New River Taphouse

Located at 1716 Pleasure House Road in Virginia Beach, New River Taphouse serves American fare for lunch and dinner. There is a full bar with a cocktail menu, and food and drink specials change regularly. Patio seating is available, and there is occasional live music.

Whilst traveling, my wife and I stumbled into New River Taphouse after our intended lunch stop turned out to be closed during lunch hours. Intentional or not, New River proved to be a fortuitous find as food and service both exceeded expectations.

New River shares its shopping center lot with several other businesses, so parking can be a bit of an adventure. Should you luck into a convenient space, a handsomely appointed space awaits. The wood-and-brick interior is clean, crisp, and well-suited to the restaurant’s concept, as is the menu. New River’s take on the dressed-up pub is hardly novel, but unlike many a failed venture, there is variation without excess. Apps include nachos and wings and various fried things, there are four different kinds of mac and cheese, pizzas and burgers and sandwiches make use of stout braised pork, IPA candied bacon, and challah buns, and for those in the market for something more substantial, a ribeye and filet mignon two ways are up for grabs.

Of these offerings, my wife and I were drawn to the cherry bomb, fish tacos, and crab cake sandwich. The cherry bomb consisted of cherry peppers stuffed with prosciutto and cream cheese, breaded, flash fried, and served with a fire roasted red pepper sauce. It was the perfect combination of spicy, tangy, crispy, and sweet. The fish tacos tasted fresh, and the accompanying mango salsa delivered bright citrus flavors. The crab cake was a respectable size, and the loose patty indicates that New River did not cut corners on the crab-to-bread ratio. Only the bland slaw (should have gone with fries) was a disappointment.

The bill for this meal proved surprisingly affordable. Our app ran $8, and the tacos and crab cake sandwich were $11 apiece, side included. Even the priciest item on the menu – a 12-ounce ribeye with mashed potato and vegetable – goes for a mere $22.

New River is also both well-staffed and well-managed. Servers are friendly and attentive, and there were enough of them to cover the restaurant’s volume of patrons. Food arrived promptly and at the proper temperature.

American pub fare sometimes gets a (sometimes deserved) bad reputation, but New River Taphouse shows that it can be done well, without pretense or gimmickry, at a reasonable price.

8/10