Chemistry Tapas and Tonics

The good ol’ block… Chem is probably my favorite place to come on The Block and usually my only stop. I’ll find myself going into the edge or sandbar but never stay more than 5 minutes. I really like the vibe that chemistry has. The music is great, the bartenders are amazing! Come on Fridays to see Kevin, he’s literally one of the best bartenders in VB! They have hookahs but I’ve never bought one, and I honestly didn’t even know they had food. But I do enjoy coming here a lot!

This place has really kicked it up quite a few notches within the past few months. Some major cleaning and renovations has clearly been done. The same lovely staff, with a few more additions! Hookahs are back and now available at a much cheaper price than others. I am even hearing rumors of a new menu that better fits this bar. Don’t let those past reviews fools you, this place is definitely worth visiting! Two thumbs up from me!

This spot is definitely on the rise! Great renovations and additions to the whole place and has a great vibe with atmosphere, new food/​drink menu and great DJs that play a variety of entertainment to everyones liking! Recently added V.I.P. section and hookahs with new mgmt and friendly bartenders/​waitresses, have this upscale bar on the oceanfront looking down on others all around! Chemistry Tapas and Tonics is definitely living up to its name these days, looking forward to more great times on a weekly, if not, daily basis! Keep up the great work, 5 stars over here!

SUPER DIRTY AND SMELLED LIKE PUKE. This place was so gross I was mortified the walls were all marked up with stains of who knows what and dirt. The bathroom looked like a CRIME SCENE.
Scented candles lined the bar to ‘offset’ the overwhelming odor of puke… but was not enough to keep me and my friends for more than a drink.
I MUST say the bartenders were VERY friendly and made us great drinks. So A+ for service. But please clean this place up if you expect anyone to stay for more than five minutes.

Errrrrrgh, let’s talk about Chemistry.
I’ve got to say at a few things about this place. Out of all of the bars associated with The Block, Chemistry is probably my least favorite. Why? Chemistry has the appearance of being a «step up» in class from the other bars at The Block. If you asked someone whom was merely glancing at the three bars, from the outside, which one is the nicest –I guarantee you, every time that person would say Chemistry. But, why?
One reason: It’s called Chemistry TAPAS and TONICS. The name, itself, emits a classier vibe than The Edge or Sandbar. The employees wear black button-​downs and ties. But, honestly, this is the most lackluster place. And, sadly, the one that I wish was my favorite.
Every time I’ve visited Chemistry, I wished that they actually had tapas. Maybe they do. But, I can tell ya; I’ve been here probably 10+ times and can say that I’ve never once seen a tapas menu, nor have I seen any pictures of their tapas selection. The caliber of their drink selections is very similar to The Edge or Sandbar … It’s just okay. Definitely nothing to write home to mom about.
There’s always so much fog inside that it’s difficult for me to see and I’m not super gung ho over their music selection. One thing that I appreciate about their sister, Sandbar, is the interactivity that is encouraged among their patrons. That same interactivity isn’t here at Chemistry.
It’s just alright.

Love the drinks, the bartenders were really nice, and the music choice was on point. There’s nothing about this bar that I didn’t like… even the burger. I def recommend for the younger crowd!

Like Fells Point in Baltimore, but without any of the fun. Bartender charged my beautiful blonde wife $ 2; for the same beer, he charged me $ 5.

Love this bar! My wife and I frequent here staff are amazing people and the food is awesome! Try the steak bites!

Despite the other reviews I saw here, I had great food, drinks and the music was nicely done! Be sure to start early with the happy hour because it’s all half price no matter what. If you want to hang out or hop around there’s a pretty good concentration of places in this area for you to go.

Decent crowd for a Sunday night. The bartender was bloody fantastic! Threw in comp premium shots throughout the night. Music is thumbs up!

This place is pretty terrible. A bar layout trying to be a club, and not really succeeding. Drinks are overpriced and weak. Even the beers were small and overpriced (poured in plastic cups). To make up for a lack if atmosphere, the fog machine is overused. But even that didn’t prevent a fight from breaking out. As for the clientele? About what you would expect based on this review.

I’ve only gone here for drinks and to hangout and it’s always a good time. The staff is friendly and music is usually on point. I actually don’t mind the atmosphere or the crowd, but I would only go here if my friends choose too. Not one of the bars I’d go to just to grab a drink by myself.

Always great environment to get wasted! Friendly staff and the bartenders always serve up the best drinks at the oceanfront! If you looking for something new to drink just as one of them to make you something good! Love this place!

Nice spot at the ocean front to hangout at, best thing is the wide range of music. Great taste.

This place totally sucked… Yea the music was pretty on point but it lacked the atmosphere that I craved. That’s not even the worst part; my margarita tasted like I had mistakingly swallowe a mouthful of ocean water. You don’t put salt IN a margarita, you put it on the rim of the effin glass. To make matters worse I politely told another bartender (with high hopes of avoiding conflict, attitude, and/​or dirty snarls/​looks from the first bartender) that my drink wasn’t consumable. He goes back to the first bartender (who made my salty azz margarita) and explains what happened. In return, I got a salt-​less margarita, from the same guy who made my first drink, and this time he excluded alcohol. Thanks guy! I don’t know his name but he is a very clearly homosexual bartender with dark hair, earrings, a kind of feminine look, and a real bad attitude .
I wouldn’t recommend this place if you vacaying in the area or even if you live here. It might be a good back up plan, if you drink ahead of time but don’t expect to dance or get drunk here!

I went and bought 1 round (5 beers) for my group, granted I was pretty lush that night, but they not only gave me the wrong tab for $ 68, they put a $ 20 tip on it. I never signed a reciept either. The time was good, but not work 90 bucks. Screw that place, because their gonna try to screw you. Never again.

Another one of the bars lovingly known by locals as «The Block,» Chemistry is newly renamed and I guess under new management. Even though it’s the exact same shape and seems the same size as the other bars, Chemistry has always felt more spacious to me – not nearly as crowded and because of that a little cleaner too. Chemistry usually plays a light party mix of music from modern rock to rap and pop. It’s pretty much a something for everyone place. The crowd is mixed, the music is mixed and the vibe is fun but relaxed.
Again, nothing spectacular about Chemistry. It’s just another bar. But if you’re at the beach (which during the summer likely means you were fortunate enough to find parking) you might as well stop in for a drink or two and celebrate the moment. Then rejoin the crowds and walk back to your car.

Chemistry is a pretty typical oceanfront bar. On the weekends, weekend meaning Thursday through Sunday, there is usually a DJ there spinning live. Usually there are a lot of guys in the Navy that come to this bar, which is pretty much how most of the bars down at the beach are. The drinks are priced ok, but there are definitely cheaper drinks to be found in the Hampton Roads area. The night I went the bartender was really cool and hooked up my friend up with some ‘birthday drinks’. One good thing about this place is it was just recently re-​done so everything is new and clean (the bathroom is really small and was not so clean when I was there). The place has a modern look to it with a big bar and plenty of bar seating. There is a small VIP area when you first walk in that has a couple of couches and more lush seating. I don’t really do oceanfront bars usually but I would stop into this place again.

This is your typical ocean front bar — mixed crowd, dj playing top 40 and hip hop, and the age group between 18−30s.
Drinks are fairly priced and on Monday nights the bartenders hold ”body” shot contests for females (it was random).
Nothing special but an ok place to grab a drink on Monday night.