Metzger Bar and Butchery

My husband and I heard about this place from our group of friends. It was very delish and a great brunch place to try on a Sunday morning. It is located in Church Hill and inside is a very cute clean set up. We made reservations for brunch and it actually started getting busy when we were close to leaving around noon.
On the Brunch menu, my husband and I started out with a Mimosa (I got the original, nothing speical about it) and bloody mary. It was nothing out of the ordinary. It was expensive for the glasses that we ordered, but I guess it was a good experience.
I ordered the Schnitzel, Eggs and Sausage Gravy, the flavor was very good. The side of potato wedges were actually underneath the schnitzel. The display was very pretty and it tasted pretty good. I do wish there was more gravy on it, but it had a delicious taste to it. My husband ordered the Lamb Bacon and Eggs. The display was very gorgeous, but it was exactly what it said it was. Overall, the food was good our server was very friendly and professional. It was an overall good experience, but I highly doubt that we will be coming back here.

Very solid fare. Love the casual/​hip vibe. The pickled-​beet eggs were very nice — not quite spicy enough for my taste, but flavorful. The soft shell crab special was very tasty and well prepared. My husband’s trout was good though not very memorable. The most memorable part of the meal was the dessert, a honey buttermilk cheesecake with candied passion fruit. WOW. I could come back just for that. Service was efficient if not effusive, which is what you’d expect from Germans (ha). If I return I’d try something more typically German, like schnitzel.

This place is incredibly hipster and delicious. I mean, the dinner menus are on manila folders. I don’t know how much more trendy you can get.
I came here for a good friend’s birthday, where I was the trendy third wheel. Luckily my friend made reservations, the place was already getting kind of packed. The décor inside and the bar were gorgeous. I loved the décor and everything about it. Everything seemed well thought out and whoever the interior designer was deserves a gold star. The place had a good vibe to it. It had a relaxed and fun atmosphere. It did get pretty loud in there later on towards the night.
I ordered a glass of the Rose, they did have some pretty awesome beers on tap as well. The menu looks really good. I had trouble deciding what to get. If it was just me and my boyfriend, I would get pretty much all the appetizers (they had an awesome charcuterie board, octopus, tartar…), but they were both vegetarian/​vegan. So I was on my own with trying to finish any of those apps. I decided on the bone marrow. and it was SPECTACULAR. I love bone marrow in general, but they did a great job. It melted in my mouth, I was scraping the bones to get all of it.
For my main entrée, I got the schnitzel. This thing was HUGE. Seriously, don’t worry about not being full enough, the schnitzel basically takes up the entire plate and the duck fat potatoes it comes with is buried underneath it. The schnitzel was good. Warm, crispy, and delicious. I’ve been to Austria where I got to eat schnitzel, and it wasn’t as good, but I’m not complaining either. The potatoes were average, a little on the bland side. I could have done without it and with more sauerkraut. I believe the schnitzel was a little more than 18 dollars, not too bad for how much food you get.
The food did take a little while to get there, but good conversation really didn’t make me notice too much. Towards the end of the night, the place, especially the bar area, was swarmed with people. The service was a little slow but friendly. Parking isn’t too bad either. It is street parking, but there was plenty of parking out in front and a little further down the street from the restaurant. If you’re looking for some good German food with a trendy/​hipster atmosphere, definitely check it out.

Way, way over priced for the quantity and quality of the food.
The food is ok, but the prices are way out of sync with what you get.

Good food and beer!
Made a reservation last minute since we thought it might be busy. It was really busy but the ambiance was really nice.
The restaurant is sophisticated yet simple.
The tables and the bar are made from this big piece of a tree. I think they left the outside of the tree trunk intact they just smoothed the edges out, very cool.
Customer service was on point with hostesses seating us and the nice gal who took our order, it looked like they were really a good team together and it showed.
From the bar I ordered a Pilsner on draft and that was really good, looks like they have a great selection of German beer and local stuff as well.
We had the charcuterie plate which was fenominal and also the caviar, let me just say this the crème fraise was awesome!
Entrées I ordered the sausages with sauerkraut and fingerling potatoes that was very tasty.
My husband ordered the trout, when he was eating it it looked like Salmon, since fish was pink, unless there is pink trout out there we don’t know about lol That is why I only gave this place four stars.
We decided not to say anything since the rest of the food was on point. We will definitely return to this place for more good eats!

