1 of 5
Crispy leg of duck with brioche, Swiss chard, sweet cauliflower and tomato butter
2 of 5
Steak tartare with homemade bread
3 of 5
Duck hash with duck confit
4 of 5
Pimento cheese with house pickles and bread
5 of 5
The dining room at The Shaved Duck
Though Richmond has plenty of super eats, finding a triple treat of great food, well-made drinks and knowledgeable, unhurried service is the white whale of dining. Lucky Midlothian, The Shaved Duck spears this triumvirate. Paraphrasing Melville: As for me, this city dweller is now tormented with an everlasting itch for things remote.
Located in Westchester Commons, The Shaved Duck opened in October 2017 under Chef Matt Kirwan, who departed for The Roosevelt in December. Rotating in is Chef Patrick Wrenn, formerly of Amour Wine Bistro, Can Can Brasserie and Capital Ale House. Wrenn opened the Ale House’s Midlothian kitchen, so he’s familiar with the area. Since January, he’s been shaking up The Shaved Duck’s concise menu.
Owner Joe Kmetz (whose father and brother are also owners) makes the restaurant neighborly. I give him props for bartending on an early Sunday visit, paying such attention to detail that he asked whether I wanted ice in my grapefruit juice, though he had his hands full at the busy bar. It’s very easy for a bartender to forget about diners in favor of wooing drinkers, but Kmetz didn’t.
My duck hash married duck confit with crisped chunks of hand-cut potato, peppers and lacily fried, sunny-side-up eggs. Eggs served in a warmed bowl equals my kind of wake-up call, a finer service point that I rarely see at breakfast. The texture of the confit was a little hammy, rather than salty-silky, a flaw corrected in future visits, but the potatoes made for a forgiving foil, as did the creamy, decadent cheese grits with house-smoked New York cheddar. Definitely ask for the thickly fruity, spicy peach hot sauce.
The Shaved Duck navigates a course of brasserie classics, such as an elevated burger, then veers toward gastropub, with homemade ravioli in brie fondue with duck confit. There’s always a market fish. The rockfish I had one night was exemplary, galvanized skin molded over filleted flesh with interesting sides. One of the benefits of a strong chef running a smaller menu is that everything is extremely fresh and delicious, as it is here.
One night, I arrived at 8:10 p.m. and braced myself as I asked to be seated in a room that looked ready to close. The welcome was warm and immediate. I chose to sit at the bar, where I ordered a glass of rosé. But when the drink was delivered, I realized I’d made a mistake, ordering a still wine instead of a sparkling. Bartender Geneva Gordon graciously offered me a sip of the other wine and let me choose my preference. Meanwhile, her brother, lead bartender Craig Gordon, was busy brainstorming drinks. One cocktail, the Midlothian, takes a traditional, bourbon-based Manhattan to mind-searing mode with the addition of yellow Chartreuse, B&B, and cranberry bitters. To date, it’s the best drink I’ve had this year.
A pot of dense pimento cheese — the owners’ family recipe — thermalized its garnishes of pickled red onions and jalapeños. Better still was the restaurant’s steak tartare, striking the right balance of buttery, sirloin and filet mignon, sour capers, and a whole quail egg centered on the mound of raw beef. Picking up the egg shell and releasing its golden yolk offers tactile pleasure while showcasing the superior product used for this dish.
The confit duck leg was magic. Enrobed by a lush tomato butter sauce with a burnt ember color, it hits the crisped-to-shattering skin of the bird with a thunderclap of sweet and sharp. But even more appealing than the duck leg is the ease with which the restaurant carries itself. The room is light and airy, and it’s possible from almost any angle to observe the clean, open kitchen humming with efficiency. Then there’s dessert.
Pastry Chef Chelsea Mitt’s creations are both homey and haute. Take the immense Love of Bananas, a bowl of brown-butter ice cream, bananas Foster and banana cheesecake-filled wontons. It’s a fun mess of temperature and texture that makes you want to down the dippings like cereal milk. Then there’s the refined presentation of s’mores, a log of flourless chocolate cake with toasted meringue, graham cracker crumbs and a marshmallow spear. This dessert I took home, at Mitt’s suggestion that it would travel well. As I paid my check, I heard one of the employees say to her co-workers, “Goodnight, family.” After the attention I had just received, I felt like she was talking to me.
4 out of 5 stars
15408 Westchester Commons Way, Midlothian
804-379-7505
$7 to $28
