Mosaic

It’s definitely hidden, but I don’t know if I’d call it a gem.
The inside reminds me of a hotel’s restaurant. The dining room is carpeted. There are no booths. It’s relatively empty.
The bar is cool-​looking but small. Maybe six chairs. One large television. No full bar at all so keep it simple. They have a bottle of pre-​mixed Long Island iced tea. Just a travesty, really.
I enjoyed a Korean marinated steak that I still crave nearly a month later. It was perfection. Its sides were bad. Like, really inedible. Super salty kimchi brussel sprouts and something called rice cracklins. They looked like styrofoam, and melted in your mouth… or actually in your teeth. In the most horrific way. I’m cringing at the memory.
So because the sides were wack, they were replaced by a salad — cool. The bread pudding was rock hard. Returned it for gingerbread cake, which tasted like gingerbread pudding, and I’m not complaining. Really tasty. Probably misrepresented on the menu though.
The second best part of my meal was the she-​crab soup. They claim it’s award-​winning; doesn’t every restaurant? It is yummy, creamy, sweet, full of very clearly fresh crab. I’d give it an award. A blue ribbon at the county fair. This is Suffolk, after all.
I came back for the soup. And the service. It is delightful.

What an amazing place. We are from the DC area and this restaurant is an absolute jem! At the time we were looking for a place to have brunch since the venue we had anticipated was a 2 hour wait. We Unilocaled other places within Suffolk and this restaurant appear with a 4 star with only 8 reviews? I admit I was a little hesitant at first since this was about 20 minutes away from where we were at but… it was worth it. For those living in this area, this is a must and if you haven’t tried this I ask you, what are you waiting for? You are missing out on a heavenly culinary experience. From the artistic décor to the food. The menu is unique and provides exciting choices. I highly recommend the award winning she crab soup. Everything here is made from scratch. When I go back to DC I will be thinking of this place and next time I visit I will be visiting again. I’m just disappointed that I can only give this place 5 stars and not more!

Local peeps – stop, listen, and go! I don’t know what is up with the foodies in Suffolk (or even the outside area), but Mosaic should be hopping during lunch time. Every time I go, the place is empty. Beautiful atmosphere, fantastic service (thank you, Daniel!), and delicious food – what more could you ask for? If that’s not enough, then sit back and pay attention – you need this information!
Mosaic is located inside the Suffolk Center for Cultural Arts (SCCA), which used to be a high school, but was renovated in 2006 (
). Mosaic has been serving «healthy, eclectic, world cuisine designed to appeal to a broad range of tastes» for the past five years (
). However, this is not their only location – in fact, their Richmond restaurant opened back in 1977. In addition, they have a third store in Charleston, South Carolina.
Executive Chef Aaron Spring offers a unique and delectable menu, especially the dinner items. Just listen to these mouth-​watering meals:
Salmon with Ice Cream
Soft Shell Mofongo
Duck Paella
Smoked Chicken with Spoon Bread
Tostada de Cauliflower
Everything I have devoured at Mosaic has been a pleasure to eat. Their Reuben (house corned beef, homemade kraut, Russian dressing and baby swiss on seeded rye bread) is out-​of-​this-​world, and their award-​winning She-​Crab Soup is outstanding – creamy, slightly sweet, and wonderful. Their menu is small, but they know what they’re doing. Make sure you make room for dessert because Chef Aaron is always offering something amazing like the Churros with Horchata Dipping Sauce I had today. #OMG! Factor
Mosaic serves lunch, dinner, and Sunday brunch; a full service bar; al fresco dining; as well as their box lunch and to-​go program (
). (Note: their box lunches are a 5-​guest minimum.) You can combine lunch or dinner with a show at SCCA or shop at Jester’s (
). If you’ve never had a chance to visit SCCA before, then take the opportunity to have a lovely meal in downtown Suffolk. Mosaic is one of the best kept secrets in downtown Suffolk. So, what are you waiting for?

Mosaic is a diamond in the rough — a first class culinary experience tucked away in an slightly obscure arts center in Suffolk, VA. I went with a group of friends and each one of us was blown away by the rich, creative dishes we received. We heard upon arriving that they had just recently put a new menu, and I would beg everyone to go and try it out! I received the eggplant steak with sweet potato mash and bean salsa. It was absolutely astounding! The five of us each ordered a different dish, and there was not a single complaint to be had about any of it — only happy sighs and flowing praise. The staff was extremely friendly and personable, and I dare say my glass never reached even a third of the way full before it was filled again. They even brought out complimentary desserts for us to try — a maple bacon bread pudding (as amazing as it sounds), apple pie mousse, and a delectable «s’mores parfait» that made our already great experience unimaginably better. The night ended with us calling the staff out for a standing ovation — I kid you not. Definitely the first time I have done something like that but it just seemed right!
If I could give this place 10 stars, I would. DEFINITELY will be returning, hopefully sooner rather than later! But don’t take my word for it, dear reader — go and see for yourself!

