Came in with colleagues for a business dinner on a weeknight. The service was decent, the menu was great! They have some really interesting items on it. Their table bread was outstanding! Very soft and perfectly baked! Their starter brussels were very nice... perfectly made brussels and a tasty combo with lardon. I opted for their blackened mahi with a side salad and spinach. The spinach was by far the best thing on that plate... the salad was overloaded with red onions, and I love red onions, but not this many, cut this large on a small salad. The mahi was soooo dry and overcooked, I literally only 4 bites. The funny thing is since I didn't eat it, when the server took it, I kind of expected her to ask about it, but she never did. This tells me that there's very poor training here for their staff, both back of house and front of house. The manager on duty was very nice, friendly, and helpful. I didn't complain about the fish; frankly, this is a seafood joint, they need to execute right on something so simple and it's not an oddity that mine was messed up... another coworker got the mahi too and he told me later that night how horrible, dry, and overcooked his was too. But I will say, those that got rockfish in our group love it and it looked spot-on. I rarely visit this area, so I'll definitely not be coming back. But when I do visit the area I prefer to have a better experience. Disappointed since this place was suggested by a couple of people I trust when it comes to a good food experience. read more

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The service and atmosphere were excellent. We enjoyed our dinner, and the hard shell pasta was outstanding. Unfortunately, the calamari appetizer was overcooked and rubbery. There is ample parking and is handicap friendly. A full bar with a strong wine and drink list. read more

Had a lovely 4th of July Happy Hour over at Hard Shell Bellgrade. Mary Catherine, excellent server, turned into a new friend by the time we left. She crab soup, fresh oysters, crab dip, and more...yum!! Great spot to celebrate with friends and avoid the heat! read more

I'd always been curious about the Hard Shell, so I was hyped to visit for Easter dinner in April with my mom. The restaurant is very pretty and comfortable, and everyone from the host to our server was welcoming and kind. We started with their truffle parm fries and glasses of wine. For my meal, I had their rockfish entree, which was huuuuge and required a to-go box. It was super tasty though. For dessert, I had their bread pudding. There was some confusion on what fruit was included, but my mom ended up taking mine and enjoyed it. She had ordered key lime pie but wasn't a fan. They kindly took her dessert off the bill, which was really nice of them. Overall, the bill was reasonable for the experience, and I'd definitely go back sometime. read more

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It was our first time at the Hardshell in just over a year. The place is always clean and friendly. This is a Midlothian hard restaurant. My wife had the lobster and shrimp dish, while I had the grilled shrimp and scallops dish. Both were extremely delicious. For appetizers, we had the crab dip and crispy Brussels sprouts. The Brussels sprouts were even better than I remembered. We both had an expresso martini and will probably pass on the next go around. It was on the sweeter side of things. The waitress was busy, as she was serving probably 35 or 40 people. It took a little while to get the appetizers to the table, but they were very good. We will certainly return to this place. read more

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Our server Rachel was very friendly. Our food arrived quickly and was excellent. We will definitely return! read more

Good service. I ordered the 16oz ribeye with the shrimp, asparagus, and potatoes. If you look at the photos, it looks as though the steak was overdone, but it wasn't. The inside was perfectly medium rare. The outside was kind of charred and I was OK with that. The shrimp was excellent as were the potatoes and asparagus. I also had a draft beer which was an excellent value at eight dollars. The steak was not described as 'prime beef'' on the menu so I wasn't expecting prime. I'm OK with that. A high-end choice cut or Angus suits me just fine. There were some little details I would've liked to have with the dinner: it would've been nice to have some bread and butter. And the Gorgonzola cream sauce was a little bit more powerful than I expected. I love Gorgonzola cheese. But I'm afraid in this case the sauce completely overwhelmed all of the other flavors. Perhaps just sprinkling a little bit of Gorgonzola cheese crumbles over the steak would've been enough. Just my two cents. The ambience was nice. It's kind of a compromise between fine dining and adult casual dining. I guess the big question in these reviews is 'would I come back for another meal?' Yes, definitely. I think I took a little bit of a risk ordering steak in a seafood restaurant, but it turned out OK. Next time I'll order the seafood and see how it goes. read more

