Latest reviews from Norfolk
| 66 /100 9529 SHORE DRIVE “This seems to be a new trend, half coffee house, half brewery taproom. In a very bright, modernly appointed space just across the street from the beach, this has to be a great spot during the waterfront season. Even on a "cold" (for Virginia) winter day, it was a pleasant, upbeat place to stop by. They use the fancy self-serve, computerized beer server things. Not sure I love that approach at a brewery -- who's there to talk to you about the beers!? We sample a few, all decent but unextraordinary. Young, hipster crowd. They have baked goods if you're there for coffee, but otherwise have to wait on the occasional food truck if you want to eat. Cool location, average beers. Brewery #926.“ |
| 82 /100 2314 COLONIAL AVE “Great to have a Veil location here in the ‘folk. Same good list as up in Richmond. Big spacious place to not get COVID, with some outdoor seating. Over 20 taps + bottles and cans. Heard the food is legit but didn’t personally sample it.“ |
| 86 /100 The Birch (Bar) 1231 WEST OLNEY ROAD “Sick beer bar in the folking ‘folk. Phenomenal list, really good stuff. Great ‘biance. Good people. Food seemed solid.“ |
| 72 /100 1129 BOISSEVAIN AVE “Cruising through Norfolk and we stopped in here. Small and cozy, right on the sidewalk, fairly low key vibe. Modern decor, dimly lit. Emphasis was on their foeders and sours. Not a large tap list. Good service.“ |
| 82 /100 211 W. 24TH ST. “A refurbished old factory, done perfectly. Excellent use of space with a wonderful vibe. Plenty of seating inside and out, large tap list. Fun vibe. Overall loved the way this place was built.“ |
| 84 /100 116 E 25TH STREET “This part of Norfolk is shaping up to be like Richmond's Scott's Addition. Lots of old industrial buildings being repurposed, and this is right in there. A small garage , a small l shaped bar, and a smattering of tables. Small, cozy, friendly. I only had one beer and it was fantastic. See my review of Breakwater Cream Ale. Don't skip this place.“ |
| 70 /100 9529 SHORE DRIVE “Pretty newish looking place, half coffee shop, half taproom. Self serve is only option, and everything is priced by the ounce. Neat concept, great for tasting, not for full pours. Large outdoor space, patio and lawn, games. Parking is tight and sparse. A few bakery items available for food, food trucks later in the day.“ |
| 84 /100 211 W. 24TH ST. “Visited the brewery on Wednesday at the opening. Kate was working the Taproom and floor. I enjoyed the Red Nun Ale that others have recommended. This is a large place for tasting a wide selection of ales, stouts, and lagers. They even have a tent in the parking lot. The former refrigerator was redesigned as the taproom, offering a wide selection of their active beers.“ |
| 78 /100 bottleBOX (Beer Store) 325B W 21ST “Great place to pick up local bottles, and draw off the growler station. The owner/operated is well informed and is both helpful and friendly. He also has an eclectic mix of bottles from place all around the US. A must stop when in the Norfolk area.“ |
| 80 /100 5104 COLLEY AVE “In a superbly renovated space on the outer edge of the popular Ghent district, this place has both an open/inviting AND cozy feel. Very well done, with a beautiful bar and community seating. Efficient and friendly staff poured from their impressive tap list, and everything we had on our first visit was really, really good. Brewery #899.“ |
| 74 /100 2314 COLONIAL AVE “A busy spot with a nice ambiance, they are well organized and despite the size finding a seat can be a challenge. The beers are good, maybe not be as good as the hype but they are good as is the food.“ |
| 82 /100 2314 COLONIAL AVE “Long awaited and finally here! They did not cut corners. This is a massive three story taproom and will eventually be a barreling facility. Located in a warehouse district by the tracks. Their lot is comically small, but there is a lot of nearby street parking to make up for it. All three floors have a bar, largest on the ground. Silly lines all over the place, hopefully a remnant of their grand opening. Quite busy both nights we were there, but a lot of room to spread out in so it was all ok. Apparently they have rooftop seating as well when the weather warms. The beers are Veil; you know what you are getting. Half pours available. They also have food and were hyping the chef, but I was not impressed with mine. Service was a bit spotty. There were several instances when bartenders were chatting with each other or customers while a line of folks waited for a beer.“ |
| 84 /100 5104 COLLEY AVE “Big and open space, parking out front, long wooden bar, tables, a stage. Brewing equipment behind the bar, viewable with glass windows. Not busy on a Monday. They have been brewing their own beer for about three weeks; no flights or half pours yet, but they are coming. 24 taps with a mix of their own beers and guest brews. Virginia focus. Beer quality decent. Place to watch.“ |
