Sally Bell's Kitchen is a southern american restaurant in Downtown, Richmond.
Sally Bell's Kitchen has sold box lunches since 1924, founded by Sarah Cabell Jones and Elizabeth Lee Milton. Broad Street counter is easy to miss.
Must order: Box lunch.
Why locals love it: Sally Bell's has sold the same box lunch since 1924, and most visitors miss the unmarked side counter near West Broad. A century of Richmond box-lunch history.
Tip: Call ahead; the deviled-egg-and-cheese-wafer box is the local-Saturday standard.
Address: 2337 W Broad Street, Richmond, VA 23220
Tarrant's Downtown at 1 West Broad has run all-day food in a former pharmacy since 1996. Diner-energy with pasta and pizza, breakfast through midnight.
Order: All-day breakfast.
Why locals love it: Hidden inside a former pharmacy at 1 West Broad. Locals stay loyal to the long-running diner energy without crowding the front room.
Tip: Skip the dinner queue at 7 pm and arrive after 9 for the late-pizza-and-beer mode.
Riverbend Roastery on East Broad opened in the former Captain Buzzy's space in 2019. Roasting on-site, full pastry case, eastern Church Hill.
Order: Pour over and a pastry.
Why locals love it: On the eastern edge of Church Hill, well past Sub Rosa, Riverbend Roastery opened in 2019 in the former Captain Buzzy's space. Locals know; tourists rarely make it this far east.
Tip: Visit Sub Rosa first then walk east twenty minutes for the second cup.
Tarrant's Downtown at 1 West Broad has run all-day food in a former pharmacy since 1996. Diner-energy with pasta and pizza, breakfast through midnight.
Order: All-day breakfast.
Why locals love it: Hidden inside a former pharmacy at 1 West Broad. Locals stay loyal to the long-running diner energy without crowding the front room.
Tip: Skip the dinner queue at 7 pm and arrive after 9 for the late-pizza-and-beer mode.
Galaxy Diner on Cary in Carytown is the post-Byrd Theatre diner with all-day breakfast and milkshakes. Open until midnight; back booth is the spot.
Order: All-day breakfast and a milkshake.
Why locals love it: A chrome-and-vinyl room hidden between Carytown shops. Locals duck in for late-night burgers after the Byrd Theatre lets out.
Tip: The back booth is the best post-movie spot; check the menu for Belgian waffle daily specials.
Joe's Inn on Shields in the Fan has cooked Italian-Greek-American since 1952. Regulars-heavy bar one block off the main strip; daily until midnight.
Order: Spaghetti a la Joe.
Why locals love it: Joe's has cooked Italian-Greek-American food on Shields Avenue since 1952. A regulars-heavy bar that tourists usually miss because it sits one block off the main strip.
Tip: Saturday late-morning is best; the bar runs through midnight every day.
Edo's Squid sits upstairs from a Fan corner store on Harrison Street. Ed Vasaio's Italian-seafood room runs grilled calamari; no reservations, cash.
Order: Grilled calamari.
Why locals love it: Hidden upstairs above a corner store on Harrison. Ed Vasaio's no-reservations Italian room takes a while to find on a first visit, and that is part of the room's pull.
Tip: Walk-up only, cash-leaning, and the wait at 7 pm is shorter than it looks; order at the bar.
Acacia Midtown at Libbie Mill is Dale Reitzer's third Acacia location. Multi-time James Beard nominee; modern coastal Virginia cooking, off-radar.
Order: Tasting menu.
Why locals love it: Tucked inside Libbie Mill's mixed-use complex; tourists searching downtown miss Dale Reitzer's modern-coastal room entirely.
Tip: Book directly via OpenTable; the bar accepts walk-ins on weeknights.
