Local Recommendations

Marchese Italian Market & Cafe

Take a tour with us through our first date! First stop: Marchese Italian Market and Café! A great coffee and lunch spot. Great Italian desserts, everything is homemade and delicious!

Pleasure House Point Natural Area

Stop #2 on the Ben and Alicia first date tour: Pleasure House Point. A beautiful natural area that offers nature trails and views of the Chesapeake Bay. It's the heart and soul of the Save the Bay initiative, lots of cool nature to explore!

Pa’l Carajo Arepa Lounge

Great for lunch or dinner, the food is so good!

Sunrise Cafe

One of our favorite breakfast/brunch places! The staff is so kind and the food is great! Classic breakfast and lunch dishes for a great price.

Buoy 44 Seafood Grill

This is a great spot for a seafood dinner right on the beach! If you're not feeling like dinner, there is street parking available all around the blocks of residential housing to park for a trip to the beach. We usually park near here for a quick sunrise or sunset as this beach has a great view for both! Bonus: this is part of the beach featured in our photos together!

HK on the Bay

Gordon Ramsay’s very own installment on the beautiful Chesapeake Bay! This restaurant offers some of the best local seafood and great drinks. It is within walking distance of Chic’s Beach, a favorite local beach.

First Landing State Park

A huge park with tons of trails and nature to explore! There are two parts of the park, one half forest and wetland trails and the other half a beautiful beach. We love taking the dogs on long walks here to get energy out!

Mount Trashmore Park

One of the most popular parks in Virginia Beach, perfect for families! There’s a skate park, a huge recently updated playground, two man-made mountains, and a long trail around a lake. When we were kids, a right of passage was to roll down the hill as fast as we could. Perfect place to get all the energy out!

Orapax Restaurant and Bar

One of our favorite restaurants for Greek food, delicious!

Sanctuary

A great place for not super authentic, but super tasty tacos and a nice drink!

Omar's Carriage House

Amazing food, even better atmosphere! We love trying new things on their menu since it’s always changing with the seasons.

Mermaid Winery & Restaurant

There is a location of this winery in both Downtown Norfolk and Virginia Beach (we’ve heard great things about both). Perfect place to try local wines and lovely charcuterie to match!

COVA Brewing Company

Super cute brewery near the beach! They usually have live music by local artists!

Leaping Lizard Cafe

Pleasure House Brewing

A brewery just a 5-minute drive away from one of our favorite beaches (Chick's Beach)! They have all kinds of brews and usually have a food truck to try out.

Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge

Great natural area with lots of trails to explore! The nature of our area is super unique and this is a great place to learn and experience more about it!

York River State Park

Cute park with lots of great trails to explore!

Afterglow Coffee Cooperative

Take a day trip to Richmond to check out an amazing local coffee co-op! Bonus: Ben's brother, Julius, is one of the owners!

Eastern Shore of Virginia National Wildlife Refuge

For a day trip across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, Cape Charles has so much to offer! Check out the nature, scenery, wild native plants, and incredible native wildlife! Another great spot for birdwatching on the peninsula!

Kiptopeke State Park

Gorgeous state park with plenty of walking and biking trails! Also a great spot for kayaking! Also across the bridge on Cape Charles.

Gull Hummock Gourmet Market

Fantastic wine selection and the sweetest owners! Stop by for a glass and a snack!

Hook @ Harvey a Cape Charles Bistro

Reservations needed here, but so worth it for great food!