Went here for lunch today, first time eating in a Williamsburg colonial tavern for lunch. First of all, they only advertise dinner times on open table and always show lunch as full, so we had not planned on eating here. Kind of a dumb way for them to chase off business, but ah well, to each their own I guess. I got the shrimp po boy and my girlfriend got the chicken sandwhich. Not that these were bad dishes, they were both cooked well, just no seasoning whatsoever. I could've gotten the same po boy from long john silvers. This would have all been fine, if my bill wasn't 48 dollars for mediocre food. Not terrible, but wouldn't come back for lunch. read more

Fanatastic experience. I had the ale potted beef with garlic mashed potatoes. Then chocolate pudding for dessert. Very friendly, informative staff tended to our needs. Live music. Low lighting and creaking hinges inspired me to tell ghost stories to my kids through dinner. Expensive, but the best meal we had on vacation. read more

Shields Tavern - American Near Me - Williamsburg, Virginia

A very good lunch stop while visiting Colonial Williamsburg. The service is excellent and the food tasty. Please be aware this is not fast food. Be prepared to sit and relax for a while. read more

As always in Colonial Williamsburg the service was impeccable with friendly staff, period music, and great ambience. However, although everyone else in my party was happy with their food, I felt that my Pork dish was a bit bland when it came to pork shank and potatoes. Also, I've had better bread pudding than that - it was a bit dry and over baked in edges an in places in the middle. read more

Shields Tavern - Pork platter - American Near Me - Williamsburg, Virginia

Before you wonder why I gave 5 stars for this old tavern keep this in mind --- I rate this based on the type of food I am getting myself into --- namely old colonial food. We wanted the kids to experience how old colonial restaurant was like so we knew it is expensive and a toupee trap AND we expected it to taste horrible... We were wrong! The fried oysters which is not in the menu but sell for $5 for 5 was excellent --- better than lots of restaurants even in NYC! We had 20 oysters! The kids had steak and Mac and cheese. Avoid the Mac and cheese The steak was good The pot beef in ale was juicy, ale taste and tender. Must have! The pork in the main entree was falling off the bone tender. Ask for extra extra sauce (a black pepper sauce) for the dip. Meat was not only not dry but tender and juicy. Well worth the experience and quality of food for COLONIAL style food. read more

For diners who want a hint of an historical dining experience. Reservations are suggested. The menu is well varied. I had a boneless pork chop with mashed potatoes and sukotash. The dish was Ok. They have a kids menu. I ordered a rum cocktail... Applecider rum and cinnamon which tasted wonderful but was very weak and cost $8. During the meal a large burly actor gentleman dressed in period costume held forth in a loud booming voice about the "virtues" of beer and large stein cups from which to drink beer. This was hilarious. Then a musician can around singing yankee doodle dandy and we all joined in. The food was good not great but the ambience and decor made it a thoroughly memorable and worthwhile experience. read more

This is an amazing restaurant that happens to be in Colonial Williamsburg. Try to get an upstairs table when reserving because downstairs looked tighter. The salad and bread with fresh butter were a great start to a candlelit dinner. The beef stew however is the fourth of July of stews. The beef was so juicy yet tender, vegetables and mushrooms created a symphony of flavors and smells. Especially for the fall, we couldn't ask for a better meal. The cherry on top was the talented musician. I enjoyed it so much I asked for his card so we can see him elsewhere in town (Stephen Christoff). My only wish is that this and other local restaurants feature more Virginia wines. For Pete's sake, that is part of our state's history too. Try Philip Carter, Fox Meadow, or Grey Ghost read more

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Went on a weekend visit to Colonial Williamsburg and dinner at Shields Tavern. It was like eating back in the 18th century, food was excellent, service was good, will definitely be returning later in the year for another dinner! read more

A bit pricey, but they have a captive audience as it's in Colonial Williamsburg. We were stuck downstairs so the ambiance wasn't the best in the building but we enjoyed ourselves. Great dessert, berry tart thing that was great. Make a reservation! read more

My family recently enjoyed a dinner at the Shields Tavern. Two of us had the braised prok shank, which was absolutely delicious, and the meat literally fell off the bones. The other person had the roasted chicken, which was good, but the white meat was a little dry. All of the portion sizes were HUGE, and the pork could have easily been split between two people. The entertainment for the evening was a cello and guitar combo, which was beautiful, and we really enjoyed the music. Our server was very efficient, and this was easily the quickest meal we had in all of Colonial Williamsburg's taverns. read more

The reason why we took our seven year old to the tavern was more for the atmosphere than for the food. Happily, the food was better than expected. The Ale Potted Beef (Pot Roast) was pretty good. The pork shank was ok, but other items were better. There were also strolling musicians playing period instruments and explaining about how instruments would have looked in the 1700's. read more

Ate at Shields Tavern on Wed, 13 May 15. The meal was good I had the roast w/vegetables, another had the pork shank (nice portion), and a third had the Salmon. We had a couple drinks and the bill was just over $100. The meal included live entertainment which came around to the tables. I like Shields Tavern better than the other restaurants in Colonial Williamsburg because of the specific menu items available. This is a great place to take people who want a colonial-type experience. It would be hard to rate this a four or five stars because although I enjoy it, looking at value (cost) to experience it is not one of my favorites. The waiter was cordial and we walked in without a reservation. read more

The Crayfish and Shrimp Stew is mouthwatering and the atmosphere is lots of fun. Staff is great!

