Only at Renee’s new Atlantic Park home features an open kitchen adorned with capiz shell windows.
By Marisa Marsey
You probably know that megastar Pharrell Williams backed Atlantic Park, the new mixed-use development encompassing more than 10 acres at the Virginia Beach Oceanfront. Maybe you’ve already soaked up the surf park’s beach-clubby core or tested the lagoon’s cutting-edge Wavegarden technology, geared for everyone from still-wet-behind-the-ears grommets to seasoned shredders. Perhaps you caught Alice Cooper’s iconic act at The Dome by Rutter Mills or supped at big-name brands like Milk & Honey, Mi Vida and Nami Nori. These heavy hitters are thrusting our area into the limelight. But indie restaurateurs – who, like Pharrell, have local history – rock the scene, too.
Only at Renee’s Makes a Perfect Fit
When Emma Dizon was pitching in at her parent’s Filipino restaurant, Renee’s Kitchenette, in New York City decades ago, she never dreamt she’d have a restaurant of her own one day. Fashion was her métier. She studied at F.I.T. and became a designer.
But she noticed how many people drove up from Virginia Beach to the homey eatery named for her mom. They said they could get Filipino cuisine of this caliber “only at Renee’s” as they packed catering-sized platters of pancit into their cars to bring back. (“Put your AC on full blast,” Emma would caution them.)
Curious, she decided to visit the Beach herself. “Oh, I like it here. It feels like you’re on vacation,” was her initial reaction. After some research, she decided to launch Only at Renee’s at Red Mill Commons in 2018.
The Filipino community embraced it, as did all lovers of deliciousness. Food & Wine Magazine recognized Emma in a 2022 article entitled “The Best Places to Eat Filipino Food in Every State” lauding her classic oxtail kare-kare (tender oxtail in a rich peanut stew with vegetables).
A few years ago, when her father Ernesto heard about a space at the then-nascent “big project” at the Oceanfront, he unequivocally urged her: “Reserve it!” (He understood business. Eater New York credits his and Renee’s popular mom-and-pop as impetus for NYC officially designating their corner of Queens: “Little Manila”). Although he passed away recently, his prescience bore fruit this month with the transplanted Only at Renee’s opening at Atlantic Park.
Fans will be glad to know the menu is mostly the same. “Still my dad’s recipes. Still my grandmother’s recipes. Still authentic Filipino,” Emma said. They embody the essence of Pampanga, her family’s homeland in Central Luzon, known as the country’s culinary capital. “When Filipinos hear you’re from Pampanga, they think: Oh, you can cook!”
But because the new address is ocean-adjacent, offerings skew more casual with bowls aplenty including BBQ pork with pickled papaya, chicken adobo and lechon kawali (crispy fried pork belly) and “Street Bites” such as lumpiang shanghai (hand-rolled spring rolls) and tokwa (fried tofu and pickled red onions).
The inviting, island-y décor, replete with intentional touches like traditional capiz windows (where translucent shells replace glass) and woven baskets, ideally suit this breezy setting. Emma fashioned everything herself with the aid of her fiancé Michael Stoney and tightknit family.
“In the Philippines, many businesses are an extension of the owner’s home with just a little window set up,” Emma explained. That feeling conveys here with a tiki bar pass-through and patio, perfect for tropical cocktails and mocktails.
Running a successful restaurant wasn’t in her original designs, but now she gushes: “It’s a dream come true.”
415 19th Street, Suite 108, Virginia Beach. 757-427-1222.
Wykle Doubles-Up by the Lagoon
Cranking! That’s how surfers describe awesome wave conditions. It’s also what Jesse Wykle thought when he walked into The Sitio, Atlantic Park’s 20-room boutique hotel, and saw a Bill Frierson longboard on the wall. The chef-owner of fast-casual Aloha Snacks and inveterate surfer knew Frierson, the late, legendary WRV co-owner, even played music with him, and has Frierson boards in his quiver.
So when he was tapped to be the culinary kahuna at The Sunroom, Sitio’s intimate bar and lounge, he knew: “This is meant to be.”
Aloha Snacks is just a mile away on Laskin Road, and his food truck Hola Snacks is already in residence in the surf park, making this new hustle feasible. And it allows him to flex his fine dining muscle again (he’s worked at Relais & Châteaux properties and was executive chef at Zoës).
“I want our food to complement this high-end feel,” he said, noting fine china and other luxe touches at an inn that suggests a cool, contemporary beach house.
Wykle channels the hot spots he’s surfed (Hanalei Bay, Rincón and more) to inform his menu. Morning fare (7 a.m. to 10 a.m.) features a paradisiacal papaya parfait, while light bites and shareables for après surf (11 a.m. to 10 p.m.) include cured salmon tartare with sesame ponzu, tuna carpaccio with aji verde and “mini mini” wagyu cheesesteak.
He sources top-notch ingredients (Point Reyes cheese, local tuna and honey) to craft the kinds of dishes surfers crave. And even those who only surf the net will relate to best-selling shrimp blanco flatbread featuring wild North Carolina shrimp.
Creative cocktails express a similar worldly sophistication laced with local touches. A strawberry crush, for example, stars Waterman vodka and Pungo berries. There are also Benchtop Brewing limited releases, Lavazza coffee, cold-press juices and Crunchy Hydration functional waters, prime for sipping on the terrace, watching wave riders and sunsets.
Despite proximity, multiple operations require juggling. But Wykle’s no stranger to gnarly situations; he beat Bobby Flay on the TV Food Network. And he knows how to let off steam. “Big waves coming tomorrow,” he said, stoked.
The Sunroom is currently accessible only to hotel guests. Sigh. But locals, take heart. The Sitio makes an ideal staycation. 365 18th Street, Suite 160, Virginia Beach. 757-276-7740. thesitiovb.com
Mea culpa. I listed an incorrect street number last month for the just-opened second Roast Rider Coffee + Tea. It should be 1577 General Booth Blvd., Suite 107, Virginia Beach. (Hmm, make that mea cuppa!)