The Hard Shell Bellgrade - 16 ounce ribeye with asparagus, potatoes, shrimp, and Gorgonzola cream sauce. - Seafood Near Me - Midlothian, Virginia

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Impeccable service and a crazy awesome Sunday happy hour! The Chesapeake oysters were on point and I loved the little ahi tuna tacos. read more

The Hard Shell Bellgrade - Chesapeake oysters and tuna tacos - Seafood Near Me - Midlothian, Virginia

Food and beverages were excellent. Our waitress accommodated our family gathering and helped up celebrate birthdays, anniversaries, and finding of new family members. read more

First time here and might be my last. Seemed to be a lack of employees working and waiting to be seated a little longer than usual. Once seated, things seemed to be back on track... until we got the wrong drinks after an extensive wait. The food was delicious but the service was sllloooowwwww! read more

The Hard Shell Bellgrade - Hard shell burger - Seafood Near Me - Midlothian, Virginia

My family and I went last night to celebrate a birthday and start to finish, the experience was below average. It's Richmond restaurant week, and I was really happy to see that they were offering so many options for this, as most restaurants only offer 3 maybe 4 options per category for this. It was disappointing because we have been coming here for years and it just feels like the service and the quality of the food have gone downhill tremendously. It wasn't busy in the restaurant at all either. I wish I had taken pictures of the food...and while the presentation of the food wasn't bad, the taste was just average. I ordered the she crab soup to start, and it came out cold. Sent it back, server had an attitude. I ordered the sea scallops and shrimp (which I have many times) and it also was cold and it was drowning in sauce. The highlight was the mango sorbet that I ordered, but I am convinced this was either Talenti or Häagen-Dazs, because I swear I have tried this exact same sorbet before. My niece ordered chicken fingers, and that probably was the tastiest thing we had all evening. The hard shell downtown is overall better and would go there instead if I give them another try. read more

The Hard Shell Bellgrade - Seafood Near Me - Midlothian, Virginia

I am not sure the name of the waiter but he has grayish hair in a ponytail. From the time my husband and I sat down the vibes were off. He didn't even introduce himself, he was very standoffish with us, which was weird because he was very nice and even joking with the other tables he had. This used to be one of my favorite restaurant but same I don't think I will ever be back. I don't see any point in patronizing a place like read more

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Seafood prepared with care, nice amenities, kind and attentive servers. This is a reliable and very tasty restaurant and I do recommend, though I wasn't aware of its shared management with some other Richmond seafood spots, namely East Coast (and West Coast) Provisions. The menu between these restaurants is nearly identical, and being familiar with the other locations I likely would've chosen otherwise had I realized before we sat down. But I won't be unfair to Hard Shell, which gets the short end of the stick since I visited its cousin restaurant first. So it gets 4 stars. I will say that the lobster roll, a new order for me, was a bit underwhelming. Small and not much in the way of garnish or nuance. I would have been happier with a pasta dish, or a fish dish, and I wouldn't recommend it. Oysters wonderful as always. This location is also a lot calmer than the sister Hard Shell in Shockoe Bottom, being a bit suburban. Maybe a bit more intimate as a result. I had a good time, though I would be truly impressed if management made more significant changes to the menu between restaurants for a little bit of a changed experience. read more

The Hard Shell Bellgrade - CHESAPEAKE OYSTERS* - Seafood Near Me - Midlothian, Virginia

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I have been looking for King Crab in Richmond forever & finally found it & plenty delicious here! It was steamed with melted butter & lemon: perfect. Sydney, was the perfect hostess: got all our food just as we ordered & checked on us periodically. It is a lively, cheerfull place! WILL RETURN !! read more

Went with a group of friends on a weekday. Took way too long for the waitress to take our orders, and way too long for the food to make it to the table. Two of our ladies had to finally ask a man passing by (possibly the manager) if someone could get their food because these ladies had appointments they needed to be at! In total it took an hour and ten minutes to get our food. I don't think that's acceptable. To top it off my food was lukewarm. Won't be going here again. read more

