The latest restaurant to enter Richmond’s ever growing food scene is Instabowl, a fast-casual eatery offering a variety of take-out only bowls from the chef that brought you Perch.
Across the country, restaurants are adjusting their businesses model to adapt to a COVID-19 pandemic world. Many dining establishments are pivoting to strictly takeout and delivery operations as they forge ahead amid the pandemic.
Instabowl, the newest concept from Perch chef-owner Mike Ledesma, recently opened with the pandemic and its restrictions in mind. Located in the Fan, the fast-casual eatery is purpose-built to serve to-go bowls aiming to serve a variety of cuisine that rotates approximately every 30 days.
“A lot of restaurants with this kind of format keep the same menu for a long time, but I feel like we can go seasonality,” Ledesma told WTVR. “We can go with what people are wanting to eat, and we can see the trends and make changes faster.”
Restaurant-goers can find dishes similar to Perch staples on Instabowl’s menu, such as its vegan crab cakes and tuna poke bowl, adjusted to fit the virtual to-go concept. In addition to its signature bowls, Instanbowls offers breakfast bowls, soups, and salads.
Its current winter 2020 menu offers dishes with influences from all over Asia — South Asia with its Sri Lankan-inspired kesel muwa curry bowl, Southeast Asia with its seafood pho, and East Asia with an Korean-fused bowl. The restaurant plans to serve dishes inspired by Mexican and Caribbean cuisine, according to Richmond Magazine.
Ledesma told Richmond BizSense he has done research to perfect the take-out experience, making it more immersive and elevated.
“We’re taking what we learned at Perch and expanding it to our new location,” Ledesma said, according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch. “The one key difference is that everything we make at InstaBowl is purposely designed to taste best when you get home, to work, wherever. Between thoughtful preparation and eco-friendly packaging, our InstaBowls are built to travel.”
Instabowl is located at 2601 W. Cary St. and is open daily for breakfast, lunch, and dinner from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Photos via Instabowl RVA/Facebook
