dot's back inn

a taste of the good old days.... i had to go twice before i really felt i had a handle on this place, once for dinner, once for breakfast, and as i grew up going to diners in brooklyn, this had that kind of old-style greasy-spoon feel. it's busy and cramped at peak time, and don't expect to carry on an intimate conversation, but be ready to be wowed buy their lengthy menu. the burgers are tasty and filling, and the choices are extensive. the "spicy red" potato salad was a bit disappointing as it was just plain potato salad with some paprika and spice thrown in.

breakfast was impressive for the choices as well, i had the breakfast quesadillas (although i would have liked a choice of the type of cheese i could get besides boring old american) and my wife's greek omelet was filling and there were only two big lumps in her grits (it was more like a matzoh ball soup without the soup).

now, i can safely say i have never seen a more diverse cross-section of richmond-ite than in this place, long-time old-money bellvue area residents with u of r and vcu college kids, families, couples, singles, tattoos and well-dressed churchgoers, all together in one cramped place. and all of them enjoying themselves.

the booths are limited to about five, and there are probably twenty tables in all, so expect to wait if you want to eat at peak times, especially since this place was featured on thefoodnetwork, probably for the most overrated dish on the menu (and one of the most expensive). the other thing i liked was the specials menu above the bar, since for both breakfast and dinner the extra opportunities were quite intriguing. the kids enjoyed their breakfast/brunch choices, and they liked the two big tvs hanging over the bar area.

unfortunately, i had to take a star off for cleanliness, as i was a victim of the old lipstick-on-the-mug bugaboo when i received my coffee for breakfast (the waitress didn't seem to appreciate the "it's not even my shade" joke i tried to make to lighten the situation). still, all these things aside, it's a fun throwback and tribute to the days of drug-store-woolworthy-neighborhood hangout joints of days gone by, and if you aren't expecting the ritz, you can do a lot worse.

like most experiences there are pros and cons. this place had no pros .this was a joint aired on triple d's with guy ferry and because it was advertised on television i expected a whole lot more. i decided to step out of my comfort zone and ordered a falafel , which is a mediterranean fried chick pea "fritter". i have never had falafel and i now know that dots was my first and last time eating it . honestly this is not a place i would waste gas to go eat at again , the best part of my meal was the french fries ; who can mess up french fries , quarter them like dots.
in conclusion the atmosphere is wonderful thefoodis mediocre. maybe you enjoy mediocre meals but i enjoy esoteric works of art.

the hamburgers are some of the best in richmond, the breakfast is a killer as well. jimmie and crew do a great job with great food, good service and fair prices. haven't been dissatisfied there yet. i can recommend them for greatfoodat a reasonable price.

don't waste your time. chicken was hard.foodlacks flavor. very disappointed

lots of hype.foodand service teeter on the edge.. my list was made at the beginning of my two weeks of classes at fort lee. i was going to try and hit all of the majorfoodnetwork featured restaurants in richmond. dot's back inn was the final place on my list and i knew i could only go to it on my drive out of town back west because this place isn't open during dinner.

this place seems a lot more wore down and mismatched than i would have imagined, but i simply put it off as part of the appeal for this place. i had a very pessimistic friend when it comes tofoodor new restaurants in general. he was nitpicking the whole meal the whole time from the amount of time the service was taking (yes it was slow, and got slower as the place filled up and the meal went on) to the taste of the food. he got a falaffel sandwich and claimed that he never heard of falaffel as anything more than a type of jewish bread. this is true, but what kind of person thinks of a bread when they hear of falaffel? so he immediately threw out the falaffel and ate a bare naked sandwich. weird.

however, my black and bleu ny steak sandwich was a mix of confusing in my mouth. the steak didn't taste like it was new york steak because it was way too chewy and tough, but it was so thin that this didn't require a lot of chewing necessarily. the bleu cheese part was a very creamy spread that was very liberally spread all over the sandwich. this was okay with me because there was nothing in the way of condiments on this sandwich that would've added much needed lubricity to the meat and bread. my sandwich, i concluded, was excellent and i will try to recreate it at home.

