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    El Caporal - Richmond

    4.2 (203 reviews)
    InexpensiveMexican, Seafood, Salad
    Open 11:00 am - 10:00 pm

    Order El Caporal - Richmond Takeout or Delivery

    El Caporal - Richmond Photos

    Business Info

    EL CAPORAL - RICHMOND ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Moderate noise
    Casual
    Good for kids
    Good for groups

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    Lunch menu
    Donna O.

    Went here for lunch in the middle of working, it's a bit in the middle of nowhere. Even so, the service is impeccable. I usually rate 5* for good service and great food, but I wish I could give 6* for this place. Aside from the great service from Able, our server, and the delicious food, the atmosphere was spot on. I've never been to a Mexican restaurant that was so authentic that more than half the clientele spoke exclusively Spanish. My burrito was full of chicken and shrimp and smothered in cheese sauce, which I love, and everything was seasoned perfectly. I want to come back for dinner sometime so I can get a drink. I saw a margarita as it passed my treacle and it looked beautiful, plus they have small, medium, and jumbo!

    Bowl of margaritas
    Maria T.

    My favorite Mexican joint in RVA! You can tell we come here a lot from the welcoming greetings from all the folks here! We ordered takeout to support this restaurant during the Corona crisis...carnitas tacos, Mexican rice, queso, guac and tortillas! Time to chow down! Gracias El Cap for staying open and serving your loyal customers!

    Enchilada, burrito, with beans and rice and skinny marg!
    Aley B.

    Hands down the best Mexican food that I've had in Richmond. The sauces were absolutely amazing and the chicken in both my enchilada and burrito was so tender and delicious. I treated myself to two skinny margaritas, and they were huge and too easy to drink! Our server was so sweet and attentive. The environment was super chill and had cute booths for us to sit in. Definitely will be back!

    Sydney R.

    This is by far one of the best Mexican restaurants I have ever been to and I have been to a lot. #1 THE FOOD. I got the quesadilla fajita. This was stuffed with grilled chicken, green peppers, red onion, tomatoes and it was layered with melted, creamy cheese. Every bite of the food just melted in my mouth. #2) The Atmosphere. It was just the right size, lively, friendly, and busy with lots of happy customers. #3) The Service. We never had to wait for anything. Perfect service, they were all so kind. My fiancé and I will be coming here again and we will be telling everyone how amazing this little hidden treasure this Mexican restaurant truly is!

    Pollo Sabroso

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    16 days ago

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    10 months ago

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    1 month ago

    I have been eating here for over 15 years. Excellent food and customer service is perfect. Highly recommend. A++++

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    2 years ago

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    1 year ago

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    2 years ago

    Good food and prices. It's a nice small place with cozy atmosphere. Definitely worth a try

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    3 years ago

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    5 years ago

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    2 years ago

    Best carnitas I've ever had. Nice guac. Delightful server. Will definitely return. Great place for a relaxing family meal.

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    3 years ago

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    3 years ago

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    2 years ago

    Food is always prepare well and no long wait once seated. The restaurant is small but festive.

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    6 years ago

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    2 years ago

    Consistently great service and food. A Richmond staple and without a doubt, the best in town!

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    2 years ago

    food, service, ambience... EVERYTHING GOOD! Every thing i ate was delicious and the customer service was fantastic! They did their BIG ONE!

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    3 years ago

    Margaritas are NOT good, and way more expensive than your typical Mexican place. I would be hesitant to order one again.

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    3 years ago

    Always quick friendlyservice, excellent food and good prices. Our fave Mexican restaurant in west end

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    3 years ago

    First time here. Food was very good especially the steak fajitas . Service was friendly and quick. Will be back.

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    7 years ago

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    Page 1 of 6

    El Caporal - Richmond Reviews in Other Languages

    Ask the Community - El Caporal - Richmond

    Do they have good queso?

    Yasssss! I love their queso! Personally I think it’s one of the best in Richmond, not too thick or too runny! And crispy tortillas too!!

