Ipanema Cafe
Restaurant, Bar
Hours
Profile
Neighborhood
- The Fan
Smoke-free?
- Yes
Reservations?
- Not Accepted
Wheelchair Accessible?
- No
Accepts
- Checks
-
$$ - average
Eclectic (Varied)
A bar, some booths, and only one menu
Ipanema is a basement cafe in the Fan section of Richmond. Walk down the steps and open the heavy wooden door and you'll find a unique bar/restaurant with surprising and delicious veg food. The service staff is friendly and usually will greet you quickly from behind the bar. You'll be directed to a chalkboard with the one and only menu in the place. A short list of dishes are available and change from day to day. Spicy Seitan, Enchiladas, Hand-made Pirogies and more. Prices are fair and the atmosphere is enjoyable. Artwork hangs in the booths and changes frequently. Wine bottles hide away in the exposed joists overhead while the hum of dining customers melds with the ever changing music.
On Grace Street, 3 blocks west of Belvidere Street.
- Happy Hour
- Live Music
- Quiet
- Romantic
Added by Joshua Warchol on Jul 14 04 (updated Jan 8)
Reviews
This cafe serves great-tasting, unique food. I loved the dive bar atmosphere (although it was very clean). The service was great and the staff was knowledgeable. I had the focaccia and sweet potato pancakes, along with a slice of vegan blueberry pear pie-- all decadent. It's right near campus yet had an interesting mix of patrons. Since I was passing through town, I brought a book to keep me entertained and found it quiet enough to read comfortably. Overall, an excellent experience, and if I lived in Richmond, I'd be a regular.
Excellent food! This place would make a meat–eater want to become a vegetarian. The only complaint is that there are no menus and the board can be hard to read depending on the handwriting. Other than that, I really love this place and it's food.
Ipanema Café attracts a largely collegiate and post-collegiate clientele, mainly by virtue of its location in an English basement in the heart of the Virginia Commonwealth University area. It's a hip-funky joint with excellent vegetarian and vegan fare (and there is also usually one flesh-food dish on the chalkboard menu for any hardcore carnivores who may be in your party). Service is variable and there is a frequent turnover in staff, because so many servers are also students, but all are personable and knowledgeable. Sometimes, later in the evening, it can get a bit crowded and noisy, and, yes, sometimes smoky, and the music is almost always turned up too loud for my sensibilities, but I'm 55 and most of the patrons are in their 20s, so I'm outnumbered. Hence, I tend to go earlier. They offer a nice array of microbrews and spirits (the ubiquitous flavored martinis!), but they're not much on wines -- again, probably because of the demographics of their clientele. You won't have a bad meal here.
I Went here for the first time with my GF this past weekend. The food and service were both excellent. It may depend on the Chef at the time but both of our meals were beautifully presented. It's pricier than some places but the portion size and deliciousness factor make up for that.
Simple, but excellent American style food. Very big portions, but the price varies by the dish. Very vegan-friendly. Excellent vegan cake.
Fantastic restaurant in the VCU area. Very mixed crowd, both young and old. Have a mixture of sandwiches/wraps, soups, salads, entrees, and desserts. Would recommend all of their food because it's all delicious!