Restaurants in Brandermill

At Don Pepe Mexican Restaurant, an expansive menu of fajitas, burritos, and steaks illustrates the breadth and depth of the Mexican culinary tradition. Nachos in 10 varieties greet diners with juicy morsels of chicken or beef and a crunch that could wake a jet-lagged Rip Van Winkle. Enchiladas team up with tacos or tamales to form hearty combos, or go solo to showcase classic Mexican ingredients such as poblano peppers and green tomatillos. Quesadillas can be stuffed with vegetarian-friendly fillings, such as mushrooms, or meaty delights, such as house-made chorizo. To round out meals, xangos come with a dusting of cinnamon sugar that impresses sweet teeth as much as a coating of edible diamonds.

A family-owned restaurant for more than 29 years, Klara’s Kitchun was named after the family’s matriarch, Clara Whitt, whose signature recipes inspired a menu of hearty, homestyle dishes. Cozy booths help customers relax and relish the scent of okra, pot roast, and homemade rolls and cornbread. Entrees pair with 20 sides, such as candied yams and fried apples, and homemade coconut cream pie and cherry cobbler beguile sweet teeth. Cooks can also dole out hearty lunch boxes or catered fare for weddings, special events, and Abraham Lincoln look-alike conventions.

The team behind Positive Vibe Café cooks toward a better tomorrow in more ways than one. Not only does the organization train aspiring chefs with disabilities for jobs in the food-service industry, but it also helps to clean up customers' lifestyles with healthy, flavorful fare. The crew—which includes professional chefs, volunteers, and trainees—steams and grills local, organic produce and meats, which go on to star in gourmet baguette sandwiches, nutritious salads, and refined dinner entrees of buffalo meatloaf and balsamic-kissed salmon with prosciutto, served after 5 p.m.

Formerly the Get Lost MD Foundation, the nonprofit Positive Vibe Foundation preserves Get Lost's mission to help those with developmental and physical disabilities achieve the satisfaction of gainful employment. Helmed by Garth and Max Larcen, who shared a vision to operate a full-service restaurant that would provide both education and employment opportunities for its graduates, the foundation has patient and knowledgeable instructors who have trained more than 400 students in the skills of basic food service, cleaning, food safety, and commercial dishwashing. The instructors further each graduate's employability through lessons on communication in the workplace, interviewing, and proper job-searching techniques.

When Carena Ives moved to the States at age 16, she slowly eased into New York City’s concrete-and-steel embrace, its fast-paced and oft-gray surroundings a world away from the crystal blue waters and balmy breezes of home. A native of Ocho Rios, Jamaica, she had followed her culinary passion north to the restaurants and vibrant food scene of NYC, leaving her family behind to chase the dream. Years later, and wiser in the ways of the restaurant business, Carena opened her own eponymous restaurant in Richmond as a celebration of the home she left behind but never forgot. Carena’s Jamaican Grille brings stateside diners an authentic taste of Carena’s home cuisine thanks to its laid-back atmosphere and lineup of noshes prepared using traditional methods and piquant spices. All day, chefs bustle about the kitchen chopping and grilling up fresh ingredients that fuse into homemade soups, jerk meat dishes, and savory oxtail. Several of Carena's dishes have become favorites among the locals who line up for the grub as well as among other local chefs.

For more than 15 years, Candela's Pizzeria has been quelling pizza cravings with New York–style and Sicilian pies palatably decorated in a selection of more than 20 toppings. With a firm belief that variety is indeed the spice of life, the menu boasts an eclectic culinary collection, featuring bacon cheesesteaks, veal picatta, tortellini alfredo, and burgers. Patrons can wash down the filling fare with an imported or domestic beer, or choose a chianti or white zinfadel to pair with the atomic wings known for coming from a close-knit nuclear family.

Sushi-O skillfully blends diverse flavors in its Asian fusion cuisine, from the creative sushi it's named after to hearty cooked dishes such as citrus-teriyaki steak. Malaysian sambal paste flavors fried rice, and black-pepper sauce can adorn udon noodles or an 8-ounce filet mignon. Blends of curry lend spice to chicken and seafood dishes. The sushi chefs approach their work with an artistic eye, arranging maki rolls into whimsical shapes such as hearts, scorpions, and President Millard Fillmore. Each meal can be accompanied by drinks such as sake, Japanese beers, and American microbrews.