We've been wanting to try Sally Bell's Kitchen for several years, but somehow every time we found ourselves in Richmond, they were closed. Well, we finally got our opportunity this week! We placed our order online since we'd heard they can get pretty busy, and it was super easy. We both went with the Smithfield ham sandwich, but chose different sides and cupcakes. We got the macaroni salad and potato salad, along with a yellow cupcake with lemon frosting and a chocolate cupcake with mocha frosting. Everything was so yummy! The lemon cupcake was definitely my favorite of the two, while my husband said he could have eaten the potato salad by the pound! The restaurant itself is adorable, and you can really feel the history when you're there. They've been serving Richmond for over 100 years, and I sure hope they're around for at least another 100! So glad we finally got to check this little Richmond institution off our list! read more

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My husband and I were visiting Richmond for the day and had heard about Sally Bell's Kitchen from a tv show we watched, so we decided to give it a try. Pros: 1) you can call ahead or order online 2) Place has been a family owned Richmond staple for more than 100 yrs. 3) ample parking 4) good value boxed lunch for $12.99 5) friendly staff. 6) delicious cheese wafer and macaroni salad included in boxed lunch 7) good homemade bread for sandwiches Cons: 1) chicken salad and egg salad sandwiches and deviled eggs lacked seasoning (salt, pepper, paprika, etc), a bit lackluster in taste 2) cupcake frosting was not too sweet (a plus), but cupcake itself was a bit dry and underwhelming (this was for both the strawberry/yellow cake and chocolate/yellow cake) 3) interior of restaurant looked like the floors could use a good scrubbing and there was a faint sewage odor 4) bathroom floors were sticky We had ordered our food to go, but not sure if I'd want to eat inside from what I described above. Anyhow, I would like return to try the pimento and cheese sandwich and potato salad that people rave about. read more

Growing up I used to watch a lot of food network shows and this place would always be featured. It's an historic landmark known for their classic boxed lunch. Their classic sides like the potato and mac salad were pretty good - not too much mayo and a good consistency. The sandwiches themselves were decent but definitely would choose the tuna salad over the ham. I love that they come with a deviled egg and cheese wafer that were nice little bites to have throughout the meal. The cupcakes were also homemade and tasty. Pretty good spot for a quick lunch that has a lot of history behind it. Entrees: Smithfield Ham and Tuna Salad Sides: Potato Salad, Mac Salad, Cheese Wafer and Deviled Eggs Dessert: Lemon and Yellow Butter Cupcake read more

Sally Bell's Kitchen - Tuna Salad, Mac Salad - Bakeries Near Me - Richmond, Virginia

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Love this place! So quaint and comforting. It takes you back in time once you enter. I got a lunch box which comes with a sandwich, side, deviled egg half, pecan cheese wafer and cupcake. I chose egg salad for my sandwich and potato salad for my side. Everything was so tasty. The potato salad is a little sweeter than I'd prefer but still really good. The staff was so very friendly and the place was very clean. read more

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I've been a patron of Sally Bell's since they were on Grace near Laurel. Parking is much better at this newer location, though (there's a parking lot beside the building). Traditionally, the workers would overwhelmingly be compromised of elderly women which was quite comforting, as if your grandma was preparing your lunch. Nowadays, the staff is a bit more diverse. They're famous for their box lunches and especially their potato salad which folks usually pre-order around major holidays. The lines get INSANE around that time. As far as the boxed lunch, I usually opt for chicken salad and sometimes the ham but I truly wish they added more deli meat. I'm a huge fan of the old-fashioned cupcakes and sometimes go just for those. Love them dearly and hope this RVA staple never leaves. read more

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This is one of my mom's favorite places to get sandwiches from in the Richmond area and I can see the reason why. It's a cute little shop that is perfect for a lunch stop. I love their turkey sandwich lunch box with fresh fruit and the most tastiest yellow cupcake with strawberry icing. The staff is friendly and moves quickly to get orders out. Definitely will be returning when my mom is not around! read more

