Norfolk Restaurant Guide

We recently had our second stop at the Winehouse in downtown Norfolk. Let me start by describing our first visit, which occurred just after they moved to their new location on Colley Ave next to The Naro. It was not what one would call bad but it was nothing to write home about. We stopped by for desert after a show. The desert itself was fine but my wife was disappointed to see no desert wines on the menu at all. Personally I was more disappointed in the fact that there were very few Virginia wines on the menu. (I think I counted 2 or 3 at the time) The desert was fine and the waiter perfectly nice but the room has a terrible roar to it when even partially filled due to the acoustics. They were clearly not designed for good conversation which to me is the main point of a wine bar.

Today we decided to give the place another try. We called to make reservations for brunch initially by leaving a message on Wednesday. When one of our party had not heard back from them by Thursday we decided to make another call. Whoever answered the phone was rude and when asked why our phone call had not been returned we were informed “we don’t check the voice mail.” Admittedly, this all should have been a warning but we continued on. We arrived on time and were immediately seated, as the restaurant was not even ¼ full. We ordered coffee and Beignets. The coffee had a burnt flavor. The Beignets were overdone and not made of a traditional style batter. They were not at all what anyone was expecting. We were a party of 4 and none of us enjoyed our meals. The waffles were cool and soggy. The toast was burnt on one side and untouched on the other. The crepes, which at started off as the best meal on the table, contained unpeeled shrimp! All that to say the food was mediocre at best. Then there was the service. Poor would be a fair assessment. The restaurant was no where near busy enough to warrant this kind of service. It took forever to get coffee refills not to mention the time it took to get our meals. Worse, the waiter kept forgetting simple requests for things like a refill of ½ and ½ or more sugar. My suggestion would be go down the block in either direction to either the Green Onion or to Press 626.

The food and drinks were good, the service was fair, but IF YOU CHOOSE TO EAT/DRINK HERE, CAREFULLY INSPECT YOUR BILL TO ENSURE YOU ARE NOT BEING OVERCHARGED!

My coworkers and I went to the Winehouse one afternoon to celebrate 2 birthdays within the group. We chose the winehouse because online it said Happy Hour started at 3:30pm, so we would be able to come right after work.
Long story short-Happy Hour apparently doesn't start until 4:30. We didn't find this out until 4:25, AFTER we had ordered our drinks and some of our food. We were the ONLY people in the restaurant.

When our bill came, we were charged regular menu prices. When we brought this to the waitresses attention, she seemed very upset about having to change it, but reluctantly did-she also made faces to her coworkers each time she had to take the bill back to change it (it took 3 times)- in the eye line of one of my coworkers.
As a large group, we expected gratuity to be added to our bill, however, the menu states an 18% tip will be added. Upon later inquiry, one of the managers informed me that the computer automatically adds 20% and the way the receipt is printed, it appears to be added post tax and be 22%.
Our happy hour discounts were taken off, AFTER tax (and tip) were calculated on the full prices.
I was told that they would talk to the computer guy to fix everything, but I think that was just said to appease me-which it didn't.