Esoteric

Janine Sellers

A bit pricey for some of the food options, but very nice atmosphere and extremely friendly staff. I ended up having a burger and fries, which were very good. I'm not a fan of truffle fries but they had the option and several people in my party got them and really enjoyed them. They also had the oatmeal cookie skillet, which was amazing! Homemade oatmeal raisin, chocolate chip cookie cooked in a skillet with a scoop of rum raisin ice cream to top it! Delicious!

Luke Elliott

Normally, this restaurant would merit a five star review. However, when I’m spending $60+ per person, I’m going to look at some of the finer details and Esoteric comes up a little short. First, parking comes with complementary valet. Which is helpful, except when the valet leaves before everyone has gotten their car. The staff scrambled to find keys for some people in our party. A system really needs to be in place for this sort of occurrence. The staff seriously had no idea where the keys were. Next, we had reservations for 9. The table they sat us at could fit 6 comfortably and 7 in a squeeze. This is despite there being numerous tables they could have pushed together to accommodate our party. Could we have asked to be moved? Sure, but this kind of restaurant should have the foresight to prevent that. We ended up pulling up a few chairs to sit on the unused end of the table, this alleviated the issue but caused the wait staff to have to reach over us. The charcuterie is an experience. Pickled assortment of fruit (cantelope was an especially interesting first for many of us.) I would recommend the octopus and the pimento. The octopus was not chewy in the least. The dinner plates all had great presentation and quality. The scallops do come in a disappointingly small serving size. 4 scallops for $30. The lobster was very good, but the lion’s mane mushrooms were overcooked and mushy. The wait staff was very slow to return, which is really the reason behind the lost star on this review. Overall, we enjoyed our visit but expected a little bit better for the price.

Kristan Hannah

The experience of this restaurant was amazing ☺️. The staff was so friendly and accommodating. It was not packed when I arrived so I was seated immediately. The have outside seating as well. All there food come from natural sources or from their garden outside which I think is amazingly beautiful. You can reserve seating or walk in. When I'm back in Virginia Beach I will most definitely eat at this restaurant.

Rick Overbey

By far, one of our favorite restaurants in Virginia Beach and is a traditional birthday dinner spot for my wife. We have tried just about everything on the menu with some of our favorites being their Charred Octopus, Pimento Cheese or the House Made Pretzel for an appetizer. Tonight I had the Fresh Catch, which was absolutely amazing and my wife had the Scallop entree. Both were cooked perfectly and we had the best service staff to match. As always, we ordered their Sweet Potato donuts with brown sugar ice cream and a Bourbon caramel to finish the night and were not disappointed. Try them for lunch or dinner, but do yourself a favor and make a reservation, this place is always booming!!