5 Local Gem Restaurants in Virginia Beach that Serve the Best Food Ever 

Virginia Beach has a reputation for crowded boardwalks and overpriced oceanfront seafood. If you want to eat like a local, you have to get away from the strip. These five hidden gems skip the tourist tax and serve up the best food in the city.

Beach Pub

Never judge a seafood joint by its siding. This unassuming, weathered tan building on Laskin Road hides the best unpretentious seafood in the city. While everyone else is fighting for a reservation at an overpriced brunch spot, locals are packing into Beach Pub for perfectly fried fish, oysters, and hushpuppies. It is a Virginia Beach institution that delivers incredible quality without making a big deal about it.

Leaping Lizard Cafe

Tucked away on Shore Drive, this place feels like a secret garden. It is a quirky, farm-to-table cafe where chickens, ducks, and geese literally wander the backyard. They source everything locally and their Crab Cake Benedict is legendary. It even earned them a spot on Guy Fieri’s Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. Despite the national television exposure, it has not lost an ounce of its laid-back, coastal charm.

Simple Eats

You won’t find a single microwave or deep fryer in this kitchen. Simple Eats is a fully from-scratch, farm-to-table spot that sources sustainable ingredients from local Virginia farms. The coastal-themed dining room is covered in local art, and the menu caters to everyone with incredible vegan and gluten-free options. It is healthy, hyper-local, and ridiculously good.

This Old House Japanese Restaurant

Hidden in a strip mall on Aragona Boulevard, this is where you go for sushi in Virginia Beach. The owner, Lee, takes the time to learn your exact tastes and customizes your rolls on the fly. The cuts of yellowtail and salmon are massive, fresh, and melt in your mouth. It is a tiny, intimate space with a fiercely loyal following for a reason.

Chic’s Laundry

This is modern mid-Atlantic dining done right. Located right on the bayfront, Chic’s Laundry serves seasonal seafood and wood-fired classics in a bright, laid-back space just steps from the water. Whether you are ordering the wood-fired rockfish with charred lemon or the Chesapeake blue crab bucatini, it is the perfect spot to grab a craft cocktail and enjoy coastal Virginia at its best.