Apologies if there’s an existing thread for Williamsburg, VA, but I couldn’t find one.
Recently back from a short trip and thought I’d mention some restaurants in case it’s of use. We’ve got a child at school there for the next couple of years, so I might update as we try new places.
Casa Pearl - Fresh local oysters and tacos. Yes, an admittedly odd combination, but it works. A strong cocktail program with some classics and also some riffs on classics. Decent beers on draft and bottles. I’ve never looked at the wine list past a first glance. Really good food, with some standouts being their crispy Brussel sprouts - amazing citrus punch with some candied lemons, capers and fresh shaved Parmesan, the oysters and their seafood tacos. We happily return each trip down to visit.
Downstairs at the Fat Canary - This is the more casual/no reservations arm of the business. Upstairs is fine dining (for Williamsburg) that books reservations. Interesting to note, the dining room is physical contiguous with the Cheese Shop (same ownership) that does sandwiches during the day and has a very good cheese selection. We’ve purchased some of their cheeses, meats and bread for use back in our room with Champagne. Downstairs from both is their more casual dining option and a wine shop. Downstairs takes no reservations - show up starting at 4:30 in-person and give your information to staff to get a table and a time. While this wouldn’t work for everyone, this has worked exceptionally well for us, especially if it is a last-minute trip or even for the fact that our son often has unpredictable commitments that make booking weeks ahead of time impractical. There is a separate menu with less fussy dishes (recent stand-outs from this menu was their tuna tempura and their pappardelle with Bolognese) but you can also order off the upstairs menu, which has really solid options. This isn’t NYC, but it’s great for Williamsburg! Most appealing is their corkage of $25. The wine list isn’t awful, and their markups are incredibly fair. You can purchase anything in their shop and open it in the restaurant for $15. Their cocktail program is also very strong on paper, but I can’t resist the corkage so I’ve never sampled.
Culture Cafe - A quirky cafe that has incredibly good breads and pastries - we learned the pastry chef imports flour from France - and an amazing Brie that they source for their dishes. Unusual focus in that they are open 8-4 but strongly promote their cocktail program and beers on draft. If they were open till 6 I would hit them early for happy hour and bites. Amazing breakfast dishes with local eggs served on their excellent bread. Standouts for our family were their cauliflower burger (I ordered it two days running), their burger with bacon, Brie, and mushrooms and onions, and their salmon bowl. I usually don’t enjoy baked goods domestically, as it’s hard to beat what we produce at home or what I know good bakeries can produce (and we don’t live close to great bakeries) but I enjoyed Culture Cafe’s for sure. Great drip coffee too, which I don’t take for granted.
Would love input from locals on other places to try on future trips.
. If so, then you’re very welcome! If not, then my apologies 