Doumars Cones & Barbecue

Everytime I come here I always get the steak which is cut very thin and put on a burger and the limeade. The steak is soooo good. However, the fries always seem hard and dry, like they’ve been sitting out for too long. Yesterday I went and they taste like they were like over cooked, they were really hard. Other than that, great atmosphere. The ice cream is ok. They have nice prices.

Go for the ice cream and the cones, both were very good and homemade. As far as the food and service, eh, alright. Had to keep asking the waitress for things (there were only a few tables) and the barbecue and slaw, very bland.

Hands down best homemade hamburger !! You want that drive in type this is the place! I had a cheeseburger with everything on it and a limeade !! Definitely will go back and ado I work in costumer service, they have amazing service ! Love it !!

Save your money and go to the Wendys next door. They give you burgers in a plastic saran wrap… even when you stay to eat in!!! No plates! And charge u about $ 2 for 5 fries. The only good thing about this place were the shakes and staff. The Staff was friendly and shakes werent all that bad… which is why i gave this place one star. But save your money and go elsewhere if u can!!!

When you want to take a step back in time and just slow down a little, this is a great place for a quick bite of nostalgia. The waitress named Kaitlin is super friendly and very customer service orientated. Did you know that Doumars invented the ice cream cone? Pretty cool bit of history. They have great milkshakes. The menu offers simplicity too. Hot dogs, hamburgers, grilled cheese, fries and a few other options too. Great place to stop in for a sundae after a show or perhaps a little lunch with the kiddos. You won’t find the Fonz here, but you will just pull up, turn on your lights and someone will come out and wait on you. They even put the food on your window like in the good old fashioned days.

Firstly walking into this establishment you would swear we were from Planet Mars. The employees and some patrons were staring at us in the most uncomfortable manner. The old man taking the take out order didn’t even answer when greeted with a hello, how are you?
When asked what would he recommend, his response «everything «.
That was the most awkward interaction I’ve ever had with a restaurant employee. I guess they’ve never seen or heard Caribbean people before in this area.
On to the food now. We ordered a cheeseburger and a minced pork sandwich with a banana milkshake and a limeade with real fruit according to the menu.
This was the most tasteless food I swear I ever ate. The cheeseburger was COLD, not even lukewarm and the cheese was that fake plastic cheese not even real cheese. The pork sandwich had NO BBQ SAUCE at all and no seasoning. The coleslaw was wet and runny and zero flavors to the chopped up cabbage because they’re was no carrot or anything else in it. The bread was wet and mushy and soggy. I tasted it and threw it away, my dog even refused it.
The limeade had NO REAL FRUIT and wasn’t even homemade, it was soda from a dispenser. The banana milkshake was vanilla ice cream with NO BANANAS.
IF YOU LIKE TASTELESS HORRIBLY COOKED INFERIOR FOOD THIS IS THE PLACE FOR YOU.

Iconic drive-​in with East Carolina style BBQ and ice cream. Recommend the famous waffle cones.

Doumar’s is the BEST! I’ve been eating there for over 27 years. My parents went on dates there back in the 50’s. Doumar’s is part of my DNA!
My favorites include the cheeseburger with lettuce, tomato and mayo. They cook the burger hard, which is the way I like it. I always get their specially made Cherry coke and fries to go along with the burger. Their pork BBQ sandwich is great too.
All their deserts are great, but I like the Ringo and chocolate shakes.
It’s best to eat in your car, since their is limited seating space on the inside. Eating in your car is part of Doumar’s charm.

Came here on my birthday, since I’d been dying to try it out. To be completely honest, I had only heard of Doumar’s by watching Food Network. I had very high expectations.
There’s a good-​sized parking lot, though the car service stations take up most of the lot. The actual building itself was a lot smaller than what I had imagined… one side dedicated to dining-​in and the other for to-​go. Servers jammed in the middle getting food around. Tables and seats crammed in what little space they had towards the back. booth and bar seating along the front.
Originally I had wanted to dine-​in, but since there was ZERO SPACE, we decided to order out. As we were waiting for our food, a table cleared up in the way back, and we were able to snag it. I ordered the cheeseburger with relish and onions; fries; orangeade and butter pecan ice cream on a waffle cone. The burger was meh, no flavor. Fried were just fries… however soggy, since they just wrap it in plastic bags. The ice cream was good, though I thought the waffle cone was a bit burnt. The lone waitress who was commandeering the overflowing dining boat, was great though. Friendly and polite even when there was a literal line of patrons out the door.
Might come back on a less crowded time and just for the ice cream… but other than that, not worth the stress.
btw, whatever hot sauce is on the table, is fantastic

I live within walking distance to Doumars which is both fabulous and frightening at the same time. Their burgers and shakes are fantastic! I’m especially partial to the root beer shake and plain cheeseburger. Unfortunately the craving seems to hit the most when I have friends over and we have been having some cocktails. (Remember, i can easily walk there!) Not going to lie, there have been a couple mornings that I found random tooth picks all around my apartment thanks to that craving for Doumars!
Doumars has been featured on tv for their waffle cone machine and they seem to have fresh cones being made all day. The sweet, sugary smell of the cones pulls me in every time!

It’s an icon of Hampton Roads for a reason. Old fashioned goodness at its finest. The best ice cream inside the original cones cannot be beat also the only place to get a decent banana split! This is a must try restaurant just for the nostalgia car hop atmosphere. With so many crappie restaurants in Hampton Roads this little gem is amazing and welcome treat.

It could get really packed and busy when you try to eat inside and could take a while for them to get your orders but your food comes quick.

