One of my favorite parts of a trip is eating! So, here’s my guide to Colonial Williamsburg food! I will provide you with a look at where you should dine and what you should order!
Colonial Williamsburg Food
Having visited Williamsburg twice now, I’ve been able to enjoy some tasty meals. So, I thought I would share them here as a guide and I will update this post after any future trips. I have to say, I was very impressed with Colonial Williamsburg food and I would go back just to eat there again. Without further ado, here’s my list of places you should eat when you visit!
King’s Arms Tavern
My husband and I had an amazing dinner at King’s Arms Tavern the first night of our trip. We ate by candlelight near a window. It was romantic and had great ambiance. There was even live colonial music being played. Then, we received our delicious food!
The meal starts with some bread and relishes. The ham relish reminded me of a ham salad and was tasty. The corn relish was pretty much just corn. However, they were all a unique way to begin our meal. I had heard many good things about the peanut soup here, so I had to try it. I’m happy to report that it lived up to the hype! It was so good! It was almost like drinking peanuts, but in the best way possible!
For our entrees, I ordered the hunter’s game pie and was pleasantly surprised by how good it tasted. The crust was perfection! The jam added a bit of sweetness to the dish. The different meats went together well. My husband got the smoked golden yard bird, which had a tasty raspberry mustard sauce. My husband really liked it, but he’s a huge fan of mustard sauces. I thought the chicken was juicy and the mustard was tart but not too tart.
We finished dinner with desserts! I got the Jefferson bread pudding with a bourbon custard sauce. It was a really dense piece of bread covered in a creamy sauce! My husband got a slice of the southern pecan pie. I imagine it was more akin to what they had back in colonial times as it wasn’t overly sweet, like most pecan pies. It was more of a spicy pecan pie with a bit of a cinnamon like flavor. It was neat.
Overall, this was a delightful meal and a great way to begin our trip.
Chowning’s Tavern
Technically, we ate this meal at King’s Arms Tavern. However, during the slower season, lunch at King’s Arms is from Chowning’s. This was an equally good meal, albeit a little cheaper with a little less colonial ambiance due to the lack of candle light and music. However, the meal was just as good!
I ordered the onion pie as my entrée here. I wasn’t sure what to expect from it, but I was very pleasantly surprised as it was tasty! The combination of onions, potatoes, and apples made for a slightly sweet meal. The addition of the egg and flaky crust kept it from getting boring.
My husband got the Virginia pork BBQ. Being from southwestern Virginia, we’ve had lots of pork BBQ. This was similar to others we’ve had, but it was still really good. He was happy with his decision and I would consider getting it next time.
Thankfully, after all of that we still had room for dessert! My husband ordered the American Heritage Chocolate Cobbler and it was fantastic! It was sort of like an underbaked brownie. Very chocolatey yet not overly sweet. It was a real treat. However, the main star of this meal for me was the peanut butter pie! I loved the addition of a chocolate ganache and berries on top! I sometimes find myself thinking about this pie and wanting it again. That’s how good it is! I highly recommend trying a piece if you get the chance.
Obviously, this was a fantastic meal. You can see pictures of our food in my Instagram post below.
Christiana Campbell’s Tavern
On a return visit in 2024, my husband and I enjoyed a dinner at Christiana Campbell’s Tavern. Similar to King’s Arms, there’s live colonial music here as well. You also eat by candlelight and it’s very nice. Here, we splurged and started the meal with a bowl of fruit punch. It was tasty. They also brought us a basket of mini sweet potato muffins that were warm and soft. We also got to try spoon bread, which was ok.
Continuing with my pie theme at CW, I ordered more pie here! For my entree, I selected the seafood pie. I was a touch disappointed to discover that they are now taking the shortcut of simply placing a circle of puff pastry on top of things and calling it pie! While it was tasty, I don’t think it qualifies as pie. My husband selected the fried fish and was surprised to discover that it was not de-boned. So, be careful if you pick this one.
For dessert, I got the apple pie. Again, a puff pastry is simply placed on top of the filling. It was an interesting pie as they added something tart to the mix and it’s not a typical apple pie. I preferred and ended up swapping with my husband for his dessert – the trifle of the season.
Overall, this was a very expensive meal. The history and ambiance of the meal made it special. I don’t think I would order the same items again if I were to return. In fact, I think we preferred King’s Arms to this one. That’s not to say it’s bad, the other one just suits our tastes better.
Breakfast
The taverns aren’t open for breakfast. However, if you stay in the area, I recommend walking over to the Williamsburg Inn for a fancy meal at the Terrace and Goodwin’s Rooms. They serve a three course breakfast as well as a Sunday brunch. On the day we dined here in 2023, they had a divine banana smoothie for the amuse-bouche. On a return visit in 2024, they served mini bread puddings for the amuse-bouche.
For the starter course, I selected the bacon and corn griddle cakes. It was a sweet and savory start to the meal. It was unlike any other griddle cakes I’ve ever had. My husband went with the seasonal fruit and was served a variety of berries, grapes, and apple slices.
For the main course, we both ordered the special of the day: biscuits and gravy! The gravy was made with an amazing sausage that provided a unique flavor to the gravy. Again, this was unlike any other breakfast I’ve eaten, but in a good way. Everything was fresh and tasted great!
This was an amazing way to start the day and I wish we had eaten here both mornings of our trip! We tried the breakfast buffet at Traditions at Williamsburg Lodge the other morning of our trip. While it was a more grown-up or classy breakfast buffet, it was still a pretty typical spread of breakfast fare. I don’t even have pictures to share of it. If you are staying at the Lodge, it’s a really convenient option. Otherwise, I recommend going over to the Inn for a much better and unique meal.
2024 Update: My mom and I visited Traditions for breakfast in December 2024, but ordered from the menu this time. I was much more impressed with these items. The pumpkin swirl pancakes were tasty! I also appreciated the option of chicken sausage. I recommend ordering breakfast from the menu here and skipping the buffet.
Colonial Williamsburg Snacks
We stopped at the Raleigh Tavern Bakery one day to see what kind of food the colonists ate. It’s a very quaint, dimly-lit place with plenty of muffins and some grab and go options. We tried the queen’s cake as we had seen it being made at the palace. It was a very dense, dry bread with some currants. We also tried two muffins. They were tasty but not overly sweet or exciting. It was a neat way to feel old-fashioned but not necessarily the best thing we ate there.
Conclusion
Most of the Colonial Williamsburg food we had was amazing! If you are curious about where to stay when visiting, I recommend staying in a colonial house or tavern room to be as close to the good food as possible!
