Dinner at Virgil’s Cafe, Bellevue Kentucky

Last night, after attending a high school graduate party (congrats, Jackie!) and a celebration of the life of a college friend of mine who recently passed away(Todd Norris, we miss you), Wendy & I had a goal: to find an interesting restaurant that we hadn’t visited before.

A quick search of names on OpenTable yielded Virgil’s Cafe in Bellevue Kentucky, and it had the dual benefits of being somewhere we hadn’t been and being in close proximity to the celebration for Todd.

After our events, we made our way to Bellevue, just a few minutes east of Newport on the Levee, and found parking on the street outside the small restaurant.

We entered (through the side door – the front entrance is a fire exit) the bustling restaurant, were promptly greeted by Kristy, and led to a 2-top in the front window, with a great view of the street and the folks playing with sparklers across the way.

Settling in, we were greeted by Amy, our server, and offered the menu. In addition to being very friendly, the service staff is prompt and attentive (our water glasses were topped up frequently and unobtrusively).

Our menu included:

• Marinated Olives with Fruit Butter: Lovely warm olives with a delicious pear fruit butter.
• Tomato Basil Bisque: Wendy really liked this soup!
• Fennel Citrus Salad: A classic old-school salad that was really refreshing on a warm evening.
• Shrimp Creole: Nicely spiced, the shoestring sweet potatoes on top added a nice texture.
• Scallops with Risotto: Great flavors, but overall the dish was …soft…
• Coconut Cream Pie: Both desserts were top-notch!
• Chocolate Tart:

Chef Matt came out at the end of the night to talk with the table next to us. On his way over, he greeted us and we realized that we knew each other. Matt & I actually went to college together! It was great to catch up with him, and we wish him the very best success with Virgil’s!