Trilogy Bistro

birthday dinner for a friend & colleague while on travel.
asked for Crabbie’s Ginger Beer. turned out they were out, but our waiter suggested a mix that they do, of Gosling’s Ginger Beer (no alcohol) and Stella Artois Cidre. it was excellent.
great service, great food. been looking for the receipt to find our servers name, but no joy. hope they reward him anyway. well done.

Let me begin by saying I have given Trilogy a good review previously.
Right now not impressed with the service. Trilogy appears to be understaffed. We made a reservation and were seated upstairs at a table with an air conditioner. See picture.
We were seated here because the downstairs had a large party which required downstairs seating. On a side note: This summer we had reservations only to find upon arrival that the restaurant was closed for a private party.
We became the Bain of the restaurant tonight because we asked for the A/​C to be turned off because it was blowing on us and we had to talk loud.
Our Brie appetizer didn’t come because the bar had taken it.
The food was okay but not to the standard that I know of Trilogy. This made 2 visits in a row that I have been disappointed. I will go again because I know the quality it can be however if the next visits is like the last 2 then that is strike 3.

My girlfriend (Katrina M) and i were celebrating her birthday, just us two. I’ve heard nothing but great things about this place, so I decided to make a reservation, expecting it to be busy on a Friday night. That was wrong. I don’t understand why not though, because I had a great meal.
I love the atmosphere of the place. Dark, romantic, and classy. The bar section is nice, but they don’t have a lot of beers on tap, but they have an okay bottle list.
My tip for this place: Get the Best Caesar Salad Ever! That’s what it is really called, and it lives up to the name. I’ve never had a caesar salad that I’ve been that impressed with.
Most of our tapas were just okay to us. I’ll just rate them here:
Seared Scallops: ³⁄₅
The «Bloody Mary» (grilled flank steak and garlic rosemary mashed potatoes: ³⁄₅
Arancini: ⁴⁄₅
Biscotti Encrusted Green Tomatoes: ³⁄₅
Overall, I love the restaurants ambiance, and that caesar salad blew my mind.

Unbelievable. Had the she crab bisque. Amazing.
Special veal saltimbocca over porcini mushroom risotto, knock your socks off.
Very nice atmosphere, dark but not too dark.
Would eat here anytime.

We went here during restaurant week and were extremely impressed. It was definitely the best food you could get in Norfolk for $ 30! The She Crab Bisque was unreal. Fiancé had the risotto balls, which created good texture contrast for our first course. I had shrimp & grits which had a super delicious, unique chipotle cream sauce. I LOVED it! Fiancé’s stuffed bassa (which is a type of fish) was impressive and also delicious. For dessert, the Bada Bing Martini (kahlua, bailey’s, ammaretto, and espresso) was right up our ally. Paired with the caramel crème brûlée…it was a homerun dessert course for sure!
Trilogy is definitely our new special occasion restaurant and we are really excited to go back after restaurant week!

I have been to Trilogy 3 – 4 times.
Food: Excellent overall
— Veal Saltimbocca is the best I’ve ever had. I don’t typically like veal.
–New zealand rack of lamb: Had this once because someone at the table recommended it, I don’t love lamb it was pretty good.
— Sea scallops and carolina shrimp: excellent. Well seasoned and perfectly cooked.
–Mac and cheese: really good as far as mac and cheese goes.
–Best Caesar salad: ehh… it’s pretty good.
Service:
–Service has been great every time.
Décor is formal, dark, a little gloomy in my opinion but overall nice.
Impression:
1. One of the best restaurants in Norfolk. Excellent food. I would take out of town guests here for a nice dinner.
2. Veal is a highlight.
3. Best Caesar salad ever… not really.