My wife and I went there a couple of weeks ago for my Birthday. Been eating the box lunches occasionally for the past40+ years. The food remains absolutely delicious, but I knew we were in for a shock when we walked in. All the prices on the menu board were covered up. I looked at the wife, but she said go ahead since it was my Birthday. Sticker shock. My only advice is ask first. Disappointing. Will not return for those prices. read more

After hearing about this restaurant for years we finally stopped in to pick up boxed lunches. We ordered online and they were available at the time specified. Super easy to pick up! We had 5 boxes and each was correct. We tried the pimento cheese, chicken salad and ham for the sandwiches. Our sides were macaroni salad and potato salad. We tried 4 different cupcakes. Each one of really enjoyed the boxed lunch. The deviled eggs were delicious. We will definitely order again - it was fast, easy and delicious!! read more

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The box lunch with chicken salad, potato salad, deviled egg and cupcake was perfect, the perfect size for our lunch on the go. Great quality! The best read more

Chicken sandwich was moist, great bread. Potato salad was on the sweeter side, great compliment to the salty. The chunks of potato were nice and tender. Deviled egg and wafer tasted good. The caramel cupcake was a bit sweet to my taste, but thats my bad for getting a caramel cake. The frosting is also the hard type, which isnt my most favorite. However, the mocha cupcake my bf got was very good! read more

Sally Bell's Kitchen - Box lunch with chicken salad sandwich, potato salad, and caramel cupcake. Comes with deviled egg and cheese wafer - Bakeries Near Me - Richmond, Virginia

Great! Stopped by while touring the area for our move and a nice local lady told us the must haves! Fantastic! We know we'll be here every week We split the box with chicken salad on a roll, potato salad, an extra deviled egg half, and the Carmel cupcake! 10/10 read more

On Monday July 21 we ordered 9 boxed lunches and 2 cold plates for an office luncheon to show appreciation to our summer intern. I scheduled pickup for Wednesday, July 23, at 11:15. She handed me two big bags when I walked in at 11:20, and I asked if I needed to count the contents to be sure that everything was included. She said "no, it had already been checked." So I brought the bags to my office for the luncheon, and an entire boxed lunch was missing! They also did not include the right salad dressing picked for the cold plates. If you order takeout, CHECK EVERYTHING BEFORE YOU LEAVE! read more

Been going to this place for years first time at this location. We usually stop here on our way down to North Carolina. The classic box lunch is as great as I remember you get a sandwich, deviled egg l, choice of side, and cupcake. Its really I got the chicken salad. Nice and creamy with the spicy with the paprika. The deviled egg was good but under seasoned Cupcake was mocha and was delivered read more

The Food is awesome. I try to include their items to any corporate event or family gathering I have. Thanks for such great food!! Andrew Stiles read more

The food is so good! I got the egg salad sandwich. I was scared since egg salads are a hit or miss. This was definitely a hit! It comes with some sides too. The pasta salad was also so good! I could eat a whole tub of it. read more

Sally Bell's is a true institution in Richmond, and I have been a customer for many years. Their boxed lunches are delicious and really fun. We do some catering for our office and they are always on-point with larger catering orders. Go for a boxed lunch with the chicken salad, egg salad or Smithfield ham. read more

My family has been dedicated to Sally Bell's for 20 years, and we live about three hours away. Our friend brought us a box of cupcakes recently for a hospital stay, and it was literally the best possible gift. We always get the box lunch with chicken salad. Just thinking about the cheese wafer with a pecan on it makes me want to cry. The staff! The line! The dining room! It's a singular experience of the highest order. read more

Solid institution! I love coming here to pick up lunch boxes before trips, potato salad for dinner and deviled eggs as a snack. Perfectly seasoned, well packaged and always a treat. Service is lackluster and is dependent on whomever's working that day so sometimes you can get in and out but other days you're stuck waiting 10-15 minutes before your order is ready. If ordering for the holidays make sure you do it several weeks in advance. +1 Vibe +1 Taste +1 Presentation +0 Service +1 Value read more

The potato and chicken salads are the best Highly recommend the pies also especially the cocoanut custard.

