Fun in Norfolk

I highly recommend Bodega; it is an amazing tapas restaurant. The food was fantastic, the service wonderful, and the Sangria memorable. It is a small, intimate restaurant with wonderful decor and great ambience. I went on a Friday night, and there was everyone from first dates to families there. I don’t know if they take reservations, but we only waited 20 minutes for our table.

The dishes were amazing; I would highly suggest the Portabella Gratine and the fried goat cheese, and the filet mignon tips were wonderful, as well. In addition, we also had one of the specials of the evening, lobster-stuffed artichokes--they were divine. There wasn’t anything I saw that I wouldn’t want to try at one point. For dessert, I would strongly suggest the cappuccino-chocolate mousse with homemade whipped cream on top. I didn’t feel like anything was overpriced. Everything was wonderful, and if you are feeling a little overwhelmed, just ask your server for help. Everyone who works there (from the hostess to the bartender) was very helpful.

There is an extensive wine list, as well as a full bar. Personally, I would suggest the Sangria; it was very good and reasonably priced, and they sell it by either the pitcher or the glass. In addition, I noticed an extensive martini and after-dinner drink menu available.

This was an amazing dining experience, and I fully intend to go back. I would highly recommend it to anyone who is going to Norfolk. You couldn’t ask for more; there were great food and drinks, as well as an intimate atmosphere that allowed you to have a great dinner.

When you walk into Fellini's, you will be amazed. The decor here is amazing. Try to snag one of the booths on the right-hand side. They are each decorated individually and add to your dining experience. The rest of the restaurant is decorated nicely as well; the bar does a nice job of separating the two dining areas.

The food here is mostly Italian, but they have a little bit of everything on the menu. I have been here several times and would recommend everything I have eaten. Their specialty pizzas were very good. I had the Mediterrean one, and between the goat cheese, garlic, and olives, I was in heaven. In addition, they have wonderful lunch specials, most notably a half-sandwich, half-salad/soup that is a great deal for your money. If you were wondering, the meatball sandwich was pretty darn good. Their past items are also very good, most notably the clams linguine.

They have an extensive bar and an extensive wine list that allows you a great choice. This is a good place to come for a drink after work, or for lunch or dinner.

My only issue with Fellini's is that their service is not the fastest, so I wouldn't come here when you are in a hurry. If you are looking for a place to enjoy a leisurely meal, this is the place.

I went to this restaurant on a whim and will definitely be going back. The food is Southern cooking, but with a nouveau twist. The portions are good-sized, each entrée coming with two sides. I had the chicken-fried steak, and it was as good as I have eaten anywhere else. The food was light, not greasy, and filling. In addition, we had the appetizer of fried green tomatoes, and they were amazing. They were drizzled in balsamic vinaigrette and layered with goat cheese--highly recommended.

There is a nice wine list with something for every price range, as well as a full bar. But the specialty at this restaurant would be the martinis. There is an extensive list, and I would suggest you try one.

The décor is different, yet you feel right at home. There are pictures of the walls of past celebrities and sports players. Yet it isn’t overwhelming, like a sports bar. This is more like walking into the past.

The staff is very helpful and the food wonderful. The service was pretty good when we went, even though there was a large birthday party at the time. If you are looking for a fun time with good Southern food, this is the place!

The Wild Monkey is a great dining experience. It doesn’t look like too much from the outside, but the food is amazing. The room is small, so you may have to wait at the bar before you get seated. During the warmer months, they have an enclosed outdoor patio where you can also dine or just indulge in drinks.

The decor is pretty unique. The two long walls are covered with blackboards, one with their entire extensive menu and the other with their wine list. The small bar looks out over the kitchen (so the food coming out can tempt you). The tables seem to be placed with no rhyme or reason, but the entire atmosphere just lends to the dining experience.