Coming in we were excited thinking we may have found a great new seafood destination but we soon knocked that idea. We started off with the Maine lobster platter and Caesar salad. The Caesar salad lacked flavor (theme of the night), the platter was okay nothing noteworthy as the meat was all pretty bland. We then got the lobster roll, a lb of crab, and the blackened mahi. Again we found all of the meat, except the lobster, to be extremely bland, using the sauces to try and give the mains flavor. We both got two drinks in which only one was good enough to finish. The service was incredible and the athletic was very clean and modern. read more

The Hard Shell Bellgrade - Blackened Mahi Mahi Lobster Roll - Seafood Near Me - Midlothian, Virginia

Matt, our server was great, but otherwise we had a terrible experience. We ordered the King Crab platter from the Raw Bar for the table and it was overcooked and rubbery. We couldn't finish it despite it being nearly $70. The manager, who never came over despite our complaints, comped $17. I had the crispy Rockfish, which was presented well, cooked well, but lacked any seasoning. The rest of the table felt similarly - there was a lack of seasoning in all our meals. Besides the incredibly dry and bland food, they brought the last entree out 10-15 minutes after everyone had gotten their meal. No one stopped by or assured us that it was coming - just multiple people avoiding eye contact. Just one of those meals where you wish you had saved your money. We won't be back. read more

I've been coming to this place for a while so you can imagine my shock when I realized that I have yet to do a review on this place. Very un-Yelp Elite like of me! Come here for classic QUALITY seafood. This is fine dining at a reasonable price. Great for groups or date night, this location is clean and modern, offering both indoor and outdoor seating. I started my meal with this fantastic proprietary martini called "Aperol We've Been Through" which is like a sunny day in a glass. Perfect for this rainy weather. I then ordered the shrimp and scallops, which were excellent. We had a lobster tail as well which was good. The service is also great here. Not sure why they have less than 5 stars to be honest read more

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Reliable but expensive. Crab legs are the best and they have turf options for people who aren't seafood fans. Nice outside seating, too.

This was my first time dining at The Hard Shell for dinner on a Sunday Evening but it was absolutely AMAZING! The food, service, and the ambiance were all 5 STARS . We had the most amazing server, Elisa, she was absolutely phenomenal- she made the best recommendations from the menu and her overall attitude and caliber of service was AMAZING! Thank You Elisa! I only remembered to get a photo of my amazing cocktail the APEROL WE'VE BEEN THROUGH! Fantastic read more

David and Sadie were wonderful! The food and service and ambiance were amazing. It was a great first time!

Great food at reasonable prices Very good wait staff Conveniently located Great food choices read more

Another lovely evening out with my ladies dining group. This month we visited the Hardshell at Bellgrade. I adore seafood of any kind and was excited to go. Our party seemed to have a little bit of everything, including the special, which was a lobster. I had the fried oyster appetizer and large bowl of the she crab soup. The oysters were crispy and perfect and served with spicy corn relish that was as delicious as the oysters. The soup was creamy and had nice lumps of crab meat and a splash of sherry, just like it should. I was already full, but I made room for dessert as I cannot resist a creme brûlée. I am glad that I did not. The restaurant was all ready for our large party. Our server was was helpful and attentive without being obtrusive. read more

You know what's special about Valentines dinner at The Hard Shell Belgrade? Nothing. Regular Tuesday menu, no feeling at all in the host or service staff. The food was good, but I feel the quality of service goes down each time we visit. Maybe we were just lucky that the first time we gave it a try was a random weeknight where we had no plans and happen to stop in for surprisingly friendly and delicious meal. I'm starting to realize the things that made that first experience so good might not happen again. read more

The Hard Shell Bellgrade - Seafood Near Me - Midlothian, Virginia

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I just ordered the lobster tail dish and tried to order fries with asparagus but I was told that I had to get the mashed potatoes which are dry as hell.... They said that they do no substitutions... well I'm not coming back and I've eaten here since they opened..... the customer gets what they want read more

Three couples went to celebrate a 50+ year anniversary and will never go back! Took 1.5 hours to get our dinners. Manager finally asked us to be patient because their oven and fryer went down! Why not tell us that before we were seated so we could make the decision on whether to stay. Comped 25% off our bills when we asked for some relief and after we left the table one of our group asked for complimentary dessert which our waitress delivered to us outside the restaurant! read more