They have the boxed lunch down to a science but there just not enough of it to ring my bell. Any "A Knight's Tale" fans? As Adhemar said: "You have been weighed, you have been measured, and you have been found wanting." The small portions left me yearning for more. For the money, there are other boxed lunch spots that do it better, like Apple Spice Junction or Homemades by Suzanne! But for an RVA traditional snack, they are worth a try if you don't mind bite-sized food and spending a pretty penny! I imagine many folks come here since it's an iconic Richmond eatery. Their potato salad is too mayonnaise-y and sweet for my taste. The miniature dinner roll chicken salad is ok, again, there are better spots out there... if you want the best chicken salad and potato salad... Ukrops! All the food is tiny enough for maybe a tea party or maybe a dollhouse party. I prefer heftier meals! read more

It's amazing something this simple can be this delicious. A great lunch spot with delicious sandwiches and cupcakes. Can't go wrong. read more

Sally Bell's Kitchen - Bakeries Near Me - Richmond, Virginia

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Sally Bell's is a Richmond institution and certainly a lunch option to try once. They specialize in chicken salad, potato salad, and sweets. My orange vanilla cupcake was quite tasty. The chicken salad was pretty small and not filling. The potato salad wasn't my favorite -- which was probably the biggest surprise. I just thought I'd like this place way more than I did, since the foods above are some of my all-time favorites. I've just had better here -- but I can appreciate the tradition they uphold here and I wouldn't be opposed to trying them again at some point in the future. I guess that equates to a 3-star review, right? read more

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Something has changed in the consistency of quality in the foods . Several people agree whom have eaten from this restaurant since before they relocated to broad St. After repeated buys; I find there is too much mayonnaise in the chicken salad and the chicken is pulled apart instead of chopped at times. Several times I have had to throw out the sandwiches or salads. After many tries ; I am convinced the original style and recipe is a thing of the past. What happened? Please try to bring it back or perhaps change the name so customers from old Sally Bells won't be so disappointed expecting the same taste. It's not nice to fool Mother Nature!!! We love the old homemade taste of mayo, pickles and method that produces those original time tested flavors of the past. No more Dupes and short cuts please. The servers are polite and kind; I don't see the experienced chefs who used to keep things original or supervision to oversee the same. There's plenty of history around to give a preview of just what you can expect and how long it's been prized by many from near and far; so can we please get back on track and continue to live up to the SallyBell's we grew up to love and expect excellence from each time we visit for a taste of good old fashioned southern style food the way grandma put it together. Not just another fast food ordeal. Let's make it or break it. It's time for the real deal. Bring it back the way it used to taste. Don't crush our long time crave for that one of a kind taste. Service is still kind with smiles ; though they have only excuses for the lack of authentic flavor. Who's leading and monitoring? People are talking all over town; wondering what has happened with the changes we taste in the food; what's been left out; and why the chicken is pulled apart and no longer chopped and so stringy with missing ingredients. So much so that it must be chewed and un swallowed. Please check into these annoying; though factual changes and let your trusted customers know if improvements will be forthcoming or SallyBells is coming to just another fast food place; with just the name that remains the same. We're saying you should get it together with the planning to get things right or leave the kitchen, or change the name so we know what to expect!!!!! One concerned longtime customer who loves the original taste and would rather quit if it's not coming back! And tired of throwing out the food and can't afford to keep throwing money in the trash . read more

