Cookout Richmond VA: Menu Prices, Hours & Locations

Cookout Richmond VA: Menu Prices, Hours & Locations

If you’re in the River City and you’ve just typed “Cookout Richmond” into your phone, there’s a good chance it’s late, you’re hungry, and you want answers fast: where’s the closest one, is it still open, and what’s actually worth ordering? This guide covers all three. You’ll find every Cookout Richmond location in the metro area mapped out, the real late-night hours, the full menu with honest prices, and the ordering tricks locals swear by.

One quick note before we dig in: this site is an unofficial fan guide and isn’t affiliated with Cook Out. We’re just people who think a full meal with two sides for under eight bucks deserves its own corner of the internet. Here’s the backstory that makes Richmond’s Cook Out scene interesting: the chain started in Greensboro, North Carolina in 1989, founded by Morris Reaves, and has grown past 350 locations across ten states. Richmond sits on the northern edge of that footprint, among the newest territory Cook Out has pushed into. For locals, that’s part of the appeal — you knew about it before your friends up in Maryland did.

In this guide you’ll get the metro locations, honest hours, the complete tray menu with prices that match what you’ll actually pay, a run-through of all 40-plus milkshake flavors, and smart ways to stretch your dollar. Let’s go.

Cook Out Locations in Richmond VA

Cook Out runs several spots across the Richmond metro area, covering the city itself and the surrounding suburbs. Cookout Richmond locations tend to cluster along the busiest corridors — the big retail and restaurant strips where students, shift workers, and anyone grabbing food after a show all end up eventually. If you’re anywhere near the main commercial stretches of the metro, you’re probably not far from one.

Casual restaurant dining room with tables and warm lighting

What makes the Richmond footprint fun is that Cook Out is still relatively new territory up here. Down in North Carolina, Cook Outs are as common as gas stations — Charlotte alone has them stacked on every other corner. In Richmond, finding one feels like being in on a secret that 350+ locations’ worth of Southerners already knew. The drive-thru is the main event at most spots: pull up, order at the speaker, and you’ll have a tray in your hands faster than most fast-food places can manage a single combo.

Most Cookout Richmond restaurants offer drive-thru service, and the exact mix of dine-in seating varies by spot. Because locations open, close, and shift hours more often than you’d think, always check your local Cook Out before making a special trip across town — the map below will get you to the closest one.

Cookout Richmond Hours

Cookout Richmond hours follow the chain’s famous late-night pattern. Most locations stay open until 2 AM Sunday through Thursday, and push to 3 or even 4 AM on Friday and Saturday nights. That’s not a typo. While the rest of Richmond’s kitchens are dark, Cook Out is still flipping burgers.

A few honest caveats. First, hours vary by location — the 3-4 AM Friday/Saturday close is the norm, not a guarantee, so a quick check saves you a wasted drive. Second, holiday hours can differ. Third, the drive-thru sometimes runs a slightly different schedule than the dining room. If you’re planning a 2:30 AM Saturday run (no judgment — some of the best decisions start that way), pick your location from the map and confirm it’s one of the late closers.

Map: Find a Cook Out Near You in Richmond

Use the map above to find the Cookout Richmond spot closest to you. Zoom in, tap a pin for directions, and check the listed hours before you head out — late-night schedules can shift, and there’s nothing worse than a closed drive-thru at 2 AM.

The Cookout Tray: Prices at Cookout Richmond

Here’s the order that built the cult following. At Cookout Richmond, the regular Cookout Tray runs about $7.69 and gets you one full-size entree, two sides, and a large drink. Read that again. A complete meal — not a snack, not a kids’ menu — for less than eight dollars. Our full Cookout Tray guide breaks down every entree option, but here’s the short version of what you can pick as your main:

  • Big Double Burger (330 Cal)
  • Regular 1/4 lb Burger (330 Cal)
  • Regular Chicken Breast (380 Cal)
  • Cajun Chicken Breast (380 Cal)
  • Spicy Chicken (450 Cal)
  • BBQ Char-Grilled Chicken (380 Cal)
  • 3 Chicken Strips or Chicken Sandwich (660 Cal)
  • Barbecue Pulled Pork (370 Cal)
  • 2 Hot Dogs (520 Cal)
  • 2 Quesadillas (440-520 Cal)

Then you pick any two sides — hushpuppies, fries, onion rings, coleslaw, chili, nuggets, cheese bites, or a bacon wrap — plus a large drink. Want a milkshake instead of the soda? Upgrade any Regular Milkshake for +$1.00, or go Fancy for +$1.00 to $1.60. That means a tray plus a real milkshake still lands under ten bucks, which is honestly hard to beat anywhere in Richmond.

