The design of the inside of the 2D Cafe
Gabrielle Barnett |Marlin Chronicle
2D Cafe was founded by Monica Kiraly to be an aesthetic, convenient oceanfront coffee shop. Located at 1102 Atlantic Ave #102 on the Virginia Beach Oceanfront, the cafe serves a variety of food, with special emphasis on Turkish food.
“At the beach, we don’t have too many coffee shops,” Kiraly explained. “But besides that, we wanted to make something different, not just sell coffee.”
Kiraly, a Romanian native, has always harbored a deep appreciation for fine coffee and food. She described visits to other coffee shops with her husband and friends, admitting that she often critiqued them. Her husband urged her to start her own coffee shop in response.
The 2D Cafe was inspired by other similarly designed cafes in the United States, as well as one Kiraly visited in Turkey. Every inch of the small cafe is decorated in black and white designs that brings a distinctive two-dimensional feel to the restaurant. Even the comfortable chairs and tiled ceiling were decorated on theme, painted white with thin black accents to make them appear flatter.
“The design was made by two art students from Thailand,” Kiraly said. “They did an amazing job. They were very talented.”
Pictured is a Turkish coffee with the side of lokum (in the covered dish), passion refresher, cheese börek (also known as su boregi), and menemen, a type of Turkish omelette
Gabrielle Barnett |Marlin Chronicle
The students’ murals of artwork lined the walls of the cafe, decorating it with pictures of famous landmarks and other decorations. Families filled the booths, chatting and enjoying the wide variety of food.
Mixed with the bluesy synth music, the entire cafe was picturesque and beautiful, which contributed to the Instagrammable appeal. As is evident on their Instagram page, the contrasting black and white tones of the cafe created fun pictures where food and people vibrantly pop out.
“I love the decorations that they have,” Norine Vogel, a customer, said. Vogel was visiting the cafe on a trip she was taking with her daughter, Kathleen Daly, to the oceanfront.
“We were not expecting what it was going to be,” Daly said. She explained that she and Vogel, because of their unfamiliarity with the area, had simply Googled a coffee shop and found the 2D cafe. “I mean, we’re thinking we’re gonna get coffee and nothing else, right? And then we started reading the menu,” Daly said.
The menu offers a wide variety of food.
“We try to offer something for everybody,” Kiraly said. “Like different age groups, different countries and so on.”
Not only does the cafe offer more typical coffee shop options, such as lattes, espressos and teas, but it also offers boba tea, milkshakes, smoothies and freshly squeezed juice.
Still, coffee is the highlight of the cafe, locally sourced from a supplier called Neptune’s Fury. Daly bought a coconut cream specialty latte, which she enjoyed. Kiraly also recommended the coconut cream specialty latte as one of her favorites, but the cafe also offers honey lavender, caramel kiss and mocha splash lattes.
“We print ghosts and stuff on our lattes,” Kiraly said, explaining how they design and decorate their lattes seasonally.
Outside of coffee, the cafe offers a wide variety of delicious food, including traditional Turkish dishes that can be paired with Turkish tea and coffee. Salads, bagels, burgers, soups and more fill the menu, each one made of a wide variety of bright, distinct ingredients. Kiraly added that her personal favorite part of the menu is the Turkish food items.
The Turkish food is inspired by Kiraly’s husband, who is from Turkey. Turkish coffee is a particularly distinct part of the menu. The coffee is well known for its rich thick flavor made from finely ground coffee beans that creates a distinct flavor. It’s served in an intricate, artisanal cup with a side of lokum dessert, also known commonly as Turkish delight.
“My favorite is the Magnolia dessert,” Kiraly said. “It’s a custard dessert with Biscoff cookies and Biscoff cream, like a pudding.”
The cafe offers a wide variety of desserts alongside the Magnolia dessert, including rice pudding, tiramisu and baklava, a Turkish pastry layered with nuts and honey.
Vogel and Daly recommend the Manti, which are Turkish ground beef and lamb mix dumplings served with homemade yogurt, garlic and Turkish salsa.
“Out of five, I’d give it a five,” Daly said. “And I’m actually very picky about restaurants because I like to cook.”
“It’s just fun to find it by accident,” Daly said. “A really nice place, awesome.”
The 2D cafe provides a fun, aesthetic place with a variety of options for delicious food, making it a great place for a fun time with friends or by yourself.
By Gabrielle Barnett
