Waterside Festival Marketplace

Opened in 1983, the Waterside Festival Marketplace used to be the place to be for family fun. It has changed a lot since I left in the early 90s. Now it's more of a nightlife establishment.

The first floor has 12 specialty retail shops ranging from Virginia products to NASCAR items. The food court hosts stalls of international cuisines to Ben and Jerry's ice cream.

There are four major restaurants at Waterside. Those would be the Outback Steakhouse, Joe's Crab Shack, Blackfinn Restaurant and Saloon, and Hooters (famous for their wings).

The second floor has a few shops including an Irish Store. It is dominated by Night Clubs. BAR Norfolk Bar & Restaurant plays Top 40s. Have A Nice Day Cafe is a party place with nightly a DJ. Club Mojo's (Jillian's) has video games for the kids, cafes and dance clubs.

Located on the Elizabeth River, it is a popular port for the big yachts. Waterside is also the site for the Norfolk Harborfest held every year with boat parades, music, food and fireworks.

If you'd like to try something different while in the downtown area of Norfolk or Portsmouth, check out the waterside. Support the few local retailers that have managed to survive the drastic change from a family place to bars and nightclubs.

Food Court
Monday - Saturday 11am - 9 pm
Sunday 12 noon - 6 pm

Retailers
Monday - Saturday 10am - 9 pm
Sunday 12 noon - 6 pm

Restaurants & Nightclubs
Hours Set By Individual Businesses
Closing not to exceed 2 am

I've wandered into Waterside Festival Marketplace a few times, and it's not that great. There's a few restaurants, a food court, a some shops and a couple of clubs. The building itself is a little run-down and in need of some revamping. There are several reasons why this place gets 2 stars instead of 1:

-There's an awesome dollar store, with a good selection of cheapy toys, household goods, and year-round Christmas decorations. $10would get you far here...
-Jillian's (upstairs) is basically an adult arcade. I'm a big fan of the shoot-em-up and racing games. If you want some modern/high-tech games, don't waste your time here (I took a gamer friend and he bored very quickly).
-There's a decent souvenir shop by the entrance nearest to the park (across from the vitamin store). I've been able to get a variety of cheap but good quality t-shirts and Norfolk paraphernalia for my out of state family.
-You can catch the Elizabeth River ferry for $1 (cash only, exact change) and check out the cute shops and galleries at downtown Portsmouth right outside.

So if you're walking by or in downtown Norfolk, it's not bad to stop through, especially at night to go to Jillian's; but it's definitely not worth a special trip.