Soul Taco Shockoe Bottom - Richmond

I recently got a job in the area, and decided to check out Soul Taco since it was walkable. When you walk in you grab a menu and order at the bar. Enter Pat, the bar tender/server. She was so sweet. She checked on me without hovering and removed my dishes promptly, always calling me by my name (not something I care about, to be honest, but I found it made her seem even friendlier). I would come back just to be in Pat 's presence. In fact, I 'm considering coming back after work for a margarita.Now the food. Most of the menu items are battered and fried (I suppose that is the Soul part), so not exactly a light lunch, but still delicious. I got the Nashville Hot and the Shrimp Po ' Boy. The tacos are about $5 each, but they do offer a lunch special of 3 for $12 for specific options, which is why I didn 't go that route. They were ready very quickly and Pat brought them right over.Ambience wise, they were pumping somewhat loud pop music, which I enjoyed since I was solo. I could potentially see it being a little loud for a conversation.All in all, the meal might have been a little heavy for returning to work, but I will absolutely be back in the evening sometime.

I sat at the bar and was made to feel so welcome by the bartender Connor. He made a fantastic margarita and the vegan taco I had was very good, shout out the Eric the chef I was told who made it. Overall had a great experience!

Walked in and sat down for 10 minutes and no one ever came to greet me or taken order. The bartender was just running his mouth to a customer. The waiter was sitting at the end of the bar and also did nothing. Do better.

What a disappointment. The food was bad — the jerk chicken tasted like the bottom of a burnt pan. Service was miserable. We had to ask for our drinks after 10 minutes or so as the server had clearly forgotten about them while making drinks for their friends at the bar. The other server seemed irritated we had even entered the restaurant. Tacos came without napkins. I had to hunt them down so we could eat. They didn’t have any ice — at 5 pm on a Saturday — and we had to wait for the owner to arrive with it so we could have our drinks. (Another reviewer had the same problem, oddly. The menu had such potential but ultimately this was a let-down. We were surprised since the online reviews were decent — until we used the restroom and noticed a sign advertising two free tacos for a five-star online review. Assuming that explains it. Would also be great if they could switch from plastic cups to reusable.

The food was very good — I particularly enjoyed my shrimp, chicken and carne asada tacos! Kathryn was a great, attentive server and her services lifted the atmosphere for us…the interior could be brought to life a bit more. I can’t quite put my finger on what it is that they could use to improve the aesthetics, but comfort was definitely elevated by the phenomenal service