| 58 /100 Tap It Local - Norfolk (Restaurant) 244 GRANBY ST “Passed by on a Friday afternoon and decided to check it out. It's in a great downtown location with a bright, open feel. It was completely empty at 3 o'clock, but I can envision it being packed later. The tap list was good for the area, with emphasis on local/regionals and a few harder-to-find nationals. Big bottle list. The bartender was friendly but easily distracted. I'd go again if in the area, but don't know that I'd go out of my way.“ |
| 44 /100 Blue Moon TapHouse (Restaurant) 333 WATERSIDE DRIVE “The big place inside Waterside Drive restaurant complex. Went here to eat - food was good. Nothing to see here beerwise but they had very good The Virginia Beer Co. Free Verse on tap. If you need beer, take Starr Hill Market Bar in the middle area of the complex.“ |
| 76 /100 Grain (Bar) 100 EAST MAIN ST “For a place with such a large selection there are only a few that you haven’t had before. The staff are knowledgeable and the service decent as is the food“ |
| 80 /100 1129 BOISSEVAIN AVE “Second stop of the evening with Neil; walked over from his place. He claimed this was the best brewery in Norfolk, but I was skeptical. After six rates I am convinced. Holy hell they are firing on all cylinders, across a number of styles. This could be another one of those "big things" soon - keep your eyes on it. Service was very good. Fairly busy on a Tuesday night with a large wooden bar and a number of tables around. Flights of four available, as well as single samplers. They are also canning and had a couple/three four pack options when we were there.“ |
| 54 /100 1309 RALEIGH AVE “Ambiance is nice, limited outdoor seating. Their beer selection is limited and doesn't change often, no food but lots nearby and they usually have a food truck.“ |
| 56 /100 1129 BOISSEVAIN AVE “A nice outdoor patio lots of seating indoors, food is good and service is good. Their beers are good with a few that are better than average.“ |
| 48 /100 Grain (Bar) 100 EAST MAIN ST “Billing itself as "Norfolk's Only Rooftop Beer Garden," Grain got some early buzz in the local beer scene. They do offer a pretty solid lineup of craft on draft, with a heavy emphasis on "local" (really, state-wide, but not that many "local") options. It's a sturdy list, but there isn't anything as extraordinary as available at other place, and they charge exorbitant prices for readily available, relatively "normal" beers ($7-11 a pint for stuff I can buy at $8 a 6-pack?). This place's draw is definitely its location, with a very nice rooftop patio attached to the Hilton downtown. If the weather's nice, it's a lure. But the service is terrible, uninterested and slow, and lacking any real beer knowledge. There's a very limited menu, and isn't very good for the price. Go for the view, I guess.“ |
| 94 /100 The Birch (Bar) 1231 WEST OLNEY ROAD “This place looks like a garage. This place probably was a garage but I’m a big fan of bars in random spaces so plus there. Parking’s not exactly plentiful on the street, but we went on an off time and were able to find a spot. The day we went the tap list was full of European taps you rarely see, They had beers available in a variety of pours which was awesome. Definitely a destination beer place.“ |
| 86 /100 The Birch (Bar) 1231 WEST OLNEY ROAD “We walked in and initially I had the same impression as others, but then I saw the beer list and my doubts were silenced. They had some world class beers on tap, not to mention the meads and ciders, some of which Ihave never seen on tap before. Well worth the visit!!“ |
| 76 /100 1129 BOISSEVAIN AVE “In a very well-redone space in the same little ’hood as Smartmouth and The Birch, up rises BenchTop Brewing. Slightly more wood than metal here, but otherwise pretty similar in feel to Smartmouth ... maybe a little more and greener outdoor space. They serve all their beers, regardless of style, in long stem glasses, which adds a little bit to a bit of a pretentious atmosphere. We only had a couple beers, which were good. But being in the ’hood means you gotta save some liver capacity to hit the other two very good beer destinations nearby, too. I’ll be back. Brewery #796.“ |
| 70 /100 116 E 25TH STREET “This little space is nestled in a little bit of a sketchy area not far from other beer destinations in town. Parking can be tight if there’s ever a crowd, so the food truck can’t really be more than a food wagon (we didn’t eat, but it smelled awesome). The reworked industrial space was pretty bare bones, too. So I gotta admit, expectations were low. But we were rewarded with a friendly staff and customers. And best of all, the 4 or 5 beers we collectively sampled were all pretty good. Brewery #795.“ |
| 64 /100 Humboldt Steel Corporation Restaurant & Bar (Restaurant) 150 BOUSH ST “Visited in February 2017. Humboldt Steel Corporation’s Norfolk downtown location. Mostly restaurant but they had pretty many (20-30) beers on tap also which makes this place interesting for beer travellers. Philly steak sandwich was OK.“ |
| 88 /100 The Birch (Bar) 1231 WEST OLNEY ROAD “Visited in February 2017. Very nice place in the corner of industrial area. Good beer selection on tap and also in bottles. Always nice to see Sinebrychoff Porter Vintage 2009 in this corner of the world.“ |
| 76 /100 1901 E OCEAN AVE “Stopped by on an early Sunday afternoon, and were basically the only ones there for a while.
