Deadrise Italian Kitchen — Restaurant in Cape Charles

What’s not to love about this coastal pizza restaurant? The kind of place you walk in to after a long day of relaxing at the beach, where the atmosphere laid-back and inviting, with an easygoing vibe. A place where the food is good and the staff feels familiar and friendly. If this sounds like your kind of restaurant, then you’re in luck because this is exactly what you’ll find at Deadrise Italian Kitchen. We love this place and eat here (at least once) anytime we’re in Cape Charles. In addition to great pizza, this restaurant serves other Italian dishes that are equally delicious! It’s family friend, but also great for date night.

The restaurant has a coastal Bohemian decor that compliments its natural Cape Charles surrounding with light walls, natural materials and plants. The smart layout means they can accommodate intimate parties or large gatherings with ease. I especially like the bench seating that spans the length of one of the walls, with throw pillows for added comfort and aesthetics. Some of the high tables are located fairly close to the kitchen and prep station. On one visit we were seated in this area, and at first I thought it would be a drawback. Nothing could’ve been further from the truth! It turned out to be a real treat. Not only did we get to interact with more staff members, but we got a bird’s eye view to where the magic happens! The gas range is situated near enough that we could watch the huge pots and sauce pans brimming with delectable dishes. We saw the kitchen staff prepping fresh greens and getting orders prepared for pick-up by the servers. It was really cool to watch them actually cook the food, not just warm it up. Just in case you’d rather dine al fresco, Deadrise offers patio seating as well. It’s located at the front of the restaurant and is generously shaded.

Another really cool design feature is the restroom area. This isn’t an area that usually gets high praise in my reviews, but their design is so well thought out, I would be remiss if I didn’t write about it. The layout features two generously-sized water closets (WC) on either side of a huge sink area. This work so well, especially if all one needs to do is wash their hands.

Now, about the food! It is deliciously made with fresh ingredients. So far we’ve sampled the Caesar salad, Chicken Parmigiana, Deadrise Margherita Pizza (with pepperoni, mushrooms and black olives added), the Pound Netter Pizza, Tiramisu and Crème Brûlée. We have enjoyed it all! The brick-oven style pizza has a thin crust (made from organic pizza dough) and the Margherita sauce tastes fresh, tangy and sweet. The pepperonis and sausage are savory, but not overly greasy. And when it comes to the Parmesan cheese, they use the GOOD stuff! The salads are crisp and delicious and large enough to share. The dressing on the Caesar salad includes lemon, for a bit of a twist. It really works, and I wish they’d bottle and sell it! The desserts are equally divine. The crème brûlée is creamy and sweet with a great crunch on the top. The tiramisu has a rich coffee flavor and is made with coffee from a local company. We’ve walked away from every meal feeling full and satisfied. This place feeds the soul as well as the appetite; so if you’re ever in Cape Charles, VA, I hope you find your way to Deadrise Italian Kitchen.

Notable Mentions: They offer a...

Let me say something...

I don't usually do this and I like to be objective in my reviews.

We are a minority couple. We explored Cape Charles and decided to venture downtown today. We traveled with child to Dead rise. We walked in and saw an open table on the patio. We approached the hostess and asked what the wait time was. Hostess replied that "there was no wait and she would go wipe a table off for us". We wait. Two more couples come in AFTER us. Another hostess walks up, chats with them. All of a sudden we notice the couple BEHIND us being sat at the table we asked about. We addressed it with the hostess. One hostess seemed surprised, the other was indifferent. We left...with my child asking why we couldn't eat pizza there. "Daddy why'd they give our table away"?! END STORY.

RANT: I have millions of views here for my reviews. I want you ALL to know how utterly flabbergasted and disappointed I was by this. We were skipped in line, disregarded and mishandled...I am offended. I'm in the military and have been around quite a bit. We are city folks, trust and believe I know what "class" looks like (this was far from it). This felt racist and AS MY FIRST IMPRESSION...I will never return to this restaurant. What a shame. I refuse to spend my money in establishments like this.

To management: I worked for years in customer service. A couple lessons I learned: First impressions are lasting impressions. Customer service and word of mouth will make or break you. Everyone deserves to be treated with dignity and RESPECT in a good establishment. All of things are often more important than the food you serve.

RANT OVER.

DO...

For the first time in my life (I'm 63) I left a restaurant without eating my main course. 1, walking into this place to get seated is mass confusion. After making our way through Togo orders getting picked up and customers leaving we finally found someone to seat us... Waited a good while for a waitress, ordered drinks,salads and main course at same time.. couple we were with ordered a pizza, we ordered dishes of pasta.. pizza came out about 20 minutes later..told ours would be out in a few... 20 or 30 minutes after that still nothing. So I asked where our order was and I wanted to know why we weren't served " it's coming" was all I was told.. waited another 10 minutes and told waitress to forget it, give us a bill for drinks She then offers our meal as a togo order WTH no I wanted it an hour ago to eat with our friends! .. she then explains other couples and the same issue.. that's a reason ? If you're coming here order pizza.. I hear it's ok.. hahaha as for me this place is a sunk Deadrise

I find your reply a simple copy and paste. I forgot to add another thing ... when called out on your businesses failure your employee no longer wish to address me at all... ! & the least you could have offered was to comp our table something, ...