Old Dominion University Guide: Where to Eat, Drink & Stay in Norfolk (2026)

Whether you're a Monarch who already knows which Monarch Way counter is quickest between classes, an incoming freshman still learning the difference between Ghent and Larchmont, a parent in town for move-in, an alum back for a Saturday at S.B. Ballard Stadium, or a prospective student walking campus for the first time, this guide pulls together the restaurants, bars, hotels, and campus landmarks worth knowing near Old Dominion University.

Norfolk rewards knowing a few streets. Monarch Way is ODU's own retail strip, the walk-out-the-door option for a quick meal between classes. Colley Avenue runs north from campus through Larchmont and picks up the pizza-and-beer end of the list, then continues south into Ghent, the 1890s neighborhood that holds most of the city's independent restaurants and a good share of its bars. Downtown sits about five miles from campus and is where the full-service hotels, the graduation dinners, and the waterfront live. Campus itself is compact and flat, so once you're on it, everything below is a walk.

ODU eating sorts itself by distance. Monarch Way and the blocks just north of campus cover the everyday student rotation, the Colley Avenue corridor through Larchmont handles pizza, wings, and long afternoons outside, Ghent is where Norfolk's independent kitchens actually live, and downtown holds the two rooms parents book for graduation. Norfolk punches well above its size here, and one place on this list has a credible claim to inventing the ice cream cone.

Drinking near ODU spreads out more than it does at most schools. The closest real option is a brewery a mile up Colley Avenue in Larchmont, and after that the density is in Ghent, two miles southeast, where a self-pour rooftop, an arcade bar, a gastropub, and one of the better craft beer bars in Virginia all sit within a few blocks. Downtown holds the polished end of the evening.

Hotels near ODU split cleanly in two. There is exactly one hotel on campus, and then there is downtown Norfolk, about five miles and 10 to 15 minutes away, where six good options sit within a few blocks of each other and of the waterfront. The on-campus room is the one that sells out first, so the real decision most visitors make is which downtown hotel they want.

ODU sits on 251 acres between the Elizabeth and Lafayette rivers, and the stops that matter are close enough together to cover on foot in an hour. Two are athletics venues on Hampton Boulevard, two are the center of campus, and one is a stretch of waterfront most visitors don't know exists.