25 Best Restaurants in Williamsburg and Hampton Roads, Virginia

This former church near the historic business district has been drawing customers for a long time, and not without reason. It has cathedral ceilings and large windows, making for an airy and dramatic dining experience. You can sit upstairs, in the large choir loft, or in the main part of the church downstairs. Beside the bar just inside the entrance is an informal sort of "diner" area, but with the whole menu to choose from. Regular appetizers include artichoke dip and crab-stuffed mushrooms. There's a dinner special every weeknight, such as lobster, prime rib, and wild game (wild boar or alligator, for example). Vegetarian fare is also offered.

With vaulted ceilings and hardwood floors, the Trellis is an airy and pleasant place. The imaginative lunch and dinner menus change with the seasons. A good wine list complements such dishes as homemade sweet red pepper soup, beef tenderloin with cabernet sauce, and grilled market fish. The seafood entrées are particularly good, and many patrons wouldn't leave without ordering the rich Death by Chocolate, the restaurant's signature dessert. There's also great people-watching from the terrace.

The last freestanding restaurant on the beach not inside a hotel, this aqua-painted clapboard building houses a family-owned seafood grill. Inside, the ocher walls heighten the sun rays penetrating the ceiling-to-floor windows. Awnings shade the outdoor patio where live musicians perform in season. A local menu favorite is the Crab Ripper, a crab-cake sandwich topped with mozzarella and crisp bacon. A fried seafood sampler, fish and steak platters, steamed fish, appetizers, salads, burgers, and other sandwiches fill out the menu. Banquet facilities are available, and the Beach Nut Gift Shop is also on the premises. It is home to the original "Orange Crush," an alcoholic drink made with fresh-squeezed oranges, vodka, Triple Sec, and Sprite—the drink of locals. The website also has a webcam, great for people-watching and checking out the weather. Valet parking saves the hassle of difficult-to-find parking.

The cool name is rather appropriate—if you weren't hungry before entering this cozy place, you will be after the enticing smells reach you. A rich-looking dining room outfitted with plush leather couches and stone walls makes you want to linger. Breakfast burritos and Belgian waffles are nice ways to start the day. Or end it with Southern caramelized barbecued shrimp over a mound of grits, and snack on fondue. You can even order a colorful cake if you're celebrating a special occasion.

Lebanese specialties are featured at this casual restaurant in Ghent, which also has a Mediterranean food store. Indoor dining is on granite tables under the original tin ceiling and exposed air ducts. Outdoors, the terra-cotta patio has umbrellas. Order healthy Mediterranean food including kibbi, seasoned beef and bulgur patties; stuffed grape leaves; and meat kebab with grilled vegetables and side dishes. The hummus is a standout. Vegan and vegetarian selections are noted on the menu, which includes appetizers, wraps, pizza, and kebabs.

One of the most reliable seafood spots around, Berret's is in Merchants Square. Upscale but casual, the restaurant lights crackling fires during colder months and opens up its pleasant outdoor patio when it's warm. Entrées and appetizers employ fresh Chesapeake Bay seafood. It's usually a sure bet to try any of the nightly specials of fresh fish, which often include perfectly prepared flounder. The she-crab soup, a house favorite, blends crabmeat, cream, and crab roe with just a hint of sherry. Virginia wines and beers are featured.

Located at the Hilton Resort, Catch 31 is one of the nicest restaurants on the strip. Order the signature seafood towers that include lobster, crab legs, mussels, and shrimp, made for sharing. Sit outside for atmosphere; the setting is terrific, next to Neptune's statue, with fire pits, palm trees, and great people-watching. In summer it gets even better with live music at lunch and in the evenings.

A reconstructed 18th-century alehouse, Chowning's serves casual quick fare for lunch, including traditional pit-style barbecue, beef brisket sandwiches, and Smithfield ham and Gloucester cheese on a pretzel roll. You can eat either inside the tavern or under a grape arbor behind the tavern. After 5 pm, Chowning's becomes a true Colonial tavern where Gambols (18th-century entertainment), a program presented for 25 years, operates throughout the evening. Costumed balladeers lead family sing-alongs, and costumed servers play popular games of the day. From 8 pm until closing, Chowning's caters to a more mature audience.

It's easy to forget that this is a college town, but this cheerful dive keeps up the school spirit. The white-brick eatery is dark and scruffy inside. Walls are hung with fraternity and sorority pictures, graduation snapshots, and sports-team photos. Booths and tables are in the William and Mary colors of green and gold. Deli sandwiches, subs, specialty pizzas, pasta, stromboli, and Greek dishes are all prepared with fresh ingredients and are all delicious, and there's a wide selection of beers on tap. The Delly delivers free to nearby hotels from 6 pm to 1 am.

Broiled fresh seafood of a dozen kinds is the specialty at this casual waterfront restaurant only a quick bridge-crossing from the James River Plantations. You could start with spiced shrimp, and if you're really hungry, order the seafood platter. Other menu items include she-crab soup, Greek salads, and Italian main dishes. One of the few dining choices in the area, the Dockside is set on Big Bay Creek and overlooks the Virginia River.

After he introduced the world to its first ice cream cone at the 1904 World's Fair in St. Louis, Abe Doumar founded this drive-in institution in 1934. It's still operated by his family. Waitresses carry to your car the specialties of the house: barbecue, limeade, and ice cream in waffle cones (made according to an original recipe).

This 18th-century-style chophouse is where the gentry dined, and is still the finest of the historic area's four Colonial taverns. Colonial delicacies include roast prime rib of beef, pork chops, Cornish hen, game pie, and favorites such as peanut soup. Mrs. Vobe's Tavern Dinner, named after the tavern's 18th-century proprietress, Jane Vobe, is a fixed-price three-course meal.