We started off the dinner with a glance at their extensive wine list and settled on a red wine. There is something for everyone in the wine category here, and the blackboard on the one wall describes all the wines. We had no idea what we wanted to eat and were a little overwhelmed by the extensive menu. We asked our server, and she went through her favorites and the bestsellers category by category, starting with appetizers and ending with desserts.

At our table we had the scallops pomodore, the Greek salad, the beef tips, and the lobster and shitake mushroom pasta. All had amazing presentation and were very good. If you are a fan of seafood, I would recommend both the scallops and the lobster pasta. The lobster and mushroom pasta was a recommended choice, and let me tell you, the server did not lead us astray. The lobster was very well done and the sauce on the pasta was light, creamy, and rich, but not too heavy. I would definitely suggest it. The beef tips were very good as well. They were cooked perfectly and served over amazing mashed potatoes. The scallops pomodore was very good. The scallops were huge, but not rubbery, and the sauce had a good mix of spices. The salad was absolutely huge and could have fed a family of four!

For dessert some people had the amazing chocolate mousse, but I decided to indulge in one of their martinis (another specialty). I would highly suggest the mint chocolate-chip martini - the perfect ending to a great meal!

If you are looking for an extensive menu with an array of dishes, great service, a laid-back atmosphere, and wonderful food, the Wild Monkey is for you!

Kelly’s Tavern is a good place to grab a burger or their chicken sandwich. The place is divided into two rooms so that the smoke from the bar isn’t too offensive if you are a nonsmoker. The time to really come to Kelly’s is when the weather is nice. Like a lot of the restaurants on Granby, they have an outdoor patio where you can sit and enjoy a beer and sandwich with friends. The patio is nicely done, fits in with the rest of the place, and is done with a lot more class than other places on the street.

Kelly’s Tavern is a pub with classic pub food. Their burgers are pretty good – they are a nice size and come with a load of different options. The chicken specialty sandwich was the best-looking item that came to our table, and I would strongly suggest that. If you are looking for a salad, Kelly’s are fairly large and looked pretty good.

In addition, Kelly’s has a full bar and a number of different beers. If you are a wine drinker, don’t despair; Kelly’s does have a wine list that includes more than just one red, one white, and one pink. I am pretty sure that they carry Shiraz, so you know they are pretty up on the times.

Kelly’s tavern is a great place to go and relax after work or on the weekends. The food is decent, drinks are well priced, and the patio is a homerun.

O’Sullivan’s Wharf is definitely where the locals go for fresh seafood at good prices. The restaurant is located on the Lafayette River and has a beautiful view of the water. The best palace to sit is either on the outside deck or under the roof in the wall-less room (attached to the deck). I would strongly suggest waiting as long as you need to get a table in one of these places. Grab a drink and sit for awhile, talking to the locals (they are very friendly) or just enjoying the view. If you come early enough, you get happy-hour prices (from 3 to 6pm) and free munchies while you wait for your table.

I love seafood and this is the place to go for lunch or dinner. I would suggest a platter for lunch, as they are reasonable priced and you get two sides with them. My favorite is the broiled shrimp, scallops, and fish. It is the perfect portion for lunch, and the seasoning is great. They also have a fried seafood platter, fried clam strips, catfish, shrimp, and more. In addition, they have an extensive selection of sandwiches if you aren’t in the mood for a platter. I would suggest the crab cake sandwich r the oyster Po’Boy. Both are great and a tradition with the locals.

Check out the appetizer menu for some great seafood scores. They have oysters, oyster shooters, mussels, shrimp, chowders, and salmon bites. They are a great start to rest of the meal.

For dinner, the options for food are endless: the broiled combo (fish, scallops, crab cakes, and shrimp), seafood skillet Lafayette (crabmeat; scallops; shrimp; portabella mushrooms; and a rich, creamy cheese sauce), seafood bouillabaisse (everything from the sea that you can eat, all thrown together with pasta), and the fresh flounder topped with crabmeat. The list goes on an on. If you are in a simpler mood, you can get the daily special filet of fish, some clam strips, fried catfish, or crab legs.

