Hampton Roads Restaurant Weeks: A Celebration of Local Dining

Hampton Roads is a foodie haven, no doubt about it. Whether you love upscale eateries with novel-length wine lists or love to cozy up in a booth for some down-home comfort food, you can satisfy your appetite anywhere in the Seven Cities. If you're undecided on where to eat, one of the best ways of finding new favorites is to take advantage of the annual Restaurant Week events that happen around the region. You may crave local seafood, fusion cuisine, or a succulent pasta dish with cheesecake for dessert, and when you hit Restaurant Week at the right time you can sample all of this and more!

Here's how Restaurant Week works if you've not experienced it in the past: For one week in Hampton Roads - Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Williamsburg, and elsewhere - several participating restaurants offer a special prix fixe menu at a special price. Some restaurants only offer this menu during lunch, some during dinner hours, and others offer both. The fixed price deal usually covers two courses at lunch (the entree and choice of dessert or appetizer) and three courses for dinner - appetizer, entree, and dessert. Some restaurants, for a slightly higher prix fixe charge, will offer a second dinner menu featuring premium dishes.

When you choose a restaurant for the day, the server will hand you the special Restaurant Week menu. Often the restaurant will showcase a popular dish, but sometimes a special dish you do not normally see on the menu is offered. Restaurant Weeks in Hampton Roads offer diners the opportunity to try meals they may not otherwise order.

It is always a good idea to visit the official websites of the Restaurant Week events to learn which businesses are participating. The sites will also link to the special menus so you can plan ahead. Pay attention if you need to make reservations first. Tax and gratuity are often not included in the prix fixe.

Hungry yet? Be sure to bookmark these sites so you know when Restaurant Week in Hampton Roads happens!

• Downtown Norfolk Restaurant Week - Usually in January, focusing on downtown eateries
• Ghent Restaurant Week - Focusing on restaurants in the historic Ghent district
• Town Center Restaurant Week - Put on exclusively by restaurants in the downtown Virginia Beach area
• Virginia Beach Restaurant Week - Covering restaurants throughout the city
• Williamsburg Restaurant Week - Covering restaurants in the Colonial area and throughout the city
• Hampton Restaurant Week - Featuring many of the downtown eateries