The Street Cook

The Street Cook has enjoyed its quiet, unassuming location on Lynnhaven Parkway for twenty-three years. I’ve lived in the area for 17 of those years and finally made my way into the Mediterranean restaurant. The atmosphere inside The Street Cook is something out of a different era … in a good way. There is something very traditional about the room and I immediately felt at ease. We did not have a reservation but were seated immediately. The booths are small and I thought they were perfect for two but I noticed parties of four enjoying the same size booth and there were accommodations for even larger parties toward the back of the restaurant.

The Street Cook’s menu is filled with traditional and authentic Mediterranean dishes. I’m not an expert in Mediterranean cuisine so I had to rely heavily on the advice of our server. Interestingly enough, one of the first things our server advised us on was dessert. It’s a fabulous creation called “The Bombe” and according to the server, this dessert has to be reserved in advance because they only make a limited number. Additionally, it’s been written up in the local paper and people come to the restaurant because they’ve heard so much about it. I’m not a dessert person, but after all that, we had to reserve one. More on this later.

We started the meal with a carafe of sangria and a plate of spanikopita, which is spinach, ricotta and feta cheese in a filo pastry:




It was delicious but very filling. The Street Cook does not skimp on the portion sizes so it is my recommendation to skip the appetizer if you plan on having an entrée and dessert. Or get the appetizer and order the dessert to go.

Each meal is preceded by a large Greek salad which is served “family style”. The salad was topped with their own Greek dressing and it was wonderful.

For dinner we ordered the house specialty, Chicken Sorrento

This dish is a breaded boneless chicken breast covered with mushrooms, cappicola and marsala wine sauce and topped with provolone and it is served with fettuccini alfredo. The chicken on this dish was so tender it was cut with a fork.

We also ordered the Kota Tourlou which was sliced chicken breast sautéed with mushrooms, peppers, onions, tomatoes, eggplant garlic and dill and served over rice pilaf.

Also very good. And you can tell from the pictures that I wasn’t lying about the portion sizes. We both ate half and carried out the rest. We ordered chicken dishes but the menu also includes many seafood, pasta, and veal dishes as well.

Now on to The Bombe:

This dessert is ridiculously rich and I’m glad I saved room for it. The Bombe is a dark chocolate brownie topped by light chocolate mousse and drenched in a dark chocolate ganache. It’s sprinkled with finely chopped walnuts and sits in a beautiful pool of white chocolate sauce. It’s a chocolate lover's fantasy and definitely lived up to the recommendation of the server.

The Street Cook is open everyday for lunch and dinner, except Monday. They also serve brunch on Sunday between 9-2. Everything is made fresh and made to order. Substitutions are not a problem. The service was fantastic and it was reasonably priced. It was a great night and I guarantee it won’t be another 17 years before I decide to visit again.