The Hard Shell - Bellgrade
Safety precautions
- Surfaces sanitized between seatings
- Common areas deep cleaned daily
- Digital, disposable or sanitized menu provided
- Contactless payment available
- Limited number of seated diners
- Distancing maintained in common areas
- Extra space between tables
- Waitstaff wear masks
- Diners must wear masks unless eating or drinking
- Sick staff prohibited in the workplace
- Staff temperature check required
Popular dishes
She Crab Soup
topped with crab meat
17 reviews
Crab Cakes
house tartar sauce
16 reviews
Fried Oysters
corn relish, house hot sauce, cilantro lime crema
20 reviews
Easy to reserve a party of 7 through OpenTable. The overall experience was awesome! Drinks, appetizers and entrees were the best! This is our new favorite restaurant. Can’t wait to return!
Food & Service where super!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Food was amazing! We had the best service on Saturday night! I wish I wrote her name down because we would ask for her again on our next visit!
Each time we go to the Hard Shell at Bellgrade we get a great meal and excellent service. Thanks!
Love Ray!! So happy to see a familiar face w outstanding customer service
Just love their poached lobster. Delicious. Would highly recommend it. The shrimp cocktail is superb.
My husband & I had a date night there for Valentine’s Day.
The service was very good & our dinner was excellent. We both highly recommend The Hard Shell.
Food was excellent!
Amazing from the beginning to the end. Every drink was incredible, the food was amazing. Definitely coming back!
The food was pretty tasty. The waiter wasn’t the best had to ask other waiters to bring my date and I things to the table but overall was pretty good.
Food was great and we didn't have to long. I think our server was new, but otherwise did a good job. That's the only reason we didn't give 5 stars across the board. We will definitely be back and would recommend The Hardshell to others.
It was my dear friends birthday. We enjoyed a wonderful dinner of crab dip & she crab soup, salads with grilled shrimp & cream burlee to finish. The food was delicious & service was excellent!
It was our first time here, and will definitely be back. Everything we ordered was outstanding. Service was great only issue was that appetizers/soup/entrees all came out too quickly and we didn't have enough time to finish one before the next arrived.
Second straight Saturday night spent at the Hard Shell Bellgrade and it was just as good as the first visit! Food was great as was the service. The only complaint I have is that the back room where we were seated was a little to loud. I think the wood and brick walls need something to help absorb the sound. Other than that a great night out!
Thank you for the feedback , David! Saturday was considerably louder than usual in our banquet room with the larger groups. SO glad to have you back, we look forward to seeing you again soon. Chris
Excellent outdoor dining! Seriously warm heaters outside. All of the seafood was wonderful- clams, oysters, lobster, shrimp, and crab legs. Filets were delicious as well.
Food was average, service was excellent. For the price, I expected better food preparation. Not the experience I was hoping for.
Hi FJ, Thank you for the constructive feedback. I do wish your experience had been better in regards to your meal, would you mind sharing some of the details about what you ordered so we can continue to improve our product & consistency? I hope to hear from you when you have time. the hard shell bellgrade @ gmaildotcom Thank you, Chris Franklin
What a great evening out! The food was fantastic, oysters were fresh and great flavor, and my rockfish was cooked perfectly. Atmosphere was great. Energetic but not too loud that you couldn't easily carry on a conversation. RRG does a great job and I highly recommend their restaurants. We will return again soon. David
Hard shell is great! Service was amazing and the hostesses and Manager were extremely professional!! Food ROCKED
Always perfect!
The atmosphere is lovely. The waiter was attentive. Everything was delicious.
This place never disappoints. From the quality of food, to service, to atmosphere it is hands-down the best seafood place in Richmond.
We eat here frequently. The food and drinks are good and service is always great too.
Excellent meal and cannot wait to go back again. Highly recommended!
My family and I recently enjoyed brunch over the weekend. What the restaurant has done to ensure that patrons can comfortably dine outside is outstanding. While my wife thoroughly enjoyed her crab cake sandwich, my grilled chicken sandwich was overcooked, and both were accompanied by fries that were far too salty. The kids, however, more than enjoyed their breakfast fare, paying particular attention to the blueberry muffins that they ordered. The service we received was prompt and attentive and attentive throughout most of the meal, but trailed off a bit towards the end (e.g, requests for more water not fulfilled) even though the restaurant wasn’t overly busy at the time. All in all, we enjoyed the outing and will be back for future meals. Other dining experiences at this restaurant have been exemplary.
Such a lovely dinner and great service. We'll be back for sure! Thank you!
This was our 4th time dining at The Hard Shell. Service is great, the menu is reasonably priced with great small and large plates. The wine list is also very reasonably priced with a great selection. I can tell that someone put a lot of thought into the wine list and how it melds with the menu.
Thank you for the feedback, Mark! We're glad you had a great time.
Normally love our wait staff.. past 2 times they were not there and poor service
Hi, Thank you for taking the time share some of your experience from Friday night. Guest feedback is very valuable to us, and I'd like to know a bit more about your experience so that we may improve our consistency. Please email me at thehardshellbellgrade @ gmail Thank you, Chris
We had a wonderful dinner for my son’s 14th birthday!
We had a great time last night! Our waiter Nick was super attentive and made sure we had a nice evening for our anniversary.
As usual, from seating to departure, the waitstaff was attentive and the food and service were good.
Excellent food, pleasant atmosphere, tables well spaced and outsider dining available.
Great as usual! Ruby salts were fantastic ❤️
Thank you so much!
Food was delicious & service was great! We will definitely be back.
We always love coming here! Excellent food and service.
Thank you for the kind words & support, Jamie!
It was very good
Happy to hear you had a great visit!
Food was delicious as always!
Thank you!
As always the Hard Shell does not disappoint. Service was prompt and friendly, food was enjoyed by all - the she crab soup and lobster bisque are both to die for.
Thank you for the review, Raymond!
This was my first time eating at this restaurant. I must admit the food was excellent and very tasty. I say this cause I’m a native New Yorker and one thing I miss the most is the food!! We have everything there! I have lived in Virginia for the past 15 years and to say the least the food here sucks!! I was quite surprised that I enjoyed EVERYTHING that I had ordered.
Appetizer—- Spicy steam shrimps
Entree—— Hand Tossed Pasta in creamy sauce w/ scallops, shrimps, clams and mussels
Drinks—- 2 Cosmopolitans w/ splash of peach & Margarita
Our waitress Rachel was the absolute best! She was very personable and can make a drink!! Wow! I luv her!!! Overall on a scale of 1-10 I would give them an 11. I was going to Ruth Chris on my birthday (Jan. 27) but I will definitely be returning here.
Thank you for the detailed feedback! We love Rachel too, she's incredible!
Very relaxing dinner served by a very good waitress and excellent food.
Thank you for the support!
Great time, awesome food and service. I totally recommend.
Thank you for the support, johanna!
FAQs
You can order delivery directly from The Hard Shell - Bellgrade using the Order Online button. The Hard Shell - Bellgrade also offers takeout which you can order by calling the restaurant at (804) 464-1476.
The Hard Shell - Bellgrade is rated 4.7 stars by 1787 OpenTable diners.
Yes, you can generally book this restaurant by choosing the date, time and party size on OpenTable. Due to local restrictions, this restaurant may not be accepting reservations at the moment.