COVA Brewing Company — Restaurant in Norfolk

Update: Still an easy-to-visit, craft brewery and coffee shop serving a variety of high-quality beers, coffee products and pastries in a relaxed atmosphere. Very little has changed since my original review.

COVA is a unique brewery/coffee-in-one concept with an even more unique self-serve draft beer system. Across the street from the award-winning East Beach neighborhood, and only a quarter mile from the beach itself, COVA sits at the heart of the burgeoning residential construction and redevelopment going on in the East Ocean View/East Beach neighborhood of Norfolk. Previously an automotive repair shop, the repurposed structure creates a striking, highly-functional architectural home for the business. The all-glass garage doors that line the entry-side of the business serve to allow large amounts of natural light in, create the possibility of indoor/outdoor space with the appropriate weather, and simplify logistics for moving materials in and out of the production area. As a customer, I really like how it looks and feels. It truly a well-executed mix of a coffee shop (relaxed) and a pub (social), where there are both opportunities for individual and social pursuits depending on the reason you came. Like many businesses during the COVID pandemic, COVA has added additional outdoor seating to increase capacity. Currently, this is at the expense of some of their parking. We'll just have to see how their external layout develops as time goes on.

In my opinion, COVA is first and foremost, a craft brewery. The beer COVA is putting out is top-notch. With their current offerings spanning a wide range of styles including lager, pilsner, porter, stouts, sours, and IPAs, there really is something for nearly every pallette. They are regularly turning over their taps with new products as the old ones are exhausted - a healthy indication that others may agree with me that the beer is good. I've particuliarly enjoyed a couple of the darker beers that COVA has produced over the winter. I very much look forward to what they have to offer for the summertime. As previously mentioned, COVA employs a unique self-serve draft beer system. When you open your tab, you are given what looks like a bank card that activates the taps, and keeps track of how much you pour (purchase). It is very straightforward, and staff members are always standing nearby to assist new customers with the use of the system, as well as to make helpful recommendations about their beers. Being self-serve, it really gives you more freedom to try the full range of beers that they are offering, as well as to pour the amount of each that you are comfortable with. There's no wading through people to get up to a crowded bar, trying to get the bartender's attention in order to get yourself a beverage. It is just easy.

COVA also has a full-service coffee bar on the opposite end of the restaurant. They offer everything from espresso-based drinks, to drip coffee, pour-over, and probably more things that I don't even know about (I think I saw cold brew on the menu?). As I'm normally there for the beer, I've only ordered an espresso-based drink once, and it was good - no complaints.

Food-wise, COVA has limited direct offerings; namely a range of pastries to pair with their coffees. My understanding is that these pastries are produced by a local bakery. That said, COVA seems to partner with many area food-trucks. I cannot recall a time that I have visited where there was not a food truck parked on the premises. I enjoy the variety that food trucks bring, so I hope that COVA will continue this model into the future.

All of the staff that I have interacted with have been fully engaged in ensuring the success of the business: from friendly and helpful responses to customer needs, meticulous cleaning and upkeep, to expert beer brewing. As I mentioned earlier, they normally ask if it is your first time visiting the establishment, and will give a thorough explanation of the self-serve draft beer system to first-timers to get them going. They make having a good...

Kind of an odd combination of a brewery and a coffee shop. It worked out for me as I could come at alcoholics time to start pregaming for my afternoon flight. After checking out of my hotel, I needed to kill several hours on a Monday. I don't drink coffee like literally everyone else who showed up at 11am that morning so I was feeling a little out of place. F that noise, I'm still on vacation, I'll day drink if I damn well please! So I got a card and opened a tab. They have a self pour set up, which I've experienced before but this was slightly different. In previous bars, I would add money to the card and use it to pour my brews until I tapped out. It's slightly different here as you basically have a open tab to do damage to your liver with. Place the card on the reader above the taps you want, select the specific beer and pour, easy peasy. They had a large selection of glassware, so you can properly match with your style of beer. They also had several ciders/seltzers, wine and whatever cowboy water is. Get a new glass every time and honestly pace yourself. I was able to do half pours to try as many beers as I wanted without getting in trouble with TSA. They mostly had lagers on tap, and one hazy. I tried most of them, which were all standard but good. The cashier did warn me before it happened, but the card will timeout or tap out after a certain point, and you'll have to have to reauthorized at the register. When pouring it'll tell you how much you poured, how much the pour cost and your total balance so you won't end up with any surprises when it comes to pay. When mine tapped out I took it as a sign, plus I missed my bus. By that time I had spent a couple hours drinking, reading and watching people enjoy their caffeinated beverages and baked goods. They have garage doors that opened to the courtyard, which unfortunately wasn't really being used due to the weather. There are several canopy tents to sit under, but only if it isn't raining sideways. Dog and...

SO glad this business has finally opened in Ocean View! My husband and I have been here for a morning hot coffee date (w/ awesome bundt cake) inside, mid morning with family for iced/cold brew coffees outside, and evening beers, wine, and nitro cold brews with friends outside! It is the most beautiful brewery I've ever stepped foot in and we love the drink variety.

Things that set COVA apart:

1. Men's restroom has a baby diaper changing table (yayy!!!)
2. Self-serve beer taps (As soon as we walked in looking a bit confused a staff member approached us asking if we had been before and explained how the process worked and got us set up with our card. Another staff member was by the taps to make sure we knew how to do our pours without accidentally getting too much head. We like that you can do tasters, half beers, full beers, etc. with the self serve)
3. The drink variety: Normally as a pregnant person or non-beer drinker your options at a brewery are limited to bottled water or soda. Here, we have enjoyed fun coffee drinks (we really like the nitro cold brew with the homemade vanilla or caramel syrup) and wine (staff was knowledgable about the wines on tap too) when we went with beer drinking friends but weren't in the mood for beer.

Highly recommend!!!! Hot coffee drinks, cold brew, and beer all have excellent flavor. Tons of variety. If the variety is overwhelming, a staff member can 100% help make a recommendation based on your preferences. We will be...