As a wine lover and local nightlife writer, I am tasked with discovering all the best that nightlife in Virginia Beach has to offer:

hip bars, nightclubs, parties, live music, DJ’s, dancing and the best food & drink specials. As grueling as this job may sound, someone’s got to do it. My recent quest was to find a place to enjoy some good wine without spending a fortune. I visited two popular Virginia Beach Wine Bars & Cafes and found some really interesting menus and awesome wine deals.

Lubo Wine Bar & Café is located on Pleasure House Road, near Shore Drive. I found it to be quite charming, with a comfortable bar, outdoor patio and additional second floor loft dining area. If you appreciate original art you will enjoy the collection of local artwork through the café.

I visited on a Tuesday, which is their wine special night (5-9pm). To my delight, I ordered a three-wine flight for only $5. In case you don’t know and are afraid, to ask a “flight” is a trio of wine samplings or mini wine tasting. The only problem was deciding what to select from the weekly list of 20+ wines. I received some wonderful advice from Lou, one of the owners. She simply asked what types of wines I enjoyed and steered me to some palate-pleasing tastings. Seriously, who knew I could have so much fun for five bucks? My absolute favorite wine was “The Rook”, a fabulous Cabernet, Merlot, Syrah blend from California ($25 bottle).

Lubo offers a selection of over 200 wines in their retail market and restaurant, 30 wines by the glass and 40 beers. Wines by the glass are available in a 3oz or 6oz pours along with 4 wine flights. I was surprised to see that I could purchase a bottle of wine with dinner for as little as $12.50 (and up to $99). We all know that wines by the bottle are marked up significantly from their retail price in most restaurant settings. Not so at Lubo; the wine list contains at least two dozen bottles under $20, and about 100 wines under $30, with plenty of excellent values so feel free to order that bottle for no special occasion any night of the week.

Lubo also offers a seasonal cafe menu of cheese boards (nine different artisan cheese boards in fact), antipasto, crab cakes, pasta, brick oven pizza and sandwiches. It seemed mandatory to sample the award-winning nachos, which are definitely out of the ordinary with grilled eggplant, zucchini, fresh tomato, blackened steak, gorgonzola cheese and a balsamic reduction sour cream. I adored the Artisan Burger topped with Bucheron goat cheese, fresh basil and roasted red peppers–not your typical burger experience (and next time I go back I am ordering it again). For dessert I was persuaded to try the homemade chocolate truffles which are made fresh weekly. They come in a variety of decadent flavors including milk chocolate hazelnut, dark chocolate raspberry, white chocolate a seasonal pumpkin. Just the right size to satisfy your chocolate craving without making you feel like you have over indulged. Plus, these little delights are only $1.65 each.

Monthly events include wine dinners and upcoming Holiday Wine & Champagne Tastings. The Festival of Holiday Wines will be held on Saturday, November 21st from 6-9pm. Open Tuesday thru Friday for lunch and dinner and Saturday and Sunday for brunch and dinner.

lubowines.com
1658 Pleasure House Rd
Virginia Beach, VA 23455
(757) 216-2900

Eurasia Café & Wine Bar is a small bar/restaurant near the Oceanfront in the Linkhorn shops on Laskin Road. It seats only about 40-50 people, so it has a cozy feel to it. They offer 18 wines by the glass/bottle with a focus on value wines. And who doesn’t want to get the best wine for their dollar? A nice selection of wines by the glass are available from $5-$14. I was pleasantly surprised, since it is nearly impossible to find a decent $5 – $6 glass of wine at a bar these days. I used to sell wine so you could call me a bit of a wine snob–but I know for sure you don’t have to spend a lot of money to drink good wine, you just have to know which wine to buy. I tasted the Nicholson Ranch Chardonnay from Sonoma, a delightful wine with rich mouth feel and light butter finish ($14 glass/$56 bottle). I would certainly compare it to Chardonnays twice the price (thus the value).

Beginning November 1st all wines are half price on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday evenings. What a wonderful deal! In case you are having trouble with your math that is a $2.50 glass of wine! If you are (a real wine snob and) searching for a specific bottle of wine, you can choose from the 1200 bottle selection at the adjoining PJ Baggan retail wine store. Bring the bottle into Eurasia for a $10 service fee.

The menu offers regional cuisine with Asian influence. Per the recommendation of a patron, I tried the Sashimi Tuna appetizer special. Any sashimi dish is only as good as the freshness of the fish, and this was excellent. Also enjoyable was the Beef Tenderloin Carpaccio with truffled egg salad and baby arugula with balsamic mustard vinaigrette. I liked that the appetizer serving sizes were generous enough for sharing. Entrees include Main Lobster “Mac & Cheese”, Sautéed Shrimp & Smoked Gouda Stone Grit Cake and Southern Style NY Strip Steak.

Eurasia offers a monthly $60 per person wine dinner that includes five courses perfectly paired with wines. I was given a few past menus to peruse and they all looked incredible. The next dinner will be held Monday, November 16th at 6pm and is by reservation only. Open Monday thru Saturday for lunch and dinner.

eurasiavb.com
960 Laskin Road
Virginia Beach, VA 23451
(757) 422-0184

View a photo album for this blog at vbnightlife.com. “Know where to go!”