in the end, i believe this place really is a great place (and kind of off the map) because my friend ordered some deep fried cheesecake and it looked amazing (and he ate it all very fast, so i can't tell you how it was except "gone")

i will say that dot's is a great place, but i almost need another try to really cement that idea. but i urge you to try it.

the last time i went to dots back inn i asked a waitress how much wur the root beer sodas , with out awnsering my question she took upon her self to pop the lid on the soda before telling me the can soda costa $2.40 . me personaly, i don't buy can sodas for $2.40 after i've asked before hand whats the price. goodfoodi must admit. bad service i must say!!!

americana at its most honest. there are no pretensions when you arrive. simple and personalized decor, tasty and affordablefoodand a wait staff who i would take my hat off to. most dishes are priced less than $8 and there is always a buzz whenever you step inside. thefoodis great (if you like hamburgers and taco's etc.) but do not go there expecting 'haute cuisine'; it ain't that kinda place (and nor should it be). i enjoyed myself there and had a good meal that filled my needs. and, for this foreigner, it was great to see how 'real' america works.

great food, but terrible service. my husband and i attempted to have dinner last friday night, talk about date night gone wrong. we weren't greeted, just told us sit wherever we'd like to. well after sitting for 15 minutes and having 3 waitresses look at us oddly we finally just got up and left. so i figured we'd try it again tonight. since we knew to seat ourselves we did just that and now i'm writing this review as i'm sitting and waiting for my waitress. took her about 10 minutes but she finally came over ordered our drinks and then as we explained that we were ready to order she told us it would be a few minutes. not sure why but after bringing our drinks she had to make sure she took the order of the couple that had come in before us first. that's understandable but still could have taken our order and put it in "second." if thefoodwasn't so great they'd never see our money again, which i'm sure dots wouldn't mind. awful service, okay food.

nice hole in the wall . . .. stopped by here after the spring aaca car show at the richmond raceway. very nice quaint little place, great service, very friendly and such. service was also quick, orders on queue, and best of all thefoodwas great.

definitely will be back next time we are close by. great food, great service, what else do you need, as i brought the great company with me :)

dot's is a neighborhood gem. the staff is energetic; thefoodis amazing; and you leave feeling like you know a secret.

i came in last saturday, despite the limited parking due to the marathon, i found a place relatively close, and was excited to dine at dot's. i was greeted by the bartender as though i was a nuisance, told there would be a wait and asked if i would still like to stay. i found her to be rude and very short with me. i decided to stay, and from there on the server was great and thefoodwas delicious.

pretty goodfood- bad service. i've read other reviewers comments about how bad the service was, but also about how good thefoodis. thought i would try it myself.

had the burger, it was pretty good, but not the best in town. the waitress was very inattentive and could have cared less it was my first time there. she was only concerned with the regulars at the bar. i asked her about their signature dish and what was really good and she acted like she didn't have time to chat and said "everything is good". how unprofessional.

i wouldn't go back, every guest should be treated with respect. this first time guest will not tolerate this kind of behavior in anyone.

take note when reading about the bad service at this restaurant, it is all true.

i mean a lot of interesting and creative dishes. the menu in this place is huge, and we don't just go to a restaurant and then tell you what is on the menu. you can find information like that online. just search the web for the dots back inn, and you will find the restaurant and menu all online. instead, we are here to testify to the excellentfoodthat is prepared and served here.

best burger in richmond. this little place was featured on diners, drive ins and dives on thefoodnetwork so i figured that it had to be pretty good. it was absolutely delicious. we both had different burgers. they have a list of at least 20 different burgers plus you can build your own so you can't go wrong. those burgers were so juicy and delicious that i am declaring dot's back inn as the best burger in richmond. and that is a bold statement because they have a lot of competition in the town.
but if burgers are not your thing, never fear. the menu is rather extensive and has plenty for you vegetarians as well. we can't wait to go back again!

dot's back inn.foodexcellent from hamburger choices to specials on the board. gourmetfoodat neighborhood prices. the best place to share with friends and family from breakfast to dinner. thanks to jimmy tsamouras for sharing his culinary talents so we may return again and again and always be surprised.