De Rican Chef Restaurant Ocean View — Restaurant in Norfolk

The food was delicious. It was an extensive menu, something for everyone. The atmosphere had a lively vibe. The service was shaky. We waited for a chunk of time to put in a drink order. The server was pleasant. Didn't come back with drinks until over 20 minutes later... this was after I went over to the waitress station and saw them sitting there. We made eye contact. She did have other tables. She brought the drinks over 5-6 minutes later and said she forgot about them. I did ask a couple times for a line but it came back with a lemon. We had also been waiting to ask some questions about the menu items. Then she took our order. The table next to us who came in after us had ordered and rec'd their food before we had our food. I understand what it looks like to be in the weeds on working in a restaurant. This did not seem like the case. She was off the floor a couple times for quite a while.

Wondering about your person from the kitchen. Did a nice job delivering our orders.

The server came back a while later we were still eating and she asked if we wanted boxes for our our our food to go. LOL. My friend said we weren't done yet but probably would need boxes. I saw her in the restaurant on the device to tally up orders and saw her heading to our table. Then I saw her go back and get the to-go boxes. She brought them. And maybe I just have been around the restaurant industry too much but I'm so used to server saying. Would there be anything else or did you want to order dessert or anything. There was none of that so we got our bill and paid. As I said. Enjoyed the atmosphere but we probably took up table space for about an extra 30 or 40 minutes longer. If they needed to turn the table because of the service. Maybe she was new but there's just a few simple ways to take care of patrons. I wish her the best and I hope she learns from the other servers there or her own experiences in other restaurants when they serve her. Again, food was delicious. We had also been to the location down in the vibe district and we're excited to...

We live just down the street from this location in Ocean View, so we'd really been anticipating the opening and they did not disappoint. The food is great and the people are really friendly. The vibe in the restaurant is really nice and relaxing, and I can just tell that once the summer rolls around and the breeze comes in off the water, this place will be jumping.

Quick story - We'd ordered out from here a few times and we always look forward to the opportunity to do it again. Tonight, my wife mistakenly ordered online from the VA Beach location, so when I drove a mile to the restaurant and showed up to pick up the order, they didn't have the order on file because it was being prepared a half-hour away in VA Beach.

That's where Antonio, the manager, comes in. He offered to call the VA Beach location and cancel the order. Then, his team just replicated the order off of the confirmation email I'd been forwarded. Antonio saved me a half-hour drive when he didn't have to, and all of the fellas behind the bar were really kind and had a great sense of humor about it all. That small act of kindness really went a long way. I ran quickly to the grocery store, came back and picked up some piping-hot, pitch-perfect food, and best of all, my wife was very happy. Thanks, Antonio, and your whole team at DeRican Chef in Ocean View....

Absolutely not, they are taking advantage of customers. I use to come here all the time when it first open I live right up the street from this restaurant. I'll always get the empanadas, mango juice, or even even other dinners they have had on the menu. For starters for $10 I always had gotten 3 empanadas with my meal. Now it's two (which im fine with). However, this is where it gets crazy, when I got the mango juice (just to give you some visual its a SMALL cup not a large) i used to get it for $3. Last week I went and paid $5 but a lady had put it in a bucket, which i thought was a reasonable price for a drink that large. However, i go there today and im charged $6 for a mango juice in a small cup that they did not put in a bucket and it tastes disgusting its thick and slimy . This restaurant is most definitely a little weird especially since they keep changing their prices and portions. Sauces used to be free. I used to get them all the time I never had to pay for two TINY cups of sauce. This morning I go in and they charge 75 cents for a SMALL sauce cup. Just awkward. Food is good. But customer service is most definitely confusing and stressful. The team needs to have a meeting and stick to it. As a regular customer im...