Best Biscuits in Richmond Virginia: Where to Start

The best biscuits in Richmond Virginia are split open, filled with something salty and eaten within minutes of leaving the oven. The city treats the biscuit as a main course: country ham, pimento cheese, fried chicken, sausage gravy. One biscuit shop is named most, with two more close behind.

What makes the best biscuits in Richmond Virginia?

A good biscuit rises tall, with flaky layers you can peel apart and a golden top. The crumb should be tender, not dry, and the flavor should taste of buttermilk and butter rather than of baking powder. The base matters: a biscuit that is pale and soft underneath has been steamed in a bag or a box, not baked fresh.

Fillings are a matter of taste, but the biscuit has to hold them. If it falls apart at the first bite, it was too delicate. If it feels like a stone, it was overworked.

Where can you find a Virginia ham biscuit?

A Virginia ham biscuit is a small, salty sandwich of thin country ham in a split biscuit, often with a smear of butter or mustard. It is a party food and a breakfast item, and the saltiness is the point. Look for a shop that bakes its own biscuits and makes pimento cheese and pepper jelly in house, and check current listings for which locations are open.

If you like ham, taste it plain before you add anything. Good country ham is dry-cured and chewy, and it does not need much help.

Is there a good pimento cheese biscuit?

Pimento cheese is the South's spread of cheddar, mayonnaise and chopped pimento peppers, and Richmond puts it on nearly everything. The same shop serves a house-made spread on a flaky, buttermilk biscuit, and a soul food spot in Jackson Ward serves a pimento cheese biscuit that is no-frills and all about flavor.

The test is simple. The cheese should be sharp and creamy, and the biscuit should be warm enough to soften it slightly. A cold biscuit makes the spread feel heavy.

Which Richmond Southern food places go beyond the biscuit?

Richmond Southern food covers a lot of ground, from fried chicken and greens to shrimp and grits. A Jackson Ward soul food kitchen is known for its plates, and a biscuit there is one part of a bigger plate. If you want the full experience, order a biscuit as a side and add a main dish, then judge the biscuit against the rest of the meal.

Because the city has many other kitchens, treat any list as a place to begin. Menus change, and a place that was a favorite a few years ago may have a new cook.

What about Richmond brunch?

Richmond brunch tends to be relaxed. A Scott's Addition shop is described as the brunch-focused alternative to the first, with a smaller, denser biscuit that has a crisp bottom crust and a more elaborate set of fillings. A student review preferred the first shop's biscuits but gave the second credit for flavor combinations, which is a fair summary of how the two differ.

Expect lines on weekend mornings. If you do not arrive early, you may find the best things sold out. Weekdays are quieter, and a biscuit is a fine reason to take a long breakfast.

Where does barbecue fit?

Barbecue is part of eating in Virginia, but this guide stays with the biscuit. If you are looking for a barbecue plate, use the same method: ask what is smoked on site, taste the meat before the sauce and notice whether the sides taste made that day. A kitchen that cares about its biscuit often cares about its pork too.

How to order a biscuit so it is still warm

Go early, since small shops bake in batches and sell out. Say what you want in the biscuit before you reach the counter, and ask for it warm. If you are taking it to go, ask for it unwrapped for a few minutes or eat it right away, because steam in a paper bag softens the crust.

Check the current hours before you set out. Order one plain biscuit to taste alongside your filled one, which tells you more about the baker than any menu description.

A note on what to carry. Biscuits are best eaten at once, but if you buy a half dozen to take home, keep them wrapped in a dry cloth rather than plastic, which traps steam. Reheat them for a few minutes in a hot oven instead of a microwave, and split them only when you are ready to fill them. A small jar of pepper jelly or a bottle of hot sauce travels well and makes a plain biscuit taste like a meal.

What else should you read around Virginia?

If you are planning a longer trip, the Virginia wine country and Blue Ridge food guide covers the countryside. The Mid-Atlantic regional foods guide explains the breakfast meats that often sit on a biscuit, and the Chesapeake fall crab and oyster season guide covers the water. The US guides page lists more cities, and the James Beard nominated restaurants guide covers dinner in Richmond.

How do you keep track of Richmond biscuits?

A biscuit lives or dies in the first ten minutes. Rate each one by the dish, add a Breakfast or Brunch tag and write down whether it arrived warm and flaky.

Keep a Richmond biscuit list and invite friends to add the one they swear by.

A biscuit is easy to love in the moment and hard to describe later. Get the Mosey app, rate every biscuit you eat for rise, butter and filling, and build a Richmond list that points your friends to the one that was still warm.