My party and I recently visited The Hard Rock Shell, and while the food itself was fine, the customer service from the General Manager was extremely disappointing. We were not informed ahead of time that our entire bill had to remain on a single tab, which ultimately inflated the gratuity in a way that felt unnecessary and unreasonable. When we asked for clarification, the General Manager’s attitude was unprofessional and flat-out nasty not what paying customers deserve.
Policies are one thing, but respectful communication is another. A simple explanation delivered with courtesy would’ve gone a long way. Instead, we were met with rudeness over something we weren’t even made aware of. This experience alone makes me hesitant to return or recommend the restaurant to anyone looking for quality service.
Blackheart Six
2nd time I've been here. Both times for company Christmas dinners. Really great food, and even better service. Certainly, will go there on our own when in downtown Richmond.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Seafood, Steak
Todd Keffer
There for a private event but everything and everyone was great
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Laura Williams
Formal date night atmosphere... very nice!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Vic K
Love this place. Relaxed with an upscale vibe. Simply prepared Mahi (blackened) is my go to with a side of grilled Brussels sprouts. Omg slightly sweet and delicious.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
dekeya boggs
Traveled to Richmond for a comedy show and decided to have dinner here prior. We arrived at 4:30 and the restaurant was not busy. There was no one at the door to greet us and we waited about 5 minutes until we were greeted. Let start off by saying the service was excellent and the food was ok. The reason for the one star is both my daughter and I ordered lemon drop martinis. I wanted mines with vodka and she wanted hers with reposado tequila. The drinks were taking quite some time to arrive. My eyes were constantly over at the bartender watching to see what could possibly be the delay. I watched her make both drinks and noticed that she did not use a resposado for my daughters drink but instead used Lunazel blanco which is not what she ordered. Then I noticed that she topped my martini with the rest of he tequila lemon drop... I did try it and sent it back because I did not want the tequila taste. We did order another round and again same Tequila was used for my daughters. Both rounds took anywhere from 15 to 20 minutes to arrive to the table. We asked for the check and was completely surprised when we were charged for Don Julio Tequila which is not what we received and mine you the Don Julio martini was $21 and the Lunazel was $11.00. Had we received Don Julio I would not have had an issue paying for it because that is our preferred tequila. I immediately asked for a manager and of course she gave me a ridiculous excuse for the mix up and adjusted the bill. I would have been more appreciative for just a sincere apology. You guys should really be ashamed of yourself of trying to get over on people. SO PLEASE PEOPLE REVIEW YOUR BILL!
Hyperior V
Went here every night. Amazing food and service. Free validated parking.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Meghan Hazer
Fresh to death seafood and great cocktails! Vibe is also stellar as the location. We checked out the happy hour and stayed for dinner. Highly recommend.
Really solid food. Great menu with so many good options. Super cool restaurant space. Friendly service. Would def go back.
Jonnie
I had not been here for quite a while and now I know why. The restaurant was nice, clean and busy. Service was quick & friendly. Food was just eh. The crispy skin rockfish was not crispy. I was looking forward to a crispy, crunchy piece of fish and that wasn't what I got. It was soft, greasy & not a lot of flavor. Also got the fried grouper tacos and they were really bland. The cocktails however were excellent. Too many excellent restaurants around to spend a bit of money on mediocre bland food.
Wayne Craigmiles
Had a business dinner there with several colleagues.
I had the grouper tacos. Very good. The slice of chilli on top wasn't very hot. Just a touch of heat, sweet and crisp with the grouper.
Mix drinks on the list were very good. Several different ones were ordered. Everyone liked their selection.
Service very good with people checking on us but not interrupting.
Scallop appetizer was in great demand.
I don't know if I can recommend the lobster tower. The steamed lobster was brought in one piece. Would have been better broken up so it could be shared. The mussels, clams and oysters were done well and they brought all the dips and sauces you could think of I did break off a claw of the lobster and the meat was firm and cooked nicely. The tail almost didn't get eaten because it was so large and only split into two pieces.
I hear they have a very good lunch menu. I hope to try it sometime before Christmas.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Faith Cooper
I talked to the owner and the owner he got it straight for me
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Brian
Christian was our server & has always been consistently attentive & thorough! Always enjoy dining at the Hard Shell.
