Hemingway's Restaurant & Bar Pilar — Restaurant in Virginia Beach

I had high hopes when I went here. It is in a prime location and there is beach front seating available. The waitress was phenomenal. The host was amazing. I really wanted to like this place but it just didn't do it for me. There was a family of 4, 2 adults and 2 kids, that really didn't make my dining experience pleasurable. The adults were drinking mixed drinks and beer which is perfectly fine. Unfortunately they let their kids run wild and do whatever they wanted. They were loud and extremely obnoxious. Jumping up and down in the chairs. Lying in the chairs and kicking their feet in the air. Running throughout the patio area screaming and shouting. The parents just let it happen. I asked our waitress to move us to the other end of the dining area and she was more than happy to do so. I was surprised they handed out Chex mix in a bowl as a "snack" while waiting for the food. I had no idea it would take 45 minutes to make a grilled chicken wrap. Especially since the restaurant wasn't even close to halfway full. The waitress apologized many times for the delay but I certainly didn't hold her responsible. The chicken wraps had hardly any chicken, mostly romaine. The fries were pretty good. The highlight of the evening was the scenery. I've been stuck in much worse places but the beach was the silver lining. Between the absentee parents letting their hellians run wild and the extremely long wait time, this place just didn't do it for me. I'm sure it may have been an off night for the crew but I won't be going back to find out. I want to point out that the hostess and the waitress were spectacular in every way. They have no control over the kitchen or...

This place is AWESOME with bartender Tray (a female so you know). I don't drink much but because I was on vacation, I asked for her recommendations. SHE DIDN'T DISAPPOINT!!! All 3 of the drinks she recommended (1 being a secret recipe!!!) were wonderful!!! The secret recipe was like applesauce or apple cider - it was delicious!!!

As for the food, while the lunch/dinner menu is small, what we got was superb!!! The chicken quesadilla was really good and of course we ate it with sour cream and salsa. The Mexican fried shrimp was a really unique item that tasted awesome! We highly recommend it!!! The pound of shrimp also tasted good, with old bay and cocktail sauce. It was the usual great stuff. Tasted fresh and on point.

Last but not least, the all you can eat breakfast buffet from this restaurant is really great too!!!! $15 per person, but we got it for free because of our hotel rewards status.

Add to that the fact that you get a discount if you are staying in the hotel where the restaurant is located, and you have a super great deal!! See the receipt for the discount.

I was also impressed by the size of their napkins! Again, please see the picture where you you can see the size of the take out box and the size of the napkins!! You can use that thing as a bib if you are a messy eater or if you're like me and just appreciate large...

During our stay at the hotel that Hemingway's is attached to, we had a breakfast and a dinner there.

Breakfast was definitely a step above the free offerings some hotels give you, but this wasn't free, so that's to be expected. It's a bit pricey for breakfast, in my opinion, but then so is just about everything in Virginia Beach, so no more so than any other similar restaurants.

Dinner was quite good, in my opinion. Again, a bit pricey, but on par with the other similar restaurants in the area. The boneless chicken wing appetizer was delicious - juicy, flavorful chicken; we were able to split half and half with two different of the many seasoning choices they give you. All the entrees we got were delicious.

The drinks were not perfect. Three of us got Mojitos, which I felt had too much mint and not enough rum. I got an "Island Breeze" that was little more than soda water; when I asked for a new one, I essentially got an entirely different drink that actually matched the description on the menu, although it also felt a bit light on the rum.

On the whole it's a good place to dine; if I stayed at, or near, the hotel again, I would likely have at least...