Estilo

The food was good but it didn’t hang together. It was sorta tapas and sorta not. I’d go again but I didn’t love it. Maybe growing pains?

This place was a pleasant surprise located in shopping center. One word AMAZING describes the food, atmosphere, and staff. Good tiered pricing for any budget and great mixologist on staff! Highly recommend just leave the kids at home.

I’ve been to Estilo twice now and was very impressed with the attention of the servers and their helpfulness. It’s a great environment with unique offerings, especially if you’re gluten free. The beef cheeks and carnitas were fantastic with their spices and sauces. The Mexican chocolate pot de crème was phenomenal. Can’t wait to try their brunch.

3.5 stars
pretty disappointed considering I really like toast and hutch.
I hate reviewing a restaurant off of their restaurant week menu, but I wasn’t aware that was this week.
All dishes were small. Ceviche and wings were good, but very small portions. The mexican corn was also good, a little heavy on the mayo but I didn’t mind.
Roasted fish was whatever — cooked well but wasn’t impressed by the flavor. The braised rabbit could’ve been a chicken thigh, no one could tell a difference. And again, lacking any unique or interesting flavor.
Dessert was good. chocolate mousse was tasty, and I really enjoyed the queso fresco brulee. It wasnt too sweet like most brulees — it was creamy, thick, and had a salted brulee with corn nuts and avocado on top.
The food was decent. The reason for the low rating is that it’s not worth the price, and the service is god awful. Sat down and had to wait for our server to greet us. Had to wait for our drinks (bottled beer really?). Took forever to get our courses in a restaurant with many open tables. Water never filled/​refilled until we asked. Handed/​charged for a beer that I did not order. Asked the bartender for a draft menu and was handed the regular menu. These are little things that shouldn’t happen at a decent restaurant.

Estilo is Spanish for style, which this little gem tucked away in a West End shopping center exudes. It’s hip, romantic, and turns out some wickedly tasty food.
Hearing that they just had a menu overhaul by the Magpie’s Owen Lane, I figured it was time to finally try it out. So we walked in without a reservation and were seated right away at a cozy little broken tile mosaic two-​top facing the stylish bar.
Started with a couple of the craft cocktails, both made with Mezcal. They were smoky, spicy and served with a giant square ice cube. These babies were made to be sipped, not chugged. The margarita was also on point (and affordable at $ 5!) — served over ice in a cocktail glass with a salted rim, it was understated and classy. None of that over-​the-​top sour mix crap in one of those garrish margarita glasses.
Ordered a variety of small and medium plates for dinner — ceviche (divine), street style corn on the cob (divine), beef manchego empanadas, pig head tomale (orgasmic), and the carnitas tacos. I’m going to put my foot down here and say that the tomale was the best I’ve ever had (and I’ve had them in Mexico on several occasions). Served with butternut squash mole, queso fresco crema, spiced pecans, and pickled chilis, it was loaded with stunning flavor and texture. Everything we tasted was down right exquisite.
Picked the avocado iced cream for dessert because I was in the mood for something unique. And lo and behold, I really enjoyed it — ’twas creamy and the perfect balance of savory and sweet.
Service was efficient and friendly. The restaurant was only about half full on a Saturday night, and never got any busier than that, which hurts my heart honestly, because food this good demands a larger audience. Unfortunately, it’s off-​the-​beaten path location in a strip mall away from any go-​to foodie neighborhoods might be doing it a disservice. I hope that I’m wrong about that. The stylish, inviting bar was also empty the entire time! It practically begged for well-​heeled Richmonders to saddle up to it and order one of its many creative libations.
I sincerely hope Estilo develops a loyal following; I’d hate to see quality like this never find an audience. RVA — are you listening?!

Please note that this review is for Estilo before their recent rebrand. I haven’t been back yet, but I am looking forward to it. I’ve been about three times and each time was quite good. I always order the Peruvian chicken and it is a gigantic portion and absolutely fantastic. The sides were always amazingly well seasoned and a great compliment to the main dish. I also tried the fried chicken and rice balls as an appetizer and they were perfect, the sauce served with it is spot on. You get a lot of food for your money at Estilo, so I am quite shocked to see that people on Unilocal feel the portions are small. I only deduct one star because service has been a bit hit or miss and the wait time has been excessive.

The food was excellent. I ordered the roasted goat and my friends ordered beet salad, ceviche, chicken, and shrimp.
For dessert we split the queso fresco brûlée and the Mexican chocolate ice cream. Wow! They were absolutely delicious. The Mexican chocolate definitely has a spicy kick at the end. It was too spicy for one of us so be careful if you can’t handle spice.
The service was decent and the menu was a little pricey for portion sizes but the taste more than made up for it. Definitely will go back!

