Freemason Abbey Restaurant

First, just come here because of the design. Whoever took this church and applied the look is one heck of a designer.
Stopped in for a business lunch and our wonderful hostess brought us up to the balcony and provided us with the corner table. Very private and full view of the restaurant.
I had the home made Veggie Burger with the standard fry fare. Everything was fixed perfectly. My associates had a burger — burger, and the other the luncheon special, which with the size he took the other half home! Was a surf and turf plate that received rave reviews.
Great service!
A good spot!

One of my favorite places to go for brunch because its reasonably priced and you get a lot of food. They give you free fresh biscuits too!

The service was exceptional, from calling in to make a reservation, to our arrival and table side service. Our meals were very flavorful, well executed and visually appealing. Their menu is varied so that anyone — vegetarian, pescatarian, meatatarian, has delicious options. And did I mention that the Abbey is beautiful.

The service was excellent, the atmosphere was great and the food was very very good. I had the fried green tomatoes and a spinach salad. Both were very good! ! I would definitely recommend this place. The price was good for the environment and the quality of food.

Let me start off by saying I love the fact that this still looks like an old church. I love old architecture, particularly old churches. The staff here is amazing and more than gracious even with the larger than life party we attended there. They didn’t mess up a thing and the food was incredible. I am more than please with the service I received.

Hit this place up after work. Met some friends to catch up on olé times. The she-​crab soup was awesome. A must try. I had the Seafood Fantasia and it was off the chain. My friends had the Smoked Gouda Tenderloin Penne and loved it! Definitely will be back!

Nice historical church for a office dinner. Wait staff was attentive. Food was unremarkable but the presentation was nice.

My husband and I came here Sunday around 2pm. We just missed brunch so we can’t tell you how the breakfast fare is. We both ordered the burger with all the fixings (cheese, mushrooms, bacon, and grilled onions). My husband got this grilled onion marmalade which was slightly sweet. For our appetizer we got fried green tomatoes, a mimosa for me, and a screw driver for him. We got the chocolate cheesecake ganache for dessert and two cups of coffee.
Overall I would give this place a 3.5÷5 in terms of the food. It wasn’t out of this world, although the fried green tomatoes were pretty amazing. The burgers were good, but nothing to write home about. The mimosa was pretty standard as was the screw driver. My husband also got the abbey rose, which is a tropical drink, which he seemed to enjoy.
Ultimately, it was a nice place to try and I’ll probably come back for breakfast or maybe dinner, but not lunch. The waitress was nice and helpful, but we didn’t get refills on water and we had to ask for the dessert menu. She also disappeared for a while although we were ready to order.
My feelings leaving were that I am full but not satisfied.

I have been to freemason’s about 6 times. Once for lunch. Lunch was a bit lackluster compared to the dinner experience.
Dinners
The I have ordered the she-​crab every time and it is very good, not as good as Stiney’s, but still excellent. The surf and turf was delivered hot and rare as ordered. The shrimp and lobster were cooked nicely not overdone. Have not had the scallops or oysters. Veggies nice and al dente.
Entrees are reasonably priced and the ambiance of the place is great and non intimidating. Service at dinner varied from good/​acceptable to the server was a big part of why the evening went so well our group of 8 tipped %200 that time. yes two hundred percent.
Service and ambiance push this from a 3.5 to 4 star review.

Great restaurant in an old church setting. They have very diverse menu. With some night being theme nights where they have meats such as buffalo, venison and such. They are prepared not only for taste bit presentation. Great place for a nice quaint night out with a glass of wine.

