It always sucks to have to write a tough review for a place that does seem to try so hard. Unfortunately, the food here really has much room for improvement. Let's start with the good. There's plenty of parking and the ambiance of this place is memorable, in a really dated (like borderline cheesy nautical decor) 80's kind of way. This place is also insanely dark, which seems to try and convey a romantic atmosphere, but it's just plain dark if you ask me. Now sadly, the food really is, for lack of a better word, pretty bad across the board. If there's anything on the menu you should stay the hell away from, it's definitely the French onion soup. The soup itself was so salty, it was absolutely inedible. It was promptly sent back and replaced with a clam chowder, which was on the other end of the spectrum - totally bland and absolutely devoid of any meaningful flavor. The entrees were no better. The stuffed flounder was expensive but tasted nowhere close to the price tag. The fish, like the chowder, was completely devoid of flavor and was not seasoned. The crab stuffing was mushy and not appetizing. Generally speaking, there was nothing appetizing about the meal, including the palate cleanser, which had no discernible taste as well (even though it was supposed to be some kind of lime sherbet of sorts). Again, this place tries hard to be upscale, but absolutely falls flat on the food. Even the rolls and opening weird coffee cake like kind of bread they serve were bland or tasted off. The service was also spotty and confusing all night. Our server was friendly and did do her best to keep up, but generally the food took a long time and it took 20 minutes to even get water. At least the host was friendly and the staff in general did seem to try their best despite being not up to par to the kind of upscale experience they try to emulate. At least the meal ended alright. The flambe dessert (I chose peach) was a nice little show, mostly because this old fashioned dated experience is literally nowhere to be seen in the NYC area these days, so it was nice to sort of relive a cheesy memory. The taste of the dessert was also a nice throwback to older times, though I'm not sure if this was meant to be an actual nostalgia trip here. In the end, given the presence of better dining options close by, I'd say you're better off going somewhere else. read more

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What an amazing dining experience. We walked in completely under dressed and they we so welcoming. Our son had never been to a "fancy" restaurant and he was so excited by the way they treated us. 3 different breads, very friendly and very nice low music. The food was on point and the crab was prevalent in the crab stuffed shrimp. What a wonderful stop. We loved it here. read more

Seafare of Williamsburg - Sorbet before dinner. - Seafood Near Me - Williamsburg, Virginia

What a nightmare Poor quality. Limited selections Old and tired. First restaurant we went to the weekend we moved in to our home in Williamsburg. read more

Arrived at 4:30 on Friday, August 27, 2021. Celebrating our Anniversary. My Salmon was good and cooked perfectly. Here's why 3 stars... it's smells musty, it's trying to be a high end restaurant but, the only thing high end are the prices. They don't know anything about the Yelp or Groupon coupons they have out there! Manager guy was clueless! Sat us with out menus too! I also got the feeling our server didn't want to be there. Lastly, some menu items/side choices were not available. read more

Seafare of Williamsburg - Rum bread - Seafood Near Me - Williamsburg, Virginia

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Currently undergoing renovation. My wife & I have visited this establishment many times and never been disappointed. Good service and great food. Can't wait for them to reopen. read more

Middle of the road seafood restaurant...not fancy but not Captain D's either. I enjoyed what I ordered (mixed seafood platter) and staff was accommodating with my special request. read more

What a bizarre restaurant! They tried so hard to be upscale, but failed miserably. I felt like I was eating on a cheap, chintzy cruise ship (the decor is over-the-top ocean/boat themed). I waited about 8-10 minutes to be seated (it was only me), and the hostess sat a group of 4 before me. They served me a sweet sponge-type cake with icing as soon as I sat down.......with butter. Butter! Then she brought me one roll. I guess they only had one to spare. Then the waitress brings me orange sherbet to cleanse my palette, when I've only had bland-tasting bread. When I ordered, I asked if they had Coke or Pepsi, and she said they had Coke products, and I swear I drank Pepsi. I ordered Veal Oscar, and was told they were out of the sides that were listed, and I could only choose from three things that she named. I waited 40 minutes for my food, and the food was incredibly bland. There was no flavor whatsoever. I gave two stars, because the waitress was friendly, and the sherbet was very good. Don't waste your money at this abysmal restaurant, as I did. read more

