Earlier this week, Chris saw a Facebook post about a restaurant owned by a friend of his. Style Weekly had named Restaurant Adarra the number one restaurant in Richmond. We decided to check it out. Our friend Ryan joined us for dinner.
Chris texted his friend to let him know when we would arrive. The restaurant is on the corner. As we made the left turn, we found a perfect parking spot right in front of the restaurant. When we entered, there was a group of people in front of us. We felt like VIPs when immediately we escorted to a spot reserved for us at the bar.
The guys enjoyed some beers, while I ordered a cocktail made with bitters, amaro, grapefruit juice and sparkling wine. The delicious cocktail had a crazy name, “My Main Goal is to Blow Up then Act Like I Don’t Know Nobody”. We enjoyed the show the talented bartender put on as he created drinks in front of us.
Small plates, meant for sharing, make up the menu. We started with Venison Tartare with horseradish and mushrooms. The venison was delectable with the brightness from the horseradish perfectly countered by the earthiness of the mushrooms. Our next dish, whole shrimp with garlic had the most amazing sauce. I wanted to scoop up what was left with a spoon.
The Stuffed Squid, served over white beans and greens and filled with a lovely chorizo mixture had the perfect level of heat, warming as we ate without overpowering the dish. The greens cut through the richness of the filling very nicely. The broth was spectacular with a lovely citrus flavor. For our “main course” we ordered a special, Guiso Gallego. The rice dish, with perfectly cooked duck leg and beautiful mushrooms, was a paella style dish. The rice was a great texture and the parsley leaves over the top rounded out the dish nicely.
I would have been perfectly content to stop there but the guys wanted to taste two more of the dishes. Beets are very hit or miss for me, I have had some that I enjoyed very much and others that I didn’t care to even finish. The Roasted Beets definitely fit into the former class. The bright verde sauce was a lovely foil to the earthy beets. I really enjoyed the added flavor of the creamy goat cheese as well as the wonderful crunch from the walnuts.
We have a tendency to order mussels pretty much anytime we see it on a menu so, of course, we had to get the Mussels Escabeche. The shelled mussels, plump and flavorful, paired with a gorgeous paprika sauce and basil, was reminiscent of a Caprese. I would rank it as the best mussels dish I have eaten.
Although I was full at this point, I couldn’t resist taking a piece of cheesecake home with me. The flavor was that of a good cheesecake but it had the most amazing light, fluffy texture. It was beautifully accented with Spanish olive oil. The pop of sea salt was a perfect finish to an astounding meal.
Cost for five beers, a cocktail, six plates, and a dessert $197.12.
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