TASTE — Restaurant in Virginia Beach

Taste has some of the best sandwiches I've ever had in my life on their menu. The combination of items are perfect. I love the Northender, The Hilltop and The Lynnhaven.

You can make your own sandwich or salad or wrap and they have fresh gelato in the case scooped when you order (ask for a sample). I love that they have soups and some other items but you basically pick your sides from around the store of bagged chips, pasta salad, drinks, etc.

Really cool vibe and they have samples of pimento cheese and crackers so you can taste things and buy things as you wait for your sandwich to be ready.

Stores have plenty of open and airy seating and you often see students or people hanging out inside having coffee dates or lunch dates. It's friendly and easygoing inside.

They also have an extensive wine selection but I don't drink so I can't speak so much to that. Several locations all around Hampton Roads on both sides of the bridge but this is one of my favorites because it's easy to find parking and there is so much all around at Hilltop that you can make a day of it and shop and run errands.

They also have Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners you can pre-order and pick up to have dinner ready in a fraction of the time for your family. I've ordered these meals several times for holidays and never been...

My fiancee and I have been to Taste several times and really enjoyed the food. We decided to ask Taste to cater our wedding that we were planning in the VA Beach area. We visited the Hilltop location. They let us know the caterer was not available that day but they took down our information, let us know they would contact us, and gave us some information regarding prices. After not hearing back, my fiancee called several times (2-3) attempting to gain additional information and speak to someone. She received the same response from the store each time, that they would contact us later that day, but they never did. I was amazed when my fiancee told me about the difficulty she was having, so I called the store myself. They again told me the same thing they had told her about giving us a call back later and tried to justify their prior contact with us. We again did not receive a call back that day as they promised. We decided we cannot rely on this restaurant to cater our event. In full disclosure they did eventually call us back, but it was several weeks later after we have already contact and scheduled tastings with other providers. I am disappointed that taste will not be catering our wedding but I will not be spending my money on a company that I cannot rely on to even...

LOCATION: Growing up in the 757, the Norfolk Taste (RIP Colley Avenue and Larchmont locations) and Shore Drive Taste locations were my go-tos as they had a welcoming and laid back vibe. This location...not so much. The environment reeked of pretentiousness and the patrons and staff lacked diversity.

PARKING: Since the restaurant is located in a shopping center, there's plenty of parking. Don't be surprised to see numerous Maseratis, Porsches, and other luxury vehicles in the lot.

FOOD: The food is as delicious as I remember. I highly recommend the Northender sandwich and, for vegetarians, the Princess Anne sandwich. Leave room for a dessert bar - the blueberry lemon pie bar and strawberry cheesecake bar are divine!

COST: In my opinion, the combination of flavors, choices of sandwiches, wraps, salads, and novelty of Taste justify the cost. I don't think the prices are unreasonably high and are comparable to other delicatessen/sandwich places.

I love Taste, but just don't love...