Located in a warehouse space that’s oddly on the outer rim of a suburban neighborhood, it’s a pleasant space.
The staff was friendly and accommodating, and we enjoyed the outdoor space with our dogs. We tried two beers during the visit that were average-to-OK, but we’ve had some others in the local area that are really good. Recommended stop. Brewery #783.“ |
| 82 /100 The Brick Anchor (Bar) 241 GRANBY ST “Pretty good food and selection of local beers.“ |
| 76 /100 211 W. 24TH ST. “Decent brewery with a huge seating area, food trucks.“ |
| 74 /100 116 E 25TH STREET “Third and unfortunately final stop. About a mile up 25th from Bold Mariner and seems like a different world. A bit more in "town" so to speak. This place has been open like a month and is apparently still finding its audience. We arrived at 9PM and were the only customers, although a couple other people did show up. Smallish space with picnic table seating, a small bar for ordering and paying only. Super friendly and helpful service - genuinely nice guy. That’s a win. No real food. Guy was bragging up the chips and queso and when we ordered it was a bag of chips and a plastic tub of cheese pulled out of the fridge and handed over to us. Flights of four available, and you can also order half or full pours of everything on the board. Beers were certainly decent. Nothing stood out, nothing was really flawed either. This is a place to watch as they find their niche in the rapidly growing Norfolk beer scene.“ |
| 76 /100 1901 E OCEAN AVE “Second stop of the evening. Bold Mariner is a pretty new place in what seemed at night to be a fairly warehousey area. Its near a few other new breweries as well, which is starting to create a really respectable brewery crawl in Norfolk. Street parking not a problem. The actual place is smaller inside than it looks; a lot of it is devoted to the brewing side. They had about 10 taps and solid service. No food, not even a truck when we were there. Laminated tap lists with pre-made flights on the back made me think of chain brewpubs, which I hope is not the vibe they are going for. I ended up getting one of the canned flights, but I still got to make two of my own choices out of four 5 oz pours. I think you could just buy individual 5 oz pours as well, but they were not on the taplist. Beers were actually pretty solid, particularly the coconut stout collab with Young Veterans. Doing a decent business, but nothing compared to the zoo at Oozlefinch.“ |
| 90 /100 The Birch (Bar) 1231 WEST OLNEY ROAD “You’ll probably think you’re in the wrong place as you’re driving in as it seems like it’s a semi-deserted industrial area at first. Cool little room that’s very nicely decorated. Service was unbelievably friendly and helpful. Beer selection isn’t the biggest you will ever see but it’s large enough to have something for everyone and you can tell it’s very carefully curated. Grilled cheese sandwiches are delicious and they have a nice variety of snacks. Somewhat reminiscent of the Tired Hands cafe in terms of selection on that front. Prices were fine. Definitely one of the better beer bars you’ll see. I’ll never drive past Norfolk without stopping there.“ |
| 42 /100 The Brick Anchor (Bar) 241 GRANBY ST “I think these guys may be off to a rocky start. This was my first visit and I was not impressed. Waited close to 10 minutes before someone greeted us and just pointed us to a table. Server was slow and didn’t pay much attention. Another 10 minutes before he showed up.
The food menu was limited and hard to select anything from. Who wants brunch at 2 PM?
OK, so 60 taps they say. I had a hard time finding anything that looked unusual. Ordered a Stone Americano Stout from bottle. Did a 3 beer flight afterwards, but they were out of two of them, so had to find alternatives. I did get a few free samples which was a plus!
Food was overpriced, service slow, place noisy. For some reason, a lot of people there, but I doubt I will be back.