Absolutely amazing!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Great food on our way home from Disney
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
My party and I recently visited The Hard Rock Shell, and while the food itself was fine, the customer service from the General Manager was extremely disappointing. We were not informed ahead of time that our entire bill had to remain on a single tab, which ultimately inflated the gratuity in a way that felt unnecessary and unreasonable. When we asked for clarification, the General Manager’s attitude was unprofessional and flat-out nasty not what paying customers deserve.
Policies are one thing, but respectful communication is another. A simple explanation delivered with courtesy would’ve gone a long way. Instead, we were met with rudeness over something we weren’t even made aware of. This experience alone makes me hesitant to return or recommend the restaurant to anyone looking for quality service.
2nd time I've been here. Both times for company Christmas dinners.
Really great food, and even better service. Certainly, will go there on our own when in downtown Richmond.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Seafood, Steak
There for a private event but everything and everyone was great
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Formal date night atmosphere... very nice!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Love this place. Relaxed with an upscale vibe. Simply prepared Mahi (blackened) is my go to with a side of grilled Brussels sprouts. Omg slightly sweet and delicious.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Traveled to Richmond for a comedy show and decided to have dinner here prior. We arrived at 4:30 and the restaurant was not busy. There was no one at the door to greet us and we waited about 5 minutes until we were greeted. Let start off by saying the service was excellent and the food was ok. The reason for the one star is both my daughter and I ordered lemon drop martinis. I wanted mines with vodka and she wanted hers with reposado tequila. The drinks were taking quite some time to arrive. My eyes were constantly over at the bartender watching to see what could possibly be the delay. I watched her make both drinks and noticed that she did not use a resposado for my daughters drink but instead used Lunazel blanco which is not what she ordered. Then I noticed that she topped my martini with the rest of he tequila lemon drop... I did try it and sent it back because I did not want the tequila taste. We did order another round and again same Tequila was used for my daughters. Both rounds took anywhere from 15 to 20 minutes to arrive to the table. We asked for the check and was completely surprised when we were charged for Don Julio Tequila which is not what we received and mine you the Don Julio martini was $21 and the Lunazel was $11.00. Had we received Don Julio I would not have had an issue paying for it because that is our preferred tequila. I immediately asked for a manager and of course she gave me a ridiculous excuse for the mix up and adjusted the bill. I would have been more appreciative for just a sincere apology. You guys should really be ashamed of yourself of trying to get over on people. SO PLEASE PEOPLE REVIEW YOUR BILL!
Went here every night. Amazing food and service.
Free validated parking.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Fresh to death seafood and great cocktails! Vibe is also stellar as the location. We checked out the happy hour and stayed for dinner. Highly recommend.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
Really solid food. Great menu with so many good options. Super cool restaurant space. Friendly service. Would def go back.
I had not been here for quite a while and now I know why. The restaurant was nice, clean and busy. Service was quick & friendly. Food was just eh. The crispy skin rockfish was not crispy. I was looking forward to a crispy, crunchy piece of fish and that wasn't what I got. It was soft, greasy & not a lot of flavor. Also got the fried grouper tacos and they were really bland. The cocktails however were excellent. Too many excellent restaurants around to spend a bit of money on mediocre bland food.
Had a business dinner there with several colleagues.
I had the grouper tacos. Very good. The slice of chilli on top wasn't very hot. Just a touch of heat, sweet and crisp with the grouper.
Mix drinks on the list were very good. Several different ones were ordered. Everyone liked their selection.
Service very good with people checking on us but not interrupting.
Scallop appetizer was in great demand.
I don't know if I can recommend the lobster tower. The steamed lobster was brought in one piece. Would have been better broken up so it could be shared.
The mussels, clams and oysters were done well and they brought all the dips and sauces you could think of
I did break off a claw of the lobster and the meat was firm and cooked nicely. The tail almost didn't get eaten because it was so large and only split into two pieces.
I hear they have a very good lunch menu. I hope to try it sometime before Christmas.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
I talked to the owner and the owner he got it straight for me
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Christian was our server & has always been consistently attentive & thorough! Always enjoy dining at the Hard Shell.
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