Why 4 stars: seated immediately, without a reservation, on Valentine’s Day; enough of a wow factor in most of the dishes of the 4 course pre fixe meal. My favorites: the beef empanada with a plum sauce — divine combination; the pan seared fish was fresh, perfectly cooked, and had an accent sauce that I wish I could put on everything.; the queso crème brûlée was so good I wish I had more of a shovel than a spoon so I could greedily shove more in my mouth; the Mexican chocolate mousse was pretty standard until you crunch a bit of that peppery corn nut brittle into it; our server Patrick was very informative and helpful; creative and delicious cocktails
Why not five: my entrée – the hangar steak – was less than ordinary and just didn’t live up to the rest of the meal, the side was an au gratin of potato and roasted fennel, besides no flavor, the fennel texture was too firm/​hard and there was too much of it; the booths are bad décor and super uncomfortable.
Should you try it? ABSOLUTELY

I stopped in for happy hour with a friend. The happy hour prices were great! A total of $ 28 for 2 mojitos, 3 beers, and my friends mixed drink as well as the appetizer that we ordered. We were the only people there for about an hour and a half so it’s not a super popular spot for happy hour but perfect if you need a quieter place to relax after work. We ordered Papa Rellena, potato fritters stuffed with cheese & Peruvian roasted chicken which were really good. It was a dish that I had never had and would definitely recommend again. My first experience was definitely good enough to go back for dinner at some point soon.

I really want to love this place as much as I love the sister restaurant Toast. Food and service are inconsistent. One time the guac is bland (I doctored it at the table with salt and lime). The last, perfect. I got the chicken skewers and I swear the chicken had been frozen because of the texture. The sauce saved the dish. The fish taco was bland and boring. The best item on the menu is the pork. Get it every time.
Service can be slow and you may not get what you asked for; my margarita came without salt. The chips, guac, and salsa didn’t come with salsa.
A $ 30 lunch or $ 50 dinner should be better than what I experienced. I’ll just got to Toast instead.

I tried… and I will try once more. I love Toast, as their food selection and quality never disappoints. Estilo, however, gave me nothing I asked for. Granted, I went a few months after they opened, so I said I’ve give them some time to tighten up.
I LOVE varieties of Spanish cuisine, and we all know RVA is lacking in that area until recently (haven’t tried Torero yet, but hear really good things).
The service is great! The food needs significant improvement. We tried the (1) Stuffed Calamari — overly salted (1 star, cooked properly they would have been delicious); (2) Peruvian Empanadas — more accurately, Americanized mealy chicken tenders (negative stars) — i’ve had argentinian, costa rican, colombian, ecuadorian, and whatever, I’ve had a lot of different country’s empanadas and these were TERRIBLE. I sure hope they’ve totally revamped that recipe.
(3) Vatapa’ — excellent flavor, but shrimp was undercooked smh (2 stars)
(4) tostones — (0 stars) for being overly starchy and cooked way out of sorts — I could have made my own at home and brought those to munch on while I waited for the only thing we did enjoy…
(5) churros — perfect — crispy donut goodness with the right amount of cinnamon + sugar and a yummy chocolate sauce that wasn’t too sweet or syrupy (4 stars)

I’ve only gone for lunch so far, and I suppose i can’t really rate the service because while it was excellent, we literally went in the second they unlocked the door and no one else had arrived yet– makes it easy to be attentive. Still!
I and my friend had stopped for coffee and were a little nibbly so we ducked in since i keep meaning to try the place. While I was a bit disappointed that the ceviche wasn’t on the lunch menu, we made do with an order of chifrijo– Costa Rica for me and the papa rellena for my friend, each sharing a few bites as per usual. Both were absolutely excellent and piping hot, and the portions were good sized despite the waitress reiterating that they were ‘small plates’. The chifrijo in particular is perfectly lunch-​sized and the combination of rice and beans and crispy meat chunks with guacamole and pico de gallo was just what I wanted.
I’ll be going back to assess dinner and drinks at some point, but I’m cheerfully optimistic on both counts.

Friendly service and on time delivery for breakfast and lunch catering. Great communication with this caterer!
The breakfast egg and bacon sandwiches were tasty, I would suggest for the breakfast sandwiches to be wrapped as halves and not the whole sandwich cut in half. For a lot of people they only ate the half sandwich. The French toast was excellent. There was also an array of melon fruits which were yummy.
For lunch we had a burrito bar with the pulled pork and pulled chicken which had an awesome seasoning. There was plenty of pinto beans and rice. The salad had a flavorsome Mint Tam dressing. I would suggest adding shredded cheese and sour crème to the condiments brought as people were looking for both.
Had a great experience will definitely use again.

My BF took me here for Valentines Day dinner, Estilo had a special menu set up that was 4 courses. Each course was paired with a glass of wine or a shot of something to cleanse the palate. I loved it all.
The restaurant was dimly lit in a romantic setting and we thoroughly enjoyed the meal. Our food was awesome, and the server was on point. He was johnny on the spot with every step of the meal.
The meal: Our appetizer was Amuse Bouch Trio — it was a delicious pizza, sope, and Ahi tuna. all three were yummy. and Im not a tuna type person but it was good. first course was Chupe de Camerone — prawn with fingerling potatos and a black vinegar sauce. 2^nd course was Sopa Calalloo. this was one of my favorite things. it was a spinach & coconut milk soup. it had such a delicious sweet & spicy taste (this was so good I wanted to ask for seconds lol) Im certain I ate every drop of this soup… 3^rd course — Braised short rib — shredded beef that was perfectly cooked. and finally the 4^th and final dessert course was Arroz Con Leche which was a Arborio, lucuma, with a vanilla ginger sauce — this was similar to a rice pudding. which I loved…
Everything was great. loved it for a Valentines meal!