Restaurant Week Review!
I decided to head out to Trilogy with a friend for restaurant week and boy were we treated right.
First, it didn’t feel like we were attending a restaurant week event, the portion sizes were very generous, the hostess and waitress were both pleasant, courteous and attentive. The waitress was also very professional in her sales techniques, meaning, she would tell us, «Oh, you liked that, yes it’s on our menu all the time!», or, «You’ll have to come back and try the X if you liked the Y!» So in short, Trilogy for Restaurant Week was a win.
On to the food!
We had the She Crab Bisque and Apple/​Pear salad for our appetizers. I *never* state that somewhere has the best She Crab, because inevitably someone will disagree. But I can safely say it was one of my top two in the area.
For our entrees we had… er… I can’t remember the spelling, but it was basically a stuffed Vietnamese catfish (Basse?) and I had the veal which was topped with a crispy mozzarella and prosciutto served on a risotto. Both were fantastic and a sensible serving size.
We finished with the Crème Brule and Strawberry Napoleon. Very generous portions here, they didn’t want you to leave hungry.
The bar had a full page of Martini’s and drinks, plus a good assortment of wine.
For $ 30, I would argue this is quite possibly one of the best deals you’re going to see during Restaurant Week, and a great meal even when it’s not. One of my favorite places in Norfolk.

Trilogy is one of my favorite restaurants in downtown Norfolk. The décor is very modern yet still has an upscale feel. All of the staff were very polite and attentive to our needs.
We came during restaurant week and starting on the first day it was already booked. We managed to place a reservation earlier before it got too crowded. For appetizer, we ordered the she crab bisque and pear & apple salad. The bisque was rich and creamy with a hint of sherry and generous amounts of crabmeat. The salad had apricot vinaigrette, pecans, bleu cheese, and diced pears and apples.
Pic:
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For entrée, we got the veil saltimbocca and broiled crab cake. The veil was pretty good, it had a thinly sliced layer of prosciutto with melted mozzarella on top, served with mushroom risotto. However, my favorite was definitely the crab cake. Our server said that was the most popular dish ordered, and it was 100% fresh crab cake with no substitute ingredient inside.
Pic:
Pic:
Dessert, we got the crème brûlée and strawberry napoleon. The crème brûlée was pretty standard, I would definitely recommend the napoleon though. It consisted of fresh strawberries, layers of pastries, house made preserves and ice cream. Also, the badabing martini was pretty legit as well. It was weird having that as a dessert, but it was delicious.
Pic:
Pic:
Food: 5
Value: 4
Service: 5
Overall: 4.67

Gorgeous venue! Built originally as a bank.
Really great food!
Very friendly, helpful wait staff!

I just happened to find this place (as the bartender told me one of the best kept secrets of norfolk) I only visited the bar, bartender knowledgeable of of the selection of beers. Which was a gd selection. Convo was gd.
Decorated beautifully, an very relaxing my next date night I will b trying their food

I’m definitely a fan of Trilogy Bistro. The atmosphere is simply classy. The bistro is located in what used to be a bank. With it’s dim lighting, dark color scheme, jazz in the background and large comfortable booths I find it to be the perfect place for either date night or a nice intimate dinner with friends. Not to mention they have wonderful food!
Service with each of my visits has been impeccable. One night after leaving the American Rover fireworks cruise, I was hungry and craving a good steak. Although it was nearly closing time, we were welcomed into the Bistro, enjoyed a wonderful meal and never felt rushed at all.
The she crab soup, crab cakes and of course their steaks are some of my favorites. I especially enjoyed the Bourbon Peppercorn Cream on a steak one night. Several wines are offered by the glass and I find their wine selection by the bottle to be quite nice although pricey. I do have to complement our server one night (I wish I could remember his name) who recommended a wine that not only went quite well with our steaks, but also very nicely complimented our chocolate dessert at the end of the meal. The wine was perfect and the price was under $ 40 for a bottle. So although there are pricey options on the wine list, there are also affordable offerings that are delicious. Their cocktail/​martini menu is fun and inventive and a nice addition to the traditional offerings.
I definitely make it a point to visit when I have the opportunity to be in the Norfolk area. I have never been disappointed with Trilogy Bistro!

