Gus's Bar & Grill

2/1/14:

Stars: 3.0 out of 5.0

Pros: Nice Open Seating, Good Beer Selection

Cons: Spotty Service, Small Wings

     As the hunt for Richmond's Best Wing continued with a stop at Gus's on W. Broad St. we all had high hopes. Our first stop had been a success so JK, MK, the boys and I all were excited to keep the train rolling. Yelp had clued me into Gus's being a good wing choice so off we went to our second spot.

     Gus's (Gus's Bar & Grill) is located on the corner of W. Broad and Mulberry St. It occupies a sizeable corner spot. The entrance is a touch weird in my opinion, but it's not something I would truly be upset over. Just didn't like the restrictive railings. But, I digress... When you walk in the bar is directly in front of you. It's a big bar with lots of seats. There are also plenty of tables and booths spread out. There is no crowding, which is very nice. Each table has it's own space.

     I got there about 2 minutes after the K family so they already had a table. I took a moment to glance over the beer menu and I was quite impressed. They not only had the typical massed produced beer but they had quite a wide selection of craft beer from across the country. As I become more of a snobby beer drinker, I always like to see that. Nicely done.

     Our waitress took our drink order and when she dropped them off, answered our questions about food. MK inquired about the buffalo wing sauce, specifically if it was very hot. Our waitress, either out of confusion or an amazing display of full disclosure, responded with "It's just Franks Red Hot." I was a little taken back by that and let me explain why. As a restaurant, you want to breed a little air of mystery and a touch of your own flavor. Add a dash of smoked paprika or maybe so extra chili powder. Add anything so that you can tell me "It's a house blend that has a little extra kick to it" or any other statement. I want to think that someone put a little effort into the sauce and didn't just open a bottle. Still, I ordered it so I can't bitch too much. JK also got buffalo and MK got spicy garlic.

     We hardly saw our waitress after that. She maybe stopped over once or twice more. She didn't even bring us our food, which was odd to me, Some guy, who I assume was the manager, brought our stuff out, plopped it on the table and hurried along.What I will say is that when our waitress did stop in, she was very helpful and polite. It was her long absences that caused me concern. The worst one, for me, was after she took our debit cards to run them. She was gone along time which breeds concern for 2 reasons: 1) I don't like my card out of my sight for 10 minute stretches. I worked for a credit card company so I know things and it's always in the back of my mind. I certainly don't think that there was any reason for the delay except she was busy, but it's still uncomfortable. 2) When the check comes, I'm generally ready to go. My drinks are gone, food has left the building and conversation is wrapping up. I'm ready yo. So, there was all that...


     I will only speak briefly on the wings as I will cover them more in depth soon. I was disappointed. They were nothing impressive, but we did order an appetizer as our meal. The spicy garlic was the best of the two flavors, which surprised me as I'm usually a buffalo man. Overall we were underwhelmed. Stay tuned for more.

     We left Gus's feeling a little disappointed. It surely has some fine bonuses, but it also has some negatives. I am always willing to try a place again in hopes that it was an off day. And I'll give Gus's the same consideration. I'll just avoid the wings.