Restaurants in Williamsburg, VA area

[pedie]

We are leaving on Thursday for a week's stay in Williamsburg, VA. We plan to explore the general area with side trips to Kitty Hawk, NC and Monticello, VA. We travel light with only carry-on luggage so we cannot indulge in "fine dining." We are looking for restaurants with authentic cuisine. We are happy with "mom and pop" but appreciate good food. The meal and the bottle of wine is our evening entertainment so we want to savor! Any suggestions?

[bavila]

Search the DelMarVa forum for "Norfolk" which is about 45 minutes south of Williamsburg (going "east" on 64).

My favorite in Norfolk is Wild Monkey on Colley Ave. It's funky and casual.

For Kitty Hawk area you might want to try in the South East forum, or PM Varmint. Have fun!

[golden brown]

http://www.thetrellis.com/

I have not been, but The Trellis enjoys a good reputation. It has been around for many years. You amy familiar with the chef/owner's cookbook, "Death by Chocolate."

Perhaps those who have been there can comment.

[monavano]

I'd recommend The Blue Talon (http://www.bluetalonbistro.com/indexBistro.html) and The Fat Canary. Here's a website with many dining options.

http://www.williamsburgonline.com/dining/dining_elegant.html

I'd recommend reservations be a must for both places, well in advance at The Fat Canary.

Both are smart casual, definitely not dressy. Also, the FC is adjoined to the ever popular "Cheese Shop". Downstairs you can pick out a wine for dinner at the Fat Canary. I think they charge a 10 dollar corkage fee.

Edited April 3, 2006 by monavano (log)

[DTBarton]

Pierce's is the old time Williamsburg barbecue joint. Haven't been in years, it was good when I lived in the area many moons ago.

http://www.pierces.com/default.asp

[davipack]

Pierce's is the old time Williamsburg barbecue joint.  Haven't been in years, it was good when I lived in the area many moons ago.

http://www.pierces.com/default.asp

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I can vouch for both Pierce's and the Trellis. Pierce's is great for lunch or a very informal dinner. The Trellis is teriffic for a nice meal out, also have a good lunch menu. They have seasonal menus and use local ingredients. The only official Colonial Williamsburg restaurant I would try is Campbell's. Also, when you're in Kitty Hawk, go to the Blue Point in Duck, it's great and actually partly owned by the same family that owns the Trellis.

[Busboy]

An in-law of a friend runs a place called Cities Grill in the Five Forks shopping center which, not knowing there was a distant connection, that I enjoyed a couple of years ago. The food was pretty darn good -- especially for the restaurant's being located in an HTZ (High Tourist Zone) -- and it's connected with a pretty decent wine shop, so you pick your bottle and pay retail prices, rather than restaurant markups.

Probably wouldn't set the culinary world on fire in a major city, but in an area full of chains, "authentic" colonial restaurants and (in our experience) disappointing if picturesque seafood places, it was a nice find.

Especially, by the way, if you want something not made by the Gallo Brothers to drink with your meal.

Website here.

Edited to add: As for dress, If you can manage anything beyong grungewear trousers and a t-shirt, you can probably eat there and pretty much anywhere in the area. I went in jeans and a decent shirt.

[pedie]

Thanks for all the suggestions! We leave in the am and I will report back with any exceptional finds.

[Kim Shook]

I know this might be too late, but for anyone else that is perusing the boards in search of Wmsburg restaurants, I would recommend Le Yaca. It is on Rt. 60, about 1/2 mi. from the entrance to Busch Gardens in a cute little shopping center that includes a tea shop (they actually serve tea), a wine/gourmet shop, some nice little boutiques and a great wool shop. Le Yaca is French, but think country French. Very relaxed and casual. I have only been for lunch and it is very reasonably priced and has very good food. We have had the mushroom soup, the salad, the snails, the crab crepes and the roasted pork loin with stuffed cabbage, boudin blanc and apples. Everything was delicious!

[pedie]

Thanks for all the suggestions. We returned home after a great trip to the Williamsburg area. As for restaurants, we had some hits and some misses. We did manage to get to Pierce's and Cities Grill, and enjoyed both. We took Pierce's to-go since we wanted some alcohol with the BBQ and Pierce's doesn't serve it. We also had a nice authentic Italian meal at Maurizio's in the Marketplace shopping center. It is owned by a family from Carini, a small village west of Palermo. Very authentic, down to the shouting out of instructions in Italian from across the room! It was fun and it was packed every night, with many locals. Very moderately priced. What drew us was the "pasta con sarde" on the menu. In our experience, it is hard to find.

In Kitty Hawk, we had a hard time. Many of the places recommended were still closed. (Like Blue Point in Duck!) Must to too early in the season. So we ended up at the Black Pelican which was maybe a "7". Nice fresh scallops and fresh fried grouper.

[carpetbagger, esq.]

where did you eat in charlottesville?

[s'kat]

Just for future reference, I'd heartily NOT recommend the Trellis. Marcel has been riding on his reputation for too many years, and the locals know it.

[pedie]

where did you eat in charlottesville?

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I am glad you asked. We actually had a very nice meal at Ludwig's Restaurant at 2208 Fontaine Ave. It has Bavarian food and is owned and operated by Hans Gerstl. My husband truly appreciates good Bavarian and Austrian food so he had the Schwabisher Rostbraten (he can actually prounouce it correctly!) and I had the sauerbraten. They have a very full menu with many other traditional choices. Many guests were ordering their variety of sausages. They also served a wonderful cauliflower soup.

[Beverly Shaw]

Just to add to the thread for the future reference of others:

We ate at Fat Canary last night and it was fantastic! I had a perfectly prepared filet and roasted root vegetables with gruyere and walnuts, along with a potato and onion gratin. My husband got a veal chop with chantrelle risotto and asparagus.

We had a simple but pleasing carpaccio with duck egg for an appetizer and for dessert a chocolate cake piece with warm ganache, although it was much more than just that, with some kind of crisp chocolate "frond" and hazelnut bark on the outside.

They also served fresh bread with a mini stick of butter for use during the meal.

Don't bet on this menu being the same if you visit later, because it seems they keep the menu fresh and use lots of seasonal ingredients.

We skipped the wine - weren't in the mood - and for this dinner for two the bill came to about $120 after tax and tip. Worth every penny. Given the shared dessert and appetizer and the fact that we didn't have alcoholic beverages, it would be easy to spend more. I am sure that would be worth it, too.

The service, lest I forget, was also top notch: unobtrusive and perfectly timed.

[dejaq]

It's been a year or so since I have been to Williamsburg, and yes the Trellis was disapointing. The King's Arms on the other hand was worth every penny.

Michael Robert Porru