Hondo’s

Disappointing. My sons UVA graduation was celebrated here. I’ve been before and was pleased but now the food was not as good. My in laws had tough prime ribs. They even asked for new knives. It didn’t help. No one apologized for the tough meat. We selected because my son loves steaks. 5 of the 8 of us got steaks. Only 2 were satisfied. I had seafood trio. Ok. But at this level the seafood should be just as good as the steaks. Or the reputation of the steaks. I understand from locals this place has gone down. I see why.

Not the best experience. We were there with a group of six people, service was slow, we had a client with us and struggled for 10 minutes to get someone’s attention to get another bottle of wine. The table was situated between a wall and a walkway to another room and wait staff occasionally squeezed behind a guest at the table instead of going through the main walkway. Didn’t get our bread until the main course came out. One guest ordered an appetizer, everyone else ordered a salad, the appetizer came out 10 minutes before the salads, a bit awkward. One guest had a medium rare steak that was definitely under cooked and had to be sent back. Two guests had tuna requested medium rare that came out grey and had a strange metallic taste. Maybe it was just a bad night.

Really enjoyed our lunch
Stopped in for lunch and really enjoyed the food and the service. Nice restaurant, clean, neat and well decorated. The service was stellar and food was brought out efficiently and prepared correctly. The calamari frita was lightly breaded and very tasty and tender. The club sandwich was well prepared and very tasty. Extra mayo was needed on mine!
I would definitely come back.

I’m sorry to say the only great thing is the wait staff and atmosphere! The previous reviews were correct about the meat. We had «prime rib «and it was full of gristle not spiced well (I don’t like my meat spiced) and expensive! After reading the other reviews, you said that the meat was «prime» black angus of which there is no such thing. It is only choice however this meat based on the tenderizer was probably select. I make far better prime choice meat at home and it melts in your mouth. Salads had too much dressing and not very fresh and finally, the Bloody Mary was not spicy, too much ice and less than 8 ounces for $ 11.

I cannot put a higher review of a restaurant! Ever single time I visit Hondo’s I have the most incredible experience. Each time, as I enter, I am greeted by the kindest staff and it just continues through my entire visit!
This past Saturday my wife and I ate at Hondo’s and had the most impeccable service and meal! Our waiter was beyond phenomenal — we wanted for nothing the entire time! His wine recommendations were outstanding, side suggestions were beyond delicious an, of course, the main dish was served in perfect time with everything else. Man — it was delicious! I went with a NY strip (med-​rare!) — it came out perfectly cooked and beyond delicious! The mashed potatoes and sauce were out of this world and I could not have asked for anything better!
Additionally, we received a personal visit from the manager — who remembered our names from our previous visit (anniversary) and congratulated us while maintaining the utmost charm.
Needless to say, we will be returning (frequently) and recommending this lovely restaurant to everyone we know!
I cannot rave about Hondo’s enough — each chance we get to eat there is a pleasure and i look forward to many more!

The best filet and ribs in Richmond. Drinks outstanding. Can be pricey if you drink.

I like to rate the filet at different steakhouses and this one didn’t disappoint at all. Excellent steak (and bear aide sauce). It is up toward the top of my list. I need to try a few more times in comparison but I think it does beat out Ruth’s Chris which I am a fan of here in Midlothian. Not sure if it beats my reigning champion franky Rowlands in Roanoke (which I now have to try again it been to long).
Service was excellent. I mean excellent.
I also liked that salad and side item came with meal vs the steakhouse norm of sharables.
Definitely will be back soon. I don’t give 5 stars lightly and this deserved.

Excellent restaurant! The grouper with spinach is absolutely great… Melts in your mouth. Great bar, friendly and courteous staff. A must visit if in Richmond!

Two amazing options at this local steakhouse. Of course the Prime Rib and the surprisingly awesome Sunday brunch.
My wife loves the Ahi Tuna app and the fillet, they cook it perfectly at medium (equal to medium rare other places)

New Years Eve, great, delicious, been many times through the last 12 years at 3 different locations. Perfect service, only place to get prime beef with salad and starch all in one price in Richmnond. (that I know of) Great value. Thanks again.

I’ve been to Hondo’s a couple of times and have always been impressed with the top notch service and excellent cuts of beef. Our girls compare all steak restaurants to Hondo’s, as it is at the top of the scale for them also.

It pains me to write this review. Hondo’s was one of my favorite «splurge» places to go for a long time, but in recent years (since the move to the new building) the quality of the food has been going downhill fast.
My wife and I visited on Friday night for our anniversary; we had a coupon for a free entrée because we’re on the email list. It had been probably six months since our last visit, and this was our third straight unacceptable experience.
My wife ordered the trout special. In retrospect, she should have changed her mind based on the less-​than-​enthusiastic response of our server. The trout itself was bland and lacked texture. It was served with risotto, which was too firm, in a mushroom sauce that tasted like campbell’s condensed soup. It also featured asparagus, which was pencil-​skinny, cheap grocery store asparagus cooked with no flavor. $ 40 for this entrée? What am I missing? I had the prime rib, which lacked flavor and tenderness. On the plus side, I did enjoy my Hondo’s potatoes and my caesar salad, which was very garlicky.
Even with our coupon, our tab was still $ 85 including a bottle of cheap wine. That’s really the issue here. In our last several trips to Hondo’s, we’ve consistently had sub-​standard food for the price. We’ve had overcooked steaks, veal chops covered in a thick sinew (twice), marginal-​at-​best fish «specials» (twice), and one service nightmare where our waitress disappeared when our food was delivered, not to return until she presented the bill.
Hondo’s menu hasn’t changed in forever. They lack creativity. The only thing that used to make Hondo’s worthwhile was that dining here was a great experience where you would be blown away by the high quality of the food. The atmosphere and décor are still excellent, and we normally get good service, but the quality of the food since their expansion to the new building is simply unacceptable for the price.

