Red Star closed in February 2013. As of July 2013, it appears a bar at that location will reopen at some point as The Cove Tavern.
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The Red Star Tavern in Newport News has closed.
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Came in the first time last summer with my friend while out doing some shopping. The waitress was friendly and fun to mess around with and the food was pricy, but pretty good. The cherry on top was the presence of our favorite drink, Angry Orchard. My circle of friends and I came back every birthday for the rest of the year. Unfortunately, recently they stopped carrying Angry Orchard and we started to notice how bland the restaurant had become. The food is good, but other taverns in the area do it better for less.
Review Source:Went here with my wife after dinner at La Pena Horeb last Saturday. Â Enjoyed the beer selection. Â I particularly liked that they would give you a generous sample if you weren't familiar with one of their microbrews.
A lot of the reviews I read talk about poor service. Â We didn't eat here so I can't comment on their dining service, but their bar service was great. Â Our waitress was named Sam. Â She was attentive and knowledgeable.
I would have preferred not spending more on after dinner drinks than we did on our dinner, but their prices weren't unreasonable. Â We'll probably be back the next time we're down in Newport News.
My husband and I came here with some friends. I had the pineapple upside down cake drink. It was made with pineapple juice and cake and frosting flavored vodka and tasted just like a pineapple upside down cake. I really couldn't taste the alcohol. They also seemed to have a pretty good beer selection. I liked that they featured local microbrews such as the O'Connor Red Nun Red Ale (Norfolk).
At around 9:30 pm the lights dimmed, and to our surprise, these club lights came on and a dj started spinning. We had fun. We're from California and were pleasantly surprised to find a place in Newport News to hang out at night. Our waitress was spectacular. I think she was also the hostess. She was the one who steered me towards the pineapple upside cake drink. Our water glasses were kept filled. She kept coming back to see if there was anything we needed and her customer service was spot on.
Overall, I had an excellent experience here and will definitely be back the next time I'm in Newport News.
* Please note that I did not have any food here so this review is for the drinks, atmosphere, and customer service.
I want to Red Star on a weekday evening. It was not crowded but the service still seemed a bit slow and rather spotty.
I ordered a salad with chicken, but when it came there was no chicken in it. The salad had to be sent back and remade. The salad dressing was also overly oily, masking the taste of the food.
Based on my experience, Red Star Tavern serves average food in a sports bar setting. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but it doesn't distinguish it much from a Fridays or any other similar restaurant. Â In summary, an average-to-low experience for a restaurant at this price point.
This is one of the worst establishments I've been to in a while. Â I would say this place is overpriced and not tasty.
The buffalo crab dip was good and came in the size of two ramekins....for $10.00. Â Small as shit, and side note "how come the tortilla chips are soggy"?
I got the tuna bites and my work associate got the fish and chips. Â The tuna was covered in some mayo sauce and crop dusted in some nasty chilie poweder salt mixture. Â g-ross!
My buddies fish was dripping in whatever they cooked it in. The fries were the saving grace and not soggy, probably because they sat out overnight and had time to dry up.
I'd like to say that the bathrooms are clean...you'll need to know that when you're barfing up your crappy grease dowsed food.
And while we are compassionate human beings I do not care to hear about how your manager screwed you w/ the lunch shift that never tips well. Â Hey lady, I'm the lunch crowd and I think that this 5 minute encounter has lead me to understand why your manager put you on the slow shift.....probably because you have a bad attitude and ride the short bus.
Don't go here if you value your health and appreciate NOT having a headache.
There is a reason this place was empty when we entered at 11:30 and they open at 11. Â HEED the warning.
Came here for some day drinking and appetizer-munching.
Started off with Steak Quesadilla and an order of Buffalo Crab Dip. Steak in the quasadillas was cooked perfectly. Pink in the center and still warm off the grill. The avocado and mangoes that garnished the dish and the sauces that added the flavor were amazing as well. The crab dip was very cheesy and chunky and I had no complaints there either.
