Fair Grounds

Let me tell you If I could give this place 10 stars then I would. The Staff is very friendly and knows their information about different coffee blends and more. I felt so welcomed and warm here. This will be regular coffee spot from now on. I learned a fun fact today. This is the oldest independently owned coffee store on Hampton roads. Congratulations on the 21 years of being opened and serving customers with astute and astounding food service and quality. I highly recommend this coffee store and I would come out of my way to come here. Please check this coffee place out if you haven't already.

Found this place when all the coffee shops near us were closed. This place is awesome! I got the iced coconut mocha with oat milk and was so delicious we had to come back for another! They have games to play so my husband and I played scrabble and guess who. It’s also open pretty late for a coffee shop so it’s a perfect place to catch up on school/work at any time of the day. Whenever we’re in Norfolk this will definitely be our go-to for coffee. We bought some whole bean coffee and espresso beans for the road :) Next door wasn’t opened both times we got coffee however I thought the shop was pretty cool and they have free tampons for anyone in need.

Cute coffee place. Very nice staff.
However you have to pay 80c more to get non-dairy milk in your coffee which I think is a little excessive especially when most places charge 50c. (Which I think is excessive too)
And the place looks like it could be cleaner and tidied better... Not sure I'll go back

Such a nice local place to stop and get a nice cup of tea after dinner. I love the comfy homey vibe here. Staff was awesome. Wish we lived closer because I could see this being a favorite haunt. Will definitely return when we’re back in the area to visit!

This is a beautiful, calm, nicely decorated upstairs space. The iced mocha I had was delicious and creamy. The staff was friendly and struck up a conversation with me. I was just in town, but if I lived in Norfolk I could see myself going here all the time.

I fell in love with this place when I lived in Norfolk, this was my go to happy coffee place. Even loved it more as I remember my first date here. Just very cozy with nooks where you can sit and chat, or sit to the side and play board games with friends. It’s a transformed old house with benches outside and the charm of creaky steps to the upper floor and open upstairs landing that you can imagine used to be a living room with a fireplace, a dining room with windows. Coffee and beverage selections are varied including tea and sandwiches. Service is friendly, you get discount when you pay cash.

I was excited because the coffee was good. But when I got to my location to eat the food I noticed two hairs in my food. I called and left a message because no one answered the phone. I also send a message on instagram. Two hairs in my food is not food safety. In the second photo the hair is on the lid of the container, I pulled it off the tomatoes in the sandwich. The second hair is on the egg.

Fair Grounds coffee review.

The place is definitely cozy, relaxing atmosphere, on the second floor which makes it even cozier! But there are some things I’ve noticed, for example,

The dirty dishes bin is tucked on a lower shelf, I’d have to pull it out, and then place dishes inside…inconvenient.

Even though they have a wide syrup selection, the flavors are artificial, so you’re basically putting chemicals in your body,
The latte is ok, not anything to get excited about, nor the pastries, for they’re also not made in house or naturally.
But there is history to this place, which is why it’s popular.

If there’s anything I would change, I’d like them to make some natural in house syrups, or switch to a natural syrup brand like 1886, and do research and purchase natural pastries to sell to customers.

Disappointingly I will not be returning to Fair Grounds.

Incredible atmosphere, very good place to meet up with friends or do something creative. They have a bookshelf with free books and incredible coffee.

Fairgrounds is a sunny and beautiful little coffee shop. It has 3 rooms with various types of seating. There is also a large round table in another room with a toaster, dish drop off and various sweetners. Upon entering, there is a deck with outside seating as well. To get to the coffee shop you have to navigate 2 short flights of steps.
I gave 4/5 stars for atmosphere, yet it was a tad warm as windows were open instead of a/c.

The drink menu has lots of cold and hot selections Today, I chose to have a Chocolate Mocha latte hot with cinnimon and cayenne. It was yummy. The young barista was helpful when I requested a spicy drink.

I added a bagel with cream cheese as well. I gave 4/5 stars for food because i had to heat my own bagel with an unfamiliar toaster. Even though it was a nice touch to have wrapped bagel, i had to fiddle with it to toast it. While working on this, there were people trying to fix their coffee in the same space. There was also a man working behind me at tge large table on a computer. They offer 3 differant types: everything, plain and cinnimon-raisin. There were other options as well that would have been made behind the counter.

Business was steady. Barista was friendly and engaging. Drinks were hot and yummy. My bagel was simple and easy for a late lunch selection. Bathrooms were upstairs and clean. There was streetside parking and a lot out front.

Come visit for coffee or tea, a sandwich or snack. Also they sell coffee products on site. Wifi is free too with lots of tablespeace to spread out.