Rockafellers - Virginia Beach, VA

Back in the day, I used to frequent Rockafeller’s quite often. The bar and deck could get packed with summertime revelers, and their food was always good. One of my favorite hangover “cures” was their Eggs Benedict with Lump Crab meat, with a corresponding Bloody Mary … or two. My hangover days are a thing of the past, and I rarely find myself down at the oceanfront looking for a place to have lunch. However, free tickets to the Home and Garden show at the Virginia Beach Pavilion had me thinking about switching things up and dining at the beach.
I called up my buddy Alex and asked her for some oceanfront suggestions. The one that hit me most was Eurasia, which unfortunately for me, is not open on Sunday’s. I had been thinking about Rockafeller’s but had no idea if it still had its luster.

The parking lot was full, but valet was a thing of the past. That’s okay; we know how to park our car. We were seated promptly at a comfortable 4 top by the window. Since it was rainy this gave me a place to stash purse, hats, jackets, etc. The weather was pretty dreary, but I will always love a water view. It’s peaceful to watch the activity on the water and the rocking of boats in their slips. Rockafeller’s still has a nice brunch menu, which leans heavily toward seafood dishes. In addition, I was pleased to see a nice selection of both lunch and brunch specials on the chalk board. We are early risers and had already had our breakfast hours ago, so lunch was more on our minds. Our server was prompt, and pleasant. We started out with Bloody Mary’s (of course) and raw oysters. The Bloody Mary’s hit the spot. They have a slight kick, lots of pepper, and a dash of seafood flavor (my guess is clam juice). A Stoli’s Bloody Mary is $5.50. Folks, that is a bargain anywhere! The oysters were not the best I have ever had because I wanted them to be bigger. However, they tasted wonderful, and were nicely cleaned and presented. Oysters and Bloody Marys go together like Johnny and June. Honestly, I would have been very happy to sit there eating oysters and drinking Bloody Marys for a good part of the afternoon.




For the main course, I selected the Grilled Tuna Caesar Salad and my husband order a special, Fish and Chips. The orders came out rather quickly. My tuna was cooked to perfection. I ordered it medium rare, and was served something closer to rare, which was actually better! It was a good grade of fish, and really melted in my mouth. The salad was pretty basic, and a bit heavy on the dressing, but paired nicely with the fish. The Fish and Chips looked awesome, and my husband commented that the accompanying salsa was really good.

We were in and out of the restaurant in about an hour and 15 minutes. We never felt rushed, and at the same time we never had to wait for a refill or our check or anything. The server did an excellent job. I really enjoyed myself and would not hesitate to return to Rockafeller’s in the future. It’s nice to know that there are still some oldies out there with some game!


Rockafeller’s
308 Mediterranean Ave, Rudee Inlet
Virginia Beach,
757-422-5654
http://www.rockafellers.com/

Monday - Saturday
Lunch: 11am-3pm
Dinner menu is available
during lunch hours
Dinner: 3pm-10pm
Early Birds: 3pm-5:30pm
Sunday
Brunch 10am-2pm
Dinner 2pm-10pm