The Town Center of Virginia Beach Wine Tasting and Art Show

Our group of 4 was very dissappointed with the advertising and early close-down of The Town Center of Virginia Beach Wine Tasting and Art Show. We arrived at the event at 5:45PM which was listed online, in handbill flyers and by confirming with one of the vendors (Sonoma Wine Bar & Bistro) the week prior of the start and end times for the event as 2-7PM. There were no more glasses or wrist band sales for wine tasting by the time we arrived and it seemed they had been closed for about an hour earlier than we arrived, so that would have been 2 hours before the posted end of the event. We were rudely told that it was closed an hour before the actual end time to allow folks to "sober up" but this was not listed in any of the handout info.

We decided to spend the $30 we would have needed for a wine tasting ticket on a bottle of Italian Torre Di Luna Pinot Grigio which we were able to (eventually after some delays in stemware availability) enjoy outside at Bravo! Cucina Italiana. It was interesting to watch the live bands still performing as they closed down the wine tasting and art show venue, plus it was high school prom night and all the teens were well-dressed in tuxes and dresses.

After our wine at Bravo!, we headed over to the PepsiCo-owned PF Chang’s China Bistro, across from both the other PepsiCo restaurants The Cheesecake Factory and Ramano's Maccaroni Grill. We were able to get in with all the prom guests only because we had made reservations weeks in advance. There was a 2+ hour wait if you did not have reservations, which is what happened to some unlucky (and not very bright) prom-goers.

We had a nice view of the sunset for our delicious dinner at PF Chang's, despite the wind blowing stuff off the table at the outdoor seating area and the extremely long wait for food to arrive. We were also able to enjoy the jazz ensemble which kept playing at the wine tasting area until after we left around 8:30.

The best part of the event was the free parking and rent-a-cops directing traffic. The food was good but slow and we were very let-down by the wine event closing almost 2 hours early without notice. Remember to make reservations well in advance for anything in the Virginia Beach Town Center / Pembroke Mall area of Virginia Beach. Next time we come to the Town Center of Virginia Beach it will be to attend a show at The Funny Bone Comedy Club, which we had fun last time we went there, so hopefully we will have a better time next time.