Patrick Henry's Pub & Grille

If I didn't know better, I might actually believe some huge, oppressive dome existed over the Church Hill area, staunchly deflecting the restaurant gods' gifts of new, local eateries to any part of town but here.

Just look at nearby Shockoe Bottom, currently packing the Farmers' Market area with everything from haute diner fare to Ethiopian eats. Vacant spaces in Carytown and the Fan District reopen with new identities before you can say, "Check please."

Not so much with Church Hill. Other than The Hill Café, Acappella was one of the few somewhat-established restaurants, but even it closed last winter.

Fast-forward to this summer, and Acappella's historic building with its wildly popular underground pub has been reborn as Patrick Henry's Pub & Grill.

After my Friday dinner with a friend who lives in the area, I can safely say Patrick Henry's is just what the doctor ordered for restaurant-hungry Church Hill residents.

Owner Eric Warner, a former Acappella regular, has created a prim-meets- (Full review)

What do you do when your favorite bar closes?

Buy it and open another one.

At least, that's what Eric Warner did when Church Hill's Acappella closed its doors earlier this year.

"We needed a nice neighborhood bar," Warner says, who lives in Fulton Hill and was a longtime Acappella regular. "This was our place to hang out."
(Full review)