Wegmans Sub Shop - Richmond

I was interested to see how a restaurant was in a grocery store. my food was to go and I didn't go in (only spided, in which looked very nice.) I have a vegetarian burger and pommes. it was not expensive, but also not cheap. the quality was excellent. presentation even in the container to go was great. the taste and the ingredients were wonderful. the fries are very uniquely seasoned. I was pleasantly surprised!

We have all had that moment when the idea comes up that perhaps we should try somewhere new, somewhere local. And here it comes: I mean how bad could it be . The Pub at Wegmans does not actually slip into that category directly. It is located in a cavernous local attached to the Wegmans signature store on Midlothian which is a popular and upmarket place to buy the sort of goodies beloved by the chattering classes. Not quite as good as the Whole Foods chain but good in a more commercial way, without the wan hippie people drifting around and asking in concerned tones Are you OK . The first time that happened to me I thought that perhaps I was exhibiting obvious signs of mental distress or about to have a heart attack but a few seconds checking and I realised that it was just that they were concerned, man. Well anything that makes a visit to the store more entertaining is ok with me. However, I digress. Entering the cathedral-like area that is the The Pub I was strongly reminded of visiting another establishment many years ago in Czechoslovakia, before the fall of the Soviet Union, long before that. It was a restaurant rejoicing in the name of People's eating place celebrating the great revolution and victory of Marxist-Leninism Quite a mouthful if you wanted to take a taxi there but there were no taxis anyway so it did not matter that much. The prices were derisory, around a dollar for a plate of food and a large beer with bread. But oddly enough the setting was similar to The Pub a cavernous interior with booths and a long counter with not many people behind it. It lacked any sort of intimacy or soul. People looked rather lost and wary, eating quickly and leaving. Not what you would call cozy, very institutional. The Pub in many ways succeeds in achieving the identical ambience but with muzak in the background. Noone was unfriendly, the service was competant in a disinterested way, the food was prepared in a half-open area by very well-dressed staff. The menu was fairly unremarkable grilled or fried offerings which was a surprise given the resources of the Wegman store just a few feet away full of all sorts of fresh foods to prepare. But no, it was the same tired old offerings in a plastic welded menu with the exception of fresh mussels mostly anonymous starters, hamburgers in various forms, and uninspiring entrees. There was strong evidence that someone was trying to steer clients to healthy alternatives: Chicken, salads, calorie counts. What could have been a saving grace was the daily specials menu except that it is the same every day. It was Thursday so the special was lobster on the shell cold (presumably cooked) or hot with some alternatives I did not recognise so I went for the hot sandwich, something I have never eaten before. The pub was almost empty with around 10 or 12 guests at 6 p.m. but with so much empty seating inside and out on the terrace it would have seemed deserted if there had be 40 or 50 souls lost around tables or in booths. It was not clear to me how the single bartender was expected to manage the numbers and distances required to make it work but of course time and attention were two things that suffered. The kitchen churned on in absolute silence, which is not a good sign. Good cooks do their job with passion and make noise, they are not robotic, but given the menu perhaps is just glided off the rolodex and into the pans. The other big draw for Wegmans is its craft beers. I am quite a fan of these because they can be good. The offerings were sold from five pumps on the bar as far as I could see, two of which were by no means craft beer in the sense that Guiness is not a small brewery operating in Virginia. And anyway one of the Guiness pumps went dry after three beers pulled which is not a good sign. If you care about beers in casks you check things like that regularly. Beer can go off. Mysteriously they were selling a sort of cocktail of beers, any craft beer with a header of Guiness. However the craft beer they chose to use was Guines

Best meatloaf on the planet! Excellent stuffed salmon with crabmeat with almost no filler. Excellent sides and large portions. Great service (Thanks, Dustin). Plus wine and bear, all for under $45. Deal O’ the Day.

Best meatloaf on the planet! Excellent stuffed salmon with crabmeat with almost no filler. Excellent sides and large portions. Great service (Thanks, Dustin). Plus wine and bear, all for under $45. Deal O’ the Day.

We have been here twice and both times it was a good meal with good service. This last time I got the greek salad, which was very good. I decided to go buy a bottle of the Wegman's greek salad dressing afterwards. Last time I went my plate had a chip on the side, which seemed odd for a restaurant (why would they think it appropriate to serve food like that), but this time our dinnerware was intact. My only comment is it's good to know there isn't a bathroom inside the pub. You have to walk out of the restaurant and around to the main Wegman's bathroom. Not a deal breaker, but if you don't feel like walking for a bit it's annoying. That said, the bathroom is exceptionally clean.