I went for my birthday to have dinner. We had reservations and when we arrived we had to wait a few minutes for our table but it wasn't a long wait. The greeter who seated us was friendly. Our waitress was very nice and I appreciated her patience with our party of 9 but she did a good job of accommodating us. Initially we were going to order dinner but we ended up just ordering appetizers and drinks. I'll start with the drinks, I ordered the smoking lemon margarita and it was just ok. The description sounded much better in my opinion. Now I was really surprised by the appetizers. We tried them all except the truffle fries but my favorite was the brussel sprouts, the calamari and the fried oysters. The cranberry with the brussel sprouts really made this fish. The oysters and calamari were perfectly fried and the batter was perfectly seasoned. Next would be the bbq ribs with the molasses bbq glaze. I was not overly thrilled with the crab dip as it seemed more of cream cheese than crab as compared to crab dip I would get from other establishments but overall they did a great job! I loved the decor; very intimate feeling. Since we were celebrating birthdays I was given a free dessert and opted for the pumpkin spice bread pudding with caramel and it was DELICIOUS!!! The reason I gave 3 stars was due a nasty gnat that was flying around our food and because I didn't try an entree read more

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As a part of Richmond Restaurant Week, my friends and I decided to come here for some seafood and we were all pleasantly surprised at the quality and quantity of the food at The Hard Shell! -The fried calamari was very well-seasoned, juicy, and coated with a nice batter. Their horseradish peppercorn aioli was also very flavorful. -The grilled shrimp and scallops were also nicely done! The shrimp and scallops were cooked just right - not too raw but not overcooked. It definitely had an Asian flare to it as it involved some soy sauce sauteed vegetables, seaweed, and rice. The only thing was that the vegetables were a little bit more on the raw side for me. -The crab cakes were also pretty solid! They were very thick and packed with crab meat. While I liked how juicy it was, I would have wished it was more crispy on the outside. -My friends also really enjoyed their pan roasted mussels and seafood boil combo! Their desserts were also pretty solid too. We were all surprised at the amount of food we got, considering it was a restaurant week deals! I definitely feel like I got a bang out of my buck! Overall had a great time dining here and would come back if I'm craving another fancy seafood meal! read more

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The restaurant is located in a suburban shopping mall. We had a reservation at 7:15 on a Saturday nite. They weren't ready when we arrived and we had to wait about 10-15 minutes. We were shown to a table outside (per our request as it was noisy inside). The table was right in the pathway into the restaurant, so we asked to move to one of 3 other empty tables further back jn the tent outside. The person who showed us to the table went inside to see if she could move us, but she never returned. We ended up staying at the table which wasn't problematic but the inability/unwillingness of the restaurant to seat us at another open table when we both (a) had a reservation and (b) waited anyway left a less than positive impression. Our server did a great job making up for the initial issues. Fortunately the food made up for it. My friend and I shared the Maine lobster combo - 1 1/4 lb lobster, 12 mussels, 6 shrimp, oysters, and clams. The shellfish was cooked perfectly and served with lemon and cocktail sauce. The $90 was well worth it. My son had a burger he enjoyed. For dessert we had key lime pie (me), fudge brownie (my son), and creme brûlée (our friend). We all loved our desserts. The only other thing worth noting was the water they served which was horrible with a chemical taste. Even adding lemon didn't help. Despite the initial issues, we'll definitely return next time we're in Richmond as the food was really good. read more

Amazing food and great service. Went here for my birthday dinner and was given a free desert with a cute candle. Loved it!!! read more

The Hard Shell Bellgrade - Shrimp and Scallop Pasta - Seafood Near Me - Midlothian, Virginia

After a long week and a hard day's work I called my best friend for a convertible ride across the river to The Hard Shell. Pulled up the parking lot was relatively full. We didn't make a reservation but the crab drip was calling our names. We enter and although there were empty tables we were told to have a seat at the bar. I'm not a sit at the bar type of person but it was comfortable. The bar tender took our orders. The Cherry Blossom Mule was great. You have to try it. I got the crab dip and a small side salad. The side side was so fresh and tasty. The dip was okay. I've had it before and it was better than tonight. There were obviously regular there and you could tell who they were because they weren't lacking for attention. The moment their glasses were empty another drink was on the way and I get it they probably tip very well but don't miss that opportunity to make a new bar patron a future regular. read more

