The food was absolutely amazing! The garlic knots are worth fighting over. If you are into seafood, I definitely recommend the seafood canaloni gratinati. There were not that many pieces of ravioli in the dish, but the pieces themselves were large and the rich flavor of the crabmeat vodka sauce was impressive.
I was there with a group of friends around 6:45 on a Friday night. The waitress was extrememly slow to refill my water and only did it once the entire time. The restaurant had a pretty good selection of wine, but the waitress did not seem knowledgeable when it came to pairing wine with dishes so don't even bother asking for recommendations. If you are sharing a dish, be aware that there is a sharing fee. There is also an 18% gratuity charge and a city tax.
We've lived downtown for seven months now and only two months ago did we decide to try out The Vineyards; the hesitation was because our neighbor and his wife had had two dinners spoiled by crying children...
The first time we visited, there was a noisy child but the family was finishing up and left shortly after our arrival. Â This is definitely not a restaurant to bring young children! Why people allow their kids to fuss and scream in small, ambient restaurants is beyond me... anyway...
My mouth is watering just thinking about this place! Â My absolute favorite dish is the Bistecca Gorgonzola cooked at medium rare, and their caesar salad is the best that I've personally ever had. Â If I'm not mistaken, all of their entrees are served with complimentary "garlic knots". Â This bread is so good, you'll want to punch yourself in the face.
Their prices for the quality of food are beyond reasonable. Â In fact, on Tuesday nights, they have a $30 or $35 couples' special which includes wine, a split entree and dessert. The price reflects what you can order and is an absolute fantastic deal.
I recommend making a reservation for the weekend nights and show up on time. Â The couple behind us was 10 minutes late for their reservation and threw a fit when we got sat before them. Â
I've never been here for lunch but I'm sure I'll try it soon. Â My advice: Â Eat here and hire a babysitter for little kids. Â Just because Grandma thinks it's cute that little Timmy is learning to screech for fun doesn't mean that all the other diners want to listen to it..
Very very good. Garlic knots were tasty. Seafood pasta and calamari were average. Veal was fork tender, though Marsala sauce was thin. Cheesecake was dry, tiramisu was good but weakened by being plated with cool whip and Hershey's syrup. Service was attentive and friendly. Here for conference, will return to try other things.
Review Source:This is by far the worst restaurant experience me and the other guests at my table have ever had. The staff was quite rude from the moment we walked in, and we even had reservations that we were looking forward to all day. The food was mediocre. They were out of stock on the things that we wanted (mozzarella sticks and the new york cheesecake) which I already think is rather strange. You would think, on a Saturday especially, that they would be well stocked and prepared for an evening of guests but no. We had to settle for less than appetizing bruschetta and a salad which the kitchen made incorrectly (had to send back and wait for the new one). The entrees were pretty good, but we got pretty plain easy meals (chicken parmigiana) so it's hard to mess up.
The meal in general was only slightly below average, but when it came down to the check we presented a Groupon-type deal and they rejected it, which we thought was unfair. We were abiding by the rules and stipulations on the coupon. We viewed their move as a greed driven, unfair decision.
In conclusion, this restaurant is not worth the price or time (or stomach space, for that matter). As far as quality is concerned, you would likely find better at Olive Garden (which is an insult to 'upscale' Italian food) or better yet, you should go to Fellini's (not far away, on Colley).
I'm not just giving an arbitrary 'I'm ticked off' one star review - I am confident that my views represent those of everyone at my table and presumably many (perhaps most) other customers of this restaurant.
I took my husband here for a special dinner thinking it would be nice to try something new for the night instead of an old favorite. 5 minutes to get greeted, another 5 to be seated. Very small dinning room and cramped seating when it's full had me brushing up on other guests. We asked for one minute to make our drink decisions, but the waiter didn't come back for 15. We gave him our food order right away in case we lost him again. We'd arrived at 6:30, and by the time the food came it was 8pm so we asked it just be wrapped to go so we could get on our way. They told us it would just be a minute a few times while we waited, but to be honest he never actually apologized or checked in often. Couldn't believe it took them that long to make it. We had to ask 3 times for more water. They tried to put a mandatory 18% gratuity included when we went to leave. We tried the food when we got home but it went in the garbage. My husband had tortellini with chicken and he said it tasted like a pre-made frozen, and it only had 3 small pieces of chicken in the sauce. I had the gorgonzola pasta and it was completely devoid of any of the flavorful blue cheese - the sauce just tasted like eating straight cream over a dried packaged pasta they cooked. The shrimp in mine were so over-cooked they were mealy. And both our meals were significantly lacking in season, as if they forgot any salt or pepper. I would never waste my time or money again with such poor service and poor food.