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    Shoreline Seafood Market

    Shoreline Seafood Market

    4.8
    (24 reviews)
    2.5 mi

    Super fresh fish The best Halibut and cod…read more I look forward to having lunch there. The lunch patrons seem very happy

    Yelp tried to tell me but I didn't pay attention. Lesson learned…read more I'm a seafood snob. Grew up in Charleston, we would get our own oysters, crabs, shrimp, fish, so I know what good seafood is. Richmond has some respectable seafood but nothing like I had a Shoreline today. Did I mention my husband grew up in the Boston area? For him, lobster and clams are a weeknight dinner and his uncle, who was a lobster fisherman, would cringe at the lobster we've been eating. When you're away from the source, you have to make do. Not anymore. Shoreline Market has amazingly simple, well-prepared high quality food. And they do it for a decent price. I have a new favorite seafood place in Richmond. Came for lunch on a Saturday. We ended up getting the crudo, which was a tuna poke; lobster roll; clam sandwich; potatoes and salad, plus a bottle of Sauvignon blanc. Everything tasted great and was clearly masterfully prepared so the seafood was the star. All in our bill was around $90, totally reasonable for what we got. On the way out we bought more food to have at home. Fish stew and pimento cheese and another seafood soup. We work from home and are super close and HUGE fans of seafood, and the prepared foods they have is reasonably priced and fresh, so when we don't eat at the counter, we will take something home. I'm traveling this week and if I was home, I would have bought a few more items, such as the shrimp and artichoke pasta. We were told about these 10-course dinners they do so we booked one in May. So excited. I'm sad I didn't come sooner. I knew Shoreline opened but I assumed it was on the side of Patterson close to town. Glad to know they are right around the corner!

    Photos
    Interior.
    Interior.
    At Shoreline, we call her "The Big Red Truck."
    At Shoreline, we call her "The Big Red Truck."
    Our Fish Case
The freshest and most reliably sustainable seafood available.

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    Our Fish Case The freshest and most reliably sustainable seafood available.
    Slack Tide Fish

    Slack Tide Fish

    4.5
    (39 reviews)
    5.5 mi
    $$$

    I went here with family and left full, happy, and still thinking about those desserts!…read more We had a few different small plates but the ones that stood out were definitely the calamari and the trout and churros. The smoked trout and churro was a balanced dish with some playfulness to it that set the tone for some wonderfully cooked entrees, but the main stars of the night for me were absolutely the desserts and cocktails. The mango rice pudding was smooth, bright, and the perfect ending to the meal, But the real standout for me was the strawberry mascarpone cake, which was unbelievably delicious and had some of the best plays on flavors in a dessert I've had in a while here in Richmond. Service was phenomenal too, with our server always checking in.

    I'm going to pile on to the great reviews for Slack Tide. The space is beautiful, service excellent…read moreand the food creative, fresh, and delicious. We had the Caesar, shrimp fritters, baked goat cheese, pichana steak, and shellfish risotto. You can tell only one of us likes seafood! My landlubber husband loved the different take on a Caesar, and the baked goat cheese with toast baguettes slices was out of this world. The spicy shrimp fritters were delicious; I would have liked even more heat and they were a bit too brown, but that didn't stop me from finishing them. My husband loved the pichana steak and sauce (menu said gribiche, he thought it was bernaise). The beef fat potatoes were just fine - they would be much better if crisped up a bit. My risotto was to die for. Not as heavy as traditional risotto, with a distinct Asian flair. It came with two large, sweet scallops, a pile of tender mussels, and some lobster pieces throughout. The almond slivers added a nice crunch to the dish. I highly recommend the Yellow Umbrella cocktail - tart and refreshing. The wine selection by the glass is small but well-curated; we enjoyed our Vino Verde and Cab Franc. For dessert we shared the strawberry mascarpone cake. Light and creamy, and the strawberry-basil combo is so summery. We will be back.