If you aren’t a seafood lover or just feel the need for some meat, they offer a chicken breast, barbeque, and steak. But, personally, I would stick with the seafood; you are on the water after all. They have an extensive kid’s menu here, and they offer them everything from grilled cheese to clam strips.

They offer some good desserts, and the brownie sundae is very good. They have perfected the art of warming the brownie, then adding chocolate sauce and cold, creamy vanilla ice cream. The key lime cheesecake is a different take on the recipe, because it also includes white chocolate. I would suggest this dessert to settle your stomach (in case you overindulged).

A friend and myself went here because we had a two-for-one coupon and it looks kind if cute from the outside. The place is always packed with an after-work crowd downing their margaritas, so we figured it couldn’t be too bad.

Inside, the place is a festival of colors. The walls and ceiling are painted a bright blue, with a mural of under the sea. Everything is painted really bold, and I kind of wonder if the place glows in the dark at night. I wasn’t too entirely sure what the motif had to do with Mexican food, but hey, whatever floats your boat.

The place is pretty small, with only a dozen tables and a tiny bar. It was pretty full when we got there (it was a Saturday night). Yet, there really weren’t that many people eating (which should have been the clue). We ordered margaritas, and I ordered a glass of water (which I never got). The margaritas were great, served in pint glasses instead of traditional glasses and massive. They were also strong, but not so strong that all you tasted was the tequila. I would definitely come back for the margaritas!

We had to order chips and salsa, as it wasn’t included in our meals. Honestly, I wouldn’t suggest them. They weren’t anything to write home about. The chips were a little stale and the salsa wasn’t all that great. Hoping to do better, we ordered dinner. I ordered the enchilada platter, and my friend chose the two-combo platter (your choice of taco, enchilada, or chalupa). For my enchiladas, I ordered one beef and one cheese and onion. I would have been better off to get two beef. The onions really ruined the enchiladas. They were completely raw and cut in long strips (not diced or cubed), and it was really difficult to eat them because they were so long. I was constantly fighting to cut them and get enough cheese and all this other stuff. My friend had the tacos and said they were pretty good, but nothing to write home about. Because we got entrées, we also got the rice and beans… nothing much there. The beans were okay, but the rice was terrible. It was bland, mushy, and had no taste whatsoever. In fact, the entire meal was a little bland. There was no real zing anywhere.

The service wasn’t really that great. The waitress wasn’t very attentive and seemed a little distracted. Plus, she never came to ask us if everything was okay.

I honestly wouldn’t suggest this place for dinner. I haven’t tried their appetizers, but this is more of a place that I would come for a drink and maybe a few munchies. I would go back and have a drink or two on the outdoor patio, but I won’t be coming back for the food.

When you first go to Cogan’s Pizza, you will be a little taken back by the decor. The walls are deep red and ragged. With a maroon color on them, the light fixtures are like those you would see in a banquet hall of years past (or more likely, some country place). They are huge, wooden, and circular and have about 50 light bulbs coming out from on top of them. There are interesting picture, murals, portraits, and signs all over the place. The whole length of one wall is given to the takeout area and the bar. There are about 15 tables inside (of various sizes), and then probably eight more on their outdoor patio.

They have a wonderful happy hour here, with all domestic beers (bottles and drafts) for $1.50 and all well drinks half off. In addition, their beer list is extensive, with everything from Yuengling to Purple Moon to Duvel. Most of them are reasonably priced, and they have something like 30 beers on tap. In addition, they have a full bar and a limited wine list.

The menu here is that of your typical pizza joint, but the food is really good here. They have a fairly large list of sandwiches that are served with fries. Let me tell you, the fries here are amazing: crispy, hot, and perfectly seasoned. There are several salads to choose from, and they are all fresh - no soggy veggies here. But, what I keep on coming back for is the pizza.