Sally Belle's Kitchen should be called Sally Rude's Kitchen. No Southern hospitality here.The young lady who took our order and brought it to our table was nice. My husband had an egg salad sandwich on a hard roll. I ordered a chicken salad sandwich on a hard roll with lettuce. I tasted something spicy when I took a bite. I brought my sandwich up to the counter. An older woman said they add red pepper to their chicken salad. I told her "I can't eat spice." I have lived with chronic gastritis since the age of fifteen . I am now 63. The woman told me she would come to our table. When she got there, my husband asked why they spice up their food. "My wife can't eat red pepper." The woman snapped at my husband. "We've been putting red pepper in our chicken salad for 101 years." I asked her "What do you have that doesn't have spice?" The woman raised her voice and said, "Just order something. I've got a line of people." Excuse me? You took my husband's money. He and I are customers too. Treat customers with kindness, courtesy, and respect. I ended up with a turkey and Swiss cheese sandwich on a hard roll. Before we left, my husband went to the counter to talk to the woman who had been so rude. He explained to her that not everyone likes or can eat spice. If I eat any kind of spice, I become ill. My husband suggested making so much chicken salad with red pepper and so much without red pepper. The woman said they can't do that. Customers have to let them know if there is anything they can't eat. Huh? We had never been to this eatery before. I had no idea there is red pepper in the chicken salad. The menu fails to list ingredients. How can I tell anyone I can't eat red pepper if I don't know it's in the chicken salad? If it weren't for customers, people like my husband and me, restaurants wouldn't exist. That woman wouldn't have a job. Customers deserve appreciation. read more

I got chicken salad and potato salad, best I have ever eaten. I went back to get some more and was extremely disappointed that they were already closed till Monday. read more

Sally Bell's Kitchen is a community institution. It's literally like having lunch made by your grandma? The sandwiches and salads are just a throwback tradition. We drove down from Pennsylvania, to sample the menu and it was well worth the trip. The pecan cheese wafer & deviled egg are just joyous treats. My favorite is the slice ham sandwich. The pimento cheese and sliced roast beef sandwich are good to go also. I see why people buy the potato salad by the bucket? Stop by and prepare for a picnic or dine in? read more

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Richmond's quintessential southern restaurant. Amazing food. We tried tuna sandwich, potato salad, deviled egg half, cheese wafer and a cup cake. All included in their lunch box order. I loved it. If you're in Richmond, this is a must try restaurant. read more

I ordered a tuna salad sandwich on wheat bread after working all day and let me tell you something... that lil box lunch hit the spot! It came with a deviled egg, some kind of tiny cookie and a upside down strawberry cupcake and a bag of plain kettle chips. Everything was very good and I literally ate every crumb! I look forward to trying something else when I go back. read more

Sally Bell's Kitchen - Tuna salad box lunch - Bakeries Near Me - Richmond, Virginia

I ordered online the night before, yet had to wait in line behind the walk-ins to get served. There were only two staff members and one was waiting on customers, taking cash and occasionally, lacking additional help, handling/assembling food with same gloved hands she exchanged money with - disgusting. Food was tasty, but I hesitate to go back. read more

Pros: Service wasn't slow at all, the restaurant looked clean, inside seating was available and it reminded me of a shop from the old days (I liked that). The customer service was good and the chicken salad was good. Cons: The parking is ridiculous (no where near enough spaces), the potatoe salad was too sweet (sugar in potatoe salad, I didn't expect that), the cupcake was just ok. I think $21.00 for two lunch boxes with no drink or chips included is too much money. I honestly don't have to return. read more