The sister restaurant to Toast, located next door, Estilo serves consistent, comforting, well-​executed Mexican fare in an inviting space by enthusiastic staff. The drinks list leaves a bit to be desired, with a few random beers and wines on tap, a few more in bottles, and a latin-​themed cocktail list. But that is where the disappointment ends. Yes, prices appear steep at first glacé, but are in fact quite reasonable when you consider the quality of their product and substantial portions. We’ve had a range of dishes between our few visits, and while most are worth a try (except the picadillo stuffed calamari), we keep coming back to the Chifrijo (an appetizer, though arguably large enough to be an entrée), the Charquican (especially on a cold night), and any of the Rotisserie items.
Is this the best higher-​end Mexican you can find? Probably not, but it certainly is the best of its kind in the Richmond area, and as a new-​comer, I can only hope they’ll continue to improve on their very strong foundation.

Call me a fan. First off, this restaurant has an excellent atmosphere, good service and an attractive bar with a wide selection of beers and cocktails.
I ordered the pulled beef, and with sides of the rice, beans and plantains. The plantains come more as chips than the way I’m accustomed to at Latin restaurants. Not as meaty. The meal also came with two corn tortillas and small sides of salsa and guacamole, all rather tasty. One more tortilla would have been nice.
If you are looking for a low-​key, non-​typical yet delicious meal with good service in a non-​busy environment, I would definitely give this little restaurant a shot.

Discrimination on Latin food is the worst kind of discrimination. We all know it has some of the best tasting dishes around! Coming from a Mexican girl from Southern Cali, Mesa Latina is the perfect mini description of the fabulously diverse menu of Latin cuisine. Mexican, cuban, Argentinian, Peruvian and many other Latin countries are all represented on the menu. How could this not be good???
First off, it is a sister restaurant to Toast which is down the walk way. The ambiance is a tiny bit similar and equally inviting. Service was good. Our waitress was tending bar and waiting tables so it took a little long but that’s ok bc the menu kept us busy.
They have everything from salsas, chicharrones, street style corn, and much more. We ordered tres salsas, veggie sopes, stuffed calimari, tortilla soup and papa rellenas. Let me just say that although these sopes are different than any sopes I have ever had and my ultimate fav is king taco, these are pretty outrageous. So many different flavors making you forget about all others you’ve tasted. Estilo sopes, you’ve stole my heart! The papas were deliciously crispy and light. Batter was seasoned perfectly. I thoroughly enjoyed both dishes. I didn’t even try the others and I’m still giving 5 stars. I will defiantly be back the next time I’m in town! The only thing that could have made the dining experience even better is if owner/​manager walked around asking how everything was. Other than that… Pretty darn good!

Estilo is a fun restaurant. Portions are moderate and a tad pricey. The food is all super great though! I’ve already been twice, so feel free to peruse my many photos. Service is always great too!
Owned by the same people as Toast a few doors down.

I came here not expecting much but I was surprised by how fancy the restaurant was. The atmosphere was nice enough to bring a date, which I did. The food was a little pricy but the food’s presentation and taste definitely held up their side of the bargain.
Campechana $ 13
(Cooked shrimp, crab, sofritto, avocado, poblano)
This ceviche appetizer was great. It could have used more crab meat but they made up for it with plenty of delicious shrimps.
Duck Confit Pozole $ 18
(duck confit stew, in a guajillo chilli-​tomato broth, hominy, cabbage, oregano, lime, cilantro, crema)
I didn’t know what to expect, but think of it like duck stew. The broth was SO GOOD!
Chicken Tortilla Soup $ 6
The best damn tortilla soup I’ve ever had.
Chifrijo $ 11
(crispy roasted pork, gallo, pinto, lizano sauce, avocado, cilantro)
Great. My girlfriend even complimented on how good it was the next day!
Yes. Try it. The only strange part is that the restaurant has an «outdoor» seating, which isn’t really outside. Those seats are outside of the restaurant but you are sitting underneath a covered hall way that leads to other businesses.

Mafungo. Guacamole that could make a grown man weep with joy. Chicharrón that are hand-​made, to order, and seasoned to perfection.
Duck pozole that could make a vegetarian rethink an entire life choice. Beef tacos infused with Oaxacan smoke and fire. Cebiches that take me back to afternoons in Mexico.
Pizco sours made with real citrus, and foamed with actual egg white. Some very nice wine and beer on tap.
Plans to morph the menu seasonally, and they’ve even said they might add pasteles (Caribbean tamales) to the mix in the fall/​winter chill.
I love this place. Clean lines, friendly staff, accommodating restauranteurs, inventive kitchen wizards — it adds up to a real turnaround for a space that’s seemed cursed over the last six years.
Hey, since the same talented ownership turned around the old City Limits (shudder) into a slammin’ good gastropub called Toast … I am unsurprised that Estilo is so damn good.