2026 Culinary Awards

By Butch Maier

It sounds like the setup to a joke, but our 2026 Coastal Virginia Culinary Awards Selection Committee—Leona Baker, Yasmine Charles, Marisa Marsey, and Hannah Serrano—had serious decisions to make. Though my nickname is “The Butcher” and I enjoy a good steak, restaurants and readers would have a beef with me if my picky palate picked places. That would be in poor taste. I was just there to steer the meeting. Don’t have a cow.

So, it was up to the committee quartet—returning critics Baker, Marsey, and Serrano, joined by Charles from our Cook’s Corner—to consider what the CoVa Culinary Tasting Panel members wrote in their reviews, to share with each other their dining experiences in the region, and to determine which restaurants were the top spots.

Many entrenched eating establishments made the list again. Some who missed the list in 2025 stepped up their game (or whatever else was on their menus) to rise to the top. Some places from last year were enduring a time of transition, opening spaces at the table for new names.

The selection committee took its time. These were not easy decisions. There are so many wonderful places to eat in Coastal Virginia. After much deliberation, the committee members selected their best 50.