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And Dim Sum made its debut last weekend at 305 Brook Road.
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And Dim Sum took over the former Max’s on Broad space downtown.
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Sweet & Sour Chicken Dumplings, a riff on the popular Chinese American dish sweet and sour chicken
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A Midoriyama Melon Sour cocktail, with Midori-infused shochu, Midori and white tea tincture
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Branding and design studio Campfire & Co. consulted on the look and concept for And Dim Sum.
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Neon and tile signage at And Dim Sum
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The second floor at And Dim Sum offers a view of downtown.
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Part of the dining area at And Dim Sum
Restaurateur Liz Kincaid’s latest project, And Dim Sum, has been nearly a decade in the making. She first announced plans for the restaurant in 2014 before having to put them on pause, and she has been patiently waiting, and continuing to plan, ever since. Last weekend, Kincaid’s dumpling dreams came true with the debut of RVA Hospitality’s most recent venture, And Dim Sum, which took over the former Max’s on Broad space at 305 Brook Road.
Kincaid says her love for dim sum — a shareable, Chinese-inspired dining experience typically composed of an assortment of small Cantonese dishes served during brunch — dates back to her college days.
“I worked at a dim sum place in England while I was overseas going to school, and they were so hospitable,” she says. “I loved the idea of the [bamboo steamer] basket and pairing dumplings and the tea, and that’s kind of the inspiration. It was right before I started at Tarrant’s.”
Only her second job, when Kincaid returned from her stint abroad, she began waiting tables at Tarrant’s, a nearby restaurant on Broad Street that is also part of the RVA Hospitality portfolio.
“I started as a waitress 13 years ago and worked my way up and became partner, and now I’m the sole owner,” Kincaid says. “Every year I was like, ‘I’m going to leave and do a dim sum restaurant.’”
Kincaid took over full ownership of RVA Hospitality, which was founded by the late Ted Santarella, and its four restaurants (Tarrant’s, Tarrant’s West, Bar Solita and Max’s on Broad) in 2021. This April, she announced that Max’s on Broad would be closing its doors and her long-awaited dim sum concept would follow.
The downtown space has ditched its white tablecloths and dimly lit interior for bright pink walls and accents of gold and rattan, with dumpling baskets adorning the walls. The space, popping up on Instagram feeds all over town, was brought to life by branding and design studio Campfire & Co. The design elements were intentional, from the round tables to the shapes of plates and even the elongated wall sconces, which Kincaid explains are intended to be reminiscent of cheung fun (steamed rice noodle rolls).
Kincaid says the planning team for And Dim Sum partnered with an out-of-town, Asian American-led consulting company that has worked with Michelin-starred restaurants. They also sought out the guidance of consultant Sarah Choi, who has her own history in local hospitality as owner of the now-shuttered Shoryuken Ramen.
The bar program was designed by Kincaid’s husband, Sean Rapoza, who is of Japanese and Filipino heritage and who previously worked at Balliceaux, Shoryuken Ramen and Kabana Rooftop.
“You will notice a heavy Japanese influence. Also, his mother is real into K-pop, so there’s some Korean stuff,” Kincaid says of Rapoza. “He really took his certified sommelier [training] and love of tea and combined it all, and went out of his way to order a lot of Chinese beers that you’re not going to see anywhere else, along with a really nice sake program.”
Helming the bar is Nathan Acevedo, formerly of Lucky AF and currently vice president of the Richmond chapter of the United States Bartenders’ Guild. Casting itself as a “Modern Chinese Cocktail House,” And Dim Sum offers everything from an easy-drinking, Granny Smith-hued Midoriyama Melon Sour with Midori-infused shochu, Midori and white tea tincture to the Bo Lo Daiquiri made with Plantation Stiggins’ Fancy pineapple rum, shochu, yuzu puree, pineapple gomme syrup and lime and the Suntory Toki, the restaurant’s umami-spiked signature Old Fashioned. There are a handful of nonalcoholic options, along with a lineup of teas from smooth, fruit-forward jade oolong to smoky lapsang souchong served in a shiny gold tea kettle.
As for food, the menu lists over a dozen dim sum options, with influences tiptoeing between traditional and contemporary. Offerings include bamboo steamer baskets of crystal shrimp and grits dumplings, black bean beef shiu mai, and black truffle and pork Xiao long bao, or soup dumplings. Plated dim sum options include kimchi bacon egg rolls, duck wontons, hot and numbing calamari, and lion’s head meatballs made from pork, tofu, basil, five spice and ginger. Under the “largish” section, diners can find velvet beef chow mein, yellow chicken curry and three pepper stirfry.
Kincaid says, “It was important for us to create the recipes and make sure we had some diversity that would also then speak to an American palate.”
Happy hour at And Dim Sum, Monday through Friday from 4 to 6 p.m., features $1 dumplings (served three per order), $10 select signature cocktails and $4 select sake options. Brunch is served on Saturdays and Sundays.
Executive Chef Raul Hernandez, a Texas native and Richmond transplant by way of Lynchburg, previously worked for Parry Hospitality Group before landing at Conejo.
“This is my second executive chef job, and it’s been really fun. I have a great team with me,” he says, noting that the sweet-and-sour dumplings are a must-order. “Think traditional Chinese-American fusion in a dumpling, and literally everything is scratch made here. We want this to be a place where everyone can eat it and say, ‘This is good.’”
As for making her vision a reality at last, Kincaid says, “It feels really exciting. I’ve had this dream for a really long time, and this is something we always wanted to do together.”
And Dim Sum is open Monday through Friday from 4 to 10 p.m., Saturday from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
