Southern Railway Taphouse

Terrible management and rude service. Don’t expect to get in after 10:30 without a 45 minute wait in line. They’ll claim there a private party inside. But the bar will be half empty and they still won’t let people in

I occasionally stop by Southern Railway Taphouse to watch sports. I haven’t explored the menu much besides appetizers. Most of the appetizers I’ve tried were good. There are food and drink specials during happy hour. Southern Railway Taphouse has an extensive beer list. Service has been attentive during my visits. In the summer, Southern Railway Taphouse opens its doors to the patio. It’s a good place to socialize while having appetizers/​drinks. The restaurant is usually very busy on weekends (summer). Parking can be a hassle at times. Some street parking is available or customer can pay to park. Southern Railway Taphouse is a good choice for appetizers/​drinks in Downtown Richmond.

Good food. Good beer. Wish their back area had more chairs. Was here for an event and had to stand the whole time.

Wow! 40 on tap and 50 more in bottles. Winds were huge and amazing. Service is fantastic. Favorite spot !!!

Happy hour: 3 – 7 weekdays, ½ off apps, draft specials. Clean, quick service. Chicken tenders are worth it. Beer selection is good!

We were in town for the weekend and stopped in after dinner to have a drink and watch the play-​off game on 1÷16÷16. The bartenders and other patrons were friendly. We enjoyed our experience until one of the staff removed our bar stools before the game was over. He said he hated this part of his job, but because of the amount of people that were waiting to get in they had to take our seats. We felt like that were kicking us out because of our age (over 40). Something we’ve never experienced before.

*I’m just reviewing the after 10pm experience!*
The bouncers here try to do ‘crowd control’ by limiting the amount of people of color they let in. I last came here on Halloween. Walking up, there was an African American group in front of us. They were told by the bouncer at the door that there was a $ 10 cover charge since it was Halloween night, so they turned around and started walking away. A group of girls over heard them talking about the cover charge as they walked away, and went up to ask about the cover charge. They were told that the $ 10 cover charge was only if they wanted to skip the line. MIND YOU, there was no line, and the group had walked right up to the door!
Prior to this experience, I had never had any issues with this place. I enjoyed the environment and the drinks were about average.

After the canal cruise, we came to the Taphouse. The food was good but the service was not. The hostess took us to our table but did not bother to pull a chair away for the wheelchair. I had to pull the chair and move it to the wall across the room. The server took our order and brought the coffee without a spoon, cream nor sugar. We had to ask and then waited and waited as the coffee got cold. The food arrived without silverware. We had to wait and wait to get the silverware.

This has been my go to place around lunch time with customers. All of the food is terrific and it is a large restaurant to can easily accommodate a decent size group at lunch with no reservations. Several nice sized bars, extensive beers on tap, great outdoor area. A good choice for food, drinks, and fun. Staff has always been terrific.

This place was highly recommended and it did not disappoint. The atmosphere was upscale yet comfortable with a very attentive staff. Ari (our bartender) was top-​notch, not only giving us great food suggestions, but also mixing together some mean cocktails.
Food-​wise, you can’t go wrong. We had the pan-​fried pork dumplings, chipotle pork shanks, macaroni & double cheese egg rolls, and the lamb burger. Everything was fantastic.
When the bar got a bit crowded we just migrated to the outdoor seating and continued our conversation in peace. The Taphouse is a cool joint with a little something for everyone. Next time I pass thru Richmond, I’m definitely grabbing a bite and a drink here.

I was extremely upset by the service. It’s a Sunday night and not busy at all. Nobody was here to seat us so we sat at a table close to the bar. After 15 min. and three employees walking by us, my husband went up to the bar to order our food. A bit later somebody finally came by our table and understandably my husband was upset. The, I guess, waitress finally came by and had an extremely rude attitude. More like we were an inconvenience. I could say more but I’ll just recommend you take your business to an establishment that actually cares about you.

Great looking place and lively atmosphere. Service was very slow. We were there for drinks and did grab a piece of cheese cake but just a round of drinks took forever. The menu looks good and prices are not bad at all. I’m going to chalk up the slow service to Saturday night crowd. Will definitely be going back to give this place another try.

I’ve recently moved to Richmond and I’m trying to explore the beer culture of this little city. I love Capital Ale House (see my 5 star review) and I see this establishment as a similar model.
With a 10 month old baby in tow, I feel relegated to trying these new places out for weekend lunches. That’s what we did on a beautiful August Saturday afternoon. It’s an easy to reach downtown location right in Shockoe Bottom, or at least on the edge of it within a literal stone’s throw of the canal walk. Parking is on street or parking garage in the area.
Walking inside it’s kind of an eclectic or very modern décor. It’s a decent size interior with a very large outside veranda that looked like it would be really fun with some music. There does look like a spot that bands set up out there and I can’t remember if there was a setup for an outside bar, or a window to an inside bar. There are 2 bars inside, one looks like it has 100 beer taps, the other looks more cocktail centric. There is a ton of open space here, I’m not sure if they get bands or DJ’s in, but I got a club type vibe. There was decent crowd for Saturday lunch, but it was not crowded in the least.
We sat outside. Service was very prompt and friendly. Our waitress was very helpful with the baby too (new way for me to rate service — my wife reports there are no changing tables in the women’s bathroom btw). Beer selection was huge, like Capital Ale House and we enjoyed samples and our ultimate selections.
The food was fantastic. A bit on the pricey side for a pub, but this is more of a gastro-​pub. We had the mac and cheese egg roll which was just decadent. I had a bison burger which I enjoyed, and my wife had a pub pretzel burger which I thought was a bit bready.
Overall, I’m excited to go back and sample the menu again. Afterwards, we took a stroll on the canal walk — I loved the location.

