Virginia Diner

We stopped by on a snowy Saturday night after we had been driving most of the day and we were cold and hungry. We pulled up at 6:13pm when they normally close at 7 and we wanted to grab something to go so we wouldn't keep them, but they insisted we sit down and order, which we were actually really thankful for.They had a $20 AYCE buffet that they were about to start breaking down, it was filled with things like fried chicken and a chocolate/vanilla pudding and other stuff. It looked good, but we didn't want to keep them from breaking it down, so we ordered off the menu.I ordered the open faced roast beef sandwich that comes with mashed potatoes and gravy, a biscuit, and I ordered the carrot soufflé. My little brother ordered the meatloaf with mashed potatoes and gravy and candied yams and hush puppies.I LOVED the gravy. It is a beef gravy that was not too salty but was so flavorful. Pair that with what is probably the best mashed potatoes I have ever had... YES! The roast beef was so tender and topped with more of that delicious gravy. The carrot soufflé was pretty good, not as sweet as the one I used to love at (*shows my age*) Piccadilly. The biscuits were just a classic biscuit, perfect for dunking in the potatoes and gravy.The meatloaf was pretty darn good and again, covered in that delicious gravy. The yams were good too, really cinnamon and sugary. The hush puppies were crisp on the outside and soft on the inside and delicious.This place opens up into a cute little shop that sells Virginia Diner peanuts and such, which is a pretty big deal around these parts, judging by how many shops I see selling them. The restaurant looks like a classic cafeteria/diner. Clean floors, ample space to walk, and plenty of friendly people.I will definitely be by again (and again and again) for more of that delicious food.

This diner was a great experience. Server was nice food came quick with no issues to bring up. Below is what was ordered and beneath that what we got from the shop. We went in early December so the Ambiance was nice with the Christmas tree and holiday music. I would recommend anyone to stop by if in the area. -2 pc fried chicken with onion rings - breading on both the chicken and onion rings was very thin but crispy. The fried chicken is probably one of the juiciest fried chickens I have ever had-Virginia Country Ham Biscuits (appetizer) - the biscuits were extremely salty. We had to eat the ham separately and could not finish the biscuits - hush puppies - they were good slightly sweet and has more of a corn taste than an onion taste like others we have tried. - sweet tea - nice and sweet - peanut pie - the star of the show. Less gooey than a pecan pie but in my opinion better. From the shop- chocolate covered peanuts - really good- salted roasted peanuts - also really good

This place is ok. As other reviewers have expressed, it has changed over years. We had stopped here approx. 12 years ago and we can see how it has expanded, refreshed and taken on more of a retail business. It does not feel as hometown as before.The southern driven menu has something for all. My wife ordered the BLT with potato salad which also includes a pickle spear. She had to ask for more mayonnaise as there was barely any on from kitchen. The potato salad is n based with pickle relish. All tasted good. I ordered a fried chicken sandwich that came with a very slight amount of dijon-honey sauce. My side was collard greens cooked well but lacked some spicing, a little bland.All in all it was an ok meal but service was slow, and it was not busy. Will not stop here again when in area.

Horrible excuse for a restaurant 45 minute wait for a literal dump. Food is just standard diner crap. Staff is retarded overall not worth a 2 minute wait I'd give them a zero if I could

This is THE iconic diner you have to go to. Even if you don't traverse 460 regularly, it is WELL worth the drive from Richmond, Hampton Roads OR even a detour from 95.This was on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives for a reason-this is the epitome of good ole Southern cuisine. Their Brunswick Stew and Ham Biscuits with a dessert of Peanut Pie is by far my favorite. The service is ALWAYS warm and prompt. The feel of the restaurant is like... that small hometown diner that you know all the servers at or that small place you go regularly-even if it's just a quick one time stop.Trust me-you need to go here!

I stopped in Wednesday afternoon for lunch and the place was almost empty. I was seated immediately with extremely friendly service. There were many things on the menu. I wanted to try but ended up having an open face turkey sandwich with mashed potatoes and green beans. The green beans were your average canned beans and the gravy was the institutional type but I was very happy that the mashed potatoes were real. The bread was a single piece of Texas style toast, but the star of the show was definitely the turkey! It was so nice NOT to have deli slices from the local grocery store on top of white bread. I don't know if it was smoked in house, but it was definitely sliced up on the premises. I would love to come back to try some more items off the menu.

We wanted to know what was the big talk about this spot. My son and I, are always chasing places that have great fried chicken, and they didn't disappoint. Place was extremely packed, but we didn't have to wait long to be seated. Place is deceivingly big, very clean, and inviting. This is also a buffet style, but can order from the menu as well. I ordered the fried chicken meal (not a fan of the carrot soufflé). Kids had burgers, mom had a shrimp dinner, and the hubs had the biscuits and gravy. Everything was delicious! The banana pudding was CRAZY good! Loved the little store and walked out with some extra snacks. Our server was extremely attentive!

I ate here for lunch one day. This restaurant is well known in southern Virginia and I hadn't been for a good 15-20 years, so it was nice to go again. I was looking forward to some good old fashioned southern food and in particular, Virginia ham. This restaurant wasn't bad, but I can't honestly say it lives up to its reputation. When you walk in, you find yourself in the store, which has lots of different kinds of peanuts, which are probably good; I wouldn't know. Unlike the store across the street, they don't give out free samples. To the left of that is the restaurant. They have a buffet, which looked alright, for about $20/person. I was surprised to see you can't order a plate of Virginia/Smithfield ham off the menu. You could get VA ham biscuits as an appetizer or you could get it as part of a combination plate, which I ordered. I also got pulled pork bbq and 2 sides (sweet potatoes), but I only received the one side, which turned out to be ok. It also came with hush puppies. The sweet potatoes were great and the ham was good. The bbq was a bit dry and I wish it had come on a bun. Service was alright; after seeing how much food I got I decided not to ask about my second side. Overall, the restaurant is fine, but it's not outstanding or anything and struggles to live up to the hype. I'd go here again if I was in the area, but probably wouldn't make a point of going here.

When we travel from St Louis to the OBX of North Carolina, we normally have lunch at Surry Seafood on the river near Surry, Virginia on our second day. This time, we wanted dome of the Virginia Runner peanuts form Virginia Diner in Wakefield. We have long been customers of Virginia Diner for these great peanuts and have ordered them as gifts for friends and family for over 20 years. We decided it made sense to have lunch there on this trip.Unfortunately, we will not be doing this again. The peanuts remain on our preferred list, but this won't be a place for a return lunch. Our food was mediocre, to say the least. Ms T ordered the Fried Chicken sandwich. This is deboned fried chicken. You have a choice of fried chicken breast or what we assumed would be dark meat. Ms T specifically did not order the breast meat but that is what she received and it was dried out. This was not a good sandwich.I ordered a pulled pork platter which was also disappointing. I, perhaps wrongly, assumed this would be smoked, barbecued pork. The best description would be crock-pot pork with barbecue sauce. It had never seen a smoker. I guess I have been spoiled by the delicious Eastern Carolina barbecue, this just did not cut it. They have a buffet and I suspect that would have been a much better choice. So our rating is for our meal, off the menu. You may have a different experience with the buffet.

Service was great The fried green tomatoes with Sriracha sauce were delicious. I had the pulled pork sandwich, which was very good. Hubby had the seafood platter and he said it was just "ok." Everything on the platter was fried. Nice atmosphere.