Freemason Abbey is easily on my go-​to list for places to get a great meal. You can get a bite when you want a sandwich or a full sit-​down formal meal.
I’ve come here a few times and always enjoyed my visit. Today we came for brunch since they extended their restaurant week special. There was a 2 course $ 12 special with three sandwiches and either a soup or dessert. I had the she crab soup and a BBQ sandwich. My friend had the she crab soup and turkey melt.
The plus side. The sandwiches were tasty. The turkey was better than the BBQ. The soup was spot on. The bread is all baked in site and that is my only non-​positive remark. The bread for the BBQ sandwich was soft and tasty but it couldn’t stand up to the BBQ. By the end of the sandwich the bread was breaking down. Don’t get me wrong, this was a delicious meal. The bread just happened to be a little soft.
Freemason Abbey is a terrific spot and should be on everyone’s bookmark.

This is a 2 star restaurant that could easily be a four star with improved customer service and quality control. The food was slightly above average but our dining experience was so bad I do not think we will be back.
We visited Freemason Abbey for a special lunch and were very disappointed. We ordered a filet and lobster, so it was 3 times the cost of their typical lunch fare but that was okay for this occasion.
We placed our order and waited… and waited… and waited for nearly an hour! No bread, no waiter. Finally our food arrived and everything was literally ice cold and that is no exaggeration. The plate must have sat 15 – 20 minutes before delivered to our table.
We told our waiter our meals were cold who then took the plates away and said he would talk to a manager. After about 15 minutes, a manager brought out our lunches, without an apology or explanation. Really bad customer service.
Okay now to the food. The lobster was suppose to be a 4 oz. lobster tail that tasted good but if it was 2 oz. I would be surprised. The filets were 8 oz. and inconsistently seasoned. My girlfriends filet had way too much pepper and mine lacked any salt or pepper. Most chefs can tell how a steak is cooked just by the feel, but our filets were cut into to tell if they were cooked properly. Very unusual in a better dining establishment.
Our sides of mashed potatoes were very good but the mixed vegetables were so inconsistent between our two plates. I had mainly onions, with some squash and carrots. My girlfriend had the full blend of vegetables.
We had the apricot brandy bread pudding for dessert that was very good.
Our check came and it was nearly $ 80 with tip, which I am sure was on the high end of their typical lunch. I thought we deserved an apology for the long wait and cold food. At a minimum we should have been offered a complimentary dessert or discounted bill.
Based on our dining experience, there is really no reason to return.
PS. I find it very strange that there are no management responses to these reviews. Maybe if they read them and discussed the comments (both good and bad) with their staff then improvements could be made. If management doesn’t care, why should the staff?

Me and my husband were in the area because of the ballet and we wanted a dinner to match. So we ended up getting there an hour before they closed. Our waitress Tammy was WONDERFUL!
I was happy with the menu, my husband was not. He ended up ordering a burger off the bar menu. Our food came quickly because we were the last people in but sad to say the meat tastes like nothing and whoever was cooking did know the difference between medium and rare. My husbands burger was RED, he only ate half. I had order my steak rare and it mooed when I poked it. My vegetable medley wasn’t cooked either.
The place was beautiful, the service was great but the cooks need to learn what salt is and that hamburger isn’t supposed to bleed
Ps. He just saw I was writing this and said «that was one of the worst burgers I have ever had»

I’ve been living in Hampton Roads for over a year and half and saw this place many times but it didn’t cross my mind to dine in. To me, it just one of many restaurants in Downtown Norfolk that wanted to make a difference but guess what I was totally wrong. I hate to admit but I should have try this place long time ago but also I am glad that I’ve waited because it was absolutely worth visiting.
Tonight was an unexpected visit, this place wasn’t the original plan I have in mind but I was already hungry and thought maybe this is the right time. I’ve been doing quite a bit of shopping at MacArthur Center and it was tirelessly enjoyable but my tummy was yearning for a delightful meal. The expectations was the word that I bear in my mind before coming here instead to enjoy the entire experience.
Honestly, I was blown away and surprised because the whole place looks incredibly amazing. Herewith the things that I love about this restaurant.
Overall restaurant outlook: setting, interior & lighting — Spectacular, Eye-​catching and Picturesque.
Food: Appetizer (She crab soup), Entrée (Blackened Tuna and grilled Asparagus with aioli sauce — Sumptous, cooked to perfection and taste absolutely divine.
Hospitality service: Tremaine, our server, did an awesome job. The embodiment of a passionate employee and good representation of the restaurant.
Here what I say more about the food. I think its very important people know how truly good this premises. Truthfully, the food was delicious and impeccable. The she crab soup was the highlight of my visit. I thought it was creamy, seasoned well and the best part it was filled with tons of crab meat. Voted as the best she crab soup; indeed I couldn’t hope for more. Also, I love the complimentary bread and butter and this is far the best bread I ever tasted.
If your coming with group I suggest you book ahead of time. The upper dining area in the second floor is spot on.
It was definitely a wonderful visit and I can’t be more excited of coming back.