Review Source:Being a fellow New Yorker there's no way I wouldn't know what real Italian cooking is. The vibe and decor is nice. By looking at the pics I figured it was a bit bigger, it's not. I had Penne Alla Vodka with Chicken and a side of broccoli. The broccoli never made the table. The penne was well cooked, al dente. The chicken.. What chicken? It looked more like baby bite size to me. Last but not least the vodka sauce was good but way too soupy, fail.
My friend had Lasagna which she said she liked but it was a bit too dry. Drinks she had moscato and I had a dirty gin martini. I give our waiter/bartender props for not messing my martini up (nope we didn't sit at the bar).
With all of that being said our waiter/bartender was hardly ever present when needed. It also seemed as though he was the only waiter/bartender.
I would say if your downtown and are starving and in the mood for Italian I guess ok.
One last thing, way too over priced. I've had authentic Italian food with five people that cost me what we paid last night.
We hit The Vineyards on a very busy weeknight and still walked away content and full. The place was definitely understaffed - no bartender and only two waitstaff. The food was very good though!
We waited after our meals arrived for the starter garlic knots, drinks, and we never recieved the soup we ordered. The salad with the house red wine vinagerette was very nice, including the olives. Â My wife ordered veal parmigen and I ordered Bistecca Gargonzola. Her dish was very well recieved and the Bistecca Gargonzola was one of the best dishes I have had in a long time. The steak was cooked to perfection and the sauce was delicious. The asparagas was also prepared perfectly. The potatoes were just a bit thick but paired well with the thick sauce, onions and mushrooms and of course the meat.
If we had recieved better service I may have ranked this place better. The wine menu looked decent but the beer selection was pretty boring and limited. Â Nice atmosphere and reasonably priced. I would definitely recommend it based on other Norfolk dining experiences we had during our week here.
This quickly became my go to place for pasta and Italian food in the area. If you're going by Granby, you may easily miss this as it's stuck in a block of vacant stores. Decorated with what you would think of for a small Italian restaurant, they beat Olive Garden any day! They start you off with a basket of garlic knots and then your appetizer comes. Their focaccia bread is fantastic and well worth trying. I haven't even made it to trying the other dishes yet!
My fav pastas are penne and angel hair. The two that stands out the most are the penne with sausage and the penne with vodka sauce. Delicious! Just the right portion that you can eat an appetizer and take half the entree home or you can skip the before meal and then eat your entire plate. Remember to lick the plate!
On the menu tonight was a pumpkin tiramisu that I didn't get to try. Just thought I'd put it out there in case one of you adventurous types would like to stick a fork in it.
Our first time here.Rrestaurant week is always nice to try a place we've never been. The place is small but a great atmosphere.
 Brian, our waiter, was nice and helpful. I ordered off the $20 menu. My first course was The Crab Bisque, second course was the Lasagna and my third course was a Canoli.
I always try Crab Bisque when it's an option. I have had better but this was still tasty. My only complaint here was that it was a cup and not a bowl. Others in my party also said that their first course was small as well.
Since The Vineyards is Italian I had to try the Lasagna. My portion was large, which I loved, and tasted great. Honestly 2 people could have shared my plate. But when it comes to food I don't like to share. My Wife, Sister in Law and Mother in Law enjoyed their meal as well. My Brother in Law couldn't finish his meal.
The Canoli was not as good as I was expecting. I would not order this again. All in all I do recommend The Vineyards.
It's Restaurant Week!!!!! HOORAY! I love that The Vineyards is participating this year. They have one of the most expansive menus of the 2012 Norfolk participating restaurants. Today my friend Nicole and I dropped in for a $10 lunch around 11:30am. The seating was vast, there were only a shocking 3 tables seated. We were greated quickly with a smile.
I ate/took home (the portions are huge - I cant believe they are serving this for $10)
Fresh Garlic Knot Bread served with complementary Italian house salad accompanied by an entree of  Chicken Verdi - (Pan seared breast of chicken with broccoli in a lemon white wine sauce served with pasta) and followed by a slice of New York cheesecake drizzled with chocolate.
The chicken sliced like butter, the pasta was fresh and firm, it was all an Italian woman could want/need.
