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    Family Secrets Restaurant

    4.0 (205 reviews)
    Closed 12:00 pm - 8:00 PM

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    FAMILY SECRETS RESTAURANT ATMOSPHERE

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

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    Recommended Reviews - Family Secrets Restaurant

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    Menu
    Antwan W.

    Food was great. Service was ok. Terrence was super friendly and had a great personality. He wasn't the greatest waiter but he was really cool. He said that he usually works in the back and I believe him. We had the wings (whole wings), a fried shrimp and fried whiting platter with yams and green beans. The wings tasted like somebody's mama was in the back frying chicken. We also had the fried seafood platter which included a broiled crabcake, a few pieces of fried whiting and some jumbo shrimp Mac and cheese (not my favorite) and potato salad (sweet but different texture). The whiting was good but tough in texture. All food seems to be made to order. Be prepared to wait a little bit but not unreasonably long. It's amazing hat Richmond is so close to DC but yet so south that you immediately feel as if you're in the country. The restaurant is old looking and no frills whatsoever. You can tell that the family is keeping the dream alive. The AC was not pumping the best. It's also obvious that this is a staple in Richmond. The place was packed and when a place is packed with seasoned black folks....thats a great sign! I did have an issue. A 20% gratuity is added to all dine in orders. Our waiter brought out the initial receipt and I saw that fee so when he brought the receipt to sign, I did not offer an additional tip. Like I said, he was cool but not a great waiter at all. We literally ate or entire meal with one napkin each. I felt a type of way that he didn't mention that gratuity was already included. I felt like he was trying to get an additional 18-25%. That really rubbed me the wrong way. Even with this I still give this place four stars and recommend it.

    Menu
    Racquel H. D.

    Food Pros: The best thing about this visit for me to Family Secrets is the smothered pork chops. They were absolutely delicious. Tender and well seasoned with a great gravy and fresh peppers and onions. The chicken was nice and crispy and tasty on first bite. I would have loved a little more seasoning for the inside of the chicken. The collards,beans and yams were okay. The cornbread was light and somewhat tasty. Food came out piping hot so that was good. Food Cons: The Macaroni and cheese was not good at all. It didn't have enough cheese and it was dry. Service Pros: Our server, once she was attentive, was friendly. She explained how busy they were that day and the issue with being short staffed for the day. Service Cons: the service was pretty slow. They didn't have enough servers on a busy Saturday night. We waited about 10 minutes to be seated then was waved over to sit as opposed to someone leading us to the table. Had to wait about 10 minutes to order and another 25-30 for the food to arrive. Ambiance Pros: the bathrooms were very clean and the tables were sturdy and cleaned well. The music was at a great volume and the room was buzzing with talk and laughter from guests. Ambiance Cons: The ambiance is pretty dark upon walking in. There was no one at the door to greet anyone coming in. We had to find something to ask for a table to be cleaned to be seated. My biggest issue was the sticky floors throughout the restaurant, low light and the dirty windows. Small things that are important to me when dining in. It was an okay visit. After the server explained how busy they were for the day and the need for more staff, we understood some of the service issues. We will return to try different food items hopefully some of the cons will be worked out.

    BBQ Pork Ribs, Green Beans, Mac And Cheese, cornbread
    Trudy T.

    The food was great!! When I say great, I mean GREAT! I really didn't want to leave this review because I didn't want to spread the word about this gem of a place. However, someone needs to enjoy the deliciousness that me and my family did this Sunday. We went after church and it was packed! Service was slow but I understood it. The staff was friendly, attentive and just all around great. It really felt like you were at a large family dinner. Ooohh! The cornbread!!!! I'm not even a cornbread eater and after sampling my husband's piece I ordered my own. Nice vibe, great music, definitely going back soon, maybe this weekend.

    NeShawn L.

    Came here 2 weeks ago (a Saturday) to celebrate my bestfriend's Moms bday. First time at this new location, but I've visited the old location multiple times on/off in past. They were usually a hit-or-miss, but as the "misses" became more frequent my patronage became nonexistent. With that being said, it's been a few years since I've dined here, and I was excited to see if things had positively changed over time. When I arrived, I noticed a couple of patrons dining-in inside. Over on the other side of the restaurant, they have something like a room with a long table and chairs and some church pew like seats/tables along the wall. I'm assuming this area was use for reserved larger parties (this is where our party was seated). Definitely bigger than the last location. But the ambience and decor definitely give old and thrown together. When it comes to food/resturants, I can appreciate a nice "aesthetic" look or decor, but honestly I'm I care about the food. I wouldn't even speak on the thrift store like furnishings if the food made up for it. It definitelyyyy DIDN'T ‍ I don't even know where to start. The cornbread served to the table might've been the best thing smoking, and it wasn't even hot. But had a nice flavor (3/5). Don't even waste time trying to get a drink. The "lemon drops" we ordered, a mess, the "blue motorcycles" terrible. Didn't expect much on the bar side from a "soul food restaurant" but still, do better. I ordered the wings&fish. Comes with whitings, but I opted for catfish (2.50 upcharge for the change that was never discussed when order was placed, but whatever). Got fries and mac&cheese as the sides. My wings were warm-hot (not nearly as hot as the others I was seated with), my fries were actually cold, as if they was cooked hours earlier and sat under a heat lamp. I told the server about my fries and he brought more that were actually hot&seasoned. The wings were beautifully sized, and "pretty", butttttt the seasoning was absent. But that macaroni&cheese, my GODDDD literally the WORSTTTT thing on the table. I couldn't believe it. Tasted uncooked, flavorless, just YUCKKKK. The other 3 sitting at my church pew had also ordered wings, theirs came out about 10mins before mine and were hot and piping out of the grease. Same thing with theirs, pretty on the outside barley seasoned on the inside. A few of them opted to drown them in hot sauce to give it some type of flavor. The "yams" wasn't the worst flavor, but definitely weren't traditional yams, more like mashed sweet potatoes (lots of strings throughout, 100% from a can). The greens were also awful, flavorLESS as could be. Same for the green beans. A friend described them as "school cafeteria style", straight out the can with ZEROOOO seasoning/flavor. Overall, if you're looking for a good soul food experience, pleaseee don't don't disappoint yourself and your tastebuds by dining here. Money was definitely wasted. Price of the disappointing food , plus automatic gratuity (understood because of the large party) PLUS , state tax, PLUSSS a Henrico tax, RIDICULOUSNESSSSSS!!