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The best way I can describe a Sally Bell's Kitchen lunchbox is that it's a "smile in a box". It is the absolute perfect combination of food with perfect portion sizes--not too big, not too small. As Goldilocks might say, everything was just right. It's hard to find one restaurant that will satisfy my wife (who weighs in at under 100 pounds) and me (who weighs in at...just a little bit more). But both of us finished our lunch boxes being completely satisfied. Being on a road trip it was a welcome relief from fast food chains that just want to stuff as much fried and processed food down your gullet as possible. We hit Sally Bell's Kitchen based on a recommendation from Jane and Michael Stern's "Road Food". Coming from New York, any time a restaurant is hyped up you end up contending with a bunch of young urban types suffering from FOMO lining up around the block for a food that hardly deserves the hype. So I was shocked to find that this restaurant is just a storefront on a quiet street on the outskirts of town that had plenty of parking and no wait (I visited on 11:54 AM on a Wednesday) Opening the perfectly packed lunch box reminded me of opening my lunch box in elementary school and seeing what goodies my mom had packed for me that day. There was a sandwich, a side, a half of a deviled egg, a cheese wafer (kind of like a cookie) and a cupcake. I half expected there to be a little note reminding me to study hard. Between my wife, my daughter, and me we tried a little of everything and nothing disappointed, from the egg salad to the roast beef to the ham. Even the bread tasted fresh and soft. I loved the yellow cupcake with chocolate frosting, as they did their devil's food cupcakes. Things like the deviled egg and the cheese wafers just added a nice and delicious touch. I also appreciated how much attention they paid to the details. The day I was there, one of the brand new employees was struggling to tie the lunch boxes properly. I felt bad, so I was about to tell her not to bother tying it, when a more experience colleague stepped up and tied it quickly and perfectly in a few seconds. If I were a local, I'd probably eat here daily and go for every combination of sandwich, side, and cupcake. read more

I tried the boxed lunch today for the first time with my boss! My boss told me this place has been in Richmond since 1924!! That totally blew my mind and I was really excited to try it out. First off, the people who work there are super nice and friendly. Great customer service! Inside there didn't seem to a lot of seating, so I assume people come here to get it to go. Boxed lunch: I got the sliced corned beef and Swiss cheese sandwich. It came on rye bread and didn't have any spreads like mustard or mayo. It's sort of confusing because on the menu, it doesn't tell you what kind of bread it comes on and I was hoping it would be white or something. They should also tell you that it doesn't come with any sauces because I had already left and didn't know! But my corned beef and Swiss sandwich was really good! All the sandwiches are pre-wrapped (which I didn't know). In the boxed lunch you also get a cheese wafer with a pecan on it, a deviled egg (which was really good), an upside cupcake you can pick and choose which flavor (I got the strawberry and vanilla cake) and lastly to pick a side- my boss said get the potato salad... it was literally the best potato salad I've ever had!! The whole thing was about $9! It's such a steal! read more

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Oh, come on. If you don't know now whatcha getting, then, ok yes the new location and Covid did provide some curves. But they are the sweetest, loyal, true Richmonder place to lunch, I definitely suggest double or triple down cause you'll want the same or similar on the morrow read more

I was flipping through James Beard's All-American Eats Cookbook and Sally Bell's was featured as one of their Americans Classic picks. Well, looks somewhere to try. I absolutely love the idea of boxed lunches. It makes it an easy spot to pick up lunch or dinner and take it to go. It's also essentially a complete meal. Of note: This isn't the most gluten-free friendly of places, but there are some work arounds for the celiac population. My 12 year old got the turkey and provolone with potato salad and a pineapple cupcake. She gobbled it down and said it was good, that it was what she ordered and satisfying. My 10 year old got the roast beef and Swiss with chips and a chocolate cupcake. Again, no complaints, she said it was good and really liked that she had her own boxed meal. My husband got the corned beef sandwich, potato salad, and orange cupcake. He said the corned beef was almost like corned beef tuna (meaning, it's ground up with mayo like a shmear almost). Obviously it wasn't terrible because it's now gone. I got the chicken salad scooped into a cup, potato salad, and a chocolate cupcake on the side (for a kid later). I have to say, the chicken salad is solid. It's exactly what I would want it to be, texture, flavor and all. The potato salad is okay, pretty standard flavor. I think what makes this place special is that it's reminiscent of what a mom would pack for a kid for lunch. It's like someone else packed my lunch for school (or work) and put some love and care into it. We picked up meals for our drive back to Virginia Beach and it was the perfect, easy choice. We will definitely be back. read more

