Old City Barbeque — Restaurant in Williamsburg

Atmosphere If it was full on spring and there were people in the tables outside it would have been lovely, if you added some string lights on the porch even moreso but the fire pit was very nice especially with the temperature dropping. Just could have been a touch more cozy.

Service Service was fine. We were outside so I understand not being seen as often as if we were inside but it did feel like we had been forgotten at times. Nothing crazy long waits though.

Food Since we got food almost tapas style I'll review them all as individual components in case any particular struck your fancy.

Prime brisket- I had this and it was amazing. Especially with the sauces they provided. I was in bbq heaven with this one.

Pork belly bites- my wife loved these, they were perfectly crispy on the outside and a nice soft inside. I thought they were good but my wife wouldn't stop talking about these.

Fried oysters- not a fan. I've had only a few fried oysters that I actually like but this tasted like soggy breading around an oyster. By the time we were eating them the breading had started to get wet from the inside. The flavor was good and the oyster tasted good but the breading is why you have a fried oyster and it wasn't great with this one.

Cornbread- Certainly not the best cornbread I've ever had. It had a mild corn flavor and the inside tasted sorta like a very dry corn cake. I would avoid if you have ever had cornbread before.

Sweet potato waffle fries- I wanted to know if they could impart the same deliciousness to the sweet potato fries as they did to the normal fries and let me tell you they were amazing. They certainly got their fry game down to a science. If they had a maple cinnamon dipping sauce I'd get a gallon of fries with a gallon of sauce and call it a night.

Fries- oddly enough these fries are why I decided to try the restaurant version of old city bbq. I had first eaten them in the food truck and they were close to the best fries I've ever eaten. They are just as good in the restaurant as they were in the truck. No need for ketchup with these delicious potatoes. Just chow down.

Bread pudding This was amazing. I love bread pudding so this pay be my personal bias but I finished it like someone had a stopwatch in my face. If you like bread pudding save room for this.

Banana pudding I'm normally not too big a banana pudding guy but this was way better than normal banana pudding.this didn't taste like banana jello pudding. It was thick and had real chunks of bananas. It was a delicious end to our meal.

Overall This was as close to a 5 as I've seen a place get. If any number of things had gone just a little better it certainly would have nudged it out, and of course if I go back and any of those things are better i would gladly change it to a 5 star review. But for now it's 4 stars. Would I reccomend you come here? Without a shadow of a doubt yes, given you are on the peninsula side of Hampton roads. I don't know that I would travel much further than...

With today's economy, I don't like trying new restaurants only to discover I just spent so much money on something I didn't enjoy. I'd rather stick to the chain restaurants. At least I know what I'm getting with those, the good and the bad. I love barbeque. Williamsburg has a unique offering of barbeque restaurants. I've tried most of them: Red, Hot & Blue (closed), Rocco's Smokehouse Grill, Pierce's Pitt Bar-B-Que, Matchsticks BBQ Co. (closed), and now Old City Barbeque. With the exception of Matchsticks, I have not found any of these restaurants worthy of my repeat business. My fiancée and I tried Old City Barbeque for lunch a few days ago. The building itself is fine. We waited longer than necessary to be greeted and shown to a table. Our server had the personality of a plank of wood. She wasn't rude, just very matter of fact, not welcoming. She definitely never cracked a smile. After ordering, the drinks and food came out in a decent amount of time. I ordered their brisket sandwich and fries. My fiancée ordered the pulled pork and collard greens. We also got the fried green tomatoes as a starter and a side of corn bread. The only thing good about the whole meal were the sandwiches themselves. The fries were awful. They were undercooked and tasted like they had been cooked in old oil. The tomatoes came with a bacon jam and a cheese spread. Those were disgusting. The cornbread came out overcooked. As soon as it was set down on the table, I thought how could a server think that was ok to server. We tried a piece of the cornbread that wasn't burnt. It tasted terrible. We told the server we didn't like it so it was taken off the bill. The sauces on the dining tables were the worst tasting collection of sauces I've ever had at any barbeque place I've ever been to. Their Sticky Patches sauce tasted just like the liquid from a can of pork and beans. I was so annoyed having to pay nearly $60 for all that. I'll stick to places like Mission BBQ and County Grill from now on if I want barbeque. You let me...

In 25 years here on the peninsula, Old City is the first and only barbeque restaurant to move the needle for me. This food is simply phenomenal! The brick and mortar location at 700 York Ave. in Wmsbg is pleasant in every respect. The food is just as fantastic there as their food truck! This is a feat, in and of itself.

The meats (all of them, the turkey, the ribs, the pork belly, and especially the brisket) are all incredibly tasty, succulent, and perfectly smoked. The tacos are incredible- innovative toppings and tastes come together with the smoked meats in a captivating way. The pork belly is what will bring me back, however. Perfect. Crispy, juicy, flawless flavor. The sides are equally impressive, Mac and cheese done several ways, the green beans have a smokiness and brewery hint that is sublime. The baked beans have a texture and flavor that is obviously well-thought out, and equally well-executed. The loaded nachos (found only at their food truck) are a destination in and of themselves.

At the restaurant, my wife had the pork belly bahn mi sandwich, with smoked Mac. I had a gigantic sandwich (name escapes me now) included every type of smoked meat in their repertoire, slaw, and their homemade pickles and onions. Both dishes were incredible.

At their food truck earlier in the week, we tried their pork belly tacos. Outstanding! The pork contrasted with the Korean slaw to great effect!

Summary- Flavor innovation, superb brisket, and wonderful pork belly peg the needle here. Coupled with the courteous, professional folks manning the ship, and Old City is my new go-to for barbeque.

We agreed to hit their wings up next visit. Those gotta be good!

Well done, Old City Barbeque. Highly recommended!

I forgot about their sauces. Each of the four I have tried are nicely done, and capture the essence of their intent. The molasses sauce, the Tidewater (spicy), the vinegar-based are...