Cobalt Grille

Friday night found me at the Cobalt Grille in the Hilltop Shopping Center in Virginia Beach.

It's a very pretty place. The restaurant opens up to a beautiful, dimly lit, cozy lounge and bar area. The menu includes a tapas selection which is only served in the bar. I think my next visit will be in the bar but on Friday night I planned for a full dinner in the dining room.

The dining room is also cozy and dimly lit and would be perfect for a romantic evening. Or so I thought, until a family with two small children were seated next to me. Okay, it's a family place as well.

The meal began with an appetizer of beef and vegetable spring rolls

the rolls were fried and served with a sweet plum dipping sauce and mixed greens.

Although fried, they were not heavy and I thought it was a good way to begin the meal.

The first entree we ordered was the shrimp and scallops over fettucine

This dish was so colorful and festive. Almost too pretty to eat. The bowl was filled with three different types of tomatoes and garden peas along with the fettucine and topped with shaved romano cheese. The seafood was cooked perfectly and there were so many great flavors in this dish.

The second entree was the herb crusted salmon filet

the salmon was pan roasted and served over a bed of baby spinach and roma tomatoes, with a roasted tomato vinaigrette. The portion size was very generous and the fish tasted fresh and perfectly seasoned.

For dessert we shared a slice of espresso cheese cake

this was a little slice of heaven. The texture was smooth and velvety and before I knew it I had eaten more than my half.

Everything was good at the Cobalt Grille: food, service, location, atmoshere. However, for the price, I think I was expecting "great". Don't get me wrong, it definitely warrants a second visit but I'll probably try the tapas at the bar next time.



1624 Laskin Road

Virginia Beach, VA 23451

(757) 333-3334

www.cobaltgrille.com

Savor

The holidays are over and it’s the end of the weekend. But before it was all said and done and I trudged back to the grind of daily living, I wanted to unwind with a nice, relaxing Sunday brunch.

I decided to try out a relatively new restaurant called Savor located conveniently in the Great Neck Village shopping center in Virginia Beach.

Savor is small and intimate, only holding eleven tables and a few seats at the bar. If you plan to go for dinner I would definitely recommend that you make a reservation.

We were seated immediately upon arrival and it wasn’t long before our server brought water to the table and told us about the available specials then she gave us time to peruse the menu which had many different dishes to choose from.

Once our order was placed our server returned with these mini blueberry muffins

After the muffins, she came back again with a tiny fruit cup which included melon, pineapple and grapes. I have to say that I like the idea of these little brunch appetizers. I was starving and I like having something to nibble on while I’m waiting for the main course to arrive.

We ordered the bananas foster French toast






The French toast was light and the bananas were warm and sweet. The dish was served with just enough syrup not to overwhelm the flavor of the toast or make it soggy and sticky. I thought it was perfect.

Belgian waffle

This waffle was cooked perfectly. It was light and fluffy with a very smooth texture. Some waffles can land in your stomach like a brick. Not this one.

I had the seafood omelette which was one of the featured specials

It was stuffed with shrimp, scallops and crabmeat. The scallops were so tender. I admire anyone that can perfectly prepare a scallop, because I mess them up every time. The omelette was a little salty but that didn’t stop me from finishing it and enjoying it.

The Savor experience is one that I’m sure I will repeat. I like the neighborhood and parking is not an issue. I didn’t catch my server’s name but she was very friendly and attentive. The brunch dishes averaged at about $10 each which I thought was reasonable and well worth it.


1340 N. Great Neck Road, Suite 1232

Virginia Beach, VA 23454

(757) 963-1641

http://www.savorva.com/