THE SOUTH

These Are the Richmond Restaurants That Deserve Michelin Recognition

By Eric Barton | July 27, 2025

L’Opossum


AUTHOR BIO: Eric Barton is editor of The Adventurist and a freelance journalist who has reviewed restaurants for more than two decades. Email him here.

Eric Barton The Adventurist

On a road trip this month through Richmond, I carved out a few days to chase down the city’s best meals—and what I found was a dining scene that could go toe-to-toe with cities that already have Michelin inspectors combing their streets.

While Richmond’s never been on Michelin’s radar, that feels like an oversight. The city’s best restaurants show a depth and confidence that comes from chefs who aren’t afraid to experiment but still know when to keep it classic.

If the guide ever expands into central Virginia, here’s where they’d start, the Richmond restaurants worthy of the Michelin Guide.

Alewife Richmond Michelin Guide

Alewife

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Seafood-focused and deeply regional, Alewife is the sort of restaurant Michelin tends to notice when it does arrive in a city. The kitchen works Mid‑Atlantic ingredients into something fresh and unexpected, and the vibe stays relaxed even when the plates are ambitious. Grilled shishito peppers, for instance, were on the specials board the night I was there and completely stole the show—just the kind of attention to ingredients that wins over Michelin inspectors.

Award: One Michelin Star

Adarra Restaurant Richmond Virginia Michelin Guide

Adarra

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Adarra didn’t level up—it moved with purpose. After years in a cramped kitchen without a walk-in, Randall and Lyne Doetzer rebuilt the restaurant inside the former Mamma Zu space, installing a custom wood-fired grill, 3,000-bottle wine cellar, and a dining room that’s as exacting as the plating. The cooking leans Basque but never stays predictable—razor clams, whole pompano, pork belly with cabbage—and the experience is shaped less by luxury than by control, intention, and a team that’s clearly in it for more than the paycheck.

Award: One Michelin Star

Richmond best restaurants Beaucoup

Beaucoup

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The room hums the way only a packed, low-lit restaurant can, where you end up swapping dish recommendations with the table an elbow’s length away. The menu is short, but the smart move is always the nightly special—mine was couscous in a seafood broth so heavy with mussels, shrimp, and torn herbs it felt like a trip to the coast. The burger and fries deserve their own pilgrimage, stacked under tangy cheese on a bun with just the right toasty crunch.

Award: One Michelin star

Cochiloco Scott's Addition Richmond Michelin Guide

Cochiloco

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This fast-casual spot serves tacos with more firepower and finesse than most full-service restaurants. The quesabirria is outrageously satisfying, the cali fries are built for sharing but tough to part with, and the atmosphere is buzzing with energy. Michelin could use more places like this on their Bib lists.

Award: Bib Gourmand

Fall Line Kitchen & Bar Richmond Michelin Guide

Fall Line Kitchen & Bar

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Hotel restaurants usually settle for being forgettable. This one does the opposite: biscuits that make you rethink your life choices, cocktails that earn their price tag, and a dining room that understands light better than most photographers. If Michelin’s looking for stealth excellence, it’s hiding here in plain sight.

Award: Michelin Recommended

Grisette Restaurant Richmond Michelin Guide

Grisette

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Steak frites, martinis, and a room with zero pretense—Grisette pulls off the Parisian vibe without faking the accent. The charcuterie board is the flex, but the real play is to post up solo at the bar and let the kitchen do its thing. It’s cozy, confident, and more consistent than most restaurants twice its size.

Award: One Michelin Star

Lemaire Restaurant Richmond Michelin Guide

Lemaire

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Walking into Lemaire is like stepping back to an era when dining meant tuxedos and quiet confidence. In the Jefferson Hotel’s Beaux-Arts dining room, expect dishes that aren’t chasing trends but still deliver well executed crowd-pleasers: wild-caught halibut with Anson Mills grits, tenderloin with cabernet jus, crispy-seared red snapper above a beurre blanc with crab. It’s polished, historic, and absolutely embraces the pomp and circumstance the Michelin Guide favors.

Award: Michelin Recommended

L'Opossum Restaurant Richmond Michelin Guide

L’Opossum

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If a glam-rock cabaret and a French bistro had a beautiful, flamboyant baby, it would serve escargots on ham biscuits and barbecue lamb with blackberry bordelaise. Chef and owner David Shannon’s cooking isn’t just theatrical—it earns the drama: the subtle homerun of a chilled cucumber and avocado soup, the rich-meets-sweet combo of pave of duck with candied fennel, the perfection of fresh catch above clams and an orange-saffron broth.

Award: One Michelin Star

Mama J's Richmond Michelin Guide

Mama J’s Kitchen

$$$$$ | MAP | WEBSITE | INSTAGRAM

Somewhere between the cabbage and the candied yams, you realize this place isn’t just good—it’s sacred. The fried chicken is textbook, the mac and cheese doesn’t need your approval, and the servers know they’ve got something special. It’s the best kind of institution: one that hasn’t let the hype mess with the recipe.

Award: Michelin Recommended

Susie's Richmond Michelin Guide

Susie’s

$$$$$ | MAP | WEBSITE | INSTAGRAM

The patio looks like it was borrowed from someone’s well-off aunt, and the menu reads like a family reunion, if a few of you have roots in Tel Aviv. Chef and owner Yael Cantor not only knows how to put things together to make them delicious but also clearly spends a whole lot of time sourcing the best of everything. Let’s dissect this sandwich pictured: fried halloumi, mayo spiked with zhoug, tomato, arugula, red onion, and capers on toasty challah. It’s not fancy, it’s not pretentious, but it’s Michelin quality all day.

Award: Bib Gourmand


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