Bellytimber Tavern

Used to be pretty good, but they changed the menu a little while ago and it’s very disappointing now. Also, do not get the shrimp po-​boy unless you like picking the shells off of fried shrimp.

I would give this a 0 star if I could. Worst experience of my life. We waited for a table which another waitress gave away after waiting about 15 minites to be seated. While we waited, I asked the bartender who was also the manager for a drink which required cilantro and she basically acted like going to the kitchen for some was too hard. When I asked to speak to the manager she got an attitude with me. When I told her it was rude for the girl to have done that and not fair to the waitress, who was getting the table ready for us. They clearly need better management along with a better seating chart. Also, trying to sit 5 people at a two top table is not a good situation, which was their solution to our table being taken away. Needless to say, it will be a long time before I ever attempt to eat at this establishment.

Food is fine, used to be better. Service is fine as well, as is beer menu. All pretty average, really. Shame is, it all used to be pretty good, and has gone downhill. But that’s a classic american restaurant story.

Great food, great people, and a great late night scene. All around one of my favorite bars in Rva. Ive taken several out of towners there, only to have them praise the ambience and the food.

Best place in the fan for amazing wings and nachos and a friendly staff… Not only is this my go to spot, but I go because the service is on point and food EVERYTIME! Get your ass here!
Ps try the weekly specials… They are friggin AMAZING!

Kick ass owners and staff. Yummy pizza and wings. Delish Ice cold beer and service with some really nice smiles. My go to spot when alone or with friends. Love to shake my bumbum to whatever DJ they have at night.

Never been there… I’m just here to try to offset that other idiot’s review.
(you know who you are)

I had visited this place quite a few times and all those times I had a pleasant experience. The food was pretty good for bar food: fried green tomatoes, sweet chilli wings (are my favorite of all the flavors, bbq would come in second), fries, and pizza (can’t remember the flavor, it was bbq and chicken I believe). I even came on NYE as a part of the earlier crowd and ordered good food and had great service even on that night.
My only bad experience happened recently when I visited this place for happy hour one evening with my significant other.
I got to the resturant and ordered our usual: wings, pizza, etc and our service at this point was great. It was not until the check came and we got ready to leave that things made a turn for the worst. The waitress (I can’t remember her name) came over and handed us the check which was about $ 33 dollars, really 32 dollars and like 89 cents. My significant other paid the bill with ½ $ 25 gift cards that he had won at work and an additional $ 14 dollars in the envelop. We made our way out the door and just as I am saying my significant other, «Maybe we should have waited so that the waitress didn’t think we were triying to run out on the bill using an empty gift card» the waitress came out the door and asked us to come back inside because «your gift card isn’t working». My significant other and I had no problem going back into the restrant to clear up the situation. The waitress went on to explain as we came back in that she attempted to charge the gift card and the purchased declined but that she will «attempt» the card again. She left to try the gift card again and came back to the table to tell us that we owed «$ 0.89» since she was able to charge the card $ 20 instead of $ 25. I thought this was strange given that the card for sure had $ 25 dollars on it but complied nonetheless to avoid causing a bigger scene. At this point my significant other place $ 1 in the envelop in addition to $ 5 bucks assuming that the waitress used the original tip to compensate the rest of the bill.
After leaving the resturant, I checked the gift card balance to figure out the exact amount on the card. There was indeed $ 25 bucks on the card and the waitress had charged $ 24 on the card instead of the $ 20 as she stated, so the remaining balance was $ 1. In fact, she never charged the card initially at all before asking us to come back into the resturant. This I know for sure after viewing the transaction history and speaking to the customer service rep about the gift card transactions. My belief was that the waitress wanted to avoid fronting the bill in the case the gift card was empty which is completely understandable but she should have been honest about that.
I attempted to call the manager to speak with her about the situation when I got home that night but was informed that the manager had already left for the evening. The next day I called the manager back and explained the situation to her. She informed me that their machines have been experiencing issues with gift cards but that she would pull the transaction history to figure out what happened. The manager was prompt in returning my call and she explained that our waitess did in fact charge the card only $ 20 after reviewing the transaction receipt from my bill. I informed her that my transaction history said otherwise. My transaction record showed one charge from BellyTimber for $ 24 and $ 1 charged at Marshalls which is where I went after leaving the bar. I swiped the remaining dollar on the gift to ensure I used all the funds and as proof BellyTimber charged me $ 24 instead of $ 20. The manager offered me the opportunity to come to the bar to look over transaction receipt and I offered to bring my transaction receipt to show her my proof as well. She insisted that the waitress we had only charged the card $ 20 and that she could not account for the $ 4 that was not available for use on the card or why my transaction receipt stated that the bar charged me $ 24. I could not understand her explaination especially since gift cards work the same way as any debit/​credit card — the amount the card is swiped for is the cost of whatever is purchased. The managger was not empathetic nor did she offer to comp me in any way for my experience at the bar despite obvious and stated discrepancies with their credit card system.
I was highly disappointed and embarrassed with my experience on this night at BellyTimber and do not think I will be back because of it. I have also shared my experince with everyone I know via social media and word of mouth to warn them not to frequent the bar.
If you want to go to this place for good bar food, go, but beware because you may be accused of trying to run out on your bill simply because they’re «system is having problems».

