Top Rated Restaurants en Cafés in Norfolk

Located in Downtown Norfolk, 456 Fish is housed in a building that is over 80 years old. The restaurant specializes in seafood, but they also offer chicken, beef, pork and vegetarian options. Menu items include such dishes as fried oysters, crab cakes, grouper filet and cashew encrusted mahi. The bar also serves up classic and custom cocktails and a comprehensive wine selection.

The Monastery Restaurant serves up a variety of authentic dishes from Eastern European cultures like Hungary, the Czech Republic and Poland that will satisfy adventurous and tame eaters alike. Before your meal arrives, you are given delicious and warm home-made bread as you decide between the tasty dishes of veal, duck or seafood. Another great way to start the meal is to order their impressive cheese board, it will get your taste buds revved up for a fantastic meal.

aLatté is a hip coffee shop with a vibrant atmosphere and a community feel. The coffee shop has a bulletin board with flyers for local art shows and event. From the menu, you can order anything from an Italian Soda to a Chai Tea or a cup of Americano. The coffees are roasted daily and prepared only in small batches to serve only the freshest beverages to patrons. However, if there is something as good as the coffee served here, than it has to be the desserts. Serving an assortment of ice creams, cookies and pastries, the coffee shop is also a great place to bring your kids along and pamper their taste buds. The interior is designed to be relaxing, chic and modern, so you'll feel right at home.

Many believe that Abe Doumar, founder of Doumar's Cones & Barbecue, gave the world its first ice cream cone. Doumar was a traveling salesman retailing paperweights at the famous St. Louis World's Fair in 1904. When an ice cream seller exhausted his stock of paper dishes to hold the ice creams, he got a nearby waffle maker to roll his waffles into cones and thus invented the waffle cone. While not all hold this story true, he certainly popularized the ice cream cone widely. Doumar created this ice cream parlor in Norfolk in 1907, and it continues to roll the cones by hand using the original four-iron waffle machine that he invented. While it shifted premises to the current location in 1934, it still sells ice creams that use early 20th Century recipes and hand-rolling techniques. You can also enjoy delicious hot dogs and vinegar-soaked pork barbecue with desserts like Hawaiian Sunset Sundae and refreshing limeades. This diner feels old-fashioned, complete with a drive-in parking area where you can order and eat in your car. The prices too are from another era and leave you feeling satisfied. You can actually watch them roll the waffle cones by hand, just like in the past. Indeed, you haven't really been to Norfolk until you've eaten at Doumar's.

Although Chef Phillip Craig Thomason has traveled to numerous places as a consultant and executive chef, he began the Vintage Kitchen in his hometown. His work and dedication is obvious to those that patronize the Vintage Kitchen due to it's exquisite quality in regards to freshness and flavor and the decor is absolutely breathtaking with unbeatable sweeping views of the river. Many publications are singing the praises of Vintage Kitchen for its slow food movement style and its flawless execution. For those that are really lucky (and have some extra money to spend), you can dine in the private library on the weekends when the restaurant is shut to guests. Reservations are needed in advance for the private tastings as well as recommended for weekly dining.

Omar's Carriage House is an elegantly furnished outpost in the heart of Norfolk's Ghent, welcoming diners to devour appetizing New American grub. The restaurant is set up on a historic site and offers an expansive menu of lunch, dinner and brunch preparations. This Freemason district eatery features Moroccan décor elements, hardwood floors, white-washed brick walls and cozy dining booths, all radiating a convivial vibe. Along with the standard New American preparations, menu also offers a choice of seafood and steak dishes. For Mondays, Omar's has an all-Moroccan bill of fare featuring a fixed three-course dinner and à la carte affair.