Social52 Kitchen & Craft Bar

We had a great time at Social 52 — the service was friendly and attentive, the food was delicious, and the drinks were on point. We happened to visit on trivia night, which added a fun vibe to the evening. However, we felt the trivia questions could’ve been a bit more diverse to keep everyone engaged. We lost interest pretty quickly, which was a bit of a letdown. Hoping to see the trivia format evolve to better reflect the diversity of the crowd. Still, a solid spot for a night out and we’ll definitely be back!

We visited Social 52 late last summer, and I've been meaning to write this review. Our server, Brooke, was great — but we were completely blown away by the food.

It's not that the dishes were overly complex or intricately inventive; there were no savory foams or dishes plated to look like a rain forest or something. They weren't even fancy. It's the fact that each dish was made to perfection for what it was. Take my wedge salad, for example -- a really simple dish that's hard to screw up but manages to be ho-hum at most places. Here, the iceberg wedge was served very chilled (as it should be) and the bacon was perfectly cooked. Our oven-baked meatballs were among the best we've ever had, and I've tried polpette all over Italy. The bruschetta was solid, too — again, a dish that's hard to screw up but is rarely perfect. Even the burger was top-notch.

My point is that everything was on point, and that's very rare. You might find the greatest seared scallops on earth at a seaside restaurant in Spain, but that same restaurant might serve bread that's not fresh or a salad that lacks oomph. Maybe we got lucky, or maybe we just ordered the right things, but every single dish we ate at Social 52 was made to perfection.

I walked back to the kitchen after our meal to thank the chefs and found two completely unassuming young dudes. They were super nice, and stoked that we enjoyed the meal. I left laughing to myself at the thought that I've eaten on four continents (and often paid too much money for the privilege) and one of the most on-point and well-executed meals I've ever had was cooked by these two random dudes in Richmond, Virginia, quietly doing their thing in a little kitchen, raising the bar for their competition, and killing it when it comes to their craft.

This place has some of the best happy hour deals in town! Highly recommend the brussels sprouts and the nachos.

No use being polite and patient here, the only way to get service here is to be pushy and persistent. rewarding bad customer behavior is a choice but okay!

Attended for Tuesday trivia night. Food was excellent, but service was a little slow. They were extremely busy so I will not fault them too much, but it did take quite a while to get drinks and food. Atmosphere was... loud. Music was turned a bit too high and it was difficult to have a conversation with others at my table. All that considered, the food was great and trivia was fun.

Well I wouldn’t know how the food was since I am still sitting at the table, 30 minutes after being seated, and haven’t even been offered water. The vibe is cool but you can’t expect people to just sit and not ever order. With that being said I’m leaving as soon as I finish writing this… & I’m done bye!

Disappointing Service at Social52 – Not Worth the Wait

I had high hopes for Social52, but the service was an absolute disaster. Our waitress seemed completely uninterested in actually doing her job. After ordering drinks, we waited an eternity for them to arrive—far longer than any reasonable person would expect at a bar. It wasn’t even that busy, yet she moved at a snail’s pace and barely checked in on us.

As if the slow drink service wasn’t bad enough, getting the check was another ordeal. We practically had to wave her down multiple times before she finally brought it over, and then we waited yet again for her to return so we could actually pay. The whole experience was frustrating and made what should have been a fun night out feel like a chore.

Social52 might have a decent atmosphere, but if you expect timely service, look elsewhere. There are plenty of bars in the area where the staff actually cares about their customers. I won’t be back.

It was trivia nite so much fun

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 4

Service: 4

Great atmosphere! Definitely try trivia night!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 4

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Fries

Great brunch!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

As a preface, it was trivia night when we visited. However, we weren’t impressed at all. Took over an hour to order and get our food. It wasn’t clear what was taking so long because we only saw one other table ordering/eating food, so it doesn’t seem like the kitchen was backed up. We ordered the loaded fries as an appetizer—it came out with the cheese congealed and missing green onions. We also got the barbecue chicken pizza, and I was honestly shocked when it came out. It was the size of an appetizer; it had 4 tiny slices that were each smaller than my hand, and the crust was burnt. Waste of $11. My friend also got the burger and she said it was dry and burnt; it was also supposed to come with sauce, but there was no sauce to be found. Another friend got the Nashville chicken wrap and said she felt sick after she took a few bites. We all barely touched our food and didn’t take any home. We will not be back.

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 2

Service: 2

Took an hour to get cold food and the gave half our parties food to the wrong table then gave it to us after they touched it.

Atmosphere: 1

Food: 1

Service: 1

Great time and good deals. The bartenders were very professional and kind.

Atmosphere: 4

Service: 4

We were so impressed by Social52 - they hosted our rehearsal dinner/welcome party back in August, and it was such a great experience for everyone! The food, the linens/name tags, the service, communication and the staff were exceptional. Mikey, PJ and the rest of the staff made sure that everything ran so smoothly! We would highly recommend having Social52 host your next event.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Ate here with my family during brunch on a Sunday! I ordered the biscuits and gravy, it was pretty good but nothing spectacular. My dad ordered the chicken and waffles and said it was super good! Also 3 of us shared the mimosas and it was really awesome! Our server Riley answered all of our questions with insight and she was super nice! I would come back again with some friends.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 4

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Chicken and Waffle, Biscuits and Gravy