Christiana Campbell's Tavern — Restaurant in Williamsburg

It pains me to write this review as I have had a very good experience at Christiana Campbell’s in the past. We recommend it to friends visiting Williamsburg and have brought friends, too. When an opportunity for a Valentine menu arose, my fiance and I were excited to book a table. They were almost sold out (more on this later) but we scored an early reservation.

The short story is that the experience was very disappointing.

The meal required advance payment of $85 per person plus a 20% gratuity. Details of the menu were not given but the description promised a period appropriate meal. Drinks would be extra and charged on location.

The staff that greeted us were friendly and seated us immediately. Our server was pleasant and somewhat attentive. The issues with the meal were not her fault. However, I would not have rated her service worthy of a 20% gratuity.

The cocktails were $15 each. We ordered two and were surprised at how small they were. The portions were almost comical. Mine was served with ice, so I'd estimate I received about 2-3oz for my $15. I switched to beer after that with my date deciding to order a different cocktail. That's when we noticed the glassware was dirty. The bottoms of all three cocktail glasses were lined with crust that could be scraped away with a fingernail. Perhaps it was soap residue. But $15 for a small cocktail in dirty glassware is unacceptable.

The menu was only three courses, including dessert. My fiancé chose the oysters while I ordered an asparagus dish with poached egg and toast. The oysters were acceptable, not great. The asparagus was seasoned well. The egg was bland. It was the main entree, stuffed lobster, that was the chief offender. When ordering this dish in the past elsewhere, the ‘stuffed’ portion has been a quality ingredient such as crab meat, etc. What we each received was one half of a lobster tail, split down the middle lengthwise, and one claw. The meat was dry, unseasoned, and amounted to three to four bites in total. The tail was stuffed with -wait for it- dry bread crumbs. It was served on a bed of dry rice, fused into a crust and topped with a tomato concoction that tasted like canned tomato sauce. The claws had been pre-cracked to some degree, but were difficult to open. No utensils were given to facilitate retrieving the meat or crack the shell. No additional seasonings or melted butter were offered. So we dined on dry, chewy, overcooked, bland lobster. Perhaps it was the bread crumb stuffing that dried the meat so badly.

The desserts were fine yet certainly nothing suitable for a fine dining experience. The final little joke of the evening was when my mousse, served in a small V shaped glass, was served with a dinner fork.

Typically with a pre-fixe menu, a chef will offer a little surprise, perhaps a palate cleanser or an amuse-bouche. Not here.

It is worth mentioning that there was no presentation given for this meal of supposed historic significance. It was basically just, “Here’s your menu. What do you want? Here it is.” There was also no theming for Valentine’s Day. There wasn’t so much as a flower on the table. When dining at Christiana Campbell’s in the past, musicians were present performing period appropriate music table-side. There was no entertainment that night.

Finally, I mentioned I’d get back to the sold out reservations. By the time we were done with our earlier reservation, it was restaurant prime time. The building was practically empty. Where were all those reservations that prevented us from getting a later seating? That's a mystery.

Overall, the event seemed like an afterthought on the part of the restaurant. Based on our previous experience, I trusted Christiana Campbell’s to provide a great meal and a romantic atmosphere for what they billed as a special event for the holiday. Instead, it felt like a tourist trap. Dinner and four drinks with a mandatory 20% gratuity totaled over $300. We left feeling very disappointed and taken advantage of. We are questioning whether we will...

After visiting Colonial Williamsburg a few times in the past and never dining at Christiana Campbell's we decided to give it a go since we had great experiences at the other taverns and inns. I was initially hesitant because of looking at the menu online and the pricing however we decided to give it a try because we just wanted a nice night out in the historic setting.

The atmosphere is great. You are really taken back in time and the staff all look and act the part. The tavern is broken up into various rooms some being larger or smaller then others with varying amounts of other diners in them. The rooms are a bit loud because there isn't much inside to absorb the sounds, bare walls, wood floors, wood tables and chairs... so at times the nice romantic setting is disrupted by chairs dragging on the floor or things bumping into floors or walls. The do have live music and on our night it was a guitarist and he was pretty good and played historical tunes of course.

Our waitress was named "Pooh" and was absolutely fantastic. When you go out and spend a lot of money you want to be taken care of. She did not disappoint. She immediately explained about the historic inn to us and told a small tale. She played her role very well as if she lived in those times. She explained the special and pricing, she went over menu items and offered suggestions, and she offered suggestions about drinks as well. A tip she provided about the sweet potato muffins was that we would all love them and it was like eating dessert first and she was right. She was aware to ask if anyone at the table had a nut allergy since the muffins had nuts int hem. I thought that was great of her to actually ask us that. None of us were huge cornbread fans but she convinced us to try something I think she called Spoon Bread, which was like a mushy corn bread, and we all agreed it was really good.

The food was extremely fresh and hot and very tasty. The mixed drinks were well prepared. Overall an incredible experience and the highlight of our trip.

I had the Colonial Williamsburg app which had a coupon for a free appetizer. When I asked Pooh about it, she said it was a per person coupon so if others at the table had the app they can get a free app too... so she gave us time and got drinks while we all downloaded the app and she came back and verified and we all got free appetizers.

If you go into this place expecting a great meal and service you wont be disappointed, but you just need to get over the sticker shock. we just made the decision to do it and not worry about the price and have a great historic evening. For a family of 4 we walked out with a bill around $250 that did not include the 4 apps we got.

Overall great place and experience and service was...

We recently dined at Christiana Campbell’s Tavern for the fourth time. In the past, our experiences there have been consistently delightful, but unfortunately, this most recent visit was disappointing from a culinary standpoint, even though the restaurant itself remained as charming as ever.

The ambience was lovely—warm, historic, and welcoming—and our waitress could not have been more gracious. She truly elevated the evening, and we happily left her a generous tip for her outstanding service.

Our meal began with sweet potato muffins, which were very good, though the butter was served much too firm to spread. My cocktail, the Laird’s Punch, was fabulous, and my garden lettuce appetizer was fresh and delicious, with the baby fig being a sweet and pleasant surprise. My husband started with oysters, which he thoroughly enjoyed, along with a cocktail that he found excellent.

Unfortunately, the entrées were where the evening faltered. I ordered the crabcakes ($49), accompanied by carrots and spoonbread. The carrots were lovely, but the crabcakes were dry, contained unexpected bones, and left me wondering if fish had been added to the mixture. As a Marylander, I know good crabcakes, and these were not up to par. The spoonbread—typically one of Christiana Campbell’s celebrated specialties—was especially disappointing. In the past, it has been light and almost pudding-like, but this time it was dense, dry, and sat heavily on the plate.

My husband ordered the beef steak, requested medium, but it arrived extremely tough and far closer to “well done.” Cutting through it was so difficult that at one point his knife flew from the table.

Desserts were stronger. My ice cream was simple but pleasant, though clearly not house-made. My husband’s chocolate torte, however, was excellent. Coffee and wine were less successful: the Cabernet Sauvignon was not enjoyable, and the coffee was thin and underwhelming.

In total, the meal came to $223, before a $50 tip for our wonderful server. While we left disappointed with the food, the beauty of the tavern, the warmth of the staff, and our many previous positive experiences mean we are not giving up on Christiana Campbell’s. We look forward to returning in the future and very much hope to find the restaurant back to its usual...