About Norfolk

We hope you’ll make yourself comfortable while you’re here. Below is a list of places to eat and things to do in case you’re not familiar with the Norfolk area. You will find even more information about the area in our Access Guide.

Lodging

SpringHill Suites by Marriott is located across the street from campus. To request an accessible room, call 757-423-4100 to make your reservation. If booking online, be sure to call within 24 hours after booking to make note of the need for an accessible room.

Food on campus (browse campus locations)

  • Chick-Fil-A (Webb Center)
  • Juice Bar 80/20 (Webb Center)
  • Panda Express (Webb Center)
  • Pizza Hut (Webb Center)
  • P.O.D. Market Express (Webb Center)
  • Qdoba (Webb Center)
  • Starbucks (Webb Center)
  • Steak ‘n Shake (Webb Center)
  • Subway (Webb Center)
  • Sushi with Gusto (Webb Center)
  • Einstein’s Bagels (Library)

Food just off campus

  • Osaka Ramen & Sushi (Monarch Way) – Sushi and ramen at reasonable prices. Good lunch specials.
  • La Herradura Tex/Mex (Monarch Way and ~43rd)
  • Hair of the Dog (Hampton and 49th) – Burgers and beer gastropub.
  • Del Vecchios (Hampton and 48th) – Daily lunch special from 11a-5p – two HUGE slices of pizza + drink for $5.
  • No. 7 Chinese Fast Food (Hampton and 48th) –  American-style Chinese food.
  • Lin’s Garden (Hampton and 40th) – American-style Chinese food.
  • Jimmy Johns (Monarch Way) – Sub and sandwich shop. Delivers to dorms, might need to come down if building is locked.
  • Tropical Smoothie (Monarch Way) – good vegetarian/vegan options.  Good smoothies and salads.
  • Insomnia Cookies (Monarch Way) – delivers cookies to hotels, dorms, and the local area until 3am.

Food Just a Little Further Off Campus

  • LeGrand Kitchen (4515 Colley) – Rockabilly-themed dinner-only establishment. Best burger in Norfolk.
  • Cogan’s Pizza North (4311 Colley) – Good pizza with a great upstairs outdoors balcony.
  • The Dirty Buffalo (4110 Colley) – Best wings in Norfolk.
  • Mazzika Mediterranean (Colley & 48th) – Excellent vegan menu.
  • Torch Bistro (601 Oropax) – Great lunch.  Open 11a-Midnight. Located near the shipyard 2 miles south of campus. Good vegetarian/vegan options.
  • Freemason Abbey (Downtown) – Best Sunday brunch in city? It’s likely. (9:30a-2p)  Pricier, good lunch. Open 11a-9:30p.
  • Captain Groovy’s (Ocean View) – Widely regarded as the best seafood in the city. Their $7 lunch special between 11:00-3:00 is an amazing value.
  • Rajput (W 21st Street) – very tasty and popular food from India. 

Stuff To Do

  • The Chrysler Museum of Art is free to the public and amazing. You can make the trip on your own or get a small group together. It is a beautiful space. Plenty of parking available. And the Glass Studio has free glass blowing demos every day by local artists.
  • Norfolk Botanical Gardens is a 155-acre public botanical garden that features over forty themed gardens, including seasonal gardens and a special WOW Children’s Garden.
  • Hermitage Museum & Gardens (N Shore Rd.) – The Hermitage features a nationally recognized art collection spanning 5,000 years, contemporary exhibition galleries, the newly renovated Goode Family Visual Arts School, and 12 acres of gardens and grounds that offer art and culture to the community.
  • The Slover Library (E. Plume St.)- Their collections include adult popular fiction and nonfiction, a youth library and learning center, and teen services. The branch offers computers, internet access, interactive displays and a digital media lab.
  • The Nauticus Museum in downtown Norfolk is a large maritime museum that covers the environmental and naval history of the Hampton Roads area. Paying a bit more for your entrance ticket grants access to walk around the decommissioned battleship the USS Wisconsin.
  • Baron & Ellin Gordon Art Galleries (Monarch Way) The Baron and Ellin Gordon Art Galleries exhibit works by nationally and internationally recognized self-taught artists, contemporary artists working in all media, and local and regional artists connected with Old Dominion University. Exhibitions are always free and open to the public.
  • Michael and Kimthanh Lê Planetarium on ODU’s campus has scheduled showtimes.
  • Naro Expanded Cinema (Colley) is an amazing indie movie theater not far from campus in the trendy Ghent area.
  • Eleanor’s Norfolk (Boush St.) – Locally owned feminist bookstore
  • Catnip Cat Cafe is a great place to hang out, drink tea or coffee, play games with friends or read…with about 17 cats to lounge in your lap. The Cafe features cats and kittens from area shelters/rescue orgs for adoption – even if you don’t take one home, the cover charge goes to help the shelters, and you get relaxing cat cuddles and play time in a cool space.
  • The Dragonfly Art Studio (Colley) The Area’s Premier Art and Pottery Studio in the Heart of Beautiful Ghent Norfolk.
  • Doumar’s is a local institution of delicious goodness since 1904 – ice cream, burgers, awesome – as featured on The Food Network and Travel Channel.
  • Ocean View Beach Park is a unique 6.5-acre beach park is considered the jewel of Ocean View. The park has a large band shell for presentations and dancing, a beach with lifeguards in the summer, a boardwalk, beach handicap access ramp, and lots of open green space.
  • Ocean View Station Museum (W Ocean View) The Ocean View Station Museum, tucked away in Norfolk’s quaint beachfront neighborhood of Ocean View, welcomes the public to explore the history of this neighborhood and the City of Norfolk.