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The Hard Shell - Bellgrade, Midlothian, VA

The Hard Shell - Bellgrade

4.6
4.6
2710 Reviews
$30 and under
Seafood

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2 people
19:00
Booked 14 times today
  • Good for special occasions
  • Neighbourhood gem
  • Great for happy hour
Located in Midlothian, The Hard Shell Restaurant is known to locals as one of the best seafood restaurants in town. With a new fresh look; The Hard Shell features sleek booths, lots of light and a vibrant city feel. The Hard Shell has Richmond's widest variety of fresh and local seafood. Menu items include signatures such as filet and lobster, shrimp and scallops, lump crab cakes. Patio & indoor reservations are available . Please contact the restaurant for private dining requests. Dress is casual.

Dining areas

Additional information

  • Phone number
  • Price
    $30 and under
  • Cuisines
    Seafood, Steak, American
  • Hours of Operation
    Brunch Sat, Sun 10:30–15:00 Lunch Mon–Fri 11:30–15:00 Happy Hour Daily 15:30–17:30 Dinner Mon–Thu 16:00–21:00 Fri, Sat 16:00–22:00 Sun 16:00–20:00
  • Dress code
    Casual Dress
  • Parking details
    Public Lot
  • Payment Options
    AMEX, Discover, Mastercard, Visa
  • Executive Chef
    Chef Jeff Kolakowski
  • Delivery & takeout

What 2,710 people are saying

Overall ratings and reviews

Reviews can only be made by diners who have eaten at this restaurant

4.6
4.6 based on recent ratings
  • 4.6Food
  • 4.6Service
  • 4.5Ambience
  • 4.4Value

NoiseModerate

Loved For

  • Virginia

    Seafood

Review summary

AI-generated from verified diner reviews
The Hard Shell - Bellgrade is a "neighborhood gem" for seafood lovers, offering "excellent" she-crab soup and "fantastic soft shell crabs." Many praise the "attentive" service and "great food," with favorites like crab cakes and oysters. While noise levels can be high, the ambiance remains "pleasant."

2,710 Reviews
  1. OpenTable Diner

    San Francisco3 reviews

    2.0

    Dined 2 days ago

    1. Overall 2
    2. Food 3
    3. Service 2
    4. Ambience 4
    We made a 7:45 pm reservation because there were no earlier times available, even though it was later than we usually dine. Upon arrival the restaurant is practically empty and we are seated at a table after waiting a few minutes and not exactly greeted warmly By hostess. A server greeted us very quickly with a “we need to hurry and get orders in and I’ll check to make sure staff knows You’re here because we close at 8.” So I said we had a reservation for 7:45 that I made online and the response with attitude was “oh yea well you made it online and we are not allowed to call you”. Was I not supposed to do that?? Like so it’s my fault. Honestly we should’ve just left. Stayed. Food was pretty good. Server made an attempt to be less Karen as dinner continued but it was obvious our presence was an annoyance. You really need to fix reservation system or instruct your staff to respond in an appropriate manner. It’s not like you’re a fast food restaurant. People don’t make a casual decision to dine at a restaurant like this one. I wish someone had just called us earlier that evening and told us they can’t accept us. So embarrassing for us in front of our out of town family here for a funeral.

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  2. Helen

    Atlanta5 reviews

    5.0

    Dined 2 days ago

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Wonderful experience with my Neice/God Daughter visiting from NC. Such a wonderful experience! Thank you

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  3. Rick

    Unspecified1 review

    5.0

    Dined 2 days ago

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 4
    Egg benedict with lump cake and the egg omelet were outstanding. Was not aware they did brunch and highly recommend it.

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  4. Chris

    Richmond3 reviews

    5.0

    Dined 2 days ago

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    We had a great experience eating with a group at Hardshell. Everything was top notch from our server to the manager. Its was a fun experience and we will be back for sure.

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  5. Robb VIP

    Richmond9 reviews

    5.0

    Dined 3 days ago

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 4
    I had the special - blackened mahi and shrimp. Very tasty and served piping hot.

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  6. Kristine

    Richmond11 reviews

    5.0

    Dined 4 days ago

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Outstanding as usual. We certainly recommend the service and the seafood.

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  7. OpenTable Diner

    Greater Boston4 reviews

    5.0

    Dined 4 days ago

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Awesome place. The only thing that could be better is if the sound didn’t reflect off the walls and we could hear other conversations versus our own Food was great! Service was great!

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  8. Vickey VIP

    Richmond69 reviews

    5.0

    Dined 4 days ago

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 3
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Always a great experience! However with the new menu, the rockfish entree with mashed potatoes and dates has been replaced with a rockfish polenta dish that was subpar. The original rockfish dish was delicious with a great balance of fish, sauce, dates and vegs. Please please put it back on. Thank you, very-frequent local dinner

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  9. John

    Atlantic City105 reviews

    5.0

    Dined 5 days ago

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Excellent food and service. Vast menu of different types of food. Very good drink list. Definitely recommend.

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  10. Kay

    Richmond16 reviews

    5.0

    Dined on 28 February 2025

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    She-crab soup delicious as always. Grace was an attentive and thoughtful server.

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FAQs

The Hard Shell - Bellgrade offers takeout which you can order by calling the restaurant at (804) 464-1476.

The Hard Shell - Bellgrade is rated 4.6 stars by 2710 OpenTable diners.

Yes, you can generally book this restaurant by choosing the date, time and party size on OpenTable.

Make a booking

2 people
19:00
Booked 14 times today
Google Map for The Hard Shell - Bellgrade

11400 W Huguenot Rd., Midlothian, VA 23113

Dining areas

Additional information

  • Phone number
  • Price
    $30 and under
  • Cuisines
    Seafood, Steak, American
  • Hours of Operation
    Brunch Sat, Sun 10:30–15:00 Lunch Mon–Fri 11:30–15:00 Happy Hour Daily 15:30–17:30 Dinner Mon–Thu 16:00–21:00 Fri, Sat 16:00–22:00 Sun 16:00–20:00
  • Dress code
    Casual Dress
  • Parking details
    Public Lot
  • Payment Options
    AMEX, Discover, Mastercard, Visa
  • Executive Chef
    Chef Jeff Kolakowski
  • Delivery & takeout
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Impressum
  • Cookies and Interest-Based Ads
  • Cookie Preferences
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