This is my absolute favorite restaurant in the entire US. We went last night for our anniversary and I wish I remembered our waitress's name but she was absolutely amazing and so was the food. If the owners see this it was to the left of the entrance at the first table on the right at about 5:30 pm. I would love if you would praise her. (I told her last night how wonderful she is.) I had the rainbow trout with the mixed vegetables and rice pilaf. I love everything about this place. The decor that makes you feel like you're inside a ship, the paintings of ships that windows light up, did I mention the FOOD and the SERVICE? It's a little pricey but worth every penny! I would eat there every day if I lived in Williamsburg! They have a small menu, but everything is delicious! read more

Seafare of Williamsburg - Light up painting from our table! - Seafood Near Me - Williamsburg, Virginia

Have you ever had dinner aboard a luxury ship? Port holes and waiters in Tuxedo? Well, that it what it is like eating here. Except there are more tourists than fancy dressed people cause it's surrounded by hotels. Despite being called Seafare, steaks are the speciality. We started with onion soup and it was good! Bob had a steak and loved it. I had veal topped with crab. Veal was good, crab was tough. There also were a lot of carbs...started with a rum bread, then warm rolls, then corn muffins. No one leave here hungry. A throw back to the 60's between courses they bring orange sorbet to cleanse your palate. That was nice. They are also known for desserts flamed at the table. Even though I had a coupon for one, we were too full. And the waiter laughed too hard when he told us it it was raining because he knew we walked over. Joke was on him, I had an umbrella in my purse and got to hug on my man all the way back to the hotel! read more

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Honestly, I would give no stars if I could. My husband made us reservations as they had decent reviews. When we first sat down they gave us each a piece of "bread" which had a sweet icing drizzle on it and a plate of butter scoops. The cake thing was dense and in no way would've benefited from the freezer burnt butter that accompanied it. The wine we chose was delicious! A house salad came out next, I asked for no tomatoes, so it was romaine, red onion and cucumbers with what I swear was hidden valley ranch. The next chapter was our main courses, I ordered the surf and turf with the bernaise on the side. My husband chose the Super Sauton. They did not have the normal asparagus or mashed potatoes that come with the surf and turf, no big deal. My lobster tail was rubber, my filet was a poor cut of meat, cooked medium rare as requested but had absolutely no seasoning whatsoever. My bernaise sauce came out as what looked like a butter mixture, not sure how it could've ever been called a bernaise. Out of the variety of seafood in my husband's meal, the scallops were the only edible part. The rest was extremely overcooked. We spoke to our server, obviously not her fault. She said she'd relay the message to the kitchen. When I asked if she had a manager in, she said he was in the back. He would not even come out to discuss our unfortunate experience there. For spending over $100, I expected far more. I would've rather eaten at outback. read more

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the place is closed. Made birthday plans to dine at Seafare, menu looked yummy. Researched places to eat in Williamsburg, this place had items on the menu I would enjoy. Tried calling, no answer, mmmm. Good thing I had a back-up plan. Why on earth the Williamsburg website showed this place as an option is beyond me. read more

If I could give negative stars, I would. walked into a nearly empty restaurant. It took ten minutes to have anyone take our drink order, 10 more to get a glass of water. After deciding on our order and closing our menus, we waited almost 20 more before leaving. It is aggravating and absurd to leave customers sitting for nearly 40 minutes before taking food orders. We were looking forward to a good seafood dinner but settled for Wendy's! I suppose there is a reason that other nearby restaurants were packed and Seafare was nearly empty. Maybe the waitress did us a favor. read more