They may have the training wheels on for a while before they get it together; hopefully it wont take them long.“ |
| 88 /100 211 W. 24TH ST. “Warehouse brewery with a sizeable indoor tasting room and outdoor seating area. The bar is in an old ice cooler, so slightly removed, but they left the original cork walls so it looks cool. The indoor tasting room has a great view of the brewhouse, and the outdoor a great view of the cellar. Service was great, friendly and accommodating, knowledgeable about the beer. Selection was impressive, a large amount of taps and all their own stuff, plus even more in the bottles. This place and smartmouth are doing things right in the area, and you can tell by the size of the operations that people are buying and enjoying.“ |
| 88 /100 The Public House (Bar) 1112 COLLEY AVE “Birch was closed, ended up here. Old world pub vibe inside with lots of wood, a nice bar, and a second room removed for smoking inside, that doesn’t serve food but has pub games. Service was great, attentive and knew beer really well. Selection was solid, nothing super impressive, but good local stuff and also decent others, plus wine on tap for non-beer drinkers. Food was really good, upscale bar fare with a bit of a twist. Definitely worth a stop, another great beer bar in the area.“ |
| 88 /100 1309 RALEIGH AVE “Nice open tap room with long tables both indoors and out for congregating and drinking. Service was good, if not a little hectic, and the counter style ordering like a buffet or fast food place was a little odd. They did know there stuff and managed the crowd well though. Selection was great, plenty of house options and they were all really well executed. Food trucks outside, fair pricing. Definitely one of the larger ones in the area, and for good reason. Also, in a decent neighborhood to check out some solid beers bars as well.“ |
| 50 /100 The Public House (Bar) 1112 COLLEY AVE “Unfortunately unimpressed. Parking is a pain in the ass, but that is to be expected on Colley. At least its free when you find it. Place is on the corner but kind of dark from the outside and easy to miss. Busy place on a Tuesday evening, with a hopping college aged looking crowd into trivia and club music in the front room. We were seated in the back which was a bit quieter at least, although there was a large table set up with a birthday gathering. Service was far slower than would seem to be justified by the number of customers. Taplist does not appear to change that often, and is mostly focused on mainline craft - DFH 60 and 90 type beers, which is not bad after all. There seemed to be little emphasis on highlighting local or Virginia beers, which was disappointing. Hard to tell exactly how many taps they have because the tap and bottle lists are a bit mixed up. A total of maybe 50 unique craft beers were available though. Food was honestly pretty bad. I ordered the nachos, which, for the first time in my experience, were served with potato chips. Basically a pile of kettle cooked potato chips, some mexican cheese, bland chicken and a bit of cut up tomato and lettuce. Meh. Meh to the entire place. Gastropub? Ha.“ |
| 80 /100 bottleBOX (Beer Store) 325B W 21ST “Fairly small place actually fronting the alley behind 21st Street. Parking in the alley and some on 21st street as well, all free. Decent if relatively small selection of bottled beer, nicely curated for the most part with a clear emphasis on local Virginia area breweries. As noted a 12 tap growler station running as well, with a computer monitor tracking what is available on tap. Service was friendly indeed. Certainly worth a stop on your beer journey. Oddly although they have a couple of coolers they appear to be reserved for a few miscelaneous non-beer items, leaving the DIPA’s to sit on the shelf at room temperature.“ |
| 86 /100 bottleBOX (Beer Store) 325B W 21ST “A great selection of beer featuring many Virginia Breweries that you won’t find elsewhere. The service is great, they do growler fills and single use cans. They have 12 rotating taps. They carry a number of unique items that you can’t find elsewhere.“ |
| 74 /100 Cogan’s Pizza (North) (Restaurant) 4311 COLLEY AVE. “Second Norfolk location for Cogan’s. Larger and more interesting tap list, easier parking (free on the street, plus a smallish lot). Upstairs open air seating when the weather permits. Same menu as Ghent; pizza is good, a bit pricey.“ |
| 82 /100 The Public House (Bar) 1112 COLLEY AVE “Birch was closed on a Monday night, so we ended up here. Was Virginia Craft Beer month, so all selections were local. Flights available. Food was solid, as was the service.“ |
| 80 /100 The Birch (Bar) 1231 WEST OLNEY ROAD “Dinnerduring the week. Somewhat small place but plenty of roon at the same tome. Beer selection was legit. Featured alot of itailian beers which was cool. Grilled cheese and charcutery dominate food menu, mine was tasty. Service was decent. Only complaint is beer is a tad pricy... But fuck it, u onlupy live once.“ |
| 76 /100 1309 RALEIGH AVE “Came here for a flight before going to the birch a few blocks away. Decent sized place with a good view of the brewing equipment. Small patio, beer hall seating. 8 beers in a flight, had another not included. Food from a lock pizza shop could have been ordered by the handlebar mustache broseph. Trivia night is on wensday as I found out. Chill place worth looking at. I don’t think I would go back tho, given the bitch is next door... Almost.“ |