Lavoro fantastico! Vi ringrazio per una splendida cena.
great meal, friendly service. Â We had the Seafood Canaloni and the Fettucine Fradiavlo. Â Seafood was cooked perfectly in both dishes. Â If you are looking for a good Italian meal this one is worth checking out. Â Nice wine selection. Â Meals came with a very good house salad and garlic knots were great.
Review Source:It was really tasty. Â I got the ravioli, tortellini, gnocchi, and chicken in vodka sauce. Â It was excellent. Â My wife got shrimp, chicken, and penne in champagne sauce. Â She really enjoyed it. Â The entrees were reasonably priced and the bread and salad that were included in our meals were top notch. Â They also allowed us to sit and chat for a while after we finished eating so we could finish our carafe of wine. Â All in all, the service, food, and ambiance were very nice.
Review Source:Had a wonderful dinner at the Vineyards.  We tried them out using  a gift receipt from  <a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2FRestaurant.com&s=0aab4cbd731f3d3b0d1453050d3abc56a8c80bd214e25469c7555b750dca8a51" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://Restaurant.com</a> and we will certainly be going back. We started off with the  their house salad. It was a nice mix of greens with olives,black and green. For the appetizers, (we normally don't get, but their prices are so reasonable we had to get something else or we would not have met the minimum purchase amount required.) We  tried the Shrimp Oreganata, and also decided try their Brushetta, not like any that I have had before it was delicious.  Both are worth a try. .  For our entry I had the Rustico Chicken.. OMG it was out of this world.  My mouth is watering just thinking about it.. My boyfriend had the Chicken Parm... although it was good, it could not compare to the Rustico... It was a great night out with great food, will be going back again and again.
Review Source:I decided to visit The Vineyards during Norfolk Restaurant Week. It's not a big place but not terribly small. As more people streamed in, the time it took to serve food increased. I waited about 30 minutes to get served but it was worth the wait. The Veal Asparagini was wonderful! Sautéed medallions of veal topped with prosciutto wrapped asparagus (they ran out of asparagus and substituted spinach) and fresh mozzarella in a port wine sauce served with linguini pasta. I also had the Cannoli and which was sweet and creamy. Though the service was slow, I'll will visit The Vineyards once more.
Review Source:Was there once after Thanksgiving visiting my son that's stationed out there in the Navy, food was great, service lacked but it was closing time so I kind of forgave the service. Second time around on a Saturday night mid January 2012. They were busy, I Â had reservations...Lord oh Lord, HORRIBLE SERVICE!!! was ignored after my 1st drink, no refill or asked if I wanted to order another drink...no checking on us if we need it more bread or an apology, since the food took an hour to come out. Spoke to the Manager/Owner (so he said he was), Instead of being customer service oriented, He turned out to be an argumental, non caring for wasting an hour of my time, Plain RUDE and IGNORANT. Get better staff that wants to care for your guest and show you care about the future of your Restaurant. Â Managers at fast food establishments make look like a rookie. While in Norfolk I will not recommend this restaurant. Good food, Horrible service... Â Now I see why your staff lacks service, they take after their management.
Review Source:House salad was very good, as was bruschetta. Ordered Fettuccini Fradiavlo with low carb pasta for entree, very tasty. Great service, very friendly.  Waiter saw our group pulling up Yelp on mobile phones, and was very knowledgeable re: Yelp. He said reviewer-Rory was bogus.  Restaurant prepared a ton of food in anticipation of her 20 people, she arrived late with  3 people and was snippy to everyone.  Maybe she should have been more sympathetic!
Review Source:The best laid plans of mice and women...
We had a big party booked for Friday night for a college reunion, somewhere around 20 people. Well it poured, the weather was miserable and slowly but surely we got cancellations, especially from people who were coming from Richmond or Chesapeake. Only 3 of us ended up showing up. Instead of being sympathetic, the staff at the vineyards were rude about this turn of events. I get it, you were expecting a big party, ergo big tips, but it wasn't our fault by any measure and we were still there to have some fun!
That being said, despite the service, the food was amazing. We started with the clams casino. Not like any clams casino I had ever had, but they were really good. Baby clams in a butter sauce with roasted tomatoes and garlic. It was a BIG appetizer, more than enough for 3 people to share.
I had the chicken piccata for dinner and it was out of this world! The piccata was in a creamy sauce lemon, cpaer sauce, not like a normal piccata sauce at all. It was also a huge portion, a good 8 ounces of chicken and cup of pasta with sauteed mushrooms.
