Passion, The - Chesapeake

Had dinner here earlier this week. It's small inside quaint but cute with a nice bar. We chose to sit at a more quiet and comfy table. The menu has a lot of appetizers we chose to order a bunch of those and a caprese salad (my favorite). The appetizers we chose were: Blackened Tuna Bites a large portion of small, chopped blackened tuna bites with a creamy sauce. Shrimp and Grits cheesy jalapeno grits with two breaded and fried jumbo shrimp on top. Cheese Tray three types of cheese with three different accompaniments and crackers. Truffle Fries A generous portion of thin sliced fries with truffle oil and scallions and truffle salt. The fries were really good and the grits were sooooOooooo good. They were spicy but just a bit, with a balsamic type sauce on top. The shrimp were too heavily breaded and over fried you couldn't even taste the shrimp. I wasn't too happy with that. The cheese plate wasn't my favorite, it was standard and I didn't love all the cheese. The caprese was small only three slices of tomato with three small pieces of cheese. Tuna bites were pretty good and it was a very generous portion. We got coffee which the server told us was Keurig surprising. It was OK but I'd expect a better coffee at a place with prices like $35 for entrees. The service was also great. Our server was polite and attentive but not too attentive. I'd come back. I wasn't blown away. But I'd come back.

I would like to have visited the restaurant before writing this review, but the e mails I sent inquiring about their menu and wine list were rebuffed with very strange one word responses. The Passion the Restaurant website claimed the restaurant was fine dining and recently purchased, so I wanted to check out a few simple things first (as I have learned to do these days). Fine dining is a restaurant experience that is typically more sophisticated, unique, and expensive than one would find in the average restaurant like Outback, Olive Garden, etc.; think Ruth 's Chris, Morton 's or especially Bob 's Steak and Chop House. Many restaurants serving beef attempt to misguide customers about the quality of their beef in various ways. Fortunately, the USDA has stringent marketing regulations against this, but restaurants will continue to shamelessly try anyway. I asked three things directly about their menu in the e mail, the first was if their Ribeye was actually graded USDA Prime (because they list it on their menu as Prime cut which isn 't USDA Prime, but I just wanted to see if the owner would be completely honest about it). Below is the e mail string in it 's entirety by Passion the Restaurant (with their one word responses): Original message From: Chris A @yahoo.com Date: 9/8/21 4:57 PM (GMT 05:00) To: [hidden email] Subject: Question About Your Menu Passion The Restaurant 1036 Volvo Pkwy #3, Chesapeake, VA 23320, Thank you for taking the time to answer a few questions about your restaurant. Your menu includes two beef steaks; a Ribeye Steak 10 oz. Prime Cut Certified Angus Beef and an 8 oz. Black Angus aged Filet . 1. Is the Ribeye graded USDA Prime or is it a Certified Angus Beef brand Prime product. 2. What is the USDA grade of the beef tenderloin, if it isn 't a CAB beef product? 3. Your website menu has a repetitive 2 page wine list by the bottle ; do you have any wines by the glass? Thank you again for your time. Cordially, My name My e mail My phone number On Wednesday, September 8, 2021, 06:00:40 PM EDT, hrvaeating [hidden email] wrote: W Yes. Sent from my Verizon, Samsung Galaxy smartphone Original message From: Chris A @yahoo.com Date: 9/8/21 8:07 PM (GMT 05:00) To: hrvaeating [hidden email] Subject: Re: Question About Your Menu Passion The Restaurant 1036 Volvo Pkwy #3, Chesapeake, VA 23320, Not sure what the Yes was for. Was hoping for a little more detail, please. Can you provide that? It would certainly be appreciated, thank you... Cordially, My name My e mail My phone number On Wednesday, September 8, 2021, 08:53:46 PM EDT, hrvaeating [hidden email] wrote: Yes Sent from my Verizon, Samsung Galaxy smartphone Original message From: Chris A @yahoo.com Date: 9/8/21 9:24 PM (GMT 05:00) To: hrvaeating [hidden email] Subject: Re: Question About Your Menu Passion The Restaurant 1036 Volvo Pkwy #3, Chesapeake, VA 23320, I 'm just checking your menu before arriving, guess we won 't be trying your restaurant. So much for fine dining in Chesapeake. In fact, I will be forwarding this chain to everyone I know in the area... Cordially, My name My e mail My phone number hrvaeating [hidden email] To: Chris A Wed, Sep 8 at 9:49 PM OK Sent from my Verizon, Samsung Galaxy smartphone That was the end of the e mail string... Every restaurant that uses the word Prime on their menu or exterior signage (especially when it precedes the beef item), should be ready to back it up with a grade USDA Prime shield. That 's not just for steaks either, but also for that so called advertised Prime Rib , because if that rib roast isn 't actually graded USDA Prime, it 's just another generic quality standing rib roast. But a more truthful USDA Graded Choice shield, would look pretty odd sitting next to an advertised Prime Rib roast (so they don 't, they just fool you into thinking it 's graded USDA Prime). Obviously, Passion the Restaurant is attempting to create the illusion their beef is of a higher quality than it is in reality. They intentionally hide the fact their beef isn 't USDA Prime, nor is it dry aged in any specific way that would reflect fine dining quality (just wet aged in the cryovac bag it was purchased in, does nothing to tenderloin since it has no heavy connective tissues to break down). Oh, I didn 't even bother about their generic wine. They claim to be fine dining , but won 't admit their food quality or wine availability by the glass...

I was not really happy with the food quality here. I would not call it a fine dining restaurant as they advertise it. I had the rib eye and I ordered it rare. It was most decidedly not rare probably closer to medium and the cut of steak did not seem to be premium to me. I like steak and this steak was not great. For food alone I would have to give this establishment 2 stars. That being said we were traveling from Pa to the outer banks and staying in Chesapeake for 1 night on our way. The atmosphere here was very nice and I had 3 glasses of house Malbec which I have to say tasted good. Also sitting outside on the patio was nice after driving all day. The server really made our meal. She was very friendly and accommodating. I could not send the steak back with such a nice server. The bottom line is this place is expensive for what it is and the food is not the best. However the friendliness of the staff made up for the shortcomings. I had to give it 4 stars because I will eat here again when I am back in VA.

Such a great restaurant! I was searching for fine dining restaurants on yelp and when Passion popped up I immediately decided to try it based on the name alone! Just like its name, Passion is very romantic complete with the ambiance and low lighting. Yes ma'am... my kind of dining indeed. I chose the short rib dish that was stoopid tender and juicy which came with perfectly seasoned asparagus. In my opinion, not every restaurant can pull off a short rib dish. (Trust me fam it is one of my favorite dishes so I've tried many different versions at many different restaurants so I know) Its either to tough, dry, or all of the above but Passion pulled it off. Next to the excellent waitress we had Passion also had a great wine selection.

Very relaxing place to enjoy a good meal. Great service. Definitely recommend as a casual dining spot. Unique artwork, large selection of wines and beers. Excellent!