For Entree I ordered the Fish Tacos. They too were well prepared and delicious. Bar was clean and the booze was well priced. Service was fine too. I'll probably be coming here occasionally when I am in the area.
While in town for business, I headed to the Red Star Tavern for dinner. Â Since I was alone, the atmosphere was not at all enjoyable. It was busy and the waitresses, who were dressed a little too slutty for my liking, were far more interested in the larger groups. Â Which is understandable, I guess. Â It's probably because this is a pretty uppity neighborhood, but I felt like people weren't very friendly in general. Â Aside from all of that, my food was fantastic!
I ordered the horseradish crusted salmon served on a bed of mashed potatoes, with asparagus and tomatoes. It had an AWESOME white wine sauce with it that made the cooked tomatoes very pleasant. This was absolutely delicious. The quantity of horseradish was a bit much and overpowering, but I scooped out some of it and really enjoyed the fresh salmon flavor. I also ordered a side of calamari, which was breaded just right and it too was delicious. Â I would eat this meal again and again.
Prices were somewhat high, but I figured that was what is to be expected for that area and I thought the portions were very reasonable. Â I took a lot back to my hotel room. Â Â
Overall, I'd return for the food but I'd want to be with people so I actually have someone to talk to. Â The place, in general, is nicely decorated, televisions all over, pretty view of the fountains.
Went to this place to celebrate someone's promotion. We were a large party but everyone had small tables at the bar. No one offered to seat us together. Waited 15 mins for a menu. Bartender looked at us twice and even saw me get up to get my own menus, yet he never came to get our order. Another girl took our order. Menu looks great but dishes taste like crap. Ordered tuna, pot roast nachos, and fritto mixto.
Someone decided that a group that comes together should sit together so they moved us to another section but didnt offer to move tables together so we moved them ourselves. We got out food after a long wait and it came out in piecemeal. The nachos we ordered were the crappiest out of a bag chips with rubbery cheese and only a small amount of it. Btw, it was about 130pm and they had already run out of pot roast so we got some other random meat on the nachos. Ok. Tuna was bland and had some random sauce on it. Fritto was over salted.
Took forever to order beers, order food, get check. Everything was just bad. I will never go there's again. Unmotivated group of servers!!!
Visited September 2011
DH and I went to Red Star Tavern while staying across the way at the Marriott for a light dinner and drinks. Â Overall, I thought the atmosphere and service were great.
DH and I ordered a variety of small plates instead of dinner to go with our drinks. Â The food was average and priced a little high for what we got. Â But others in our party seemed to enjoy what they had. Â Overall, not a bad place to spend an evening.
I ate at the Red Star Tavern last night with three other people. Â We ordered the calamari and crab dip as an appetizer. Â The calamari was way overpriced at $10.99 for the portion that we received (about a cup of calamari). Â The crab dip was more like a queso dip with a tiny bit of back fin crab meat.
For our main meals, we ordered the shrimp skewer ($14.00 for 5 small shrimp over plain white rice), mac and cheese (Kraft out of the box style mac and cheese sprinkled with bread crumbs), ahi tacos (delicious), and the crab burger (delicious).
Our service was great and the atmosphere was ok because it was early in the evening and it was fairly quiet in the restaurant, but the overall value of this restaurant is poor. Â
The food is overpriced and of unpredictable quality. Â I would not go back to this restaurant.
Service was excellent, food was very good but atmosphere was terrible. Loud , I mean loud music. Smokers were gathered at the front door outside which was like walking thru a wall of smoke to enter/exit- plus every time the door opened- you got a mouth full of second hand smoke. We were staying at the Marriott across the way- it was the best option within walking distance.
Review Source:Blue cheese crusted burger w/avocado was tasty and cooked the way we asked.  The Diablo seafood pasta was nicely made w/shrimp & calimari  & just enough of a spice kick. The service was excellent! Great view of the lake & fountains. Nice atmosphere like a yuppy sports bar (plenty of flat screens to watch). The free Friday night concert was going on out front and many people chose to sit and eat on the patio for that.