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Sometimes when you're having a bad day, you just need to treat yourself to have something to look forward to. Today, that was Sally Bell's. I forget how amazing this is and then the moment I open the box, I'm instantly reminded. It's simple: sandwich, sides, and dessert, but it tastes like a true comfort meal. The potato salad is quite possibly the best thing I've ever tasted (I've bought it at libbie market as well). Exactly what I needed to push me through the second half of my day! read more

Sally Bell's Kitchen - Turkey and provolone on wheat, potato salad, cheese wafer, deviled egg, and lemon cupcake. - Bakeries Near Me - Richmond, Virginia

Great lunchboxes, I always get these when I need a pick me up. Great prices, good service. Sometimes have to wait a few minutes for them to get your lunchbox ready! read more

WOW! Food like your grandma grew up eating. Really outstanding especially the potato salad. Even comes with a spoon so perfect for a little mid week surprise picnic to add some fun to the workweek! read more

Sally Bell's Kitchen - a hand holding a box of food - Bakeries Near Me - Richmond, Virginia

Boxed lunch to go for $9.75: Cheese wafer - beautiful silver-dollar sized light and soft cheese cracker with a nut on top. A delightful elegant homemade cheezit (but so small) Corned beef spread - two slices of white bread with a big dose of salty pureed meat. Nothing else. Disappointment. Potato salad - nice flavor, small bits of potato, apparently made with homemade mayonnaise. Lemon cupcake - YUM!!! Thick lemon curd with moist cake, no frosting because it didn't need frosting, perfect as it was!! (I tried my friend's mocha - horribly dry, even the frosting crumbled off) Deviled egg - it gets squashed in the box lunch, but I love a good deviled egg. Same flavor as the potato salad. The historic aspect of the kitchen got me excited but the sandwich was such a let down. I do recommend the eggs if craving deviled eggs, the cheese wafer as a unique & fun party sharable, and the lemon cupcake for yourself! read more

I came across Sally Bell's in a blurb in the May issue of Bon Apetite magazine. Seeing that BDK and I had a wedding in Richmond later that month, I was all over it. I threatened BDK with bodily harm if he didn't get me there before their 4pm closing time. You will be happy to know that he is alive and well and even battled I95 southbound traffic on the Friday of Memorial Day weekend to ensure that I got my boxed lunch. I called ahead and pick up was a breeze. I had the Smithfield ham sandwich with potato salad and the yellow cupcake with chocolate frosting. Yum!!! I don't have much experience with Smithfield ham so I can't say if this was good, but I really enjoyed it. Very salty (in a good way) and good texture. My potato salad was very good and had a bit of a tang which I enjoyed. BDK had the chicken salad sandwich, and the almond cupcake as well as the potato salad. He was disappointed with the cupcake (dry), loved the spud salad, and loved his deviled egg. He's a bit of a deviled egg snob so this was high praise. We both had high hopes for the pecan wafer, but alas! It didn't live up to the hype. However, Sally Bel's did and if I'm ever in Richmond again I will be stopping by. read more

Sally Bell's Kitchen - Bakeries Near Me - Richmond, Virginia

My husband and I are not originally from Richmond, but I remember seeing a video about this place years ago! Well it popped up in my memories and when we saw it was 15 minutes away from us we had to try it!!! We planned a picnic day at forest hill park and we're going to pick up the lunches...it was raining so the park didn't work out, but we ate our lunches in the car and were very pleasantly surprised at how good it was!! I got the chicken salad on a bun with potato salad and a lemon cupcake, my husband got the roast beef on a bun with coleslaw, a strawberry cupcake and he also wanted to try the sweet potato tart. We did wait a little bit, but when you're going to a place like this, you know it is worth the wait! Everything tasted delicious and we both felt satisfied after! My husband does not usually like potato salad, but I had him try some of mine and HE even liked it! Everything tastes different than what you're used to but it's VERY good! We will be back! read more