The Best of RVA...According to Jules - Part 1

Hello and happy Friday, y'all! :)  In light of Style Weekly's Best of Richmond Readers' Poll 2013 coming out this week (you should totally follow the link and cast your votes, btw), I decided it would be fun to start my own "The Best of RVA...According to Jules" series.  With Valentine's Day on the horizon, I figured it would be appropriate to start off with The Best Date Night Spots/Romantic Restaurants in RVA...According to Jules.  However, if you have been procrastinating and haven't made your Valentine's Day dinner reservations yet, you better head straight over to Open Table and snatch up the best one you can find...You'll be lucky to find many options before 8:30 at this point, and many of the popular restaurants are already booked solid for the entire evening, so don't delay another minute!

So, here are my absolute favorite Richmond date night spots to enjoy with that very special someone, a potential special someone, or even a girls night out with your besties!  In no particular order, because they're all at the top of my list and I'm much too indecisive to actually be able to rank them...

1. Can Can Brasserie - Carytown
2. Bistro Bobette - Shockoe Slip
3. The Tobacco Company Restaurant - Shockoe Slip
4. Julep's New Southern Cuisine - Shockoe Bottom
5. Portico - Far West End
6. Stella's - West End
7. The Melting Pot - Far West End
8. Enoteca Sogno - Northside
9. Lemaire at The Jefferson Hotel - Downtown
10. The Water Grill - Carytown
11. Umi Sushi Bistro - Short Pump
12. Ginger Thai Taste - Carytown
13. The Boathouse at Rocketts Landing - Rocketts Landing (imagine that!)
14. Selba - The Fan
15. Bonvenu - Carytown

And if you manage to save room for dessert after a delicious dinner at one of the above establishments, but would prefer to enjoy a sweet treat with your sweetie at a different venue, let me recommend my favorite dessert shops:

• Shyndigz - This is not your typical bakery...it's a "cake cafe."  What's not to love about that?!  They sell cake and other desserts by the slice, but the slices are massive, so plan to share (which makes it that much more romantic anyway, right? ;)  My personal favorite menu item is the Abbey's Crack Pie...let's just say it lives up to its name...each bite makes you crave another and another! Sooo yummy! And as the polka-dotted facade of the shop should imply, the inside is also absolutely adorable and a perfect setting for a cozy date :)
• Boyer's Ice Cream & Coffee - Just a few doors over from Shyndigz, if you are craving ice cream or milkshakes, go here! Order the Salted Caramel Milkshake....don't ask questions, just do it. You will not be disappointed (unless you don't like caramel or something, then I suggest going for Cake Batter. Heck, you really can't go wrong with any flavor you choose here!
• Sweet Frog - As if you didn't see that one coming...I mean, really :P  Everyone's favorite fro-yo shop...okay, more specifically my favorite fro-yo shop...and by favorite what I really mean is I'm addicted to it...

Of course, as much as I enjoy eating out and trying new restaurants, there are still plenty of Richmond establishments that I have not yet experienced.  Based on rave reviews from others, as well as their upstanding reputations among Richmonders in general, here are some restaurants that I cannot personally vouch for yet, but are on my list of restaurants to try:

• Acacia
• Arcadia
• Avalon
• Avenue 805
• Azzurro
• Bistro 27
• Eurasia Cafe & Wine Bar
• Heritage (formerly Six Burner)
• 525 at the Berry Burk
• Mansion Five26
• Tastebuds American Bistro

This is by no means a complete list, so if I inadvertently missed your fave date-night spot, please feel free to share your recommendation(s) below in the comment section!  Thanks for reading and stay tuned for the next segment of "The Best of RVA...According to Jules!"  Next topic is still TBD, but requests/suggestions are welcomed! :)

Have a fabulous weekend, y'all!