Sensi Italian Chop House

Tried Sensi with my husband, and while I wasn’t a fan of the new menu, almost everything we got was well done and tasty. I was disappointed that there were no side dishes– I really wanted mushrooms. Also, there were only two steak items on the whole menu. Its a chophouse for heaven’s sake. Here’s what we ended up with:
Mozzarella and tomato appetizer– I was pleasantly surprised– it was three good sized pieces of mozzarella over fresh tomatoes. The mozzarella was so fresh it was super creamy, and the balsamic reduction over the top tasted just right– tangy and sweet. The dish needed more basil and a better quality olive oil drizzled over the top, but it was above average nonetheless.
Proscuitto and pears– This looked like a giant meat pocket when it arrived at our table. I’m not kidding. It was a parmesan cheese crust filled with diced pears, and covered in a very unappetizing manner with layers of proscuitto. However, it tasted amazing. The pears and the proscuitto worked really nicely together, and it was a generous, if messy, portion.
Pasta carbonara– creamy, rich, freshly made. Good standard dish.
Pork chop– This was a little disappointing for me– it was a pan fried pork chop topped with an arugula salad. The chop was butterflied just a little too thin, or cooked just a tad too long… either way, it was a little dry and chewy for me. It could have been saved with a little flavor– a squeeze of lemon and some capers would have done it I think… I wouldn’t order this again.
Profiteroles– not as good as I remembered them from last time. The cream inside them was really cold though, so I think they were freshly filled…

Sensi is an upscale modern restaurant with a wide variety of food and drinks to choose from. My large party had to wait at the bar for about 40 minutes to be seated on a busy Saturday night (understandable). The steak was excellent and cooked medium rare, just like we asked. All the appetizers were tasty as well. However, the slow service did not m
(+) quality of the food, price, décor and ambiance of restaurant
(-) slow service

Summary: great service, food is OK, a bit pricey for the quality of food, but overall good experience.
Good dishes:
— bacon wrapped mozarella and portobello dish — although the fried shell was a bit oily
— filet mignon — very tender and comes with two good sauces
— veal chop — huge cut of veal!
— crab ravioli with lobster caper sauce — just know that the caper sauce is quite tart
Would skip:
— artichoke brisee tart — great concept but execution could be improved, crust too burnt, filling is too mushy and it is swimming in a too heavy sauce
— venison risotto — risotto a bit too al dente, ground venison has a weird texture
Service was very friendly and efficient, despite only seeing about 3 servers for the entire restaurant. We wanted some hot chocolate because it was cold outside and the chef whipped up some which was great.
But overall for $ 50 a head (no alcohol and post groupon), the overall quality to cost ratio could be better. Maybe it’s just Richmond, but in other big cities most $ 30+ entrees would blow you away.
They need to adjust their music selection… Tracks ranging from the typical sappy and overly dramatic Andrea Boceilli to Yanni plays Jackson’s ’ Man in the Mirror to Sinatra’s New York New York just seem out of place at a restaurant with padded white tablecloths. Yes this is an Italian place, but that doesn’t necessarily mean tacky :)

I was disappointed by the whole experience that we had at Sensi. My friends and I had all heard great things about the restaurant, and it was a HUGE let down.
From the minute we walked into the place, the experience was awful. We walked into an entryway with no host or greeter. We had made a reservation for 4 at 7:30 PM. When we flagged someone down, they told us our table wasn’t quite ready yet. Not a big deal, until we were literally left at the bar without drink menus or given any attention. Also, we took a look around, and there were many open tables. We understood that this happens (especially on a Tuesday night with a smaller staff), but we asked the host nicely why we were waiting when our reservation was 20 minutes ago and tables were available. He pointed at an open table and said, «That table is taken. A party has a reservation in 10 minutes.» That seems odd, since our reservation was already 20 minutes late. He got flustered and angry that we were requesting our RESERVED table. From my understanding, you should seat a party that has a reservation and is present in the restaurant before you save a table for a reservation that is later. The host then left a waiter to deal with the situation. The waiter showed us to the table, without an apology or any sign of good customer service.
Our waiter was nice. We didn’t have any complaints there. The appetizer came out in a reasonable amount of time. We had to ask about 3 times before we got bread. We then had to wait close to an HOUR for our entrees. Note that all 4 of us ordered pasta, not the NY strip. We were thoroughly disappointed when our food did come out. The pasta was overcooked and mushy, and the risotto was undercooked in some parts.
To top it all off, we asked our waiter if we could speak with the manager. The waiter apologized for the host and how long the food took before fetching the manager. When the «manager» arrived, we told him the complaints, and all he did was apologized for the host’s behavior and blamed everything that went wrong on the host.
On a Tuesday night, the whole dinner took 2 hours, with one appetizer and four entrees. Everyone could only force about half of their main dishes down. We all left hungry, and no one was satisfied with their overpriced food.

