Restaurants in Norfolk

When he’s not making paintings for Stove’s walls, Sydney Meers adorns his restaurant’s plates with edible art inspired by American, southern, and French cuisine. With many of the ingredients sourced locally or grown in his garden, diners can discover fresh new fare on nearly every visit. A soup du jour, available in flavors such as peanut pumpkin, warms up belly engines before entrees such as shrimp and grits and house-aged tenderloin park atop their tables. Staying creative with all edibles, Stove's dessert menu continually rotates, like a caffeinated ballerina. Fans of Sydney’s fare can learn how to make it during his interactive cooking classes or by accosting the all-knowing moose head in the wild and crazy Cougar Lounge.

Ammos Authentic Greek Cuisine's chefs forge generously portioned meals culled from Hellenic culinary traditions. They parade an array of dishes imbued with flavorful splashes of extra-virgin olive oil and impressive knowledge of Plato’s ideal forms. The solomos exotiko entrée features a fillet of fresh salmon wrapped in a parcel of phyllo and drenched in ouzo sauce, while Athenian kabobs cloak a choice of chicken, beef tenderloin, or lamb in relish made from tomatoes, onions, and peppers. Diners can also opt for comfort fare such as the gyro or the traditional greek sandwich, which glazes an herbaceous pocket of feta cheese, tomatoes, and olives in olive oil and oregano.

Jovial chatter fills the comfortable climes of Ammos’s dining room, which features live belly dancing that all diners are encouraged to participate in. When not locking eyes with a dance partner or tasty platter, diners can keep a wary eye on gossiping waterfowl while taking in sweeping views of the Atlantic from the eatery’s outdoor terrace.

Located at the rear of Virginia Beach Resort Hotel, TradeWinds Restaurant faces the Chesapeake Bay. A covered patio, buffered only by tall grasses, abuts the waters, which wash over every aspect of TradeWinds, from the bayside ambiance to the menu's locally sourced oysters, salmon, and crab. Fresh seafood pairs with new york strip steak at dinner and with salads and sandwiches at lunch. During Sunday brunch, the bright dining room fills with the aromas of made-to-order omelets and seared yellowfin tuna slathered in a variety of spices and sauces.

Fried oysters and broiled fish highlight Snappers' eclectic roster of fresh seafood. Inside the kitchen, chefs garnish the bounty with special house seasonings. They also regale landlubbers with steaks, tacos, traditional Southern sides, and Cajun-inspired dishes such as jambalaya. A sociable staff then serves up the succulent cuisine, roaming the dining area amid the sounds of trivia every Thursday night. To fortify meals and cheer up lonely can cozies, staffers can dispense a full slate of beer, wine, and cocktails.

The rollicking sounds of blues artists headlining the two stages of the restaurant’s performance venue filter through this barbecue hot spot. It features spice-rubbed meats served up with a selection of homestyle sides. The menu centers on hickory-smoked beef, seasoned and smoked pork, and rubbed and grilled chicken and ribs that are steeped in spices, like Marco Polo’s scrapbook. The restaurant outfits tables with a selection of spicy, savory, and slightly sweet sauces, allowing patrons to customize heat levels on entrees or provide a flavorful accompaniment to fried pickles, baskets of corn bread, or Mojo pit beans.

Michael Gomori has always been led by passion. As a young man and recent college graduate, he sidestepped a potential career in biology, a subject for which he'd lost his spark, and joined the Navy. He was eager to see the world, so he spent 27 years seeing, learning, and climbing the ranks.

When Michael reentered civilian life, he was determined to discover his next true passion—as it turned out, his passion was tucked under the crisp linens of fine dining. Joined by his wife, Diane, Michael developed a restaurant to embody his way of life, and the pair fittingly named it Passion the Restaurant.

Inside the romantic restaurant with white linens and crimson accents, couples and friends converse over new york strip steaks, Virginia crab cakes, and deboned chicken cooked under brick. Tapas dishes, such as duck sliders, spring rolls, and a cheese platter, play into the intimate environment under twinkling chandelier light.

Local artists’ works dapple the walls and are for sale, with a portion of proceeds donated to Our House Families, an organization that helps support families in need. Twice a month on the patio, patrons can partake in a cigar social, puffing away and reminiscing about the old days of candy cigarettes.