Let me start by saying I was once told by Frend that taphouse had really good food. As usual I wasn’t sure that I totally believed him as his opinion sometimes changes from restaurant to restaurant.
We went to taphouse on Saturday night for dinner and I got a wrap. At our table we also got macaroni and cheese egg rolls, a pork something along with a margarita pizza. I can tell you for sure that it was the best meal I have eaten in the last five years. And I tried everything. The service was excellent and the food was amazing. The nightlife afterwards was fantastic and we stayed until one. I could not recommend this place anymore if they were actually paying me to write this review. Do yourself a favor and go in and have dinner here. You will not regret it.

This bar is AWESOME! I’ve been here many times for drinks. If you are looking for a fun night spot to hang out with a fun crowd downtown then this is the place. It’s been pretty crowded every time I’ve gone but the bartenders have been on top of it! They are always super friendly and fun and give great service despite the large crowd they often have.
As far as the food goes, I’ve had the potstickers and spinach dip which was decent. Their beer selection is awesome though which is what matters most at a cool hang out spot like this. If you just want to hang out with your friends try sitting on the back patio area. Inside is usually super loud because of the crowd.

Husband and I like to try new places and found this gem! Great beer selection and food. The Mac and cheese egg rolls were delicious and Steve had the Lamb Burger which was rich and huge. I had the shrimp wrap and it was huge and had to have a box. Very tasty and different. Fun and friendly atmosphere but laid back. Will definitely be back!

I was pleasantly surprised by my experience here– I do think I’ll be back on future rowdy nights!
A group of friends and I came here as our last stop on the final night of a bachelor party weekend. This was a fun and lively conclusion to our evening. While there was a seemingly long line to enter a little before 1 A.M., the line moved fast and there was entertainment to be seen on 14^th Street to keep us occupied.
Once we entered, the place was jamming! Multiple bars, lots of people dancing, current music and a wonderful patio. We stayed until the very last call and had a very good time. There was a decent wait for the restrooms, but they were in good shape.

Apparently this is a go to hangout spot in downtown Richmond, why I honestly don’t know but on a Saturday night I saw girls in tight fitting party dresses and they won’t let men wear hats inside after 10pm, so you know it’s classy.
Service was the worst, standing at the bar just wanting a simple drink and getting no recognition is not how I like to spend my nights or my money.
Other than that I am not sure what to make of this, it appears to be a restaurant and sports bar by day and nightclub with horrible DJ at night. All in all not worth my time and was quite the letdown.

I was impressed by this restaurant and bar. From the look of it, I wasn’t expecting the food to be so outstanding. I figured it would be all about the beer. The beer list is good, but I had to pick three beers before I got to one that they weren’t out of. For dinner, I got the sushi tuna wrap. I was a bit put off at first because this dish is most certainly not a wrap. It’s more of an asian-​inspired salad surrounded by a sliced sushi-​style tuna roll with a crispy wrap around it. Once I tasted it, I was no longer put off, as the flavors really popped. It was an awesome salad, but I was really in the mood for something a bit more hearty. Oh well. My friends also enjoyed their dishes. The cook even worked with my friend to give him an extra-​spicy order of pasta. I do wish this place was a little less expensive, but what do you expect for downtown Richmond.

I’ve been here twice now and both times have been good. This place has won me over enough that I’m confident I will leave the comfy confines of Mechanicsville and venture here for dinner. I’ve been here for lunch only but the experience was perfect.
I was having a killer craving for a burger. Not just a boring fast food burger but a REAL restaurant style burger. Like a bolt of lightning my colleagues and I said «Hey! What about that Tap House place?»
The place is nice and posh looking. The beer menu earns triple points in my opinion because they serve Weihenstephaner Hefeweissbier. I mean, that alone gives them Gold status if you ask me. Looking over the menu I spotted my kill: the bacon cheeseburger. Sure it was the safe choice and terribly boring of me but once bitten twice shy. If they can pull off the basics we’ll try the lamb burger or some of their more exotic options.
I did make one small change. The burger natively comes with BBQ sauce which is a total fail. The burger listed above it comes with a lovely shallot aïoli spread. Shame it wasn’t a garlic aioli but beggars can’t be choosers. When the burger arrived I got a kick out of the TAP HOUSE logo burned into the bun. Nice touch guys.
I spread that entire cup of shallot aïoli spread on both buns and then cut that monster in half. Juice ran all down my hand and onto the plate. This juicy monster was easily a 3 napkin tour de force. They also cooked it medium like I requested which is very commendable.
If a Unilocal review is about the experience then suffice it to say that I had a very pleasant one. From the wait staff to the food, everything about the «experience» was lovely. More so to the point, when we were walking back I remarked «That was everything I needed it to be.»