| 96 /100 The Birch (Bar) 1231 WEST OLNEY ROAD “I had the opportunity to visit on 5/28/2015. I was going to be in DC and decided why not go visit Dogfish Head in DE and The Birch in Norfolk. I have to admit it didn’t look like a top 50 beer bar at first but once you visit I think you will change your mind. I went in the evening which turned out to be quiet Thursday night. Sat at the bar, large L shaped bar with over 20+ seats. The selection of drafts were on the chalkboard to my left, plus meads and ciders in the board in front of me plus some speciality pours from some of their rare bottles. The name, type, location, ABC, price for glass and growlers. Great selection of about 30 taps with several locals, one offs, imports, and a few rarities. You could get a half or full pour of anything as well as growlers of pretty much anything including meads and ciders. Poured in proper glassware and right temperature. Bar laid out nicely to sit at tables if you prefer or even outside. Great bar atmosphere where there is music playing but you could carry on a conversation with friends or the bartenders. The bottle selection of over 200 was a great variety of locals, US and imports. All bottles you can take away at a 20% discount per bottle. The list was quite current but was told they may be out of a few as they were printing an updated list. The food was great as they specialize in various cheeses some more rare along with various charcuterie plates and speciality grill cheeses sandwiches. The bartender was extremely knowledge of all beers on the board and the bottles as well as in general. He could describe and recommend based on what you liked. Lastly, the prices were very reasonable for both drafts and bottles and the location was there in the downtown area reachable with less than a 10 min cab ride from just about anywhere around downtown. Overall, was more than pleasantly surprised as it lived up to its RB rating. Would highly recommend a visit if you are close to the Norfolk area. Great beer destination. Cheers!“ |
| 92 /100 The Birch (Bar) 1231 WEST OLNEY ROAD “Visited 05/05/15. I’m sure some people look at Ratebeer’s Top Places list, see The Birch, and question whether a world class beer bar actually exists in Norfolk. I know that I was a bit skeptical before my visit. Luckily, I was thrilled to find out that The Birch’s reputation isn’t over-inflated. It’s a wonderful bar that deserves mention as one of the best in the world. My experience during a quiet Tuesday evening session was pretty flawless. I sat at the bar and received enthusiastic service. The staff here know their beer and love to talk about it. The ambiance was quiet but warm. The draft selection was excellent. The 25 taps showcased some local rarities (Hardywood and Alewerks) alongside a strong selection of international stuff. The amount of draft beer from Italy was particularly interesting. I tried pours from del Ducato, Birrificio Italiano, and Grado Plato. The availability of fresh tipopils was as surprising as it was welcomed. There were perhaps 200 quality bottles available too. Prices were totally reasonable. Overall, this place is worth a long detour. Highly recommended.“ |
| 78 /100 211 W. 24TH ST. “Didn’t care for this at first but it’s grown on me. Large warehouse with ample space. Indoor cornhole and "brewery Jenga" with 2x4’s. Lots of picnic tables. Live bands on weekends and special occasions. Other events as well, based off their calendar. I think the beers have vastly improved as well. No food here except for food trucks, but that is the status quo for VA breweries in this area. I enjoy going here, personally. My only issue is the lines and parking, but that’s to be expected with a popular local brewery.“ |
| 66 /100 211 W. 24TH ST. “Pretty large place, lots of room for seating, a decent sized bar, a game area, and a second floor for parties and such. Brewing equipment on full display, which is cool. No food, but apparently food trucks.They were running 8 taps - six for their "core" beers and two specials. They offered flights for $10 which included the six cores and any one of the specials. A bit cheap that they just didn’t offer all that they were pouring, but what the hell. Beer was pretty mediocre, with the black IPA being the best in class. Rather annoyingly the did not announce last call (at 7:45 pm) and turned my buddy away when he tried to get another beer at 7:50 or so. Overall a Meh.“ |
| 52 /100 1309 RALEIGH AVE “Despite having an awesome facility - I’ve still yet to try one of their beers that I didn’t think was mediocre or crappy.They all taste like someone didn’t really clean the fermentation vessels completely...(i.e., chemical taste).
Sorry as this is easily the nicest facility in Hampton Roads.“ |
| 84 /100 211 W. 24TH ST. “massive place. Feels like a Brewery.
It may be a little too big for some - and there is little intimacy if that’s your thing.
Tasting room area is very cool. Generally knowledgable staff - and let’s face it, the best broad selection of beer in Hampton Roads.“ |
| 70 /100 Cogan’s Pizza (Ghent) (Bar) 1901 COLONIAL AVE “Pretty cool place with a bit of a dive feel, but the pizza is great. Impeccable service as well. Plenty of taps with several bottle offerings too, but nothing out of the ordinary in the beer selection. Overall a very nice experience and I will go here again.“ |
