leaping lizard cafe

hidden gem in hampton roads. it was outstanding! we tried numerous dishes and not one of them were below exceptional. i think they grow much of their own produce and menu is reflective of what's in season. it is obvious that they hire creative chef's who are willing to try new dishes. you will not be disappointed with giving them a try.

not worth the hype. we decided to pick this place for a saturday lunch while on our way from richmond to virginia beach. since we like to watch guy, we thought it would be worth the detour. i am sorry to say that it was absolutely disappointing. my chicken salad sandwich was pathetic. i struggled to finish it off and couldn't. my wife tried the cheese sandwich and she said that it was average - she is usually generous in these matters. the chicken tortilla soup was pretty average too as was the sweet potato salad. the only saving grace(s) were the minutemaid lemonade from a can and the different-than-usual flavors in all the food items. the hostess and waitress were friendly enough and the ambience (sitting outside next to a soccer field) was pleasant. in summary, go there for a different dining experience but if you are someone like me (an indian who is used to delicious food everyday) or used to good multicultural cuisine, then avoid this place.

first visit. was referred by a neighbor to check out this place. went there for the first time yesterday and have no regrets. food was great.

absolutely delish!!. a friend and i stopped here last friday for lunch. i had seen the ddd show and wanted to go but i live across the bay. anyway, a doctors trip brought me across the bay and as a trip to care-a-lot was in the plan, and i found out how close we were to the restaurant, so we decided to go.what a treat! it smelled like heaven! very busy but the service was good and very friendly. i had the quinoa chicken salad and my fried had the fish taco. everything was delightful, fresh, eye-appealing and plentiful. prices are reasonable, lunch for 2 and i had enough for lunch the next day, was $25.00. most lunch items were between 8-12 dollars. i have another appt this friday and will be going back!

i have to say the food was really good! but i didn't know they had outdoor seating which i would have liked to sit outside and the service wasn't all that great.

are we talking about the same restaurant?. seriously, it astounds me so many people liked this place. i did not and will not return.
reasons
1) bland food. on a scale of 1 to 5 it was a 2 at best
2) limited selection on the menu
3) extremely cramped eating space. most living rooms are larger than their indoor dining area
4) long wait for service
5) poor service, on a scale of 1 to 5 it was a 3 at best
-i hate it when the waitress calls me 'honey' (what is this a waffle house).
- i asked for sweet tea
-a refill would have been nice
-long wait for a sandwich of a quality that i could have made better in my own home

wish i had gone to a sushi bar or panera instead, or ate at moe's for about half the price.

awesome food, service & environment.

too good for words!. my boyfriend and i are new to the hampton roads area and have been scouting for amazing places to eat since before we moved here. we just so happen to be in the leaping lizard cafe area so we decided to check it out.

-my boyfriend was told by people at work that it was amazing. i am a food network junkie and try to go to all the places on diners, dive-ins, and dives so of course after seeing the leaping lizard on it, i had to go!

it was amazing. we started out with their hummus. it is not a traditional hummus but it was so good! a girl to the table next to us ordered a mojito, it looked so good we ordered two of them. i strongly suggest ordering one when you are there. although the entrees sounded amazing, we decided to go with sandwiches since everyone else in the cafe had one. i ordered a half sandwich with soup. the soup of the day was fish chowder and the sandwich and soup was to die for!!! i only wish we had room for dessert!

great restaurant...gift shop--not so much!. our family vacationed in va beach the week of 08/10-08/17 and our eldest daughter researched places that had been featured on food network shows, and ll was one we chose to visit. we browsed through the gift shop prior to eating and experienced a similar situation as mentioned in previous reviews--the owner/manager was either on a personal phone call or was engaged in a conversation with a non-customer! she did not bother to greet us or offer any assistance. pricey items, too--does not seem to mirror the atmosphere of the restaurant. lunch was a wonderful experience for our family--light, very fresh, and our server showed us true hospitality! it was a gorgeous afternoon and we enjoyed lunch on the back porch, complete with a visit to their produce market at the end of our meal. focus your time and attention on the restaurant!

totally wonderful expirience!. my family and i came down to virginia beach for vacation this week and after seeing leaping lizard cafe on triple d, i knew we had to try it.
it is a little different cuisine, but still very, very good. service was very nice. we had a lady named laura as our waitress and she was awesome! very personable. (haha she started calling me and my sister "honey" and "sweetheart") she also gave us names of several other resturants that are very good. laura even gave us a free cookie dessert thing at the end of the meal.
thanks laura for making it amazing. guys, ask for laura- she's awesome.
p.s. the chicken salad was really great.

delighted from smithfield !. my mother and i finally got the opportunity to try ll and we were both very pleased ! we both ordered the half turkey blt, hers with soup, mine with salad. the turkey is freshly roasted there on premises. mom said that it was one of the best turkey sandwiches that she's ever had, and that is saying a lot ! my mother is a tough customer! i also loved the sandwich and both halves were very large. the potato salad was not your run-of-the mill ps, thank god, and was yummy! her soup was a chicken corn soup and it was very tasty. my salad had a basil dressing that was delish! we shared the chocolate ganache cake. the cake was very moist and yummy and the ganache icing was dark, chocolaty and fabulous. we will definately go back as there were so many scrumptious things on the menu that we want to try. on our next trip to va beach.

one unfortunate thing that i hate to mention. i looked for a way to send a private email as i hate to publicly critisize, but did not find a website; while visiting the gift shop, the shop attendant was on a personal call our entire time we and another couple were there. i wanted to ask a couple questions about the jewelry at the counter, but she never offered help while i stood there at the counter. i saw many very interesting things in the shop that i may have wanted to take with me that day... very rude and unprofessional ! i hope that she will be more interested in selling some pretty things next time. all in all, we loved the food and will be going back. :)

after eating here the past three years, we felt the quality of food wasn't as good as before. the crab cakes were smaller and cold. the corn wasn't tasty. the potatoes weren't cooked enough. not sure if they changed chefs or grew to big.

out of bread. i had been looking forward to having lunch at this place. it's a 20 minute drive for me. upon arrival i was told they were out of bread. 75% of the menu is sandwich based. a waist of my time. i ate accrost the street at tast unlimited it was marvelous.

lives up to the hype. my wife and i went here on our honeymoon trip to virginia beach. we are big fans of diners, drive-in's and dives, and the episode featuring the leaping lizard is actually the one that made us want to spend our honeymoon in the area. us being from kentucky, we hadn't actually eaten at any of the restaurants featured on triple d, so we were very excited to get to eat here. we went around 2 o'clock during the week. the place was a little crowded, but most of the patrons were sitting outside. we elected to go inside, due to the heat. i had the turkey blt, and it was absolutely phenomenal. my wife had the turkey wrap, and it was also great. my wife normally never eats potato salad, but the leaping lizard's take on the side item made her rave, even two weeks later. we shared a piece of the cappuccino fudge for dessert, and i'm normally not a big fan of fudge, but it was good. you could easily tell that the food was made with the fresh, local ingredients they claim. this was the best meal we had during our 4-night stay in virginia beach, as well as the cheapest, and we ate at several different places that are highly regarded on urban spoon. if i were visiting virginia beach again and could only pick one restaurant, it would be the leaping lizard 100% of the time. go check it out, you won't regret it!

recycle menu!?!. their lunch menu is minimal, which is fine when there is variation; however, it's seems that nearly all the dishes can be recycled into tomorrow. ask for something that does not have a common denominator/staple-base ingredient, and they are "out" of that choice. my advice: if you have a small menu, make sure you can cater to it!