    6/24/21: Ribs, yams, & Mac
    Anissa W.

    6/24/21: This was our first and LAST visit!! We had a taste for soul food & decided to try something new. After reading the reviews, I thought there was good chance of having some good food. Boy, was I WRONG!! The service was OK. That wasn't the issue. The issue was definitely the quality of the food and the price! Fried shrimp = 1 (If I could give a zero, I would. I basically had steamed shrimp with a breading garnish! The coating was cooked off of them & sitting soggy in the bottom of the flimsy food container!) Hotdog = 4 (It was a good size on a Hawaiian roll. My son loved it!) Mac'n'cheese = 3 (My family LIKED it, but it left a weird aftertaste.) Collards = 2 (They were too spicy!! That's all the flavor we could taste!) Cornbread = 3 (It was cold, but it tasted ok. It needed some butter & a little heat, and it would've been BOMB!) Rice = 2 (It literally was just cooked white rice. It was no flavor to it & no sauce on top. Just WHITE RICE!) Fried pork chop = 2 (It was dry, tasteless, & tough! I should've just cooked at home!) Pork sliders = 3 (We got 4 sliders of pork meat with no sauce. No sauce was offered. It was just plain and a little tough. I tasted vinegar also. It wasn't my fave!) Ribs = 2 (There was more bone than meat. The taste wasn't there. Just bland!) Yams = 1 (Mine was bitter & barely sweet. They charged $.50 to package them separately YET the container was so raggedy that the juice from the collars that poured throughout the bag got into it. I don't like my food touching for a reason & I don't like collards!! I trashed it!) This experience was horrible & I truly wish we would've gone elsewhere. They took no pride in the presentation of our food. I'm still trying to understand how there was NO COATING on my fried shrimp. Like, what did you fry?? What kind of coating was it supposed to be?? I was basically eating HOT shrimp cocktail without the cocktail sauce. We won't be going back. I should've gone to McDonalds.

    Catfish

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    Review Insights

    28 days ago

    The food is good juice i wood recommend this restaurant to anyone it is great tasting homemade

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    3 years ago

    Great food. Service was a little slow. You could tell this was a local spot with friendly staff.

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    2 years ago

    Slow slow slow. And we were ignored. Several people came in after us and were served first. Very unprofessional.

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    1 year ago

    Very friendly service; excellent wings and sides. The next time I'm in Richmond I'll dine here again.

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    1 year ago

    The food was excellent definitely will get your monies worth [[HIGHLIGHT]]nice down home atmosphere[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]]

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    Soul Food Joint

    Soul Food Joint

    4.6
    (71 reviews)
    64.0 mi

    My son picked this place. The place is very small, maybe four tables. It's really a one man…read moreoperation with some help to clear tables. Each meal is cooked by Shaun who is especially nice, friendly, and puts love into each dish he prepares. You can tell. Just take a breath when you walk in and take it in. Service is good, but like I said - its a one man operation so just be patience. The Fried Chicken and Devil Eggs are EXCELLENT. We would go back. Keep up the good job Shaun. Nicely done.

    Came here to grab a bite with friends. The inside is very casual. The food was good and the…read moreportions were great for the price. I tried the Babyback Ribs and Fried Chicken Soul Sandwiches. The Babyback Ribs were really good. The ribs are taken off the bone for the soul sandwich and plated on slices of potato rolls. The Fried Chicken was good but not the best I've had in Charlottesville. I would have liked the outside to be crispier. The cornbread that comes with the order was also good. It was not traditional cornbread-- it tasted like carrot cake corn bread. The Mac and Cheese was a little too overcooked for my liking. However, for the meat sandwich and two sides were a large portion and cost 12 dollars which was awesome. Overall, Soul Food Joint is a charming locally owned soul food place downtown. It wasn't the best fried chicken or barbecue that I've had in Charlottesville, however the food was good and the portions were great for the price.

    Photos
    Fried chicken platter with mashed potatoes, deviled eggs, cornbread
    Fried chicken platter with mashed potatoes, deviled eggs, cornbread
    Rib platter with Mac and cheese, deviled eggs, cornbread
    Rib platter with Mac and cheese, deviled eggs, cornbread
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    Family Secrets Restaurant - southern - Updated August 2026

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