I came to Sensi with a friend last week and was a bit underwhelmed. There’s nothing terribly wrong with the place, but it exists in that awkward price range where it’s too expensive to be mediocre but would be a really fun splurge if it were a better restaurant.
The ambiance is a bit odd. When you walk in, you can’t here the music and they seat people near the back, which adds up to a first impression that’s decidedly quiet. I wondered at that point what we were in for.
Our server was nice, though definitely inexperienced, which meant the food took a while to come. No matter — he was nice. But when it did come, it didn’t feel special. The peas in my pasta dish tasted and looked like they were canned and like they’d been living in that can for quite a while, all mushy and yellowish. The desserts were fine but felt pre-​made and unsurprising.
The one thing I really liked was their asparagus and lobster soup. Yum.
While I wouldn’t put up a fight if a friend wanted to go, I don’t think I’ll be the one to suggest going back.

Kind of hard to find, and we probably would have never gone there if it wasn’t for a Groupon coupon. But now that I’ve gone, I would go back. Nice feel to the place, and the tables aren’t stack side to side trying to cram as many people as possible in, so you can easily have a conversation. My wife had the cheese & spinach risotto with pork tenderloin, and I had the potato gnocchi. Both were excellent. Service was also great, and Neal did a top notch job. We will be back.

I would say this place is a positive not for the food necessarily, but for big groups. The service is great and from what I experienced, was not slow. We had a group of about 25 and the food came out promptly. The lobster bisque bowl was a great thing to share with a friend and a decent amount of lobster chunks and flavorful bisque. I ordered the filet and my friend ordered salmon. I would definitely say the filet was the favorite and the salmon was too salty. Overall, the food was average, but has enough options for a big group so everyone will have something they will enjoy!!!
What i enjoyed the most: The extra pour of henny from the bartender… double shots everyone!!!

Small portions to the point that it’s actually laughable — we actually left and went somewhere else to eat. AGAIN. But the food is delicious.

Very solid Italian cooking, with a great selection of meats and seafood in addition to their pastas. The wait staff are friendly, albeit a bit slow, and the décor is nice but a bit dated. Whenever I’ve been to this restaurant, there never seems to be that many patrons given it’s large size. In that respect it’s a bit too quiet/​empty for my tastes.
My favorite part of meals at Sensi are the desserts, so be sure to save room. The chef’s tasting trio, chocolate tort, and profiteroles are fantastic, and they have a great port selection to wash it all down.
The meals are a bit overpriced, but the location is great and you won’t really have to wait a while to get a table.

Sensi gave me an interesting experience. I loved the menu and my food was outstanding, but it seemed like something was a little off when I went here last Tuesday for the first time. The Groupon offer worked to get me in the door, as I hadn’t heard of Sensi otherwise.
I’d made a 7pm reservation via Unilocal on Open Table… by the way, this was a huge help! When we arrived though, we waited at least 5 minutes before we even saw an employee. I’d seen a waiter helping customers so just figured the host/​hostess was in the back. Nope. After the wait, the same waiter came up and seated us. I don’t want to dwell on little things but the whole wait and seating ordeal created an awkward start. Luckily the rest of the meal and experience was much better.
Sensi is a higher end restaurant, beautifully decorated, with a nice vibe. Our host/​waiter was friendly and provided very professional service throughout our dinner, gladly suffering our request to repeat the specials twice. I ordered osso buco over a Parmesan risotto, one of the specials of the night, and was overwhelmed! It was soooo good that I just made it myself at home for the first time last night. My salad, the esotica, was delicious as well with a generous chunk of Gorgonzola. My friend had the pasta primavera and wasn’t as pleased, suggesting that the included vegetables seemed like frozen peas/​carrots/​lima beans. Hardly exemplifying the meaning of the word. I had a bite and thought the sauce was very good but agreed with him about the vegetables. It’s a chop house though so I guess I shouldn’t expect a vegetarian pasta dish to be memorable. It wasn’t.
Overall, I liked Sensi and will return.

