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The Hard Shell - Bellgrade, Midlothian, VA

The Hard Shell - Bellgrade

4.7
4.7
2678 Reviews
$30 and under
Seafood

Make a booking

2 people
7:00 pm
Booked 7 times today
  • Neighbourhood gem
  • Good for special occasions
  • Good for groups
Located in Midlothian, The Hard Shell Restaurant is known to locals as one of the best seafood restaurants in town. With a new fresh look; The Hard Shell features sleek booths, lots of light and a vibrant city feel. The Hard Shell has Richmond's widest variety of fresh and local seafood. Menu items include signatures such as filet and lobster, shrimp and scallops, lump crab cakes. Patio & indoor reservations are available . Please contact the restaurant for private dining requests. Dress is casual.

Order delivery or takeout

Dining areas

Additional information

  • Dining style
    Casual Elegant
  • Price
    $30 and under
  • Cuisines
    Seafood, Steak, American
  • Hours of Operation
    Brunch Sat, Sun 10:30 am–3:00 pm Lunch Mon–Fri 11:30 am–3:00 pm Happy Hour Daily 3:30 pm–5:30 pm Dinner Mon–Thu 4:00 pm–9:00 pm Fri, Sat 4:00 pm–10:00 pm Sun 4:00 pm–8:00 pm
  • Phone number
    (804) 464-1476
  • Payment Options
    AMEX, Discover, Mastercard, Visa
  • Dress code
    Casual Dress
  • Executive Chef
    Chef Jeff Kolakowski
  • Area
    Midlothian
  • Cross Street
    Huguenot and Robious Roads
  • Parking details
    Public Parking
  • Entertainment
    Saturday Evenings 630pm to 930pm
  • Additional
    Banquet, Bar/Lounge, Beer, Cocktails, Corkage Fee, Full Bar, Gluten-free Options, Non-Smoking, Patio/Outdoor Dining, Patio/Outdoor Dining, Private Room, Takeaway, Wheelchair Access, Wine

What 2,678 people are saying

Overall ratings and reviews

Reviews can only be made by diners who have eaten at this restaurant

4.7
4.7 based on recent ratings
  • 4.6Food
  • 4.7Service
  • 4.5Ambience
  • 4.5Value

NoiseModerate

Loved For

  • Virginia

    Seafood

Review summary

AI-generated from verified diner reviews
The Hard Shell - Bellgrade offers a "neighborhood gem" experience with consistently great seafood and attentive service. Popular for its "fantastic soft shell crabs" and She Crab Soup, the restaurant caters to regulars and first-time diners alike. Despite occasional noise, the ambiance and friendly staff make it a delightful choice for seafood lovers.

2,678 Reviews
  1. Carl

    VIP

    Richmond

    2 reviews

    3.0

    2 reviews

    Dined today

    1. Overall 3
    2. Food 4
    3. Service 3
    4. Ambience 5
    Wonderful restaurant - have entertained and eaten there many times - last night was the exception, in that the food was mediocre - the "Special" of day was Salmon over spinach. Salmon was very ordinary, and Spinach was pretty tasteless - just not up to normal standards for Hard Shell. Our waitress was very young and "under trained" and obviously inexperienced. Obvious in watching the rest of the Team being. Dry upscale and professional - unfortunately she wasn't!!? This was a special Christmas Eve Dinner for our Father in Law - and was embarrassingly disappointing!

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  2. lori

    Washington DC

    34 reviews

    4.0

    34 reviews

    Dined on 15 December 2024

    1. Overall 4
    2. Food 4
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 4
    The food was excellent and our server was wonderful.

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  3. Jane

    Richmond

    5 reviews

    4.0

    5 reviews

    Dined on 13 December 2024

    1. Overall 4
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 3
    Food and service were great! Noise was deafening, we couldn’t hear our server when she spoke. That’s unacceptable.

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  4. PHIL

    Richmond

    2 reviews

    5.0

    2 reviews

    Dined on 7 December 2024

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    One of our favorite special occasion restaurants. We consistently have a great experience here.

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  5. Frank

    VIP

    Richmond

    77 reviews

    5.0

    77 reviews

    Dined on 6 December 2024

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Our server was great. She actually had the chef modify my dinner to cook my mahi-mahi similarly to another dinner and it was awesome. She gave us the best service we’ve ever had at the Hard Shell, and that’s hard to do since we’ve always had good service. Thanks!

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  6. James

    Richmond

    12 reviews

    5.0

    12 reviews

    Dined on 6 December 2024

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Excellent all around. My wife and I go there at least twice a month. Good selection of fish and seafood. The bartender makes a good martini and the ambience is great. I highly recommend it.

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  7. Barbara

    Richmond

    9 reviews

    5.0

    9 reviews

    Dined on 30 November 2024

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Good food and great service. Friends were able to easily carry on conversation and enjoy time together.

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  8. David

    Richmond

    8 reviews

    2.0

    8 reviews

    Dined on 29 November 2024

    1. Overall 2
    2. Food 2
    3. Service 4
    4. Ambience 2
    HS has been a neighborhood go to for years. This visit was way under par. Menu is tired. Food was inconsistent. 3 of us has the special and one was floating in sauce the others were lacking enough. Also was exceptionally loud. May have been nearby guests. But still!, older guests had trouble.

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  9. Joanne

    Richmond

    16 reviews

    5.0

    16 reviews

    Dined on 24 November 2024

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 4
    3. Service 4
    4. Ambience 4
    Nice brunch. Restaurant wasn’t very busy - hence low noise level. Food was good and served hot.

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  10. Ann

    Richmond

    1 review

    4.0

    1 review

    Dined on 24 November 2024

    1. Overall 4
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 4
    4. Ambience 5
    The only thing that disappointed us was that the waitress took our drinks and food order at the same time. She assured us that the drinks would be delivered first, as we requested. Instead, the soup was delivered and finished before the drinks came.

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FAQs

The Hard Shell - Bellgrade offers takeout which you can order by calling the restaurant at (804) 464-1476.

The Hard Shell - Bellgrade is rated 4.7 stars by 2678 OpenTable diners.

Yes, you can generally book this restaurant by choosing the date, time and party size on OpenTable.

Make a booking

2 people
7:00 pm
Booked 7 times today

Order delivery or takeout

Google Map for The Hard Shell - Bellgrade

11400 W Huguenot Rd., Midlothian, VA 23113

Dining areas

Additional information

  • Cross Street
    Huguenot and Robious Roads
  • Area
    Midlothian
  • Hours of Operation
    Brunch Sat, Sun 10:30 am–3:00 pm Lunch Mon–Fri 11:30 am–3:00 pm Happy Hour Daily 3:30 pm–5:30 pm Dinner Mon–Thu 4:00 pm–9:00 pm Fri, Sat 4:00 pm–10:00 pm Sun 4:00 pm–8:00 pm
  • Price
    $30 and under
  • Cuisines
    Seafood, Steak, American
  • Dining style
    Casual Elegant
  • Dress code
    Casual Dress
  • Parking details
    Public Parking
  • Payment Options
    AMEX, Discover, Mastercard, Visa
  • Executive Chef
    Chef Jeff Kolakowski
  • Entertainment
    Saturday Evenings 630pm to 930pm
  • Additional
    Banquet, Bar/Lounge, Beer, Cocktails, Corkage Fee, Full Bar, Gluten-free Options, Non-Smoking, Patio/Outdoor Dining, Patio/Outdoor Dining, Private Room, Takeaway, Wheelchair Access, Wine
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