Talk about bait and switch. On the sign outside the building, on the front door, and on the menu is «Hondo’s Only Prime». So before I ordered my steak, I asked my server which steaks were Prime. She replied, «none of them. They are all choice». I laughed at her joke until I realized the joke was on me. She matter-​of-​factly said the «Prime» in their name refers to the «prime location of the restaurant». What the !!!
Hondo’s charges the same as a real prime steakhouse but serves lower quality meat. Call and ask. Then go somewhere else.

Hondos is great for business meetings and special occasions. It has a professional staff, a wide variety of items on the menu, and quiet rooms so you can actually have a conversation and get stuff done. Hondos also has a number of large tables to accommodate large parties.

I’ve had two business dinners at Hondo’s and give it a 3.4 stars. The ambiance/​service is great and merits the opinion that it’s one of the nicer steak houses in Richmond (as I’ve heard from a local). Overall, I think the food is pretty good, with some things here and there. Here’s a partial list of things of what I tried there:
Bourbon Pecan Brie: I loved this, and if I weren’t with colleagues, I would have beast-​moded it all of it by myself in 5 minutes flat. The bourbon pecan sauce is poured over a puff pastry, which is place atop of perfectly melted brie, accompanied with fresh raspberries, blackberries, and green apples.
Hondo’s Lemonade Martini: Delicious.
Creamed Corn: Not bad, but could do without the layer of cheese on top of it.
Calamari Frita: Wasn’t a fan of the sauce. It’s thick but the flavor is a little subtle.
Boneless Ribeye: The cut is a little too thick. a thinner cut would have been preferable for a better seasoning: meat ratio.
Frenched Australian Lamb Chop: This was near phenomenal…4 stars. You get three thick chops (menu says 6 oz each) and each are plump and succulent. It comes with wilted spanish which is perfectly seasoned. Now, the sauce it came with wasn’t bad, but I dunno… my lamb chop preparation method of choice is seasoned (i.e. with garlic salt and pepper like my mama makes), and I guess it’s just one of those things. But don’t get me wrong, this dish was great.
Overall, both of my experiences were very enjoyable and it’s a great place to have date night and/​or witty chit chat over drinks.

I’ve been here 3 or 4 times both for lunch and dinner. It’s always a good dining experience.
Surprisingly, Hondo’s has some reasonable lunch specials.
Expertly prepared filet mignon as should be expected of a steakhouse. Good wine selection. Perhaps a bit overpriced overall, but my family always walks away satisfied for dinner. Nice décor, too.

The good: Come for the outstanding food and exquisite service (thanks Candace!). Had the ribeye, au gratin potatoes and Crown Reserve — — exactly what I needed!
The bad: No fault of Hondo’s but whoa — — the guests dining had much to be desired… I’m not trying to be an a-​hole, but for the love of Pete, put a fickin’ shirt on — — you know, one with a collar??? T-​shirts, obnoxious behavior, belching, F-​bombs… Wow, I might as well have been at the Applebee’s down the street:((((

Overpriced, underwhelmed!
I decided to take my wife to Hondos for her birthday after receiving many great recommendations from friends. They all gave Honos high praise for its service and proclaimed it the best steakhouse in Richmond. Since the wife and I had not dined there before we decided to make a special night of it. The restaurant is beautiful and there was not a lot of people dinning there on this Monday night. Which made the slow inattentive service more pronounced. Though I informed them that it was my wife birthday when we arrive & when placing reservation no special attention was given to her, not even a happy birthday wish. The dishes were overpriced, flavorless, and the presentation uninspired. The waiter struggled with recommendations on the menu and in suggesting wine pairings. Then tried to tell me that the broccoli and cheese I received was indeed the broccoli au gratin. After explaining to him the difference between the two he still insisted it was correct. I ordered a 24 oz Porterhouse steak medium rare and received it prepared medium with an excess of fat remaining on steak. The Caesar salad with anchovies was prepared with thick slices laid over the salad instead for beating a few into dressing then tossing with greens. Extra sides that were ordered which were suppose to feed two were very small. Wife order extra shrimp with her Hondo special $ 15.00 for 5 or 6 small flavorless shrimp. Glasses of wine arrived after we had completed all but a few bites of our main course. The manager came by to ask how everything was before we even got our appetizers. All in all I would not recommend Hondos to anyone who values great food, attentive service and a upscale dinning experience.

Went for a business dinner in a private room. The steaks (I got the rib eye) were excellent, probably top 2 or 3 in Richmond that I’ve tried. Cooked to order and I was impressed they actually asked us to cut in to see if it was correct before moving on. The garlic mashers were tasty. The presentation was kind of plain. Bread and butter were also very tasty. Cesar was good as was the ham, brocolli cheddar soup, although on the salty side.
The private room had a door but still we could hear the restaurant too well at times. Luckily our speaker had a loud voice. The clientele seemed to be business like and more middle-​older men. Service was good.
Great steak dinner. They looked to have a nice Sunday special.

Friday night 7-​18-​2014 and not filled, usually a bad sign for a restaurant you used to book a day or two in advance for a table on a Friday night. Well the food is still great, service still so professional and friendly. I recognize several servers from years ago, Jeff Y is exceptional, Ludmila (guess where she’s from) was great tonight, service food, and free dessert with coupon from any hotel in area makes it even better. This place ain’t cheap, but I’ll keep coming back for the friendly service and good steaks and Pouria the general manager here will make you happy as he wants to fill this place…