Pro tip: bloody Mary’s are much stronger if you wear a cute top. Vegan options available.

Wings were way too drenched in sauce. If you order them get the sauce on the side. They were ruined.

First off, the waitress was not very professional at all. My margarita tasted terrible as did my friends. My steak and cheese was way too salty. For fries instead of chips you have to pay extra. My friend did enjoy her wings though. I may give them another shot because other people seem to like them.

Bellytimber is alright. The food is definitely better than the nightlife, and that’s saying a lot. Despite hosting some of Richmond’s hottest DJ’s on a regular basis, this classy pub sure brings out the trash on Fridays and Saturdays.
Take for example, New Years Eve. Now, I know what you’re thinking. «It’s a holiday, of course people are going to be a little ill mannered.» Nah. Not these hoes. Why they always travel like a pack of malnourished street dogs will always puzzle me, but I digress. If taking literally HUNDREDS of selfies wasn’t bad enough, these pouty lipped idiots kept dancing into us, stole our champagne at midnight and kept screaming at the DJ to play Drake. Horrible, right? To make matters worse, when we left around 12:30, they followed us down Main Street to Sticky Rice like some sort of socially dependent leeches.
That’s me just griping about one night. The place isn’t that bad. The pizza is great, their prices are fair and they have a pretty hefty selection of beers. Good for a classier weeknight dinner, and also a great brunch spot. A–

I got a pizza and it was really bland and burnt. It tasted pretty bad. The chicken on it was dry and tasteless. I don’t plan on eating here again lolz

I Love Bellytimber.
It’s your typical bar food just taken up a notch. I go every week for their Tuesday night trivia. They always have great drink specials and their appetizers are amazing. If you like hot wings, get some while you’re there. I’ve never had an actual meal there, but I am excited to go back because their dinner and brunch menus look fantastic.

I really should go back here for the food, as apparently that’s where the magic is at Bellytimber, and the venue itself had a good feel and set-​up. But chances are I won’t go back, as my first experience was so unpleasant service-​wise.
I went late at night with some friends for drinks. Granted, I broke my rule of never trying to get a mixed drink where the vibe begs you to just ask for a beer, but never in my life has a bartender given me such a dirty look after asking for a Tom Collins. It was also ended up being one of the worst drinks I’ve ever had.

A few weeks ago, my father and brother came into town from Michigan and spent the night in Richmond before we all ventured out the next morning. My little bro is still under 21, and my dad and I wanted a beer. Dad asked for something he «can’t get at home, but that you really love». There was no question, this was the place to go.
Like always, we were seated immediately. Greeted quickly by a super pleasant, attentive but unobtrusive server, and fed fantastic food and drinks for a couple of hours while we joked around and caught up.
I had the Duck Pie– which is without a doubt, my favorite thing on the menu. I’m gonna ask you to trust me on this one (which is what I did with a friend the first time I tried it) and just go for it. The salty duck with the tangy hoisin sauce, the cilantro and the perfect red onions make this genius pizza some of the most interesting, fulfilling, favorite menu item in Richmond. (As a matter of fact, the friend who introduced me to it, demands this be his first stop when he is back in town visiting from his now Nashville, TN home– just for the duck pie).
I pretend to be healthy (in real life I just know I would eat a whole pizza unless I was incredibly full) so I order a house salad with the house dressing too. That lemony-​basil masterpiece is SO simple and so delicious. Despite multiple attempts, I have been unable to recreate it at home. Ohhhhhh welllllll– I’ll just have to keep going to Bellytimber.
Dad had Kale salad– which was also insanely good. With, what I’m pretty sure was, a whole avocado sliced on top. The veggies are so fresh and crisp.
The bottled beer prices have raised a buck or two, which is hardly a big deal. It just puts BT more on par with other places as opposed to less expensive. The selection has increased, which is great too. The have more Crabbie’s flavors than anyone else around, which suits me perfectly.
Bellytimber is top notch casual and comfortable. Spend you winter nights here!