    Photos
    Interior
    Interior
    Slack Tide Fish
    Slack Tide Fish

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    Beaucoup

    Beaucoup

    4.7
    (55 reviews)
    5.9 mi

    My awesome girlfriend made us a reservation here and kindly requested a seat by the garage…read moredoor....and they did it!!! Literally so nice and cool! Food was fantastic and really made you sit back and wonder "how did I end up in the French countryside and why do I have an urge for a cigarette?" Can't wait to come back!

    SO good, favorite spot of our Richmond trip!…read more My brother and I were looking for late night oysters. Sadly when we came in Wednesday night at 9 PM, we were told they were only serving drinks at that time. I emailed the restaurant and was informed that on most nights, they indeed close the kitchen and only serve drinks after 9 PM, but that on weekends they'll keep the kitchen open longer. I'm so glad we came back on our last day of the trip. It was a Thursday night at 7:45 PM and pretty full. Thankfully, there were some seats at the bar which we preferred anyways since you got to watch the oysters get shucked right in front of you. We ordered the bread service, and though it said house cultured butter OR whipped beef tallow, our kind server made sure to ask if we wanted one or both (the answer was both, of course!). We also got 4 Virginia oysters (appreciate not being forced to order in increments of 6 or 12), chargrilled oysters, and "dessert tonight" which ended up being the most perfect chocolate cake (I think it was describe as something else, but my memory fails me) with a white chocolate ganache-like topping and pistachios *swoon*. I tried the wine of the day which was an orange wine that it was a nice not-too-sweet, not too dry wine. I'd recommend it with a pasta or fish. Our server (didn't catch his name but he had a nice brown sweater and a beanie, receipt says Taylor so maybe that's his name?) was so nice! Great vibes all around from the interior to the bathroom to the service. Would definitely come back.

    Photos
    Interior
    Interior
    Kale Caesar
    Kale Caesar
    Non-Alcohol- Mistraminer - lychee, pineapple, grapefruit, lemon passionfruit, ginger, orange blossom rosewater, sage

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    Non-Alcohol- Mistraminer - lychee, pineapple, grapefruit, lemon passionfruit, ginger, orange blossom rosewater, sage
    Mariscos El Barco

    Mariscos El Barco

    4.0
    (56 reviews)
    2.6 mi
    $$

    My fiancé and I were feeling down after another boil water advisory so decided to leave Richmond…read moreCity for some food. Mariscos El Barco has been on my RestaurWANT to Try list for some time now. I'm a huge fan of ceviche and have heard incredible things about theirs. We weren't too hungry so decided to share a guacamole and the ceviche de pescado. Do know that they have very generous portions here with great prices. We were seated immediately, there is plenty of indoor seating. The walls are yellow and they have cute seats that look boat themed. It's located in a space that looks like a home. There is plenty of parking in their parking lot out front. Our waitress was kind and attentive. Our food came out pretty quickly. The guacamole is incredible. It's absolutely delicious and elevated by some lime. I highly recommend ordering this. They bring you out chips to start with so you can use those for any additional dipping. I think I can be picky with ceviche. It was still really good and I would be interested to return to try more seafood dishes off their menu.

    Amazing food here, well worth a visit. The outside of the building looks like a house, so I was…read moreinitially wary. But the inside looks like a very local and authentic Mexican joint, well kept up, clean and comfortable. It's not a touristy spot and that is absolutely its appeal. The staff don't speak a whole lot of English but they speak enough for anyone to get by pretty easily. We've returned for dinner a couple times now, and always leave satisfied. BIG portions. You can easily split most dishes, and the larger portions of the appetizers (ceviche for example) can be easily split among big parties. They are absolutely a seafood restaurant, so don't expect much else. But there is a lot of variety to their seafood menu and everything is delicious.

    Photos
    Ceviche y horchata
    Ceviche y horchata
    Mariscos El Barco
    Ceviche de Pescado

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    Ceviche de Pescado

    El Caporal - Richmond - mexican - Updated July 2026

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