Review Source:This is definately a "Yuppie" hangout. Â (Do people still use that phrase anymore or am I dating myself?) Â I was attracted to the enticing outdoor seating with a great view of the fountain, however, we had to change our table twice because of all the smokers. Â Too bad you can't sit outside to get "fresh air" while you eat! Â :( Â I've only tried one thing on the menu and get it every time because it's yummy. Â I'm not a big salad eater, but I could eat their "Chinese" salad every day! Â It has romaine lettuce, cabbage, carrots, green onions, mandarine oranges, avacado, sesame seeds, chargrilled corn and a nice peanut-ginger dressing. Â You can add chicken or shrimp for an extra cost. Â I've tried both, but think the salad can stand on it's own merit. Â The portion is huge. The rest of the items on the menu I thought were a little pricey.
Review Source:This review is NOT based on food. Â I went here on a Saturday night with friends after dinner for drinks and to hang out.
I like this place as an alternative to a nightclub or bar. Â No cover and a lot more laidback in atmosphere. Â The outdoor dining is awesome- plenty of space, nice view, and good way to meet people. Â There was a DJ inside (good music- contemporary stuff), but you couldn't hear much of it from the patio, so you can carry on regular conversations. Â People were dancing inside. Â It got somewhat crowded late at night, at least by City Center standards, due to what appeared to be two separate wedding parties. Â Well-dressed crowd, but my friends got in with shorts and t-shirts.
The only complaints were the price ($10 drinks) and sometimes it was quite a wait for the drinks (25 minutes for one of my friends). Â The server was nice and stopped by throughout the night. Â The kitchen was able to make by buddy a plate of loaded fries even though they weren't on the menu. Â
This would be a fun place for dessert. Â I saw a guy eating a gigantic slice of chocolate cake- it seriously looked like 1/4 of a cake. Â The menu said that it's meant for two, but I think it's enough for 3, maybe 4 if your friends have small appetites.
This is a great restaurant at a beautiful setting. Although a little pricey, the food is definitely high quality and a cut above the average restaurant.
You can tell a lot  of time goes into the preparation of each dish. The service was great and the manager (Ben) made several trips to our table to see if we were happy or if we needed anything. GREAT customer service that is hard to find any more. I would highly recommend  this restaurant.
Agree w/most posters that it's a bit overpriced, and that it pretty much offers the only decent place to go late at night. Â But, when I went with a group of people for work, at 4:30, they were out of many items we'd wanted, and the waitress was not very knowledgeable and was very slow.
Yeah, ambiance is cool I guess, but it's hit or miss on the food/beverages/service.
Red Star Tavern is a chain restaurant that is a part of the Newport News City Center. It's got a great location within the City Center area, looking out on the main fountain and offering outside seating, which can be a great place to hang out. However, the place is dampened somewhat I think with mediocre food and service and prices that are too high to justify this level of quality. They have tuna bites that are pretty good, and the steak I ordered was at least cooked to the level I asked for--my medium rare steak was actually medium rare. So I can at least say that about the place. However, the service is astonishingly slow. I went on a separate occasion and tried to simply go to the bar, but it was difficult getting the bartender's attention and I felt the overall level of attentiveness was lacking.
Review Source:Red Star in Newport News is located directly in the heart of City Center, near the fountain. It's an okay location, but overall I think the food and drinks are over-priced. This assertion doesn't come easily for me, as I'm quick to pay more for a location that is beautiful and features great food.
However, Red Star feels like more a poser "haute-cuisine" restaurant. While it clearly is not as stilted as a most chain restaurants, the menu is still a version of high-end, glorified-fast food cuisine. In-house sauces are uninteresting, and the more-daring fare tastes mediocre at best.
The location itself is ideal, but even the staff are a bit abrasive and give off a vibe of unsatisfaction. There is an outside area which overlooks the fountain in City Center, but I'm not sure this is the most prime location for this restaurant.