I was hoping to introduce my wife to Trilogy’s Napolean dessert (alternating layers of puff pastry, pastry cream, house made preserves, and topped with strawberries) for her birthday and walked in to find it was restaurant week.
We each enjoyed a wonderful 3 course meal… appetizers of she crab bisque and a delightful pear and apple salad., delightful entrees with daring combinations that worked well, and decadent desserts (but sadly no Napolean).
The décor is one of the nicest treats you’ll find in Norfolk; a nineteenth century bank given new life as a restaurant with the bank vaults still intact in the kitchen. Even the walk to the restroom upstairs revealed neat historic art prints… lastly, their choice of music is just plain swanky — Frank Sinatra and mid-​century jazz to round out a perfect evening.
Lastly, their mixed cocktails were very nice but I could do without the trendy names; just give me a vintage cocktail with the old names any day… or even a draft beer. Beer on tap would earn Trilogy another star in my book, but other than that… a pure delight for the palette, eyes, and ears.

We hadn’t planned to spend Christmas Eve here, but it was one of the few places we could get a reservation for six. I’m really not sure why they weren’t busier, but the food was wonderful.
In summary — the filet was better than the strip (no surprise), the Catch of the Day was great, and the tuna was fantastic. The sides we tried — mushroom risotto, seafood risotto, Yukon au gratin — were all great, as were our apps (fried green tomatoes, bread service, calamari, apple & pear salad). There wasn’t anything «kid friendly» on the menu, and while I thought the chef’s Mac-​n-​cheese was good, my seven-​year-​old begged to differ.
While the service was a bit slow — it appeared that our waiter was also teaching the bartender to make cocktails throughout the evening — we enjoyed the experience and may stop back once the little one’s pallet becomes more refined!

Food’s really good. Wine list too but a wee bit aspriationally priced. But the real plus is the hot server. Full marks for her. Place is totally hilarious, if they decide they like you, it’s like a fancy version of Outback: «no rules, mate.» I sat in this huge booth that had previously had a «reserved» think on the table. Instead I got flirted with.
What a nice meal.
I’d love to come back.

Amazing service, wonderful atmosphere, great food
My wife and I went to trilogy to celebrate her birthday. We have been to many fine restaurants and this one was among the best we have recently been to. My wife’s filet was perfectly done… Difficult to find in our experience. My chicken piccata was one of the best I have ever had. The waiter… Miguel… Was excellent. Attentive without being intrusive. The menu is limited but what they do, they seem to do about as good as one could do it.

Trilogy Restaurant Week review:
Always a friendly staff at Trilogy, the bartenders are always generous and friendly but the food was a little off this time. The soup was fantastic, the surf and turf entrée was sent back (not because it was inedible, it was just sent out medium well when I ordered medium rare) — it was returned quickly and perfectly cooked. The crème brullee had a nice presentation however it was just all around gross. It had the consistency and flavor of boxed vanilla jello with a hard surface. I have absolutely had better and I know this restaurant is capable of better.
As for my dinner accomplices meal she also enjoyed the soup, however her bassa was a poor fillet; 20% inedible due to shallow cuts leaving muscle and connective tissue that was too thick to cut thru (note: I strongly believe they did not fillet their own fish, they likely came in like this but this is a quick and easy resolve with careful prepping.) she enjoyed her key-​lime pie however it looked like a St. Patrick’s day celebration attacked her plate.
Last note the whipped cream had a poor mouth feel and was likely made the day before — this can be resolved by whipping it with a whisk (per the pastry chef dining on it).
I will always come back to Trilogy. Restaurant week is stressful — the meal was well recovered from their execution errors and we left overall satisfied — just not ecstatic.
Ladies also, point of advice: Never wait last minute in your cocktail dress and heels to use the restroom at this establishment. It involves an elevator and many confusing lefts and rights to find the lavatory. This is not an easy task after two «Italian grandmothers» (Trilogy Specialty Martini)

