Stronghill Dining Company Restaurant Review

The restaurant business is a fine balancing act. The decor, food and service have to converge to create an overall atmosphere that will make the public rave and keep tables occupied. If one element in lacking, it can eclipse any successes.

Stronghill’s greatest success is in decor. An elaborate mural is etched on the wall, while hip light fixtures hang from the exposed ceiling. Even the lighting outside makes Stronghill seem a beacon in a section of town coming back to life.

As attractive as the decor is, it’s obvious the layout is new and taking some getting used to. One side of the restaurant handles more of the dining crowd with wooden booths and a few tables, while the other side has lush couches and a few tables set off from the bar.

When we arrived, we were told there were no booths available, but that we were welcome to sit at one of the tables on the other side of the restaurant. All was well until we realized these tables were bar-tops, and we would be served by the bartender. This is usually not a problem, except this poor soul also had a full bar of Friday happy-hour patrons.

Everything started off well enough; we ordered a few microbrews from the selection including Bell’s Oktoberfest and Dogfish IPA, and chose the fried jambalaya fritters as an appetizer. We’d like to tell you how they were, but when our entrees came 20 minutes later, it was pretty clear that order never went through.

Perhaps the front of the house was short staffed on this particular night, but we can hardly find fault in the service considering he was asked to take care of several tables, bar patrons, as well as mixing mojitos for the whole house. If they either assigned a server to these tables or at least made the bar-service status of these tables clearer, this would have been a major boon to our evening. We would have gladly taken a seat at the bar to wait for a table dedicated to dinner service had we known.

With a win in the decor category and a fail in the service, we were looking for Stronghill to come in with a home-run in the food category. In addition to a new menu of sandwiches and small plates, Stronghill also offers several entree options, mostly in the realm of comfort food such as Southern Comfort BBQ Ribs and a Grilled Pork Loin chop. We settled on the Blackened Shrimp Gumbo ($18) and one of the nightly specials, filet mignon served with a soy-reduction ($25).

The gumbo consisted of chunks of andouille sausage, crawfish and chicken in a broth along with rice and a few blacked shrimp on top. While the dish was executed well, the ingredients were overshadowed by a bland broth. Besides the heavy dose of blackened seasoning on the shrimp, there was not a hint of spice, which would have turned an OK dish into a standout.

The filet was cooked to order at medium rare, but offered little flavor from the promised soy-reduction. A little extra seasoning would have improved this dish as well. Our choice of sides in red beans and rice and macaroni and cheese were a hit. Leah often gets incredulous looks when others learn she is not a fan of macaroni and cheese, but Stronghill’s version changed her mind. Crispy outside without too much cream mixed in, the cheesy goodness almost made us forget about the disappointing steak.

Our dessert, caramel apple cheesecake was more of the same; good, but not great. The layer of cooked apple chunks added a unique touch to the standard, but otherwise, it was not an overall standout.

Much like the Boulevard corridor it calls home, Stronghill has so much potential, but still has a ways to go to reach it. We would gladly gather a few friends for drinks, but based on this visit, we hope they continue to fine-tune their dining service before we return for a dinner date.

Stronghill Dining Company **1/2 (Two and a Half Stars)
1200 N. Boulevard
(804) 359-0202

What’s in the Stars:
0—don’t go
*-average
** above average
*** very good
**** excellent dining experience

Jon and Leah Nelson, like most married couples, can’t agree on how the dishwasher should be loaded, so they eat out a lot so someone else can worry about the dishes. As RVA natives, they have had plenty of practice checking out what the city has to offer.