There were four of us at dinner, we all had something different. But each of the meals was wonderful and the service was very friendly and attentive.

I forgot to write my review when I was here for restaurant week 2014. Oh MY goodness, this food was AMAZING. I am very happy I came on a whim with my husband. We enjoyed every bite — the flavor combinations were incredible. This experience was so good that I’ve since strongly recommended at least 5 people come check Mosaic out!
We tried to order different things on the fixed menu to share & taste more.
We had
— Fried Green tomatoes: Amazing, the seasoning was very complimentary and they were very juice. One of the better fried tomatoes I’ve ever had.
— Coconut Chicken Brochette: ground chicken with seasonings coated in coconut on a stick. DELICIOUS. I don’t like strong coconut flavors but this was perfectly understated. It went very well with the seasonings but didn’t overpower the app.
— Pork Osso Bucco: My husband loved every bite of this (so much he saved one bite for our dog, now that is love!). It fell off the bone and was rich in flavor. Another win! The wild mushroom potatoes were a little rich in butter for me but the flavor was spot on!
— I have the Spring Chicken under a brick: one of the juiciest most tender chicken meals I’ve had in a long time. (I’m writing this review 2 months later and I can still remember how good it was!)
— Dessert: Smores Brownie and Key Lime pie: This was a little less exciting compared to the meal. The Smores brownie was an amazing concept but the brownie was dry and crumbly I needed lots of water! The rest of it was a great flavor combo. The Key lime pie was good but needed a little more graham cracker base, maybe a lime drizzel– just lacking in ‘wow’ compared to everything else.
*I will be back again, hopefully with friends. :)

Order the Shrimp with Grits, you will not be disappointed. The staff was super nice and we even talked to the chef who brought us a preview of the upcoming menu. All the food has a «twist» to it so be prepared to enjoy the experience. The desserts were interesting. I loved the Cucumber Watermelon Granita but it would not be for everyone as the cucumber was prominent. We also had the chocolate strawberry shortcake, however it was it chocolatey, nor a cake, it looked like a slice of bread. The strawberries had salt all over them so neither dessert was a sweet way to finish off the meal if that it what you were looking for I would skip that part. Overall, this place is turning out some solid food.

The menu seemed promising and when I walked in I thought I might be in for a decent meal. Um… no. The food is not good. Not bad enough to make you sick but simply not good. That includes my crab cakes, salmon dish, my friend’s manicotti, and the wine. My friend was saved by his salad which is pretty hard to screw up. Very friendly staff but this place is like an ugly girl in a pretty dress.

Buyer beware, the menus posted online are not up to date.
Pretty quiet brunch on a Sunday morning, we were the only patrons for a little while! The décor is pretty sophisticated and enjoyable. We were seated very quickly by a young waitress that responded ‘cool beans’ to everything we ordered. A little weird, but not a killer.
We had seen online that they served bacon bloody mary’s and we were excited. Turns out, they do not have bacon bloody mary’s. Actually, they menu we were given was very different than what we saw online. We were given a wine menu, first, which, while I love wine, was not our first priority on a Sunday morning. With brunch, booze is traditionally disguised with juice, guys.
We were given some sweet potato biscuits with vanilla butter, both of those were really yummy.
We ordered the shrimp and grits and the breakfast roller (aka burrito). The breakfast roller was disappointing. It was advertised with onions, peppers, etc. It was actually stuffed with a lot of potatoes and very little of anything else. The shrimp and grits were VERY good. Really yummy grits with fresh shrimp and andouille sausage, all of this covered in a smoked gouda cream sauce that was plate lickable. Overall I’d probably go back and give them another try, but a little more menu diversity and some breakfast booze would be good!

We decided to give Mosaic another chance after being contacted by the Director of the Suffolk center to try it out again on the house, as well as throwing in a couple theater tickets, which was a generous offer we couldn’t refuse. Our overall dining experience was a much more pleasant one, with the slider trio definitley being the star of the meal. I think Mosaic is a great option for pre-​theater fare or a nicer place in the downtown area for after work drinks.