All three of us were super pleased with our meals; salad, garlic knots and all. The 5th star is lacking because of the super rude staff.
My fiance and I liked the look of this place from the outside, and finally stopped in. We were appalled by the service and the food and won't ever go back.
For starters, we ordered the crab bisque and mussels, and when I asked our server for his recommendation on entrees, he literally said the entree he preferred with no reason why.. awkward silence?
When we received the very obviously frozen garlic knots, he brought out the appetizers (a whole 20 minutes later) and the soup had a nasty film on it. Â Either from it being either old, or it sat under the lamp for too long and so did the mussels. Both were cold, and the mussels were like rubber.
We told our server we were very unimpressed, wanted to pay for what was at the table so far and leave. He responds with "um, well, your order is already in." Â We tell him we refuse to pay for something we didn't eat and he walks away. He comes back, rips away the the plates in front of us, and sets down a bill for 6 dollars and change (just for the wine that was ordered). 15 minutes later, we finally get him to take our card to run payment, and as he throws it down on the table and immediately looks away, with no apology whatsoever, he runs it for $66.00!!!!!
We talked to a girl who said she could be the manager if we wanted her to be and she voided the transaction for the whole thing. She even said, thank god it wasn't her that was our server and to come back tomorrow for a better experience.
What terrible service. I don't write many reviews, and I am not exaggerating.
The server and the food told us that they obviously don't want to remain in business much longer.
This quaint restaurant is definitely worth stopping in.
I had the seafood and vegetable soup to begin and it was delish! The menu has delectable options to choose from. Since the soup was filling and the fresh baked bread is mouth watering I ordered a salad with a perfectly seasoned steak. The salad contained mixed greens, candied walnuts, goat cheese, and a light vinaigrette. To complete this wonderful meal the waitress recommended a red wine that was a mix between a pinot noir and a malbec and it was paired perfectly.
If business or pleasure ever brings me back to Norfolk I would definitely stop in again.
Alex and I have dined here several times now. The food is always good. The wait to get your food is always long. They have fantastic garlic knots that they give you while you wait. They must go through a lot of these.... It is rather small inside, with tables close to each other. There is no buffer from the entrance to tables. You really feel the weather when the door opens, regardless of where you are seated. Service is okay, but doesn't set the world on fire. I would rate this restaurant as just "okay". I don't mind going there, but it isn't on the top of my list due to variables other than the food.
Review Source:To start off we ordered an eggplant dish, I ordered it with the red sauce on the side(red sauces don't agree with me) While we waited for that, our very kind and helpful waitress brought us rolls that were to die for! My girlfriend & I had to watch ourselves with those! Our eggplant came out in a timely manner. It was very good! better then fried eggplant by far.
When we were done with that, our salads that came with our meal arrived. I enjoyed the olives and peppers that accompanied the fresh greens.
Our main course was ridiculously good.
I got the fettuccine with shrimp and had them throw in some cherry tomatoes. The sauce was one of the best I have had thick and very rich!
My Girlfriend ordered a veil dish, I didn't try it but she said it was splendid, it looked very appealing.
We had a great time and our waitress made our experience even more pleasing.
The only thing I wasn't too keen on was the was the restaurant set up, but the food made up for it! And who cares if the restaurant is spatially challenged , the food is so delightful!
The exterior is appealing but I was not impressed by the service or quality of food served here. I hate servers asking how is my food, if you are interrupting my meal, bring some cheese or pepper to make it worth my while. I guess for the price this place is OK, maybe 3 stars, nothing higher.
Review Source:Splendid -adjective [splen-did] : excellent, fine or very good; sumptuous. Â
I like restaurant week. Â I don't go every time it comes around (i think its twice a year per city?) but when I notice its that time I make an attempt to go. Â Its great. Â Its like a roster of professional sports teams bidding for your allegiance but with food.
So near 20 restaurants participate and offer a 3 course meal for a fixed price of $20 or $30. Â You can view all of the menus from the downtown norfolk website which makes it easy. Â So its great to try a new place during restaurant week.
This time we went to the Vinyards to try it out. Â Its located in where i think the Blue Hippo used to be which is towards the end of Granby.
The place was full of patrons but we had reservations, so we had no problem getting in. Â The interior is pretty, with lots of white stuff almost formal, kind of a smallish area with tables and a bar, but i didnt feel cramped or that i was impeding anyone's space. Â Wait staff was friendly and very attentive considering how busy it was. Â i really like it when you know your water will always be full at your table. Â that goes a long way with me.
the cool thing about the Vinyards menu for restaurant week is that they had 2 menus. Â a $20 and a $30 menu. Â there were some similarities but both had some really good options. Â I went with the $30 menu (because im a glutton) and my guests went with the $20 options. Â
the OTHER cool thing about the Vinyards menu for restaurant week is that they had a 4 course meal instead of 3. Â (again, the glutton side of me kicked in).