I have a inside source to the best hip restaurants in Richmond — my college attending daughter/​server who’s usually in the back of the house complaining about the campers at Table 8 in the Fan’s many restaurants/​bakery/​café/​bars. Her latest gold star recommendation was her graduation (Yay!) dinner at Metzger Bar and Butchery. A hip fusion twist of rustic German cuisine? Wow. Unexpectedly delightful. Magna cum laude sweetheart.
They sat us as a table of seven and were attentive all night rolling out one amazing plate after another. Robust meat and cheese plates gone in a second. Duck, Chicken, Rabbit, Trout all expertly done. Schnitzel the size of a turkey platter and perfectly done. (I am a schnitzel hound on the hunt for the best schnitzel in each city, so I know of what I speak.) Desserts just as good as the other courses. Everything in very generous portions that allowed each guest to sample a bit of each other’s plate without begrudgingly shorting him or herself.
A decent (short) list of eclectic wines from German wine regions was presented with some that are really remarkable. Personal favorite is the Meinklang range produced from biodynamic farming (a giant step above organic taking the cycle full circle, from cattle fed, organic grain and grass to create organic fertilization for the grapes). Their Pinot Noirs particularly complement the fare. The restaurant’s vibe, cuisine and wine come together to make it a memorable meal.
Warning — for visitors outside Richmond (or even residents) this spot appears to be in a really sketchy neighborhood. Don’t freak out and avoid the experience just due to locale.

Finally made it to Metzger last night after knowing about it for a couple years. Was very happy to find out there was a German restaurant in town, and what better time to visit than during RVA Restaurant Week.
My experience was great! Our waitress was very friendly, patient, and happy to describe menu items to us. Her and the other waitstaff were very attentive in filling up our water glasses, which was wonderful. For food, I ordered the Egg Salad Smørrebrød as my first course; I was a huge fan of the pickled onions that were on top. Ordered the Pork Schnitzel as my main course; the pork was crispy and moist, but was lacking a little bit in seasoning. The sauerkraut, fingerling potatoes, and Dijon mustard sauce that came along with it saved it though, it made every bite delicious. Dessert was a vanilla bean panna cotta topped with fruits; I don’t think this is on their normal menu, but the dessert was very refreshing.
The restaurant space is very quaint, intimate, and relaxing. Very nice atmosphere for a Sunday dinner. Do note since the restaurant is small, anyone who is loud may potentially affect the experience. There were a couple loud diners that arrived, but thankfully we were about to leave. Definitely a place to check out if you’re looking for German influenced dishes.

We enjoyed our dining experience and would definitely return. My chop was baked and not fattening, just right. My egg noodles were more like Fried egg pieces in the juice from the Porkchop — absolutely delicious! Not into radish greens, so I would have preferred some other vegetable. We both decided to get a dessert and we were not disappointed. My guest had a citrus type of dessert and I had a Caramel, dark chocolate butter brickle heavenly treat.

Overrated, loud, tiny, cramp, unhealthy fat dripping, fried food with cholesterol laden sauces and carbs guaranteed to clog your arteries, make you gain 5 lbs in one sitting and have a heart attack by sunset. If you don’t care about your health, enjoy being morbidly obese and prefer alcoholic beverages with a narrow scope of taste (i.e. they do not serve Rum), then eat here.
Otherwise go elsewhere

I have been eyeing this place for well over a year now and was finally able to experience it several weeks ago. Came here with a party of about 10 and as you would expect the service was extremely slow. It probably took a good 40 minutes before the food came out and that was just the appetizers and our checks took awhile as well. We only had one main waiter but had two other people to fill up our waters and clear our plates.
I was lucky enough to come on a night where they had dollar oysters so I had to get half a dozen. Our waiter told us they would be on the mild side so that’s what I anticipated. When they came out, I slurped them all down within a minute because I was so hungry. They were just a OK in my book but one of the other people in our party had to get it taken off her bill because she didn’t like them at all.
I asked a few people from our party what to get as they have been before and both recommended the Schnitzel because it’s the most traditional dish on the menu and tasty. I should have asked b/​c I think traditional Schnitzel is made up of a variety of meats and I am not sure what they used here. My entrée was HUGE, this plate is definitely shareable between 2 people. I enjoyed it but thought it was just slightly overcooked. My meal also came with duck fat roasted fingerling potatoes which were HEAVENLY; if I could eat a plate of these I would.
The downside is that this place is about 30 minutes from where I live but I think this area and the surrounding areas have been popping up with some great food joints so I’ll just have to make more trips out here. Also most entrée plates are around $ 15 – 20 plus so it’s a little bit on the higher side for me.