My wife and I went there for dinner tonight. I'm not sure if when we arrived was a shift change, but it took probably 20 minutes for a server to come to our table. Once that happened, the server was great- no issues there. The food, however, wasn't up to their usual standards. My wife had the seared salmon, and the fish itself was great, but the haricots vert weren't seasoned at all. I had the crispy skin rockfish, and the fish itself, as well as the accompanying Brussel sprouts, were great, but the polenta on which it was served was runny and completely unsalted. I would suggest the cooks taste what they're serving before plating the food; the meal would have been great had it been properly seasoned. read more

Good- fresh seafood , bar area w happy hour and also non seafood Items on the menu in case shellfish Leaves you looking like a mollusk ( which it did me once ) read more

Fresh raw oysters .... I went here with my buddies for happy hour 6 times from October to December 2021. They have a great deal on raw oyster platter during happy hour. Only one time out of 6 times that we were there the oysters were not as fresh as it should have been. Not bad, just not as fresh as all other times. Their steamed mussels were great 4 out 6 times. Their she crap soup was consistently good. Tuna taco sliders were also great, better than most other places that offer similar stuff. Beef slider was so-so. Regular seafood and steak entrees were also very good. Steaks were prepared properly as requested. Service was very good each time. Their mixed drinks were OK but small and nothing to write home about. read more

The Hard Shell Bellgrade - . - Seafood Near Me - Midlothian, Virginia

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They were very accommodating for a table of 4 with no reservations on a Thursday late evening. What struck me the most is that their Seafood selections were just not that compelling. No one in our party of 4 ordered a seafood dish! Yet, what was most disappointing... asking for bread was $1 extra each. Bread!! This is just not the place to enjoy a variety of Seafood. And costing extra for bread...?! Who does that?! read more

I love this seafood restaurant. Every dish we've tried has been wonderful. The service and atmosphere make this one of the best hidden gem restaurants in Midlothian, VA. read more

The Hard Shell Bellgrade - Grilled Shrimp & Scallops - Seafood Near Me - Midlothian, Virginia

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Service was great but food was not. Blackened mahi-mahi was soaking in butter. Spinach was so salty I could only eat a few bites. Rice was tasteless. Restaurant was clean and pleasant but overpriced for food quality. read more

I had the Hard Shell Pasta which is linguine, shrimp, scallops, mussels, and a lobster tail in marinara sauce. The seafood was fresh and high quality, the sauce was not as flavorful as I expected. The she crab soup was fire, very rich and a lot of crab. The snow crab combo cluster was small. No one liked the fries either original or truffle, too thin, under cooked and greasy. Our server was exceptional, we had a party of 14 and she got everything right, no pen or pad. We will be back but it think I will combine 2-3 apps for my meal with a salad. read more

The Hard Shell Bellgrade - Hard Shell Pasta - Seafood Near Me - Midlothian, Virginia

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I came here on a whim with family visiting from out of town. Party of 6 on a Thursday night around 5pm. The food was amazing. We started with crab dip (the best I've ever had), ahi tuna tacos (YUM), and Truffle Fries. All were fantastic. We got 6 separate meals, and everyone really enjoyed their food. Some got salads and they were so pretty, with beautifully colored radishes. I took home everyone's leftovers - you know, the starchy part you don't always finish when you've ordered too many appetizers... and got to enjoy the food two more times! Our server, I think her name was Delaney, or maybe it was Aubrey? - was great, very personable, but not in an annoying way, and took care of us and my elderly in-laws. Thanks for a great experience. We will definitely come back. read more

My wife and I went here for dinner while visiting the Richmond area. We were seated and the waitress came fairly quickly with the water and took some drink orders. My wife had the lemon margarita which she said was excellent! We didn't know it when we came, but it was lobster night. She got a pasta dish with lobster in it and I had the hard shell pasta dish. Both came out quickly and were hot. The meals were good size and tasted good as well. The hard shell past dish contained shrimp, scallops, clams and a lobster tail on top. The restaurant is located in a strip mall type of set up with parking out front. read more

The Hard Shell Bellgrade - Exterior - Seafood Near Me - Midlothian, Virginia

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