Came here for Mother's Day since the guest of honor likes this place (well used to at this point). This was my first time here and will definitely be my last. The restaurant was disappointing from start to finish. The decor, tables and seating are dated. Either they don't have or didn't provide a cocktail menu. They have some kind of pastry bread thing...nasty. They also serve rolls that are incredibly hard on the outside... would not recommend. Appetizers and food took forever to come out. The calamari wasn't good. Guests stated that the clam chowder didn't even rival soup in a can. Fried scallops were tasteless and chewy. Fries were bland and overcooked. Fish wasn't good but was edible fried. Caesar salad was fine but not worth 9 dollars. I have to positives: The waiter was nice and very respectful and the soap in the bathroom was nice. I didn't take any pictures because it simply wasn't worth it. Trust the photos already on Yelp, they show the blandness perfectly. read more

When the ad said step back in time it was telling the truth. I don't think a penny has been spent in updating or remodeling this restaurant since it was built. By its decor it looks at least 40 years old. I can say the same for the menu. Service was attentive but there was only one other table in the restaurant when we dined. Food was presentable but nothing that would bring me back. read more

I went back to seafare and the food was awesome as always. The cheesecake was good too. They never disappoints

I see why yelp raved about this place! The food, service, atmosphere was fantastic! It reminds you of being on a cruise ship dining for dinner. I found myself swaying back and forth like I can really feel the ship moving! I really thought I was there with the decor, the maître d, and service. I will just piggy back on what other reviewers say & say I had a great Salmon dill sauce, salad for two, & rice pilaf. There offering a special on yelp $10 for $20 worth of food but also a free dessert when you check in but you can only use 1 coupon, Found out the hard way. read more

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I was immensely disappointed with every aspect of this experience. Mother's day was a disaster. We had reservations, but they seated walk-in first. I Purposely scheduled the lunch to be at 2:30 because it would be after the rush for breakfast brunch and lunch but before dinner. There appeared to be enough staff and there was plenty of open tables but we still were seated nearly 40 minutes after our reservation. The food was average at best. Might be due to being it was pre made the day before and was just stage to be reheated. And it tasted like it. I must say this is our first and only experience here, maybe we had a bad day when the kitchen staff was out. The service was bars. We barely get busy even to get drinks. Often I had to get up to find somebody to come service. The portions were small. I will say as a single point of positivity, the Plan B desserts was done well and tasted great. I was not looking for anything for free, but it would've been nice if something was done to even Acknowledge the stress and lack of service done for the restaurant. It would've gone along way to helping solve a bad experience. No one said anything to us or comment on the conditions. read more

Surprised this restaurant didn't have more patrons. Really enjoyed our dinner. Three course meal for $37: crab bisque, shrimp scampi and strawberry cheesecake.....plus, a large glass of wine. Definitely worth a visit. Looking forward to returning the next time we visit Williamsburg. read more

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The server was lovely; she was professional, hard-working, and very pleasant. The presentation of the breads and meals was good. But the cocktails were watered down and, to express my disappointment, any restaurant has a lot of nerve charging $34-$36 for previously frozen fish and seafood. read more

A five star experience all the way. From the ambiance, service, to the food. All food came out in perfect time and hot. Our waitress was great. We ordered the stuffed mushrooms, the crab bisque, and the super sauton as the entree. The mushrooms were awesome (more crab imperial the mushroom), the crab bisque is to die for (crab meat in every spoonful), and the super sauton was excellent. I definitely recommend to everyone who lives near or visiting Williamsburg VA read more

This place is just awful. Walked in on Valentine's Day and it was empty, should have been our first sign. Extremely overpriced for low quality seafood and steak. They don't have a liquor license. $9 for a Caesar side salad that was maybe 1 cup of food. $14 for a crab and artichoke dip that was 4 tablespoons of broken cheese sauce. They had 3 sides to choose from, baked potato, broccoli or rice pilaf. none of the sides that came with the dishes on the menu were available. Filet minion is not filet, it was flat rubbery and tough, it was also raw. Scallops were not cleaned, they still had the side-muscle attached- gross. For $26 i expected much better quality/ more than 6 boiled scallops. Venue is old and dated. Bathrooms were nasty, toilet paper on the floor, broke tile, had to lift the stall door with foot in order to latch it. Covid protocols were lacking, the restaurant was maybe half full but people were seated at tables less than 6 feet apart. Service was no better than the food honestly. Strange place, won't be back, save you money. So many better places. Wish we had gone across the street to Food for Thought! read more