We went to Sensi on a Saturday night with a group of 7 people. I was able to make a reservation for 7pm just a few days before, which was convenient for me that they weren’t already booked.
The place wasn’t too crowded for a Saturday night, yet our service was still rather slow. The biggest issues we had with the service were the waiter didn’t fill our water very quickly at all, and we had to specifically ask for soda refills after soda glasses went empy for 15 – 20 minutes with no refills being brought. A little thing to some, but a big annoyance to me. The other part was that it took almost an hour to bring our food — and we didn’t order appetizers. I understand we had a large group, but not having ordered any appetizers at all, I was surprised how long it took to bring out entrees.
That said, when the food arrived, it was very good. Everyone cleaned their plate and thoroughly enjoyed themselves.
Overall, it was a pretty good place. Though I’ll probably look to try new restaurants enxt time I’m in Richmond rather than returning here.

Food was good, but the service was real slow. Our waiter paid more attention to his large party. The space is very nice and the ambiance is relaxing. Unfortunately, the slow service will probably keep us away from this place.

Hosted a lunch meeting at Sensi and i have to admit the food, service and atmosphere blew me away, Awesome on every level!

Very nice atmosphere; great pasta (try the crab-​stuffed ravioli w/​lobster sauce). A little overpriced though, considering the cold bread and relatively small portions.

There were definitely some positives in my experience at Sensi, but overall it was the negatives that stuck with me. I liked the location along the canal in Tobacco Row. It’s urban, but relaxed and not bustling. The restaurant itself is fairly pretentious and overly hoity toity without reason to be.
My girlfriend and I had the tomato caprese, which was pretty good (I’d rate it 3.5 stars). We both had cocktails which were so sweet I felt as if I were going to go into a diabetic coma. What a disaster. My pasta entrée (cannot remember the name) came out scolding hot, but I was starving and could not wait to dig in. I specifically asked for no peas, and of course it was loaded with peas. I notified my server and he did not apologize when he scooped the plate away.
Finally, my order came back and I was ready to eat some really good food. Unfortunately, for $ 20, it still tasted like $ 2 Hamburger Helper beef stroganoff. Give me a break. I didn’t finish my entrée and left with a stomach ache. The pasta was supposedly homemade, which is nice if it had any redeeming qualities.
My girlfriend had the NY strip. I have to give them credit, it was very good. It was large enough that I ate some of hers and didn’t leave feeling totally unfulfilled.
In general the price was way too high for the quality of food we got. Stay away if you have a choice.

I was really excited to eat here. We were looking for a good upscale restaurant to take the family to for graduation dinner later this spring. My sister and I ordered a side of risotto (delicious) and the goat cheese appetizer (also delicious).
Unfortunately it was downhill after that. Our appetizers sat on the table for 15 minutes after we had finished eating and dinner did not emerge from the kitchen for another 45 minutes after that. Our waitress disappeared for so long that we were honestly thinking of walking out. It took forever to get a wine list and once we got one it was impossible to get our waitresses attention to actually order anything for 15 more minutes.
Our entrees weren’t even worth the wait. My salmon was good, but the sides were drowning in the butter sauce. My sister’s penne was boring and lackluster and neither of us finished or food and we didn’t even want to take the leftovers home.
The worst part was that people who were seated after us were served before us and the waitress never checked on us to apologize until the food finally came out. At that point she blamed it on ‘the short staffed kitchen.’ If that had been explained at the beginning of the meal or if we’d had any regular updates from our waitress the night might have been redeemed. We got 1 glass of wine free, but our night was ruined and we are back to the drawing board in search of a good restaurant in Richmond.

