bigbodycrx

i jsut started working in richmond recently and heard of a seafood restaurant here called "Riptides". I was told it is off of the rt 10 exit west bound. Has anyone ever ate at this place, and if so is it worth it. I was thinking about making a trip down this weekend and i wanna map quest it since i am from fredericksburg and do not know the area. If anyone knows where it is or has anything to say about the food/ service it would be aprreciated.
Barry

crx2sol

It is off rt 10...bout 10 minutes from me .....housed in a former gas station....The place is ok but DEFINATELY not worth coming all the way from fburg. Save your time and money. Try pleasure island on rt.1 in colonial heights....they have fresh seafood for a decent price and it isn't housed in a gas station.

BluestedSRT

here is what Richmond Magazine said about it.


Riptides: Straight Ahead Seafood
By Karen Miller
Riptides offers fresh selections, but preparation lacks oomph

Riptides in Chester has successfully re-created the fish shacks that so many tourists frequent on their annual pilgrimages to the beaches of North and South Carolina. Your opinion of the restaurant will likely depend on your personal affinity for fried seafood piled high in little red plastic baskets with parchment liners.

On a recent visit for lunch, I went with my friend Jerry-Grace, who lives near the seafood restaurant and raw bar. It is a casual place, so we brought the children. My crab cake sandwich ($7.95) was overly wet and slightly stringy. The accompanying house-made tartar sauce had the right piquant blend of mayo and relish, but it couldn't rescue the bland sandwich. Even the extra-wide fries were average. Lacking crispness, they were a bit bendy and could have used more salt; both adults and all five children left most of them uneaten.

Jerry-Grace's tuna sandwich ($7.95) was just that -- a generous tuna steak grilled exactly as she had specified and served on a hamburger bun. With a bare dusting of the chef's own blend of spices, it was still one of the most boring sandwiches I have sampled. Riptides touts the fact that the restaurant sends its own refrigerated trucks to Tidewater and the Outer Banks. This I applaud, and the tuna was obviously fresh. It was firmly textured and flaky, but even the most perfect fish needs a little oomph.

My children ordered the Fish Nuggets ($3.95), boneless Alaskan Pollack that had been deep-fried as little cubes. Each piece was small, so the overwhelming taste was of crunchy breading and not fish. My daughter Halle said, "They tasted just like McNuggets, except fishier" and then proceeded to eat just two. The bowls of ice cream that came with the kids' meals were a hit, though. Our friendly waitress even doused them with multicolored sprinkles.

Jerry-Grace and I shared a magnificent slice of key lime pie ($4.95) made by the owner's wife. A classic interpretation, it was velvety, smothered in whipped cream and garnished with a lime wedge. The lime juice and condensed milk created a yin-yang of sweet and sour that helped cleanse the palate and ended lunch on a high note.

Riptides resides in a converted gas station/convenience store, so the initial impression is not one of charm. However, the service is efficient and down to earth, the prices are reasonable, and the beer is served in a frosty mug. Once inside, the orange paint and the assortment of fishing implements adorning the walls make for a vibrant, attractive space.

When I went on a Friday night with my friend Susan, the place was packed. We liked the half-pound of steamed "peel and eat" Old Bay-seasoned shrimp ($6.49) we shared as an appetizer. Approximately 22 of America's favorite shellfish arrived warm, plump and tender. The cocktail sauce was yummy, with a pleasant sharpness from the tangy horseradish.

We found Susan's rainbow trout with crab meat ($17.95) consistent with the other selections that strayed from the fried formula -- not enough seasoning, lackluster presentation and too much reliance on the seafood itself to carry the dish. My Fried Combo Platter ($16.95), a mound of fried cod, shrimp, clam strips and scallops with hushpuppies was the grown-up version of Halle's nuggets. Amazingly and agreeably, the seafood was not greasy. Unfortunately, the clam strips were difficult to taste due to the heavy coating, and the rest of the seafood registered a sameness that seemed to negate all of the effort taken to purvey top-quality product.

I think there is better fried seafood in Richmond, and it often comes with a slab of cornbread and stewed collards instead of the obligatory fries. And while I can't criticize Riptides for being exactly what it has set out to be, I couldn't help but hope for something more.

bigbodycrx

Thanks guys, i had someone tell me it was really good but damn not that good, where else in richmond is good?

blah

Go here, it's the tits!!!! http://www.mongolianatrichmond.com/



(Where's my commission check?)

bigbodycrx

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