Virginia Beach has developed a genuine craft beer scene over the past decade, anchored by several breweries within the city limits and a short hop from others in the Norfolk metro area. The local taprooms tend to be informal, family-friendly spaces that welcome the beach-vacation demographic without pandering to it — wood interiors, long communal tables, and rotating tap lists that reward return visits.
Back Bay Brewing Company, founded in 2012, was among the first serious craft breweries in the city and remains a reliable choice, with a taproom off Shore Drive that fills with a mixed crowd of locals and tourists. Reaver Beach Brewing operates from a larger facility in the Town Center area, with a more extensive tap list and occasional live music. Both produce IPAs, lagers, and seasonal releases that reflect the broader American craft beer sensibility without particular regional distinctiveness.
For coffee, the boardwalk options are mostly national chains, but the neighborhoods inland — particularly the Ghent-adjacent areas and the Hilltop district — have independent cafes worth seeking out. The Town Center area, built as a walkable urban district in an otherwise sprawling city, has the highest concentration of non-chain options, including cafes that function as genuine third places for the local professional population rather than tourist pit stops.