Really 2.5 stars, but since I’m annoyed, I’m rounding down.
Let me preface this review by saying I’ve dined at Sensi before and really enjoyed my meal. In fact, it was always at the top of my recommendation list for a special-​occasion spot. After my last meal, this will not be the case.
Yes, I went there on New Year’s Eve. I realize every restaurant in town is crazy on New Year’s, and I need to relax my expectations, but I felt my treatment on this night was unacceptable, even given that it was a busy night.
As we were getting ready for dinner, we realized we were going to be a few minutes late for our reservation. I called, let the host know, and he said he’d make a note. So, we arrived for the reservation and gave our name. Both the host and owner were at the front desk. They kind of said okay and walked off. We stood off to the side in the entry way for about 15 – 20 minutes while the owner paced back and forth, looking at empty tables, walking back to the front of the restaurant, and walking back to the empty tables. At one point a waiter came up to him, mentioned that his table had been open all night, and asked him to fill it. I would have had no problem with waiting, especially since we were late, if someone would have said «I’m sorry, you were a few minutes late, we’re getting things worked out, would you like to grab a drink at the bar?» Instead, nothing was communicated to us, so we stood there feeling like idiots. Finally, the owner hastily led us to a table.
Once we sat down, our server was just fine. He was friendly and helpful. But the food was slooooooow coming. We started with an order of calamari. My friend and I both like salt, but this was ridiculously over salted. Once our first course was taken away, it was at least a 30 minute wait to get our next course. I’m a fan of nicely spaced meals, but this was a bit much. I looked around the restaurant at one point and realized no tables in my eyeview had food on them. Hmm. Are we on Kitchen Nightmares?
Once our food arrived, it was really good. I got the lamb chops and they were perfectly cooked and full of flavor. My friend got a beef tenderloin pasta that was also delicious. We were pleased with this part of the dinner.
By the time we finished our main courses, our 2-​course dinner had taken about 2 hours and we were late for our New Year’s party so we skipped dessert.
It kind of added insult to injury when the owner went around apologizing to tables for the disorganization and inconvenience, but he only stopped at tables with guests that looked like they were over 50.
In all, the food was good, but the kitchen timing and seating was a disaster. Plus, I felt like I was treated a bit disrespectfully because I was under the age of 40 and will think twice before returning here.

I definitely have have mixed emotions. The décor is nicely decorated and the wait staff was excellent.
As for the food, I feel like I was a judge on Top Chef and was getting very small portions of food so we left the place feeling very hungry. Maybe it was what we ordered. We both tried the Prix Fix Menu of the week for $ 30 per person. My husband’s entrée with the lamb was excellent, but my sea bass with on top a bed of spinach was unflavorful and quite generic. As for dessert, it was good, but it lasted only one bite. Honestly, a bitesize is what came out on our plate. I was shocked!
Maybe next time, we’ll order off the real menu and see how it goes.

My wife and I have been here twice and it’s been exceptional both times. We got engaged at Sensi a few years ago and went back recently for her birthday. This time around we got the 7 course chef’s tasting menu. Everything was amazing, especially the meat course. A perfectly cooked and amazingly tender filet along with the most ridiculously flavorful piece of lamb I’ve ever had. Wear something nice and bring your baller cash roll, it’s worth every penny.

My aunt and I chose this restaurant for my graduation dinner after much debate and were not let down. With 10 people service could easily have faltered, but the service was fantastic. We started with some warm Italian bread which was kept fully stocked at our table until our appetizers arrived. People ordered a variety of things from salads to pastas and no one was let down. I even ordered my pasta without mushrooms and it was handled pleasantly.
When no one thought the appetizers could be topped, our main courses were quickly delivered. My grandfather and I ordered the lamb (medium-​rare). I have never ordered lamb in a restaurant, as I am usually sidetracked by salmon or filet dishes. However, something about the plate caught my eye and I was not disappointed. In fact, my 84 year old grandfather informed the chef that it was the best lamb he had ever had. Even the deserts were perfect.
Unlike Ron’s coffee, ours was served warm. I actually had a shot of esspresso that brought me back to m 3 months in Milan. The only thing I don’t like about Sensi is that their website images and music prepare you for a bizarrely decorated atmosphere. In contrast, the decorations are fitting and the ambiance is very pleasant. I only wish Sensi had been in Shockoe back when I still lived down town.