There are some restaurants that you walk into, and it feels like more than just a meal is about to happen. There’s decor and music setting the vibe. A symphony of aromas wafting from the kitchen. A buzz of conversation.
It isn’t just a meal; it’s an occasion.
And for decades, that’s how many have felt, including me, when walking into Il Giardino, the venerable Oceanfront eatery. The restaurant marked 40 years in October last year.
Anthony “Tony” Gargiulo opened Il Giardino in the former 10th Street Cafe. It began during a 1983 trip to Florence, Italy, when he became enamored with a large wood-fired pizza oven he saw. After he returned to the United States, he kept thinking of it. Il Giardino was built around the oven, and it remains a centerpiece today.
Another centerpiece is the large ficus tree he planted during the restaurant build-out. It’s still there, soaring toward skylights inside the dining room, and is an apt centerpiece for a restaurant whose name means “the garden.”
Il Giardino quickly became a local favorite. It hit the national spotlight several times, notably as a filming location for the 1990 Charlie Sheen movie “Navy SEALs,” and through a feature on the Food Network show “The Best Of” with host Marc Silverstein. It has been recognized in Wine Spectator magazine’s Restaurant Awards.
Much of Il Giardino’s story belongs to the people who made an evening here memorable. In addition to Gargiulo, who died in 2014, many greeted diners over the years.
Executive Chef Felix T. Paulino, affectionately known as Papi, was the tall toque for 33 years, before his death in 2019. Maureen Murphy, with more than 50 years in the industry, served as a manager for more than three decades, joining in 1989. She died in 2024.
Their contributions are part of a legacy that is carried forward by longtime employees.
I sat with floor manager Jim Polhemus and general manager Maryann Carr under the soaring ficus, talking about the past and enjoying a nice glass of Italian red. Polhemus has worked at Il Giardino off and on since 1986; Carr counts 26 years.
“We have people come in that have been coming for 40 years, and their grandkids come in with them,” Polhemus said.
Guests tell him of proposals made here and dinners following weddings on the beach. Vacationing families return the same weekend every summer. One told him that they’ve been to the restaurant while on vacation now 20 years, the same weekend every year.
That kind of loyalty takes tending with “consistent good service, consistent good food,” along with staff members who enjoy people as much as they understand the mechanics of serving dinner, Polhemus said.
“You can find somebody that can deliver food all day long, and they do a great job,” he said. “But you also need personalities where people remember them.”
Remembering what guests like helps, too. For example, he said, one regular comes four times a week and orders the same meal.
Overall guest favorites, Polhemus and Carr said, include the veal chop, the fish of the day and the frutti di mare, a combination of mussels, clams, shrimp, scallops and calamari served over angel hair pasta and topped with tomato sauce.
“Everything’s made to order,” she added.
Executive chef Jamie Young entered the room with a large, steaming platter. Young, who carries himself with the bravado of a kitchen veteran, brings his own history with Italian food.
“I was raised around red sauce,” he said.
The upstate New York native attended Johnson & Wales University in Charlotte, North Carolina, completing a four-year culinary program there. He moved to Virginia Beach in 2009; his local experience includes One Fish Two Fish, La Marinella and Thirty 7 North, all now closed.
“Over four decades, the restaurant has evolved while staying true to its roots,” he said. “The menu has stayed consistent, with additions and specials adding to it.”
Il Giardino, he said, “evokes an old school Italian charm.”
Pillowy soft gnudi — ricotta-based pasta in a rich, addictive fontina sauce, topped with a crunchy-herby garnish of breadcrumbs and oregano. (Patrick Evans-Hylton/For The Virginian-Pilot)
Young presented a bowl of gnudi, Tuscan dumplings crafted from ricotta cheese that he said he brings to a boil until very soft and pillowy. The dish gets its name from its simplicity; gnudi means “nude” in Italian. They’re similar to gnocchi, made from potato and a bit more al dente.
The gnudi were topped with a generous amount of sauce, similar to a béchamel but with fontina adding a sharp, pleasant flavor.
“Stinky cheese, in my opinion, always tastes better,” Young said.
On top for color, texture and additional flavor was a house blend of fresh, grassy oregano and the nutty toastiness of breadcrumbs. Each forkful was a delicious dichotomy: creamy and rich but not overwhelming.
Jamie Young is the executive chef at Il Giardino, a restaurant with a 40-year legacy. Young, under the restaurant’s iconic ficus tree, holds a large plate of veal chop Parmesan. (Patrick Evans-Hylton/For The Virginian-Pilot)
The showstopper of my visit was the veal chop Parmesan, and I quickly understood why it was a guest favorite.
A large bone-in veal chop, front and center on an equally large platter, was smothered in an addictive red sauce that indeed evoked the old school charm that Young mentioned. It was blanketed by melting Parmesan.
The veal was tender and juicy, its delicate flavor playing against the bright tang and mellow sweetness of the tomato sauce. The Parmesan added a salty, nutty richness, bringing meat, sauce and cheese together in each comforting forkful.
Martha Davenport, a Croatan resident and executive director of the Virginia Beach Restaurant Association, said she and her husband, Larry, were newlyweds when Il Giardino first opened. It’s become one of their favorites where they dine every five or six weeks.
“We’ve been going for 40 years, and love their menu and extensive list,” she said. “It never disappoints. And having Andrew (White) as our trusted server throughout the years makes every visit feel like coming home.”
Davenport’s favorite dish is pollo alla francese, a chicken fillet served in a lemon butter-white wine sauce.
If you haven’t been to Il Giardino in a while, or if you’ve never been, the restaurant has a tradition of two-for-one specials on Sundays from October through April. Diners who buy one dinner get a second of equal or lesser value, free. There are some restrictions, including no takeout. Seating is first come, first served.
Details: 910 Atlantic Ave., Virginia Beach; ilgiardino.com; 757-422-6464
Patrick Evans-Hylton is a chef, food writer and food historian in Hampton Roads. Reach him at PatrickEvansHylton@gmail.com.
Dining and Cooking