The Birch — Restaurant in Norfolk

If you want to go to a beer bar, don't miss this one. This small, brightly-colored bar is located in Ghent near Tortilla West. Depending on the night, you may be the only person there, or it may be standing-room only. There are usually three employees, two of which are the owners, and the other is the mother of one of the owners. The owners know beer. Period. If you have the slightest idea of what you may want, tell them, and they'll set you up right. 21 taps, and more bottles than are actually on the bottle list (MANY more, actually. The ABRIDGED bottle list used to be 5 pages long, but people found it overwhelming.)

I drink a lot of beer, and most people would tell you that I am a complete and utter beer snob. The first time I came into The Birch, I could only recognize 3 of the breweries on the tap list. Now, I'm more familiar, but they still always have something that I have never heard of. Always. There is a beer for everyone, unless you truly just want a Bud Light, Yuengling, or a PBR. In that case, this isn't the place for you.

Also, they don't really serve food, so much as a light fare menu. Grilled cheese, nuts, chips, popcorn; that sort of thing. They DO however have an outstanding cheese board, which they will match cheeses with beers if you ask, or on Fridays when they have pairings anyway.

I could go on forever, but rather than reading, perhaps you should go check it out...

I LOVE THE BIRCH! My go to for good beer, cheese boards and charcuterie. There are so many options and they are always changing. The staff is nice and they are very helpful. They also have great grilled cheeses and their popcorn is the best buttered popcorn around!

EDIT: The Birch is still dope, everyone is still great and if you have bad service that's on you. Everyone is super attentive but don't want to be a bother either, it's a fine line to tread. You should never feel weird about stopping someone to ask a question or order but if they come back before your ready that's ok too. They are all super nice and will help you pick if needed.

If you want to mostly be left alone I reccomend sitting at a table but if you are solo and want to have a chat the bar is...

Marginal ambiance but horrible bar for the average person. Large, inaccessible menu of absolutely horrid beers that will serve to please only the most pretentious and loathsome craft-brewery-crawling hipster. And of course, for your disgusting imported beer with a completely imperceptible name that a bearded man in a bow tie will insist is "a favorite" and "extremely good," you'll pay $8 or more for the privilege of a "pour." Went there for New Year's Eve and paid exorbitantly ($45) for three drinks, a bit of food and a free wine glass each. Maybe there's some charm here, but unless you like buying surprise (and there's really no surprise since they're all bad) drinks for a lot of money in a small place,...