The pizza has wonderful, very thin crust; a nice bubbly outside rimmed crust to hold onto; a lot of cheese; and a good sauce - what more can you ask for? My favorite is the Mediterranean pizza. It has mozzarella cheese, feta cheese, artichoke hearts, black olives, and garlic. It is the perfect combination of ingredients. The Hawaiian pizza is pretty good as well. There is the perfect balance of ingredients, sauce, and cheese. In addition, you can always order the basic pizza and add on your ingredients. The only problem? What to order on it! There must be close to 25 different ingredients you can have on your pizza, everything from garlic to chicken. Have fun trying to decide.

There are also several pasta items on the menu. I must admit that I have never tired them, but they always look and smell great when they are coming out of the kitchen. They are all fairly large portion,s and I have never heard anyone complain about them.

The service here is pretty good. It is prompt and efficient, but they don’t hover like they do at some restaurants. They take your drink order, take your order, and then check on you a few times.

The pizza here is great; the prices are good; and, overall, I would suggest this place.

I went to the wine festival for the first time this past year and was pleasantly surprised. All the wineries that come are from Virginia, and they range from dry red wines to sweet dessert wines. The tickets are very reasonably priced (at $20) and include around 70 vendors, some showcasing more than eight wines each. In addition, you don’t have to worry about the tacky plastic glasses that you sometimes have at wine tastings. Included in your ticket, you receive a real wine glass (meaning it is glass) that you just take from booth to booth. There are several water stations set up around the festival so you don’t have to worry about your white wine suddenly becoming a rose.

In addition to the amazing wines you will taste, there are also numerous vendors set up in case you get hungry. In addition, there were also some unique gifts to purchase and exhibits to look at. In addition, there were specials run for bottles of wine that you could buy--I believe it was three for $18. A word of warning, though: bring a bag or some tape if you wish to buy some wine. We saw numerous people with broken bottles because the boxes were not strong enough.

If you feel like you need a break from all the wine, all you have to do is walk a few feet, and you will be looking out over the ocean. It is a magnificent view and makes for a wonderful day, drinking nice wine and taking in the background of yachts and the ocean. Don’t feel that this is a strictly adult event, either--there were quite a few children and more than one stroller seen during the day. In addition, a lot of companies rented out tables and catered a meal and wine for the day.

This was truly a relaxing and fabulous day; I would suggest it to anyone who is interested in wine or wishes to be.

Norfolk has one strip of bars and clubs that you should frequent if you are interested in a drink or two, dancing, finding a date, or just looking for a good time. Granby Street is the name of the street, and most of the better places are located here.

Havana is one of the places located on Granby. It is a restaurant as well, but I have never been there for a meal, so I can’t comment on that part. The decor here is very interesting and adds to the feel of the place. It is a two-story bar/restaurant, and you can enjoy yourself on either level. It is a pretty small place, though, and very narrow.

The walls are muted beige with a pattern in them, while the light fixtures are funky and modern in shades of gold. There is one long table to the right as you walk in, and this is a favorite place to sit when you are here for a few drinks and want to meet some people.

There is an extensive beer, wine, and cocktail list here. I would suggest the cosmo as well as the margaritas and the mojitos. Although if you are going to go for a mojito, I would suggest the original. People have had the vanilla one and disliked it immensely. There is a fairly large martini list, and I know that people have enjoyed the variety in the drinks. The wine list is fairly diversified, and I would suggest one of the shirazes on the menu.

This is a very popular place for the after-theater crowd, as well as the after-work crowd on Fridays. You won’t find too many drunk college students here (a good thing in my book), but more of an upscale selection of individuals to talk to.

The bar is fairly large, and there are always people gathered around it, which can be a pain when you have to go to the restroom, because it is halfway down the bar (they are very clean, but they have only one stall in each restroom).

My only real complaint for this place is that some of the servers don’t have that great of an attitude. We have had several waitresses who were downright rude to us, and one who even forgot to bring us our drinks. I would suggest going to the bar. You may have to wait a little longer, but the bartenders are competent, efficient, and more than willing to serve everyone.