We visited Metzger Bar and grill for Supper club and had a good time. We ordered the pickled eggs which was something so out of the ordinary for me that I had to try them. Im glad because they were very very good. The mustard was delicious. Even my wife who was very hesitant loved them. We ordered the carrot cake early on in the dinner and was sooooo… Good.
Best carrot cake ever! Smooth and delicious. I ordered the kraut salad which was good but not great. I was disappointed with the duck I ordered as it was a little underdone for my liking and the flavor was not there. I didn’t care for the red quinoa looking stuff that was served with.
The cheese and fruit plate was also very good. I looked at Christine’s and Timmys plate next to mine and I thought that i should have ordered the Schnitzel. It looked really good. Overall we enjoyed our experience and would return to try some different things and that definitely that carrot cake again.

I may be slightly combining this review with the experience I’ve had with their catering and not solely on dinner in restaurant, but alas, Metzger lived up to my hopes.
Tonight we came in with a big group for a full dinner. The atmosphere is quite tight and chatty, and the noise level is definitely on par with a bar more so than a restaurant, even on a Tuesday night. Our waiter (Matthew), showed up to the table and got our drink and food orders pretty quickly. But that’s really where the quickness slowed. I’m not sure if it was because the restaurant was very busy, if the kitchen and bar were backed up, or I just wasn’t prepared for the type of dinner experience that Metzger brings to the table. I felt like things took a while longer than they should, one end of our table was completely finished with dinner and leaving before the other side got their main course. I don’t mind handcrafted food, but everyone should be fed in a similar time frame.
That being said, everything I had was delicious. I enjoyed a Maiden Voyage to start, followed by a ton (okay 12) raw oysters with hot sauce. The Kale salad might sound like a boring choice when dining out, but it’s definitely a salad that has depth of flavor. Their website’s sample menu lists it with bacon and cheese, but as of the date of this review, it’s a mushroom, hazelnuts, and fried kale concoction that can only be described as sublime.
Planning on giving this another shot with a smaller group to see if the time frame improves while not working with a big table. Maybe that will bump it up to 5 stars…
However…
Dear Metzger, I will sell you my soul if you give me your pickling recipe for your relish and deviled eggs. Call me.

That moment when your adult daughters want to go here for their 24^th birthday, (twins), and you just KNOW it will be awesome because you raised them right. :-)
Awesome it indeed is. This is a place where more recognition is deserved nationally. I had the
SCHNITZEL, with two perfect sunny-​side eggs, that poured upon puncture, God’s perfect gravy all over the schnitzel, (breaded pork cutlet), duck fat fingerling potatoes and the plate. I would have licked the plate if social norms allowed this. Oh, and since my love of the swine knows no bounds, I ordered a side of their thick cut bacon. This, along with a very well executed bloody Mary, made for a fantastic Sunday, post-​brunch, comatose-​type nap.
Thank you Metzger Bar and Butchery owners and associates! Keep, keeping it FOR-​REAL!

Brunch at Metzger’s is a definite must!
While a wanted to get the buckwheat waffle, I decided on the schnitzel with biscuit gravy. Which was great with the duck fat finagling potatoes.
May better with more gravy.
The staff was very at tentative with and the coffee cups and water were never empty.
I wished I saved room for apple turnover.
The only negative is during Sunday brunch is the Church across the street makes the parking difficult. Make sure you got the address punched in the GPS since the neighborhood is not that nice.
We have had dinner there a few times. Also was there for Fire flour and Fork.
A definite must to eat here, if not of the best place in Churchill.

Party of four on a Saturday night.
Small, intimate but loud.
Cheese soup was very good. Trout was bland. Schnitzel was a very large portion and was okay.
Not a place I will run back to try again.

6 months ago this would have been a six star, but tonight it’s barely a 2 star experience. Been here over 6 times and normally loved it, but something has changed… and all of it for the worse. The chicken and the mette were some of my favorite dishes in Richmond until tonight. The «old» chicken came with a beautiful green salad… now the chef is serving it with a brown bean and a brown chicken and another brown side. Everything is unappetizing and not appealing to the eye. The mette used to come with beautiful Billy bread to balance out the tartare. Tonight, all I saw was a plate of raw steak with nothing to balance it… making the appetizer much less filling and much Less enjoyable to eat. As somewhat of a kale salad connoisseur (and a tahini fanatic), the kale salad tonight was a salt block that was almost inedible.
I loved the old metzger, please bring her back. Please. Please. Please.