Continuing my gastronomic tour of the Hampton Roads area, my colleague and I decided to eat outside on a really nice night in Hampton. Â There is a dearth of outside seating on the Peninsula, and Red Star was one place that I knew would fit the criteria.
The positives: The view of the fountain is nice. Â
The negatives: Â The food is meh. Â I had a sandwich so generic I can't even remember what it was. Â The service was super inconsistent. Â To be fair, the guy serving was hitting on the table of ladies near us and so he was busy. Â I actually had to call him using a sound reminiscent of the noise urban young men use to get the attention of a passing female to apparently begin mating. Â Oh, and outside is also the smoking area so when its busy it can seem like you're on a smoking deck. Â
I need to find another outdoor spot up here.
The smell walking up to this place was awesome, there was some meat being grilled on the inside!! We were seated and the waiter stumbled the specials out of his mouth, something about a bacon, sundried tomato, and he thinks maybe some artichoke hearts in a cream base, ewww grody! He did kindly oblige when we asked for a plate of calamari for the app instead of the calamar, zuchini, etc. etc. The calamari were under-cooked and not very crunchy, but ok. Â The accompanying sauce was pedestrian. Entrees were the same, chicken club was dry even with the smoked onion mayo, burger was aight but was waaay over priced and dry, not to mention the fries were limp and cool. Â That's right kids, no ketchup, mustard, or mayo! Come on! Not even a bottle of ketchup for the two orders of fries on the table :( Caesar salad and chicken & andouille soup came out last because, the only reason I could think of, they forgot to put the order in. The soup tasted like they dumped a whole packet of taco seasoning in it ergo way too salty and cuminy. Â The Chinese salad was waaay too oily and luckily was taken off the tab.
The food is ok, but it doesn't rate the ridiculous prices that have no zeros on the end. They need to spend more money on the food and less on the ambiance.
As far as the food, almost everything I've had there (including sampling my friends' meals) has been a failure. Â The only thing i really liked was a pot roast nacho concoction, and that was actually pretty amazing. Â For hanging out bar style it's hit or miss. Â It can get pretty full and be a lot of fun or it can be almost empty with a couple of creepy people. Â The have a DJ sometimes and that makes it more interesting but, maybe because of the high ceilings, it can get crazy loud in there. Â There are tons of TVs around which makes it good for game watching. Â A good place to go with a big group.
Review Source:Nice bar and decent scene (given the location in a somewhat bizarre 'city center' / office park / planned community kind of setting...)
Lunch was good although the service was rather spotty. Had a couple of mixups on the order, but the quality was good. Had the soup and salad combo...tasty. They had fish and chips on the menu that looked great.
This place is pretty good. And if you arrive in Newport News after 10pm it is pretty much your only option apart from the crappy Firkin place.
Strengths:
- big and spacious inside
- extensive cocktail menu - all amateur style and I would not recommend them, but hey - any port in a storm
- lots of draft beers - most of them, with the exception of Paulaner, Sam Adams and Yuengling manufactured by the beer fascists
- decent bar food  - lots of TVs
- very friendly and efficient service
- they server beer until 2.00am That's what I'm talking about
- you can smoke  - including cigars - inside
Weaknesses:
- the crappy cocktail list and the fascist beers, but hey - they are trying and I like them
I originally went to this restaurant because there was outside seating, it was close to my hotel and looked out on the fountain in the center of town.
I came back multiple times because of the quality of food, drink and service. The place has three parts to it; a bar side and a restaurant side and then an outside patio in the front.
Multiple imported beers are served on tap including Hoegarden (when I was there, that may have changed).
I cannot comment much on the food menu. I found one great, low fat dish and stuck to it every time. Call it boring, but it was so good I went back and back to eat it -- fresh grilled salmon, steamed spinach, and red potatoes. YUM!
It is very relaxing to eat or have a beer outside, kick back alone or with friends, watch the people go by and listen to the fountain wash away your problems.
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