A mall of small boutiques is the unlikely location for this French-country restaurant. The dining room has soft pastel colors, hardwood floors, candlelight, and a central open fireplace. The menu is arranged in the French manner, with prix-fixe menus and additional entrées, including whole duck breast with peach-and-pepper sauce, leg of lamb with rosemary-garlic sauce, bouillabaisse, and fresh scallops and shrimp with Champagne sauce. Consider making reservations for weekend dining.

This combination Irish pub, sports bar, and restaurant has a large central dining room with an open fireplace in the middle, a bar on one side, and a smaller dining room at one end. The menu includes steaks and Irish, Italian, and seafood entrées as well as snacks and sandwiches. The Sunday brunch is reasonable, and so are the weekday dinner specials. A block from the boardwalk, Murphy's has plenty of easy parking.

This expansive café is in an antique building in the heart of Ghent. Beneath a tin ceiling and exposed ductwork, a central bar is surrounded by several dining spaces with cream-and-mustard walls and wooden tables. Signature items include the ribs; the funky chicken sandwich, a grilled chicken breast with bacon, tomato, melted Swiss cheese, and Parmesan pepper dressing on rye; and the Spotswood salad of baby spinach, Granny Smith apples, and blue cheese.

Reminiscent of old-fashioned Virginia tearooms, this Colonial-style restaurant has delectable goodies served in an 18th-century dining room. For breakfast there's Virginia ham and eggs, made-from-scratch biscuits, country bacon, sausage, homemade pancakes, and grits. Lunch brings Brunswick stew, Virginia ham biscuits, chicken and dumplings, fruit salad, and homemade pie. There's a gift shop adjacent to the restaurant. It's a great, inexpensive, and filling place for families on a budget; lunch reservations are recommended.

Tucked away in a K-Mart–anchored shopping center, this reasonably priced, large Chinese restaurant with a Mongolian grill is a real treat. The daily buffet offers both stick-to-your-ribs Chinese and Mongolian dishes. At the grill, choose the ingredients you want in your entrée, and watch the cooks prepare it in front of you. If your children don't like Chinese food, there is a children's menu that includes pizza. Peking is a great value for money and a favorite with locals. The Greene shopping center location is just outside the historic district.

Whether you dine indoors or out, enjoy the view of the York River, the Coleman Bridge, and Gloucester on the opposite shore. Nick's Riverwalk offers casual meals of soups, salads, and sandwiches at the Rivah Café and outdoor courtyard; the Riverwalk Dining Room is more formal, with a menu featuring baked crabmeat imperial, sautéed fillets, and local oysters. Right outside of the café are a boardwalk and a sandy beach. Parking is available across the street. There are many shops just outside the Riverwalk's door.

The Down East architecture of this local favorite with double-deck porches hints at the seafood that's available. The restaurant has a bar, a raw bar, and alfresco dining in good weather (in cool weather, the large window wall still gives you a view of the water). Seafood, pasta, chicken, and beef share the menu with salads and sandwiches. Rockafeller's (and several others) are on Rudee Inlet. Go on a Thursday night for the lobster special, the best their menu has to offer. To get here, go south on Pacific Avenue and turn right on Winston-Salem immediately before the Rudee Inlet bridge. The street ends at Mediterranean Avenue.

Locals love this family Italian restaurant and pizzeria that serves up pasta, fish, chicken, and veal dinners as well as subs and pizzas. It's a good choice for families who want to please the kids: parents can get quality "adult food" while their children graze on pizza and subs. The restaurant delivers free to nearby hotels. Families rave about Sal's, especially its family feast.

Known for locally sourced seafood in a chic historic setting, Saltine offers a primo dining experience in Downtown Norfolk. Go for the Mon.-Fri. happy hour: James River oysters and peel ‘n’ eat shrimp plus beer, wine, and craft cocktail specials

Proprietor James Shields served the lesser gentry and upper middling ranks of locals and travelers in the 1740s. Today, the largest of the colonial taverns now serves more than just light fare, though soup, salads, wrap sandwiches, and pie are still popular. This tavern closes at 9 pm.

Located at City Center, this is a great place for lunch. The interior has tall ceilings with exposed ducts and shelving with exotic sauces and dips to sample and buy. Affordable fresh sandwiches, soups, and salads can be made by their suggestions—or make up your own. The grilled chicken salad with grapes and celery is very Virginia. Add fresh cucumbers and balsamic vinaigrette for a twist. Other choices include Virginia ham, roasted red peppers, and Chesapeake crab cakes. The food is fresh and local, and they even have gluten-free choices. They offer boxed lunches to take while exploring the area and deliveries to hotel rooms.

Beside the Hampton History Museum, you're greeted by an enticing aroma and a gift shop with tea-related items when you enter this cozy room decorated with Victorian tea-party prints in gilded frames, antique teapots, and knickknacks. Brunswick stew, creamy Hampton blue-crab soup, and biscuits are permanent fixtures on the "everything-homemade" menu, and daily specials, such as chicken and dumplings, are posted on the wall. Desserts are especially good, but avoid the canned fruit salad on iceberg lettuce. The tearoom is open for lunch only.

The Vintage Kitchen focuses on local foods, artisanal cheeses, and microbrews. It's a place where you can order five-spice duck breast and also a superb cheeseburger. All the spices and sauces come from an outdoor herb garden. A special seven-course tasting meal is available by appointment Monday through Wednesday. Huge windows with tables facing the Elizabeth River make for great ambience.