Great restaurant if you’re in the mood for fine dining. I’ve been here three times already, and service/​food/​atmosphere has been great. It’s quieter than 456 Fish and a good place to have an intimate dinner with close friends or your beau. The «best caesar salad ever» isn’t the best I’ve ever had, a bit overhyped. But the crab mac & cheese is great! Hearty portion that filled me up pretty much by the time I received my entrée. Lamb and prime rib were great. Crème Brulee was good too. It’s also on the quieter end of Granby St, so if there’s nice weather outside, it’s quite easy to take a nice after dinner walk down Granby/​Main St. This should be near the top of anyone’s bucket list of restaurants to try.

I was extremely disappointed that the overall rating for this restaurant was a 4.5 but our experience was less than that, at most a 3.5 rating.
We arrived without reservations, but they allowed our table of 8 to be seated. We were seated promptly. Unfortunately, we were waiting for one of our friends to arrive before putting in our order together. We were seated at 6pm but didn’t order until 6:45pm. By 7:30pm, we were told that our food was taking a while to cook because a large party was in the restaurant so the chefs were preparing their food first. The restaurant offered us complimentary sorbets to cleanses or palates and to fill our bellies for a short while to thank us for our patience. Our food did not arrive until about 8:05pm. We were STARVED.
After we had finished our dishes, our waitress took about 15 minutes to prepare our checks. We did not understand why it took so long. She explained that she was new and had only worked in the restaurant for a month and we were her first «Grat» table. I think «Grat» meant gratuity (20% is added to groups of 6 or more). Anyways, our bills came out all sorts of wrong because she billed us to include the 20% tip, but charged our credit card without the 20% tip.
FYI, the bathrooms here are small, old, and pretty scary. You have to walk up two flights of stairs or take an elevator to go to the bathroom. This building used to be an old bank and I guess they could not get a permit to build a bathroom on the first floor!!!
Everyone said their food was delicious, but we don’t want to relive this experience ever again!

This is a fabulous little find in a surprisingly foodiesq city of Norfolk. We didn’t have reservations on a Friday night, good thing we came early ’cause the place was already packed by 6:00.
We knew we were off to a great start when the bread arrived warm and toasty… accompanied by the most yummy sundried tomato butter. I started with the chicken and crab soup (I think) while Alex got the calamari, which was beyond delectable.
For the main course we both had fish… I had the salmon spacial, I think Alex picked off the menu… possibly the fish of the day. Both were good, but the unidentified whitefish whose name escapes me was particularly fantastic.
The pinot noir was fabulous… as was the desert. All around a fantabulous meal. Not to mention great service (although I think our waitress was new) and fantastic atmosphere.
Two snaps up in a circle! I’d definitely go back.

My friend and I had finished up at an all day wine fest and were pretty hungry so decided to stop in at Trilogy around 5pm. We had popped into Trilogy before on a Saturday night after 9 but it was sufficiently packed inside, but we liked what we saw inside so we vowed to return.
We pretty much opened the place and were the first ones served. We both lamely decided to order the same thing (what can I say, we both have equally exquisite taste) and ordered the petite crab cake and the Ahi Tuna salad. The crabcakes were delicious, they were in a sort of spicy mustard and lemon/​curry aioli. The ahi tuna salad was equally delicious, definitley fresh sushi-​grade tuna in very good balsamic chilli reduction.
They have an interesting martini list and I really wish I had room for dessert but i would like to go back and try their flourless chocolate torte. Their wine/​glass selection isn’t bad. They let us try a couple and then we opted for the Verde Vino (that you can also find at Trader Joes), which is an effervescent summer white. So good.
Overall, we were extremely impressed with our food, drinks, service, and the ambiance. This is definitley a classy place that I would love to return and try other dishes. One note: the bathroom is located in another building on the 2^nd floor. I don’t know how «normal» that is for downtown Norfolk, but it was slightly annoying. Either way, good experience all around.