The customer service along with the food was absolutely excellent! My husband and I were visiting Williamsburg to celebrate our anniversary. We stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn (HGI) adjacent to the Seafare. Our room package included a $50 voucher to the Seafare. We were a little concerned because we did not see a busy parking lot...like Capt. George down the road. But, we had eaten at the Seafare several years early when we were dating and for sentimental reasons wanted to return. We are both glad we did! We ordered lobster bisque and clams as our appetizers. Delicious and fresh. My husband raved about the clams. We also ordered drinks (rum&coke and vodka&cranberry juice). They were made just right. For our main course, I ordered the stuffed flounder and the hubby ordered the grilled seafood dinner with lobster tail. After the appetizers, we were given sorbet to clean our palates. When the food arrived, the presentation was spot on. But above all, the taste was out of this world. Both my husband and I are picky when it comes to eating out. We had no complaints. We could not eat it all. The portions were generous. The staff even acknowledged our anniversary with "on the house" deserts. They also came over with a candle-lit cupcake singing "Happy Anniversary". Very thoughtful. The Maître D was also quite vigilant in making sure we were happy with both our service and food. Lesson learned...don't let a half empty parking lot sway you from trying something. I mean really...we walked there...so maybe some of the other guest did also. read more

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I'll start with the fact that the food was awful. Seriously. I can't stress that enough. A previous reviewer said they've had better food at Long John Silver and this is no exaggeration. Secondly, I ordered a bottle of Chardonnay that was about $30. The server came to the table stating they were sold out of the bottle, but had a replacement in hand and asked "would you like this one?". Sure why not, right? Wrong. After giving her my card to pay for the check, I get the bill and SHE GAVE ME A $60 BOTTLE TO REPLACE THE $30 ONE! Who does that? Especially with no notification. I just ate the charge and vowed to never EVER return to this establishment again. read more

Amazing food, kind staff This place is a lovely trip in a tardis to the 1970s, complete with an orange sherbet palate cleanser.

Service was fine. Everything we had to eat seemed to be frozen food that was reheated. Crab cakes, lobster, escargot; all were just mediocre. Edible but nothing to call home about. It smells a bit like bad fish when you walk in the door. Decor seems maybe 20 years old since they've renovated. Unfortunately this seems to me like one of those tourist trap restaurants where they rely on people who are never coming back anyways to make their money. read more

This was by far the most disappointing restaurant we've been to, I think ever and would have given no stars if that was an option. We had the same bread with the sugar glaze, the bread had NO flavor. I ordered the Crab stuffed Trout which came with the head and skin on it. The server offered to take the head off and skin which left a very bland piece of fish with mediocre stuff. Really, after a few bites, I couldn't eat and more. That baked potato was fine and the broccoli and carrots rounded out the mean. My husband ordered scallops which he said were pretty blah. We probably should have known since there were other seafood restaurants we passed with lots of cars in the parking lot and this restaurant had about 3 cars in the lot. Our mistake. We would have checked Yelp for options but our hotel didn't have any WiFi the whole of our two night visit. read more

Large choice of seafood options. They were generous with their King Crab portions, giving three clusters. The pan seared sea scallops were large enough to that I could only eat 4 of the 6. They gave complimentary rum cake and corn bread with a small portion of sorbet to cleans the palate. Free dessert with the voucher. Good price for quantity/quality of food. Regarding the atmosphere, I would say this place is good for a date. It is supposed to feel like you are in a cruise ship from the past. The waiters wear suits and there was smooth jazz playing the whole time so if your date isn't into that quiet, nostalgic atmosphere then don't choose this place. It's unique. It is quiet. We weren't dressed up, and I felt like I probably should have worn something a little nicer. Would not recommend to bring kids here. read more

Seafare of Williamsburg - Made to look like you're inside an old ship. - Seafood Near Me - Williamsburg, Virginia