Not as hungry? The Jr. Tray at Cookout Richmond runs about $6.49 with smaller entree portions built for lighter appetites: a Small 1/8 lb Burger (240 Cal), 2 Chicken Strips (440 Cal), 2 Corn Dogs (440 Cal), a BLT Sandwich (400 Cal), 1 Hot Dog (260 Cal), or 1 Quesadilla (220-260 Cal). See our Jr. Tray guide for the full breakdown. Prices vary slightly by location, so treat these as the going rate rather than gospel.

Char-grilled burger topped with melted cheese on a wooden board

Burgers, Chicken, Hot Dogs & BBQ

Beyond the tray, the Cookout Richmond a la carte menu keeps the same budget-friendly math. Burgers come in four sizes: the Small 1/8 lb at $1.99-$2.99 (240 Cal), the Regular 1/4 lb at $2.99-$3.99 (330 Cal), the Huge 1/2 lb at $3.99 (520 Cal), and the Big Double at $2.99-$3.99 (330 Cal). The Big Double Burger is the move if you want maximum burger per dollar — two patties, still under four bucks.

Then there are the styles, and this is where ordering gets fun. You can dress any burger Cookout Style (homemade chili, coleslaw, mustard, diced onion, +$0.95-$0.99), Cheddar Style (sharp cheddar, crispy bacon, grilled onion, mayo, +$0.99), Out West Style (BBQ sauce, crispy bacon, mayo, pickles, onion, +$0.75-$0.99), Steak Style (A1 sauce, grilled onions, lettuce, tomato, mayo, +$0.59-$0.69), House Style (quesadilla sauce, shredded lettuce, tomato, onion, +$0.49-$0.59), or Nacho Chili Style (nacho cheese sauce, homemade chili, +$0.99). Our Quarter Pound Burger guide walks through the best combos.

Chicken fans aren’t left out: Original, BBQ, Cajun, Club, Cheddar, and Homemade style chicken sandwiches run $3.69-$4.85, plus 3 Chicken Strips around $4.99 (660 Cal) and a grilled or crispy Chicken Sandwich around $4.49. Hot dogs are almost suspiciously cheap — plain around $1.99, chili or slaw around $2.49, chili cheese around $2.99, corn dogs about $1.49 (see the Hot Dog guide). And the Carolina roots show in the BBQ: pulled pork around $3.99 (370 Cal), BBQ char-grilled chicken around $3.99, and a pulled pork BBQ sandwich on a toasted buttered bun around $4.49.

40+ Milkshake Flavors

Ask any Cook Out regular what keeps them coming back and the shakes come up fast. Cookout Richmond serves the full lineup of 40-plus Cook Out Creamery flavors: Regular shakes run $2.99-$3.99 and Fancy shakes $4.49-$4.99, with calories ranging 510-900 depending on how indulgent you go. Our Classic Milkshakes and Fancy Milkshakes guides list every flavor, but here are the heavy hitters:

  • Peanut Butter Banana (864 Cal) — the undisputed fan favorite
  • Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup (894 Cal)
  • Oreo Mint (853 Cal)
  • Strawberry Cheesecake (800-900 Cal)
  • Banana Pudding (781 Cal)
  • Fresh Banana (538 Cal) — lighter, if a 538-calorie shake counts as light
  • Peach (547 Cal), Blueberry (617 Cal), Hershey’s Chocolate (620 Cal)
  • Butterfinger, Snickers Bar, Heath Toffee — the full candy-bar treatment

Watch for the seasonal Fresh Watermelon shake (645 Cal), which only shows up in July and August. It has a genuine cult following — people plan summer visits around it. Pro tip for Cookout Richmond shake orders: if you’re getting a tray, the +$1.00 shake upgrade is the best dollar you’ll spend all week.

Tall milkshake with whipped cream in a glass

Sides Worth Your Tray Slot

Two sides come with every tray, and choosing them is a bigger decision than it sounds. The lineup at Cookout Richmond: French Fries (~$1.99, 350 Cal), Onion Rings (~$1.99, 130 Cal), Hushpuppies (~$1.99, 300 Cal), Homemade Coleslaw (~$1.49, 100 Cal), Homemade Chili (~$1.49, 170 Cal), Chicken Nuggets (~$1.99, 150 Cal), White Cheddar Cheese Bites (~$1.99, 190 Cal), and the Bacon Wrap (~$1.99, 420 Cal).

My take after many trays: hushpuppies plus fries is the classic combo, but coleslaw as a side is the sleeper pick — it’s homemade, it’s a buck-fifty, and it cuts through a chili-topped burger beautifully. The cheese bites are dangerously easy to demolish in the car. Order an extra side if you’re feeding someone who “isn’t hungry” — they always end up eating half your tray.

