The White Anchovie Aims to Bring Local Flair Back to the West End

In an area of town dominated by chain restaurants, a new locally-owned establishment is shaking things up. The White Anchovie opened its doors May 6th in the Lauderdale Square shopping center in the space formerly occupied by Seafire Grill of the Trak family fame.

May 26, 2011; 11:50 AM • by Downtown Short Pump Staff

The White Anchovie's creatively-prepared rockfish dish

The new restaurant teams up head chef Matthew Tlusty (formerly of Bookbinder’s and the now defunct Limani in Carytown) and Todd and Tina Manley of Pescado’s Midlothian in a new venture. They say that The White Anchovie, while a different concept, is very much inspired by Pescado’s menu.

“One of the reasons Matthew and I teamed up is we both have an extremely high standard in regards to food quality and preparation,” Todd Manley said. “And we both just love to cook seafood.”

Orange shrimp ceviche dish

The menu is largely sourced from local farms and markets, a practice Smiley and Manley say they’ve taken part in before it became a trend, not necessarily for sustainability practices, but because they’ve found their quality to be higher.

“We don’t buy from local farms or farmers markets because it’s the in thing to do now– we’ve been working with local farmers since the ’90s and we feel some of them just have a better product,” Manley said. “That’s what generates our passion and philosophy.”

And while fresh fish and other seafood are featured, the restaurant is far from limited to just one cuisine.

“With all the influences in our menu, there’s not one thing that we’re going to be known for,” Smiley said. “People are really digging many factors of it.”

Manley agrees. “I think it’s easy for people to pigeonhole restaurants and want to put a label on them. We’re a West End restaurant that’s committed to being local and having the freshest products, and if I had to pick I think our biggest culinary influence is Mediterranean.”

The partners say they’ve already seen a handful of customers come back three or four times in the two week period The White Anchovie has been open, and popular dishes have included the duck, fig and gorgonzola pizza as well as a house-made lasagna served with crepes. Their locally-sourced fresh whole fish has done extremely well, too.

Other dishes include a creatively-prepared orange shrimp ceviche dish, served with thyme, warm polenta and sapphire oil, diver sea scallops from the Chesapeake Bay transported daily off day boats and several cuts of steak featuring Meyer Natural Angus– the only restaurant in Richmond to offer it.

House-made lasagna served with crepes

When deciding to come to the Far West End, the Manleys, along with business partner Greg Smiley, say they saw a need for more locally-owned establishments in Short Pump and that they wanted to create an atmosphere where everyone felt at home but where they could still be served a high quality meal with fresh ingredients.

“West Enders have an elevated palate and a sense of what good food is, and I think they’re having to travel to the city for it because of all the chains around here,” Manley said. “We’re banking on bringing the upscale local experience they drive downtown for, to their neighborhood.”

The White Anchovie, while close to the West Broad Street corridor and only two miles from Short Pump Town Center, is not located in one of the most prime areas for real estate for several reasons, according to the partners. Not the least of which is the ability to offer a high quality experience at an affordable price.

“If we paid $60 a square foot rent and prepare our food the way we do, we’d become one of the most expensive restaurants in Richmond,” Manley said.

The restaurant is also going for the neighborhood restaurant feel by being off of Broad, adjacent to the Wellesley planned community on Lauderdale Drive.

The White Anchovie is open Monday through Saturday for dinner, beginning at 5:00 p.m. The restaurant expects to open a patio area soon.