First off it's a higher priced seafood restaurant. Hence why there is ample parking. Start with a dry yet sweet dessert followed by app and salad not bad. Had the daily special appetizer. Crab dip. Not too shabby the bread could be a little more toasted instead of just feeling like stale bread. Had the chopped salad for 2. Good salad. Ample everything from crumpled blue to the bacon and greens. A small scoop of orange sherbet to cleanse the palette. I chose the 22 dollar fried shrimp. Should have sent it back. 6 fried shrimp that tasted more like Frozen fish sticks. Ate 3 and couldn't bear it any more. Best part was the ice cold beer. The mixed seafood grill was overly buttery and very bland. The oysters were over cooked and rubbery Red lobster would be better.. don't waste you time or hard earned money here read more

As always, the visit to Seafare is always phenomenal. I've been there at least 3x before and the service is on point, food well seasoned and the atmosphere soothing. It's a bit old school but I love it. Fine dining at it's best. read more

WOWZA - what has happened, Seafare? We dined in a few years back for Mother's Day and it was one of our most memorable meals. My daughter and I returned this past week and I am not sure what has happened in the past couple of years - did you lose your chef? This meal was totally not ever worth returning for. $100 for the two of us - was definitely not forgivable. We were greeted so warmly and it all just went down hill from there! There were few patrons there and the place was super cozy, but the food was bland and just so not worth the money! I started out with a Bloody Mary and whomever is making those - needs to start over with a lesson. It was the WORST Bloody Mary I have ever had! I was hoping that the drink was not an indicator, but I was wrong! The sweetbread that was served upon seating was very good. Thankfully! The dinner bread was served cold and hard. The cornbread muffins that came later on - were mouthwatering! We shared a shrimp cocktail. The cocktail sauce was amazing - the shrimp was tasteless! 4 shrimp for $14. I had the lump crab and shrimp salad - $26 - seafood atop a huge mound of iceberg lettuce, chopped red onions and cucumbers. CHOPPED and ICEBERG - I was stunned. The MOST I have ever paid for a tasteless salad. The crab and shrimp were again, tasteless. I asked for Balsamic and they brought the greek dressing instead. I didn't bother exchanging. My daughter had a $29 seafood meal that was DROWNED in butter. The butter was the only flavor! She was supposed to have a baked potato with her meal - that never arrived. We were SO disappointed with our visit that it has been all we can talk about for the past 2 days! The fact that your restaurant has all these reviews, that we ignored, and now we saw JUST HOW TRUE the comments were - really is sad that you have done nothing to rectify your end result! Listen to your customers! read more

Older established Resturant which was not at all full on a labor day weekend. Which was a plus for our party of 12.5. Waitress was professional and extremely knowledgable. The interior is elegant but could not, or would not accommodate our party in a single table. Among our group we ordered; the lobster, seafood ceramic sauton dish (a stew of seafood cooked in its own juices), crab cakes (which are supposed to be award winners), ny strip steak, surf and turf, Wiener schnitzel, mussels, fried oysters, tender loins and mushroom caps, red snapper, halibut, and soft shell crabs. Nearly everything on the menu! I read some yelps about slow service so this should be a good test to see if the reviews are true or an anomaly. It turned out food was delivered from kitchen in good order. The prices are $20-$30 for most dishes. Appetizers were around $7-10. Why can't the clam chowder in places like this blow away the customer? I find better chowder in less elegant Restaurants. The lobster bisque was not much better. N liked the iceberg lettuce and the shared chopped salad was a big winner for half our party who partook. The server brought orange Sherbert between courses as a palate cleanser. Older brother tricked sister to eat the whipped butter as "vanilla ice cream" and trade her Sherbert. The sauton, which I've never seen anywhere else, was great. The landlubber dishes were all big winners as were the oysters and crab cakes (while very very meaty, not blue ribbon). The fish dishes and crab cake were 4 stars or better. The real winners were the steaks. The side dishes and corn bread were also pluses and made getting up difficult. There were lots of doggy bags as well as uneaten carbs. Ask for the broccoli and carrots as a replacement for the potato sides. Desserts were amazing and killed. The Seafarer and steakhouse is a great steakhouse with good seafood. You can't be a great seafood place without an amazing chowder. Have the salad and steaks. read more