Jack Quinn’s is a traditional Irish pub in the middle of Norfolk, VA. It has hardwood floors that slope (they really do - it’s not the alcohol), a dark interior, lots of wood, and an extensive bar. This bar is two stories, and you can find just about anyone to talk to, from the college kid to the businessman.

The bar is quite narrow (as many of them are on Granby Street). There are booths along the one wall right as you walk in, and then a small stage and more tables farther down. The bar takes up almost one entire wall, and the stairs to the upstairs are a little farther down. The bar itself stocks a nice selection of liquors; beers; and surprisingly enough, wines, everything from a shiraz to a pinot grigio, a nice change in the Irish-pub atmosphere. They also make a mean martini here and, of course, have Guinness on tap. There is something for everyone here, and the prices aren’t that bad. The bartenders are great here: they are prompt, attentive, and a refreshing change from some of the other places down the street.

There is live music here on Friday and Saturday night, but nothing offensive or too edgy. There is a $2 cover on the weekends, but this is a lot cheaper than other places. A lot of the bands that play here have a song repertoire of oldies or classics that everyone knows the words to. You will find almost everyone singing along, a lot of people tapping their feet, and even some people dancing. Don’t worry, this doesn’t turn into a bonafide dance club ever; it is just people enjoying the music and the atmosphere.

This place is pretty popular for the after-theater crowd as well. Don’t feel like you are underdressed when the first guy that you walk into is wearing a tux. I would suggest jeans for this place, and you will blend right in. And, of course, a pair of comfortable shoes, because the chances of you finding a seat to sit at are slim to none. There are not that many chairs, and they are usually taken up by the time it gets crowded.

That being said, this place doesn’t really get all that busy in the weekends till around 10/11, and during the week, it is pretty dead. I wouldn’t suggest coming here during the week if you are looking to meet people, and have a good conversation reserved that for Friday or Saturday night. It is a nice place to go for a drink or two without getting too crazy.

Crackers is one of the smallest places I have ever been to. It has about five tables and a small bar, yet it manages to have a loyal following. It is a tapas restaurant, but I have to had dinner here yet, but after the last time I went, we will definitely be coming back.

There is artwork from local artists on the wall, and the lights are all blue, which gives the room a different sort of haze to it. In addition, there is a large blackboard that proclaims the day's specialties - everything from the salad of the day to the butter of the day! I believe that the wall colors are purple, but they aren’t offensive in color, and everything is very muted here, so you don’t have to worry about being blown away by the color combos.

The bar takes up a good portion of the area (which really isn’t saying all that much), and I believe that there are 10 chairs/stools that you can sit at here. The bartender was incredibly knowledgeable and helped us with our decisions of what martini to choose from the extensive list (the motto of the restaurant is "50 tapas dishes, 50 different martinis"). The great thing about this place was that the martinis were very reasonably priced; the average price was $6.50 and I don’t think that I saw one priced above $8.

The martini list has everything from your classic martini (with gin or vodka) to the caramel sour apple martini (very good, I would suggest this one), the uptown martini (amaretto, vodka, and more), and the chocolate martini (true decadence). In addition, they have a very extensive wine list, as well as a few beers and, of course, a full bar. But get a martini while you are here--you will not be disappointed.

While we only came for a drink, we were amazed by what we saw coming out of the kitchen--a s’mores kit. Due to the fact that we had these while we were at the bar, I feel the same as in my description of this fabulous find in this section. We ordered one for two, and it was $6, a bargain if you ask me. It came out in this adorable wooden bowl with dividers for marshmallows, graham crackers, and the Hershey's bar (yes, real Hershey's--no imitation here), and in the center of it was a little flame where you could roast your marshmallows over. They provided you with skewers, and it was the most fun I have had at a bar for a long time. It seemed to be the most popular dessert at the restaurant, considering they must have sold about four of them while we were there. And it was fabulous; it was a great way to make an American favorite a little more elegant.

Crackers is a great place to go for a drink or two after dinner or to indulge that sweet tooth of yours.