Village Tavern — Restaurant in Winston-Salem

I am absolutely laughing because my server today told me they were featured on Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives and that Guy Fieri specifically raved about the crab dip. I looked that up because I wanted to see the episode after we ate (and it was WAY too noisy in there to hear anything)...it doesn't exist 😆 Their restaurant was only featured on Guilty Pleasures and it was Jackee Harry who simply said, "As soon as it hits the table, you have to grab it and eat it." How does someone get that completely wrong? She was super sweet, though, and she was a tip-top server other than that weirdness. Hopefully someone just misinformed her and it wasn't her own poor research.

But, on to my meal assessment - do not get the mashed potatoes or green beans, unless you love absolutely bland vegetables. There was just oil on the green beans?? That's it. No garlic or pepper - just oil. And the mashed potatoes also had nothing in it at all. A tiny bit of chopped parsley on top, lol. Thanks for the most flavorless herb ever. Whyyyyyy? If I wanted to eat like my grandmother's bland palette, I can do that for cheap at home! RIP, Grandma ❤️

Now for the good parts, though!!

The filet mignon was excellent and it was nice that it came with two sides. But, it was almost $30, so I would hope so. The Macaroni and Cheese for a side was so wonderful (you could tell it was freshly made and could see the different cheeses in it). The Cowboy Burger my husband had was absolutely wonderful and he said it definitely tasted like someone just freshly made it. The Ahi Tuna appetizer was so delicious and lightly cooked perfectly. Also, it had a perfect sesame ginger sauce (that actually reminded me of miso? So, I'm not sure about that) and a soy sauce (that was definitely low sodium, which I appreciate) The Margherita Pizza left something to be desired, but it wasn't too awful - it would have been better with large leaves of fresh basil that weren't cooked in the oven (bc they're not supposed to be). You can see in the picture that it had weird, tiny strips of basil, but they were ruined by being baked. The Hot Crab Dip was definitely the best thing we had - the homemade garlic bread was nice and light with not an overpowering garlic flavor and the dip came out piping hot (hence, the name, I guess 😆 because they don't mean spicy-hot). And I got the Crab Cake Sandwich which tasted so delicious!!! I asked for no tomato, but it was on it anyway, lol, I'm used to that over the years. The crab used in it was so high quality and, hey!!, they used freaking seasoning on it!

In short, this restaurant reminded me of somewhere old, bland, white folks would go to. It's for people who have never tasted good food from other countries. It's for the Karens who brings potato salad with raisins to the cookout. It's for those people who grew up in the 50s and encased hot dogs in Jell-O. Ikid a bit, but you really have to choose the right dishes to get a truly good meal in here. Test stuff out and see what you like first.

The lighting also made it very difficult to get good photos of the food. It was a strange bulb just hanging waaay too low above the table. But, you know, that wasn't anything super...

I recently spent a week in Winston-Salem while my son was working at a nearby hospital, and we were fortunate that the Village Tavern was right across the parking lot from his hotel. What I can say is that every single day, from lunch through dinner, this place stayed busy—and after visiting, I completely understand why.

On our second visit, we went for a special occasion—my son’s birthday. We made reservations and walked over. The restaurant has a quiet, distinguished vibe that feels welcoming without being stuffy. Our server greeted us right away, and throughout the night he was friendly, attentive, and made excellent recommendations.

We started with the Spicy Korean Fried Cauliflower appetizer, which was sweet, spicy, and uniquely served on a sheet of nori. My son suggested wrapping the cauliflower in the nori for an extra umami punch—delicious!

For entrées, he ordered the Butcher’s Steak (a center cut aged Angus sirloin) with a loaded baked potato and green beans. Being from Texas, he knows his beef, and he gave it a wholehearted approval. I went with the Italian Sausage & Black Pepper Honey Pizza, made with their house-made Caputo flour dough. It was outstanding—sweet, savory, and more than enough to share, and the addition of the Black Pepper Honey, made it truly unique.

Since it was a birthday dinner, we took dessert to go and chose the Very Best Carrot Cake. After letting dinner settle back at the hotel, we split it—and I have to say, in 60 years of enjoying desserts, this might be the best carrot cake I’ve ever had. Moist, rich, perfectly spiced, and topped with decadent cream cheese icing. My son agreed, and we both decided the server’s recommendation was spot on once again.

All in all, Village Tavern more than lived up to its reputation. The food, service, and atmosphere made for a memorable evening, and I can see exactly why the parking lot stays full. Highly recommended for anyone visiting...

Disappointment! Went to celebrate June's birthday. Got reservations and she studied the menu during our wait time. Walked in restaurant to be greeted by the hostess. Saying it will be a few minutes. In walks a lady with a small teenager says something to hostess, hostess says two, follow me. What? Why couldn't I have that table and they could have had our booth. Ok. Order drinks, finally appetizer then entrée. Nachos were delicious!!!! Steak tacos for her and shrimp n grits for me. Seen my waiter fly by but hardly ever stopping. I blame management. Why? The 2 females I heard speaking on the ear piece were hateful. I understand making guests happy and keeping upper management in money but I think that our waiter was over extended with tables. He could have problems at home, I don't know but he could have used help. Waitress walks by with a basket of bread. Then our waiter gives a basket to the table beside of us. Why didn't we get bread? Heck June had to go find silverware after the nachos came. So, finally end of meal and ask for dessert to go. June orders a creme Brule for her and I ask for key lime pie. June volunteers it's her birthday and wants to splurge. Bill comes 86 dollars. Ok we got this...gave 100 with tip. June about fell over saying that's our grocery budget for a week!!!! To be honest, I've never spent that amount for 2 people to eat! We get dessert delivered in a bag. Never opened it like a fool. There was cheesecake with a raspberry topping in one container and.... the creme Brule was scrapped into a container looking like a dog's breakfast. The topping wasn't even toasted. Charge me a few dollars more, leave it in original container, burn top and send it out to go. No silverware to eat it with back at the hotel.... Very disappointed if this was voted best restaurant in...