A must-have experience during your stay
If visiting Colonial Williamsburg, VA, it’s perfectly appropriate – if not absolutely necessary – that you try some foods similar to what Colonial Americans ate. It’s easy to do so here, as several restaurants and taverns in and around Colonial Williamsburg provide Colonial-style fare.
Below is our list of our favorites. Be warned: these also tend to be everyone’s favorites, so it’s a good idea to call ahead to see about making a reservation.
This restaurant offers typical Southern food, such as Carolina-style BBQ sandwiches, bangers and mash (a reflection of Colonial Williamsburg’s English ancestry), and other Southern go-tos. You can also enjoy a Colonial-style repast of ale-potted beef with mushrooms, pearl onions, and carrots over mashed potatoes.
Colonial Williamsburg is an area of the country that was one of the first to be settled by Europeans (in the 1600s). The region’s history is old by U.S. standards, and it’s not surprising that Colonial Williamsburg is said to be full of ghosts. If you love hearing about ghosts, then consider taking the guided walking tour that starts right outside the Shields Tavern.
View RestaurantThe King’s Arms has been in business since 1772 when Jane Vobe opened it. Vobe described it as an establishment “where the best people resorted.”
Servers tend to you, and wait staff clad in fashions of the 18th century. You can choose from the King’s Arms menu featuring colonial game pie and a chop of shoat (maple–and whiskey braised pork chop) with mashed potatoes and red cabbage). If you have a big appetite, Mrs. Vobe’s Tavern Dinner is a multi-course meal.
For dessert, the restaurant’s Chocolate Fudge Torte is known throughout Williamsburg and is not to be missed. You also might want to try a glass of Kir or Chardonnay and crème de cassis served over ice. The young ones will enjoy Williamsburg ice cream, which was created the way they used to in colonial times.
View RestaurantCare for some fiddle music while you dine? Chowning’s Tavern offers Colonial-era fiddlers who will play while you eat. Suppose you’re visiting the Tavern during the evening. In that case, the restaurant transforms into an alehouse of the 18th century after dinner, with costumed colonial reenactors, colonial board games, regional wines and ales, and even sing-alongs!
For food, you can enjoy Brunswick stew or Virginia pulled pork sandwiches. Welsh rarebit is also a patron favorite.
View RestaurantIf you love seafood as much as George Washington did, you’ll love Christina Campbell’s Tavern. (Washington ate here; the Tavern was his favorite in Williamsburg for fresh seafood.) Looking for some crab cakes? Christina has them! What about filet beef with crab-stuffed shrimp? Or Gloucester chicken, fried chicken, clam chowder, and Chesapeake Bay jambalaya? If you eat here, try the Tavern’s house specialty, sweet potato muffins.
As for the “Colonial mood,” balladeers will entertain you as you eat as they sing ditties and songs from the colonial era.
View Restaurant