. plate was cleaned <3
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Our experience at the Chef’s Kitchen at the Berkeley Hotel was excellent. We will be going there again.
Thank
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Radna was awesome! All Meat pizza was delicious. Lasagna was pretty good. Bread with olive oil is very good.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
The lamb shank!!!!!! Delish.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
We had such an incredible experience at this restaurant. The food was amazing and the servers were very friendly. We are from the DC area and can be pretty snobby but have to say this was an amazing find. Just steps away from the Richmond Mariott Court Yard. You also must try the desert. We had the Panne cotta with Passion fruit. Very special.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Braised Lamb Shank, Passion Fruit Panna Cotta
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