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Very good service. Really good food. We had the salmon, Chilean sea bass, flounder and fried shrimp. They were all delicious. Also, super flavorful rice pilaf for those who love... Rice pilaf. Overall great value for money! read more

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We are a party of 12. James was our waiter. He was excellent! Friendly, great sence of humor and very helpful. Thank you, James for your service. The food was to "die" for. Four of us had the Supr Sauton., two had fried flounder, one had seafood grill, one had scallops, one had filet mignon, and two were served off of the children's menu. Everyone had great things to say about their meals. Then I got a coupon for a free flambe through Yelp. That was great to too! read more

Seafare of Williamsburg - Super Sauton = oysters, scallops, shrimp, lobster, mushrooms, and red peppers - Seafood Near Me - Williamsburg, Virginia

We arrived early and were promptly seated. Our waitress was quite friendly and helpful with our choices. This is a little upper scale restaurant and the food is wonderful. I had a grilled seafood platter with scallops, shrimp, oysters, flounder and a Rock lobster tail with rice pilaf to accompany. The pre serve was a slice of rum bread, a small slice of wheat bread and a corn muffin. Also we were brought a small scoop of orange sherbet to clean the pallet. A little pricey but very worth it. read more

Excellent food and service. They really need to update the descriptions for their menu items though. Some of them are plain icky. Otherwise, I highly recommend. read more

Seafare of Williamsburg - Seafood Near Me - Williamsburg, Virginia

We just had the most amazing dinner at Seafare. Well worth the money. Would recommend highly!

My husband and I stopped in after touring Williamsburg for dinner. We had purchased a yelp voucher and used it for our meal. Walking in we immediately were greeted by the host who showed us to a booth with white tablecloth and blue napkins, and noticed the nautical decor. Before receiving a menu, a hostess gave us a sweet bread and ice water. A waitress then asked for our drink order. Then we received the menus, and unfortunately the waitress we had never explained the specials, nor any house specialties. We chose the crab bisque soup and French onion soup, as well as the sea platter. Our drinks and soups arrived promptly, and a wonderful sherbet to cleanse our palate afterwards. The sea platter arrived with some of the largest scallops I ever had! Crab cake was very meaty, not much filler, and my only complaint is that the entire platter's food temperature could have been warmer. Large portions of the fish selections filled us up - we couldn't eat anything more. This restaurant is expensive and would be great for a celebration. Not sure if I would return due to the number of surrounding restaurants in the area, but it was good for a visit at least once this trip. read more

Well we were told this place was Fabulous we were greater at the door by a very pleasant hostess told her there were 9 of us @7:30 she left came back and said follow me seated us rite away. The server came over very nice guy took our drink order he was a little slow finally took out food order My wife and I ordered the filet medallion with crab meat and asparagus the meat was tender but it was cold and the crab meat had a funny taste to it. For desert she got the snickers pie it was ok the peanuts didn't taste good I ordered the peach Melba(sp?) the waiter prepared it at the table while making it he told us he didn't have the peach sauce he fixed everything service it while eating I noticed it was made with apples not peaches. He made three deserts like this. I would not go back here even after he gave us all deserts for free and he didn't give the 10% discount for staying at the Hilton. There are many other places that are good to eat at that this place. read more

Seafare of Williamsburg - Seafood Near Me - Williamsburg, Virginia

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Don't go there food was very bland no taste to it crab cake had too much stuffing mixed in it place has a musky smell terrible save your money go somewhere else read more

Please save your money. My husband and daughter order the three course menu. The main entree came out on what looked like a TV dinner tray. I ordered a house salad, I realized after I ordered that I forgot to specify a dressing. It came out with blue cheese which I hate. I tried to ask for a vinaigrette. The 2nd time it had thousands island. I just ate it. My daughters soup was brought to her in a tray that also had trash on it. There are too many other good restaurants in the area to eat here. I will say the decor, while kitschy is kind of cute. read more