Okay, so there's going to be a lot of food thrown at you here, so brace yourself. Â I'll go with what I had first then what everyone had at the table, which we all sampled. Â because sharing is caring.
Appetizers________________________
Portobella Ripieno
Mini portabella mushrooms stuffed with crabmeat and baked with cheese, topped with a Marsala wine sauce. Â (only 3 mushrooms here, but good. i was dipping my bread in the sauce after the mushrooms were long gone)
Cannoli di Melanzane
Eggplant stuffed with ricotta, parmesan and mozzarella cheese baked over fire roasted tomato sauce. Â (very nice ratio of eggplant here not just cheese and stuff with a hint of a vegetable)
Bruschetta
Roma tomatoes, red onions, garlic, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar over freshly baked focaccia (interesting choice with the focacia. Â not really used to that with bruschetta.)
Salad______________________________
Insalata di Caprese
Roasted peppers, artichoke hearts, kalamata olives, Roma tomatoes, fresh mozzarella and extra virgin olive oil. (nice lite dish here with a small sampling. Â i would have liked a bit more artichoke and the tomatoes weren't super ripe, but i cant blame them for that, its so dry out)
Insalata di la casa
House salad served with a red wine vinaigrette dressing (i didnt get into everyone elses salad but they were enjoyed)
Entree_____________________________________
Ravioli Aragosta
Lobster filled ravioli in our famous crabmeat vodka sauce topped with fresh mozzarella. ("we are coming here again..." Â is what i said after my first bite. Â the crabmeat and the sauce was excellent. Â there was a good portion of crab too.)
Pollo Parmigiana
Breaded chicken breast baked with tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese served with pasta. (great dish with well perpared chicken and pasta. solid.)
Tortelline tre-colore
Tri-colored cheese tortellini with sautéed pieces of chicken, wild mushrooms and sun dried tomatoes in a parmesan cream sauce.  (i didnt have any of this one because i had tunnel vision with my own entree.  i might have heard 'oh this is good' over my own masticating, but i cant really confirm what was spoken, there was a lot of elbows and fork action on my end of the table)
Dessert______________________________
Homemade Tiramisu
Layers of sponge cake drenched in espresso and mascarpone cream dusted with cocoa powder. Â (this was really good. Â lots of espresso cream to jolt me out of my vodka sauce stupor. Â i had to fight off assaulting foreign forks from my tiramisu wall)
New York Cheesecake
Traditional New York Cheesecake with your choice of raspberry or chocolate sauce. Â ("...you call thise NY Cheesecake? Â i've had REAL NY cheesecake when your uncle saul and i went to 5th and" blah blah blah blah blah plz shut up. Â just because a menu has 'NY Cheesecake' don't take it as trying to 1up your best NY experience. Â it was a good piece of cheesecake.)
So there you have it. Â The Vineyards Trattoria & Pizzeria. Â If i go back and the pizza/experience is just as good when its not restaurant week as when it was, this place is a solid 5.
We've walked by this place almost everyday but never walked in. I was craving Italian today so I came here for lunch today. They have a pretty big menu. Â I ordered the penne in creamy vodka sauce which had tomatoes and onions and was very delicious in flavor! I added Italian sausage to my dish as well. It was one of the best pasta dishes I've ever eaten! Before my meal, they served me a complimentary side salad and garlic bread. Service here was great! My waitress checked on me more than a handful of times and was not overbearing. So glad I came here!
Review Source:
The 5 best restaurants in the 2015 Denver Restaurant Week
3,611 Views | Category: Denver
The complete list of 2015 Denver Restaurant Week businesses
1,972 Views | Category: Denver
The tourists' guide to Portillos: 5 must have dishes
3,318 Views | Category: Chicago
Pho = Pronounced "fuh" not "foe" for pho-king sake
2,915 Views | Category: Denver
Indulgery selected to exhibit at Collision Conference
2,987 Views | Category: Press Releases
Not Logged In
BUSINESSES
Local Businesses
Near Me
My Favorites
SOCIAL
Blog & News
MY ACCOUNT
Login
Register
Contact Us
Add Your Business