Well, I was really excited to go here because I live across the street and thought it was such cool idea to turn an Abbey into a restaurant.
The place looks pretty cool inside– I think I would like it more if they didn’t have the awful carpet everywhere that really makes the place seem old and stuffy (and I don’t mean historically old. which it also is but thats why its cool!)
I got the Seafood Fantasia– and fantastic it was not. It was just okay and really it kind of made me feel a bit queasy afterwards. It came out lightning fast which was wonderful, and our server was very nice. But, the food just wasn’t really good.
I love the location and idea, but if the foods not great nothing can save a restaurant :/

Good, not amazing food. Fair prices, super building, and friendly hostess and waitress (Tiffany).
A little noisier than I expected.
I can safely recommend this place for visitors like myself.

Nice atmosphere, friendly service and delicious entrees!!! Went on Prime Rib Thursday, not to bad. My husbands Land and Sea was amazing! Filet Mignon cooked perfect and beautifully seasoned!
Thee best crab cake I’ve tasted in VA so far! The shrimp was sweet and buttery. Friday is Wild Game night… Kangaroo is the dish tomorrow… I’m interested!!! Definitely worth the trip!

I came here for restaurant week with my good friend and was super excited to finally get to check out this place. It’s in a good location and fairly noticeable from the street. It’s a beautiful building, and the interior is nice. They have their own private parking lot. We came at a 5:30 on a Thursday and there was plenty of parking when we got there and when we left.
We were seated upstairs in a booth. The seats aren’t too comfortable, with the pillow lining cushion constantly shifting back and forth, I guess it wasn’t tied down. Our waiter was fine, checking up on us once in a while.
The food was just so average. I started off with the drunken shrimp. It was a dish with 5 small shrimps on top of some seaweed. I’m so glad I came here for restaurant week and didn’t waste any more money on getting that as an app. The shrimp wasn’t seasoned or sauced. You’re really going to throw 5 small shrimps onto a plate and call that an appetizer? The seaweed was good. I’m use to the seaweed flavor, I’m not sure if others would enjoy it.
I got the scallops on top of orzo pasta and salsa for my entrée. It was just so average. I liked it, but it wasn’t anything too special. The salsa on top of it was a little weird. The flavors didn’t really blend together. The scallops were nicely cooked. I got the mixed berry cake as a dessert. Eh. Nothing special. It just tasted like a frozen cake to me. Guess I should have added the raspberry sorbet on top.
If you’re into average food, this might be your place. But otherwise, I would save my money and calories for one of the other many restaurants on in downtown Norfolk.

Four stars for the atmosphere and the service. Three stars for the food. I had She Crab soup and it was just ok. Also had seafood Fantasia and it was not good. Pasta was over done and the sauce was so heavy you couldn’t taste the seafood. I ate the seafood out of it and ignored the rest. My hubby had the pork chop and it was mostly bone. He said he got about four bites of meat. Highlight of the meal $ 3 mimosas.

My husband and I enjoyed our meals very much.
I do feel that it was more casual that I expected.
My husband got the broil platter. He was very happy with his crab cake.
I not a fan of seafood did the obvious. Ordered a steak. The filet mignon was excellent.