Went for happy hour and got the $.50 wings (6 minimum) with spicy garlic sauce. The wings were pretty small and it wasn’t filling so I ordered nachos ($ 2 off for happy hour). The spicy garlic sauce has a ketchup base so it was kind of sweet which isn’t my taste preference. The crust in the wings where good but the inside was kinda dry. The nachos were better than the wings. I got them with the chili but even then the chili was still on the sweet side.

The four stars is mostly for the wings. They are unreal. Huge, meaty, flavorful, cooked to perfection, and only $ 7.95! The best deal on wings that I have seen in all of RVA.
I also like the vibe of the place. It feels like a college bar (and advertised as so), but it’s not dirty, smelly, and full of drunks like most college bars are. The service is chill and friendly, and the drinks are good. Happy hour is decent as well. I also really enjoy the really long bar. The place feels like a big hallway, which helps with the intimacy and charm. I enjoy reading their goofy comments on their sign outside when I drive home from work. It makes the place feel fun.
A few cons:
The pizza is overpriced, small, and not very good. I got the BBQ chicken, and it tasted bland and boring.
The late night scene is hit or miss. I came here late on a Friday night for a drink, and when I walked in I expected a bouncer to check my ID (I even had it ready for him.) No bouncer was in sight, so I took a seat at the bar. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a huge man rushed over to me like I just robbed a bank and demanded my ID in a very rude fashion. I understand that bouncers are usually contracted out by the bar and are not employees there, and I also understand that customer service is not what they do (they have to deal with a lot of drunk idiots anyways), but the guy didn’t have to act like I was in the wrong when he wasn’t even anywhere by the door!
It’s a great place for beer and some wings. I will be back.

I’m so torn. I rarely write bad reviews but I felt so compelled to write this one after my most recent trip. My first experience at bellytimber was great. I loved the food and environment but with each visit my frustrations with the service just grows and intensifies.
This most recent trip, trip number 3, was the worst ever. It took 15 minutes to order because the waitress thought we were waiting on more people and never came… at least that’s what we were told. My party consisted of four people and we were sitting at a table obviously meant for four but I’ll move on.
After ordering our food, it took over an hour for it to come out. That’s right, an entire HOUR. We first asked for a status update after 40 minutes and was told with hostility that it’ll come out soon. Little did we know it would be in another 20 minutes. My table all ordered the same thing and the restaurant only had 3 tables filled (13 people including my table of 4) so our order really shouldn’t have taken that long. No drinks, no special request, no dietary restrictions. I had to move my car during the meal because we were approaching the two hour parking limit… ridiculous.
During the meal we asked for extra napkins and reminded our waitress several times but nope, no napkins for us. I took it upon myself to just go grab some cocktail napkins at the bar after the third request. Towards the end of the meal we were waiting for the check but could not find the waitress. After walking up to the bar to ask for the check, the bartender told us that our waitress actually left because her shift was over. Umm. it would’ve been nice if someone let us know because by this time the place was empty and we were just waiting and looking for her to come back.
The only reason why this place is not getting 1 star from me is because the food was still delicious. I’m not sure if I’ll be back at this point. There’s honestly so many good restaurants on the same street. If belly timber wants to compete, they need better service ASAP.

I am giving this a 2 star review rather than a 1 star due to the fact that the food was adequate. Not great but not terrible. Also the tavern itself is really cool looking. However, that is where the charm ended. When we walked in, I was alarmed to see a dog tied up to the end of the bar. I assumed it may have been a temporary thing until I found out it was the owners dog and I heard the wait staff grumbling about why the owner always brings the dog there. The dog kept Unilocaling (no pun intended) in a loud and sharp manner that caused me to jump each time it happened. On top of that, the staff kept petting the dog without the obligatory washing of the hands post pet. I am not an expert in food service, but I am quite sure that is a no-​no.
As I was poising myself to take a photo of said dog, I felt my foot hit something under the table and heard a crunch only to find an empty beer can under the table (we arrived shortly after 11:30 am, so either it was from the morning drinking crowd or left over from a previous night). At a certain point in the adventure, I had to tend to some biological needs and excused myself to go to the bathroom. After stepping over the dog (wish I was joking), I made it to a bathroom with which the cleanest thing in the bathroom was a urinal. Now you may read this as «Wow they have really clean urinals»… they are not. The mirror looked dirtier than a truck stop mirror, and there was an unpleasant stale urine smell in the bathroom that was being masked by a couple rather nasty smelling jar air fresheners.
After washing my hands and exiting like a surgeon after scrubbing up in an effort to not touch anything for fear of undoing the process of washing, I returned to the table once again playing doggy hurdle.
Like I said above, the food was adequate, but left a bad taste in my stomach for fear of other nasty cleanliness habits in the kitchen. The service was adequate as well, not great, not terrible. However, the health code violations made this one of my more unpleasant dining experiences in quite a while.