I love the retro diner feel of this place, but you have the option to dine in or eat in the car like s drive in movie. The menu had a lot of classics — bbq, hamburgers, grilled cheese! Unfortunately I had already eaten dinner, and came just to try the ice cream. I choose a simple strawberry ice cream cone, and I must say I loved the simplicity of it. Delicious and refreshing ice cream, no need for all the other bells and whistles. Will come back and try the food another time!

Every town has an «institution.» This is a resturant that predates the memory of most people and whose food is known far and wide. For Norfolk, VA, Doumars is that place. Its a drive-​in although there is an inside seating area. You pull up under the awning and turn your lights on when needing the waitress. They grind their own beef, have a decent steak sandwich and serve «counter food.» The thing to get is their NC style pork BBQ sandwich with fine chopped slaw. Its a whole $ 2.60 and 2 will fill most people.
Now Doumars is nationally famous as well. The creator and founder also invented the ice cream cone. He introduced it in the 1920s at the Worlds Fair and the rest is history. The origional machine/​press is still used outside almost daily. The smell is heavenly. Their ice cream cones and shakes are the real winner here.
Come on by and taste real history, you wont regret it.

Doumars seems to be a well-​established Norfolk institution. Drive-​in service. Inventor of the waffle cone. I tried cone with a single scoop of strawberry ice cream: perfectly baby pink with real strawberry chunks. My friend ordered a root beer float, served in a styrofoam cup with whipped cream and a cherry. The total came out to be around $ 6.
Protip: bring cash if you plan to order one item, $ 5 card minimum.

I love local places and this is not only local-​but legendary. The place where ice cream cones were invented? YES PLEASE.
After eating an amazingly delicious dinner at ⁸⁰⁄₂₀ we headed up this way and I demolished a butter pecan cone. I went in to explore after since we just parked in the car for a hop girl to serve us.
The place is definitely old and has a lot of character. The guy was out making cones when we first got there-​so that was kind of cool to see.
Inside the workers were joshing each other and you could tell that they were pretty tight knit. That is always a good indicator at a family owned business.
I didn’t realize they sold BBQ here too-​and seriously, looking at the menu and snooping at the good they were making inside everything looks delicious and the prices are crazy cheap.
I can’t wait to return for a milkshake and some BBQ!

Doumar’s is an institution in Norfolk for a reason. The menu is simple and classic, but everything is so delicious. The service is pretty great for the most part. I love coming here, ordering my food, and sitting and chatting with my friends in the car. I have so many good memories because of this place.
My favorite things on the menu are the steak sandwich and the banana split. I love the banana split! The portions are fairly small considering what we’re used to from most other restaurants, but very reasonably priced. My friends and I like to order a couple of things to fill our appetites. And I’ve never left this place anything less than satisfied!
The atmosphere is very reminiscent of a classic diner. It seems as though not much has changed in the last 50 years. Right down to their uniforms!
Many of the servers are very friendly, and they memorize your orders quite perfectly. I am always very impressed when they’re able to repeat back our long list of food orders. I know I could never do it!
I love Doumar’s and will always come back for their great food and friendly service!

I saw this restaurant featured on the Food Network channel so I decided to give it a go.
First off, it looks MUCH better on TV. The first time I visited on a weekend and the restaurant floor was dirty, tables took forever to get cleaned off, and service was slow. Since it was my FIRST time, I did not know that you are suppose to seat yourself (now I know).
I ordered a cheeseburger, fries and limeade. The burger was delish, fries were a bit cold, and limeade tastes like a soda with extra sweetener and limes. I wouldn’t say this is a must have, but I guess that’s what they’re known for.
Second time I came here on a Friday afternoon, the floors were cleaner, service was friendly but extremely slow. I ordered a cheeseburger, fries and this time I wanted to try their orangeade drink. It wasn’t all that I expected, it tastes like watery orange juice, so I swapped it out for a limeade.
Overall, if you have a long lunch break (over an hour) I would suggest for you to come eat here, and if you are very patient. I don’t expect the service to be amazing, but I would appreciate it more if it was attentive. I wonder how many people have walked out without paying sometimes. (yes, service is that slow!)
I hope my next time here the service improves, but the food is worth the price and visit! =]

My first visit back since 1986 and the food is just like I remembered. The vibe is a little younger and more college students are frequenting now.
We ordered the chopped pork sandwich with slaw and nothing has changed.
Limeade still as good as it was when I was in my younger days.
I do not remember having any of the desserts in the 80’s but today I am on vacation so it’s splurge time. The hot fudge cake was a small square of buttery yellow cake, scoop of vanilla ice cream and hot fudge. It was worth the calories and the amazing low price. Less than $ 4. Sorry no picture, to busy diving in and forgot to snap the pic.
Even the logo t-​shirts were unbelievably inexpensive.
This is a local Norfolk landmark with over 100 years in business. We ate inside, but the do have car hop service if you want to stay in your car in the humidity. Ice cream is homemade and so are the cones. All fresh.
Keys to the restroom are on the big stick at the door. Vintage pink tile in the restrooms. Just a great place to come for the food and nostalgia.

Ahh my 100^th review! … How fitting that it’s about a place that is considered a landmark and staple of Norfolk. I’ve spent many times at Doumar’s dating back to the 8^th grade. I really enjoy their homemade ice cream & cones, as well as there food.
This place is a car hop, so you chose to eat in the car or go inside to dine in. When you walk in, the atmosphere is very homey. It’s almost like being transported into a scene from «Happy Days» haha.
Everything here is reasonably priced and the portions are too big, so you don’t have to worry about having to take anything home or wasting anything. The food is pretty tasty as well as satisfying. Overall, the atmosphere makes Doumar’s a great place to grab good a bite to eat & dessert with friends. You have to come here if you’re in the Hampton Roads area.