Best Value Orders in Richmond

Let’s talk real money, because this is where Cookout Richmond embarrasses the competition. A regular tray ($7.69) with a shake upgrade ($1.00) feeds a hungry adult completely for under nine dollars. In Richmond, that barely covers an appetizer at most sit-down spots and gets you a burger alone at the big national chains. The Jr. Tray ($6.49) is perfect for lighter appetites or kids.

Smart plays: order the Big Double as your tray entree for the most food per dollar. Double up on the cheapest sides you actually like — fries and hushpuppies both run ~$1.99 a la carte but come free in the tray. If you’re feeding a group, multiple trays with different entrees turn into a cheap feast. And if someone in your car only wants a shake, a Regular at $2.99-$3.99 is cheaper than most Richmond dessert spots charge for far less.

One more angle: Cookout Richmond is one of the few places where “let’s just grab something cheap” doesn’t mean settling. The food is char-grilled to order, the portions are honest, and the price hasn’t crept up the way everything else has. That’s the whole business model, and after 35-plus years it still works.

Why Richmond Loves Late-Night Cook Out

Richmond has a genuinely great food scene — the restaurants on Broad Street and in Carytown could hold their own anywhere in Virginia. But at 2 AM, none of that matters, because almost all of it is closed. That’s the gap Cook Out fills, and it’s why the late-night crowd treats it like a landmark.

Think about who needs food at 1:30 AM in Richmond: VCU students coming out of the library or a show, hospital shift workers getting off, restaurant crews from other spots grabbing their own dinner after close, and anyone whose night just ran long. Cookout Richmond serves all of them from the same drive-thru window, fast and cheap. There’s something democratic about it — the line at midnight mixes every kind of Richmonder, all there for the same $7.69 tray.

Compare that to the alternatives. A burger, two sides, and a drink for $7.69 — in Richmond, that barely covers the fries at most burger joints. The big national chains near the interstate charge nearly double for a combo with half the personality. Cook Out isn’t trying to be fancy; it’s trying to be open, fast, and cheap, and at 2 AM that’s exactly right.

Drive-Thru, Delivery & Ordering Tips

Drive-thru is available at most locations and it’s the fastest way to order — the whole operation is built around moving cars through. If you’d rather have it brought to you, Cook Out is on DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub at select locations. Heads up: delivery prices run higher than the menu board, so the legendary value takes a hit once fees stack up. For the true Cook Out experience (and the true prices), the drive-thru wins.

There’s no official Cook Out app for online ordering, so don’t go hunting for one — anything claiming to be the official app isn’t. Order at the speaker, at the counter, or through the delivery apps above. And if it’s your first visit, do what the regulars do: get the tray. You can experiment with single items later; the tray is the orientation.

Cookout Richmond FAQs

How many Cook Out locations are in Richmond VA?

Cook Out operates several locations across the Richmond metro area in Virginia, covering the city and surrounding suburbs. The exact count shifts as new spots open, so check the map above for the current locations nearest you.

What time does Cook Out in Richmond close?

Most Cookout Richmond locations stay open until 2 AM Sunday through Thursday and until 3-4 AM on Friday and Saturday. Hours vary by location, so confirm with your local Cook Out before a late-night run.

How much is the Cookout Tray in Richmond?

The regular Cookout Tray in Richmond runs about $7.69 — one full-size entree, two sides, and a large drink. The Jr. Tray is about $6.49. Prices vary slightly by location. Upgrading the drink to a Regular milkshake adds about $1.00.

Does Cookout Richmond have all 40+ milkshake flavors?

Yes — Richmond locations serve the full Cook Out Creamery lineup of 40-plus flavors. Regular shakes run $2.99-$3.99, Fancy shakes $4.49-$4.99. Fan favorites include Peanut Butter Banana, Reese’s Cup, Oreo Mint, Strawberry Cheesecake, and Banana Pudding, plus the seasonal Fresh Watermelon in summer.

Can I get Cook Out delivered in Richmond?

Cook Out is available on DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub at select Richmond locations. Expect delivery menu prices and fees to run higher than ordering at the drive-thru.

Is Cook Out in Richmond open late on weekends?

Yes — Friday and Saturday are the latest nights, with most locations open until 3-4 AM. It’s one of the few kitchens in Richmond still cooking at that hour, which is exactly why the late-night line exists.

Hungry for More Cook Out Guides?

Cookout Richmond is worth the trip whether it’s your first tray or your fiftieth. Start with the drive-thru, get the tray, upgrade to the shake — you can thank us later. And if you’re traveling through Cook Out country, we’ve got you covered: check out our Cook Out menu homepage, plus city guides for Cookout Charlotte, Cookout Raleigh, Cookout Durham, Cookout Atlanta, and Cookout Nashville. For the full menu deep-dives, see the Cookout Tray, Big Double Burger, and Classic Milkshakes guides.

cookoutmenu.today is an unofficial fan guide and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to Cook Out. Menu prices and hours change — when in doubt, check with your local restaurant.