Virginia Beach is best known for its three-mile-long boardwalk, 35 miles of beach and fresh off the boat seafood, meaning there are plenty of dining options – seafood and otherwise – in this popular tourist destination. Virginia Beach’s acres of farmland and collective of chefs contribute to an expansive food and beverage culture that continues to grow.
Here’s a look:
Virginia Beach is home to an up-and-coming vegan scene, emphasizing local, fresh ingredients. CLTRE. vgn jnt is a hip breakfast/lunch restaurant offering locally roasted coffee, whole leaf tea and 100 percent plant-based milk alternatives and eats like the spelt waffles and vegan baked goods. Desmond’s Island Soul Grill is a Guyanese-influenced vegan Caribbean restaurant featuring jerk mushrooms, jackfruit stew and guava lentil balls.
SEAFOOD MUSTS
No trip to Virginia Beach is complete without trying Lynnhaven oysters. Named after the Lynnhaven River, a tidal estuary that flows into the Chesapeake, the oysters were one of the first meals Captain John Smith had in 1607 when he led the first permanent English settlement in America. Lynnhaven oysters are renowned for their size and salty flavor. Nurtured back from the brink of extinction, they are featured in-season on many of the city’s top restaurants’ menus.
In the Oceanfront district, Atlantic on Pacific serves a wide offering of oysters, such as oyster shooters and roasted varieties. Rockafeller’s on Rudee Inlet, a cottage-style, multi-story eatery, has been using locally sourced products to serve some of the freshest seafood in Virginia Beach for more than 30 years.
Docked on Lynnhaven Inlet, which flows into the Chesapeake, Chick’s Oyster Bar’s laid-back, casual fare sourced from the waters that surround the restaurant has been keeping Virginians coming back for 20+ years.
Trip tip: Harvest and slurp your own with a Pleasure House Oysters farm boat tour that balances entertainment and education on a waterfront tableau.
Another don’t miss regional delicacy is She-Crab Soup. For that, head to Bubba’s Crabhouse and Seafood Restaurant, which started as a bait and tackle shop and has been keeping locals happy for 30+ years. Other renditions include upmarket eatery Cobalt Grille with seasonal New American fare and the multiple award-winning recipe perfected by Mannino’s Italian Bistro.
The art of flavor is on display each spring at the East Coast She-Crab Soup Classic, where restaurants compete in an outdoor tasting event in an oceanfront park.
BRUNCH BUNCH
The city has a plethora of brunch options to explore. Commune is a favorite for its seasonal-flavor menu and sustainable sensibility. It doesn’t get more ‘local’ than the restaurant’s 2,000-square-foot garden literally back door. Regulars rave about everything from their Ham and Jam Biscuit and Pancake Stack to Big Backyard Salad and Heirloom Grit Bowl.
During the pandemic, farm-to-beach fast casual spot Harvest unveiled a new rooftop offering breakfast sandwiches and scrambled bowls with a side of oceanfront views. On the weekend, visitors can pair a yoga class with brunch, with menu favorites from shrimp and grits to French toast made with King’s Hawaiian rolls covered in crushed corn flakes, deep fried and served with a pineapple reduction and chamomile butter.
Set in a 1919 cottage in the “Pungo” agricultural district, The Bee & the Biscuit serves a hearty southern breakfast made from fresh, locally produced ingredients. Another coastal cottage eatery, May’s Parlor in the Oceanfront is a “must din,’’ for crave-worthy café, such as the smoked salmon croissant and a rotating menu of ‘cruffins.’
Newly opened this summer, Elevenses takes on old-school brunch dishes plus farro bowls and breakfast burritos served alongside healthful shots and fresh-juiced beverages.
A fast-casual counter serving breakfast and lunch opened in Summer 2021 on the city’s Chesapeake Bay side. Session, whose name was inspired by the owner’s love of music, features an artsy vibe with plenty of eclectic music to complement a menu featuring specialty smoothies.
With locations in Chesapeake Bay and Inland, Bay Local offers locally sourced produce, meats, fish and seafood, with special Benedits and omelets satisfying the brunch crowd.
TIPPLE O’CLOCK: VB’s MUST-TRY CRAFT COCKTAILS, BREWS + WINE
The quintessential Virginia Beach cocktail: the signature Orange Crush, with vodka, orange liqueur, a splash of lemon-lime soda, and, the most important ingredient of all, freshly-squeezed orange juice. it’s inspired several creative twists on the destination’s signature drink.
The first Orange Crush was concocted at Waterman’s Surfside Grill, so it’s a natural evolution to see the restaurant owners this Fall launching a new Waterman Spirits Distillery across the street. With a new liquor brand premiering four citrus-flavored organic vodka products, the operation will include a public tasting room and sell pre-mixed Orange Crush in a bottle (just add the liquor).
Tarnished Truth, the first distillery located in a hotel in North America, began with an idea from Virginia Beach natives Andrew Yancey and Josh Canada who set out to craft a Virginia Beach distillery offering world-class spirits. Located inside the Cavalier Hotel, the distilling team is led by legendary master distiller, Larry Ebersold, who has more than 40 years of experience.
The fifth location for Virginia’s largest independent craft beer company, Three Notch’d Craft Kitchen & Brewery opened in the Town Center area in Fall 2021 in an 8,000 square-foot space in the city’s Town Center. The tap menu includes 16 beers on draft, a new Virginia Beach brew each week, and collaboration beers to complement a traditional pub fare menu with a Virginia flair.
The Pink Dinghy in the “ViBe District’’ specializes in Latin American-inspired small plates, natural wines and tropically influenced cocktails. At Love Song, honest food and natural wines are the name of the game. This Oceanfront restaurant offers a curated and rotating wine list, specializing in natural and biodynamic wines.
ON THE MENU: A SPECIAL DINNER OUT
A new elevated, dining experience recently made its debut in Virginia Beach’s Oceanfront. Oscar’s Oceanside ignites all senses with its refined décor, impressive contemporary cuisine, which includes steaks, pastas and the freshest local seafood and dazzling waterfront views.
Also in the Oceanfront, Terrapin’s fine-dining experience showcases Chef Rodney Einhorn’s contemporary American cuisine and creative use of seasonal farm-fresh ingredients. And perched atop the Marriott Oceanfront, Orion’s Roof Garden & Dining’s Asian-fusion dining features sushi and sashimi expertly prepared in the Japanese-Peruvian Nikkei tradition.
Venerable eatery Steinhilber’s was established in 1939 and is one of Virginia’s older continually operated restaurants. Steeped in nostalgia and tucked away in the Thalia neighborhood, the fried shrimp with a signature remoulade-style sauce is among the best in the area.
https://www.visitvirginiabeach.com/taste/.
Photos Courtesy of visitvirginiabeach.com