On a quiet December Tuesday, one of my closest friends and I reunited over a candlelit wooden table at Metzger, ready to have our minds and palates blown away as we shared a meal. We had a reservation but were very pleased to discover very few fellow diners; while I hope Metzger stays in business, this certainly imparted intimacy to the ambience.
We opened with drinks: the Old Carver and the Tartan Flip, both very solid choices but polar opposites that complemented the food well (read: I would not come here for the drinks alone).
We had raw oysters, though I would’ve liked to see a more interesting sauce pairing as opposed to the very mild citrus juice we were served. I love the way raw oysters taste, but I need some punctuation to my meal — dear restaurant, please curate all of my flavors for me!
Then we had the best part of the entire meal: the chicken liver mousse. **Do not leave here without eating the chicken liver mousse.** Ours came with thyme streusel and fennel jam. It was perfect.
Next came the cassoulet, with white beans, duck confit, and smoked pork. I found the pork to be very overpowering, such that I ate around it. That was kind of disappointing.
We also shared the stout braised pork pie, served with baby arugula and mustard. German dishes are so interesting for their interplay between buttery starches, smoky meats, and sharp — almost shrill! — acidity. I think this dish perfectly exemplified that.
We then split two entrees. First we had duck prepared with Riesling, bacon, and apple braised cabbagem Knodels, and Hefeweizen, and then we had the scallops with chestnuts, endives (what a fantastic touch!!), squid confit, persillade, and currants. These hearty but delicately balanced meals were perfectly in line with the whole aesthetic of the restaurant, which lends itself so well to any heartfelt occasion — from a date through family reunion (you might want to rent out the restaurant if you have a large family).
Then came dessert. I loved the walnut macaron with gingerbread ice cream, while my friend favored the warm pudding-​crème brûlée hybrid dish. We also had the chocolate & squash, which was certainly interesting — chocolate and citrus playing over the textures of squash — but not something either of us would ever crave.

Metzgar brunch was the lip smacking, lick your plate good!
We came around 1 on a Sunday which was perfect cause it wasnt too busy that we had to wait for a tabel. The space itself is small with a cosy get close enough to see what they got vibe. Once our server came to take out order to our suprise a good handful of items were already sold out (thankfully nothing we were eyeing). It was definitely a tough decision though e. The menu did list some ingredients that I could barely pronounce yet know what it was but thanks to fellow Unilocalers pics it help put it all together.
We decided to get the buckwheat waffles and the duck hash but it was tough. The egg on the hash was so light and it just melted in your mouth so good with the veggies and duck. The waffles we crispy on the outside but moist and flavorfull in the inside. My only problem with my meal was the duck seemed kinda dry and my waffles were COLD plus our food took over 35 min to come out. Overall though the food was so good we ordered a third plate the schnitzel to share.

I love this place in Church Hill. Date night is the best. For $ 50 you get a bottle of wine, two appetizers, two entrees, and two desserts. Cozy, and though tables close together, you don’t feel it’s so closed in and noisy that you can’t have a private conversation. I wouldn’t say it’s culinary ingenuity or extraordinary in any particular department, it’s just the whole package. It’s warmth, good food, and a welcoming atmosphere. Kind of that light in the window you see from the street and you know when you go in, you’re in for a really nice evening of eat, drink, and be merry. By the way, the schnitzel is darn near plate-​sized.

The sweetbreads? Amazing. Schnitzels? Amazing. Pork Chop? So thick, and that’s right, a-​maz-​ing.
Metzger is one of the most progressive and refined restaurants in Richmond. They combine and impart such strong and bold flavors in each dish. I really appreciate the time and artistic touch they add to their plating. It’s not the cheapest meal but for fine dining quality, it’s a steal.
I’ve been here a couple of times and I’ve loved every single dish. It’s kind of embarrassing how much I enjoy the food here. The ever changing specials are my favorite. There was this appetizer special over the summer with pork belly paired a chilled corn and peach sauce that I still can not stop thinking about. This pork belly was so fatty and juicy. like butter. But at the same time, the fresh sauce cut through the fat and balanced it perfectly. I really just wanted to pick up the plate and lick it clean, but I escaped judgement… barely. I also tried the beef tartare on several occasions and highly recommend it if you’re bold and daring. Some of my friends were weary of the raw yolk and raw beef but oh well, more for the rest of us!
You really can’t go wrong with anything here so go try it out, NOW!