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The dining room inside Lafayette Tavern, set to open Jan. 14 at 1011 Lafayette St.
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Spouses Dean and Rachel Giavos of Lafayette Tavern
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(Clockwise from top) “Green butter” peas, the Tavern Burger with fries, Buffalo octopus, Caesar salad, New York strip and veal Parmesan from Lafayette Tavern
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Lafayette Tavern is the latest restaurant from the Giavos family of restaurateurs.
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Art by René Ricard by the bar in the front of Lafayette Tavern, sourced by Laura Martin Mills of Main Projects and Exhibition A
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A view of the restaurant from Booth 15, where a plaque for chef and restaurateur Stella Dikos honors her legacy
Heading toward Lafayette Street on a recent evening, a red glow cuts through the calm of Malvern Gardens, casting a warm beacon along the block. There is a sense that something new has arrived in the neighborhood, despite a familiar scene: longtime Greek restaurant Stella’s, its namesake market and the vintage cars parked outside. Lafayette Tavern, the latest establishment from the Giavos family of restaurateurs set to debut Wednesday, Jan. 14, slips seamlessly into the streetscape, as if it has always belonged.
For one of Richmond’s most prolific restaurant families, Lafayette Tavern (1011 Lafayette St.) is the first opening since the 2024 loss of matriarch Stella Dikos, whose influence anchors the block. It also raises a question: How does a family so strongly shaped by legacy move forward? With Lafayette Tavern, the answer is clear: Trust instinct, honor the past and make space for a new voice without losing the soul that started it all.
“The restaurant simply wouldn’t exist if it weren’t for her,” says Constantine “Dean” Giavos, grandson of Dikos and creative director for the family’s portfolio of restaurants. “She is the reason we are on this block. She saw that the Stella’s lot was available and wanted to put the restaurant there and obviously had a prescient vision for Lafayette Street in her final act. We owe it all to her.”
Stepping inside the buzzing, low-lit dining room offers a glimpse of the restaurant archetypes Giavos holds dearest. Lafayette Tavern could be a set from a Scorsese film: Branded sheer curtains frame the front window, “gangster” booths and banquettes line the space, vintage Italian light fixtures cast a warm glow, and each table is adorned with petite lamps and pyramid-folded napkins.
David Roffman behind the bar at Lafayette Tavern
The atmosphere is a mix of cozy and sexy, and waitstaff donned in white two-piece suits with black bow ties cruise across checkerboard floors with martinis, drafts of Guinness and glasses of Champagne. The soundtrack flows between Tony Bennett, Renato Carosone, and Booker T. & the M.G.’s; “Green Onions” plays when you call the restaurant.
Of his grandmother, Giavos says, “She’d love the whole thing, the food, the music, the interior, the uniforms. It would take her on a journey through all of the music she heard as a new immigrant in America, working at The Village. That’s one thing she remembers most about her days on Harrison Street, the tunes.”
For the past five years, Giavos has been shaping his vision of a timeless, enduring restaurant. Every detail of Lafayette Tavern is intentional, from the music and art to the sleek black quartzite bar, the signature scent in the bathrooms and the porcelain dinner plates stamped in swoopy red cursive, “Lafayette Tavern, Richmond, Va.”
“In a world of quick builds and fleeting concepts, it was so important to make it feel lasting and easeful,” he says. “I think all of those details matter because they are personal and show that someone cares, there’s heart and soul there.”
Channeling iconic old chophouses and neighborhood mainstays, his goal is to preserve their charm, quirks and sense of permanence, while adding his own distinctive filter. Food is key, but the vibe is equally essential.
“I think just eating and being in some of those classic restaurants in New York and seeing how the food works in tandem with the space is an inspiration and allows you to see the bigger picture [more] than just a singular dish. It helps you build your world and build your box,” Giavos says.
The menu reads like a checklist of chophouse favorites, opening with raw bar selections — shrimp cocktail, hamachi yellowtail tartare dressed in citrus-chile vinaigrette, served over ice with warm patties of crispy rice — and leading into salads.
A wedge is finished with grated egg and Point Reyes blue cheese dressing before being draped theatrically with slab bacon and stabbed with a steak knife. The Caesar is studded with Stella’s bread croutons, the grilled calamari salad features crispy wontons and sesame dressing, and the chopped house combines radicchio, chickpeas and sweet drop peppers.
Giavos and executive chef Bobo Catoe Jr., previously of Odyssey, Alewife and Southbound, have been collaborating closely, drawing inspiration from trips to big-city steakhouses and other tenured institutions. A standout dish Catoe locked in early is the Buffalo octopus — charred slices tossed in zippy house Buffalo sauce and served with cucumber and blue cheese salad. The playful take on wings was born during a summer scouting trip and is perhaps a subtle nod to sister restaurant Stella’s, where grilled octopus is a mainstay.
Joining Catoe in the kitchen is Alex Bobadilla, former chef and co-owner at Sincero, who has also cooked at Brenner Pass. Together, backed by a high-heat Montague broiler like that of storied Brooklyn steakhouse Peter Luger, their focus is sharpening the paradigm, and adding their own imprint.
“You make items special and elevated by cooking them well and with care, and then they’re simply approachable because they’re classic dishes,” Giavos says.
