It opened last September and has been quite the media darling. And so it was fitting that the Belmont Food Shop was the dining destination for my first dinner back in Richmond.

 

Brass tacks:

   – Three seatings per night: 5, 7 & 9

   – 5 tables + 1 bar = 22 seats

   – Most appetizers $8, entrees $20, desserts $6. $36 will get you 3 courses plus a drink.

 

The place has a precious, intimate, prohibition-era look and feel. The service is kind, attentive and professional.

The bar has house-made sodas for their (post)modern mixology program and a wise wine list that changes periodically with the menu (a good mix of local wines peppered in). The food is thoughtful, local and seasonal. Very well executed, with clever pairings, bright colors and thought provoking flavors and textures. Plated on the ostentatious side.

 

Do it:

   – The prix fixe

   – One of their signature cocktails, perhaps the Belmont Ginger (with house-made ginger ale)

   – The foie gras appetizer served up with a Sally Lunn Roll. It’s foie, it’s fancy and it’s sharing a plate with our favorite Southern lady of carbs

   – The seared scallops with peas, mushrooms and parsnips. The colors were so saturated and lustrous it hardly looked real. This was an inspired dish with bold flavors and topped with beautifully, carmelizey-browned-to-a-crisp-on-the-outside, scallops.

 

Go and take a date. Or just sit at the bar for a glass of wine and a little dinner with the crossword. Dress up or dress down. But if you haven’t yet done so, check it out.