The mains bounce between tavern staples of Chicago and New York City and old-school red-sauce joints. If diners feel like they’re on a “Goodfellas” set, bucatini carbonara with Parmesan and green peas and spicy shells a la vodka reinforce the mood. A monster of a plate, the bone-in veal Parmesan arrives with slabs of mozzarella and fried basil and easily doubles as a shareable for four.
Slow-cooked, extra-thick slab bacon is available by the slice, and roasted leeks mingle with brown butter, lemon, hazelnut and manchego. Find steak tartare toast and crispy potato skins topped with horseradish sauce, sour cream and chives — with the option to add caviar, of course.
Chicken paillard is thinly pounded and brightened with cornichons, and Bobo’s Pork Chop is accented by roasted pineapple, cherry and mustard. Casual handhelds include a thick tavern burger with Cooper’s Sharp White cheese, caramelized onions and shoestring fries, along with a prime rib French dip served with a side of jus.
The steak selection is focused: sliced New York strip, filet mignon or bone-in rib-eye, each plated with just a half hunk of oven-roasted garlic, a single sprig of rosemary, and a gravy boat of peppery au poivre, house steak sauce or horseradish cream. The sides range from homey “green butter” peas and creamed spinach to onion rings and roasted mushrooms.
An ice cream sundae with hot fudge, wet walnuts, housemade whipped cream and a cherry
Desserts are elegant and exciting: swirled chocolate mousse, berries and zabaglione, a brulee-style caramelized banana cheesecake, and a classic ice cream sundae with hot fudge and wet walnuts, crowned with a cherry. After-dinner drinks include an espresso martini and the creamy, mint-chocolate grasshopper. For more straightforward options, Lafayette Tavern is pouring George Washington Special Reserve madeira, green and yellow chartreuse, and shakeratos — braulio or cynar amaros shaken with ice and served cool and foamy in a coupe.
As for cocktails, time-honored sips and originals coexist, the menu listing everything from a negroni and chic cosmopolitan to a Manhattan and sidecar, along with a Brown Derby — famous for its 1930s Hollywood origins at the Vendôme Club — and a doublemint julep. The Tiki-movement Fog Cutter is refreshed with pistachio orgeat, subbing a sherry float for the Italian amara averna, while the Paloma Royale swaps grapefruit soda for blanc de blancs sparkling wine, and a Tom Collins is rounded out and taken up a notch with the addition of basil and alpine botanicals. The Love Club, made with milagro reposado tequila, cynar, banana and lemon is a nod to Giavos’ DJ project of the same name with friend Alex Delany.
Beer offerings strike a nostalgic chord. On draft is a Guinness, along with Budweiser and the German pilsner Bitburger. Bottled options include Miller Lite, Rolling Rock, Allagash White, Sierra Nevada and Negro Modelo. Wine drinkers can expect Champagne by the glass, alongside selections from Virginia vintners and bottles from Italy, France, Austria and California, ranging from splurge-worthy to everyday pours.
Beyond the food and drink, another element of it all is art, works that add contemporary pops of color against the walnut walls, such as “The Siege of Yorktown” by local artist Samuel Richardson that hangs as a tribute to General Lafayette, or a René Ricard near the bar wall, considered the pièce de résistance. There’s also a painting reminiscent of De Niro driving in the rain in “Taxi Driver”; a piece by Richmond’s Kevin Sabo; a painting in the front booth by Liza Jo Eilers of Jennifer Coolidge; and work from a friend, Marleigh Culver, in the bathroom hallway.
While the restaurant is undoubtedly a date-night destination, there’s a mutability. Where Lafayette Tavern seems to succeed most in these early moments is in establishing a common ground across generations — appealing to diners seeking something refined and celebratory and to those craving something familiar and nostalgic, or even just a regular seat at the bar.
“It’s for families, date nights, Wednesday nights, a burger and a Guinness at the bar,” Giavos says. “A martini and fries, a full steak dinner, some oysters and a glass of white wine. Bobo’s insane cheesecake and the giant ice cream sundae. It fits right in.”
Although Dikos isn’t physically present, her hospitality and spirit permeate the room. Her name is etched on a plaque in Booth 15, closest to the kitchen. Giavos says, “It was important that I put up a small plaque for her at the last booth. It’s subtle, but when you see it, it’s really a perfect tribute.”
Lafayette Tavern marks the next era for a restaurant group long defined by places where owners are present and everyone is welcome. Though it may be their most elevated expression yet, it remains rooted in an essence that is grounded and purposeful.
“I want to be here for a while. I wanted to make a place I wanted to be at all the time,” Giavos says. “We’re a neighborhood restaurant in an amazing neighborhood. I want to create memories for people. My favorite restaurants do that.”
For Richmond, the debut feels significant — a dining archetype placed in the right hands, folding the best parts of tradition into something that feels both fresh and established. It’s fitting that it comes from a family that understands how to build restaurants that last.
It also signals a shift in the family lineage, with the project executed by Giavos, who grew up in these spaces and, much like the instincts his grandmother possessed, has been guided by an intuitive understanding of hospitality and place.
“I know she would be so proud,” Giavos says. “I was driving back from running an errand … yesterday and was overcome with emotion thinking about it. Her warmth, perfectionism and graciousness still guide me.”
Lafayette Tavern will be open Wednesday through Sunday from 5 to 10 p.m., with lunch service planned in the coming months. Reservations are available via OpenTable.