I don't really have anything new to add to these other reviews - food was fine but not interesting, and overpriced (but the French fries were great!). I like that they had a fun selection of cocktails though - my friend got a mulled wine with cider mixed in that was really good, and was appropriate for the setting. The drink prices seemed reasonable considering they were cocktails. The reason you go is for the experience - the rooms are candlelit, which we loved, and during our meal a musician came to our dining room and an actor who did a great job playing the part of a doctor, and interacting with the diners in a fun way. I certainly don't regret going, but I wish the menu was more exciting and the prices were lower. read more

This is a bad place to eat I wanted food and I got role play would never come back. They gave me no option on what I was going to eat they just served me. read more

Outstanding food! We would like to visit Shields Tavern more often; when we do it is very special indeed! We visited on 5/8/2019 - my wife ordered the pork shanks, and I ordered the braised beef short ribs. Both were delicious, tender, and perfectly cooked! The serving sizes were very generous, too (read large). This was the best Colonial Williamsburg Tavern meal we have had. The blueberry crumble desert was delicious as well. We look forward to our next opportunity to dine there! read more

It's hard enough to have celiac disease as an adult, but to kick an 11 year old on a school field trip out of your restaurant into the RAIN because you could not prepare a safe gluten free meal for him and ALSO would not let him eat his own SAFE food that he had brought to ensure he would not get sick since he has a disease that he has ZERO control over....disgusting. read more

This place has great food, very authentic, great flavors! Servers were nowhere to go and have lots of historical stories! read more

Shields Tavern - Shields tavern great atmosphere - American Near Me - Williamsburg, Virginia

We couldn't wait to start our long awaited holiday weekend in Williamsburg here. Unfortunately the beginning of our trip is associated with negative memories from the incredibly rude staff at Shields Tavern. We will never be returning to this establishment. There were complications with half of our four person party arriving on time to our 8 pm reservation due to snow and ice on the roads. This was out of anyone's control. Shields chose to seat half of our party at 8 o'clock anyway whom proceeded to order drinks and appetizers. When the second half arrived at 8:30, appetizers had just arrived and we were already considering finding a new restaurant because the host and server were so rude. (Again, the snow and road conditions were out of our control and this was shared with the staff at the begging of the complication.) Given that we were starving and had been on the road for three hours, we decided to stay. We tried to start a new with the server as we ordered entrees but this was short lived as she quickly shamed our tardiness and explained that she could finally send people home now that we had all arrived and ordered. While waiting for our food, the staff was loudly cleaning the tables around us and talking to each other about how "Friday and Saturday nights are the worst." There were other parties in the restaurant still waiting on food, but apparently our table was the biggest inconvenience of their lives. They certainly wouldn't let us move on with our meal or forget it. The food: My husband and I ordered the crayfish stew. It was warm and mostly potatoes. For entrees we ordered the meatloaf and chicken. (Originally I had ordered the halibut which they later said they out of and didn't bring me a menu to order something else. Not a problem that they were out, but just another example that their goal was to improve our dining experience after a miscommunication and blameless circumstances.) The chicken and meatloaf were both cold. I was given a butter knife for my cold, bone-in chicken which I could finally attempt to eat after I had the server search for a different knife. Again, how dare I inconvenience her? I did not eat the meal's sides as they were bland and also cold. This meal alone was $30. By the time the check came we could not wait to leave. We left the establishment at 9:25. It closes at 10 and there were still parties eating when we left. As I have worked in restaurants for 10 years, I understand how frustrating patrons can be with reservations. What I cannot understand is why Shields staff could not let this go after they chose to seat our party regardless. That was a choice they made. The restaurant is clearly advertised as open until 10, we communicated our circumstances to the staff and tried to remain positive as much as possible. I haven't seen poor service like this in quite some time, especially in an establishment that holds themselves in such high regard. We were fortunately able to appreciate the ambiance and decorative plates. A complete waste of time and over $200. read more

Very good service and food was great.. Servers were prompt with refills and got food out fast.. It was delicious and well presented. read more

Shields Tavern - Salmagundi - American Near Me - Williamsburg, Virginia

So disappointing. We just had a horrible dining experience.... late, slow, inattentive service. The burger was good; the jerk chicken sandwich was too spicy for my wife. We were seated fairly quickly, but it took 15 minutes to gt water. It took AN HOUR to get our sandwiches. The entire time, the waitress could hardly be bothered with our table. She was finally dismissive when we asked for the check. For the cost and the atmosphere, the service was terribly out of step. It ruined the experience. read more

Great fun, good service, and a good lunch- had the special thinly sliced salted ham, on grilled sourdough bread with cheddar cheese and cottage fries. Great harp player, period costumed service staff, chairs are different period as they are very low - not good for a guy 6'2" with bad knees - but hey good samich! Plus had a pint of Old Stitch! High recommend the Old Stitch if you like a nice stout beer! Enjoy read more

An excellent choice for lunch or dinner, when "on property" at Colonial Williamsburg. In our case, dinner for a party of 6, during an extended weekend visit. Having been introduced to Pimm's No. 1 Cup in college, don't miss this pink gin/ginger ale cocktail. Appetizers and main courses were surprisingly good across all the dishes we'd ordered. That's not always the case at "theme" restaurants, making Shields Tavern a cut above the rest. We had a reservation, which I'd recommend in peak season. Service was excellent,; our meals were served properly and hot. If you walk, it's 1/4 block from the Capital Building on D.O.G. Street. If you drive, a large parking lot is just across Francis Street. The atmosphere, naturally, is terrific, with everyone in period costume, though they are contemporaries, not reenactors. We lucked out, with two musicians playing colonial tunes, including a sing-along "Yankee Doodle." We'll go again! read more

Ate there 2 nights ago and really enjoyed everything. Had Pork Shank which was HUGE and perfectly cooked. Came with a rice dish and perfectly mashed potatoes. Ordered an Apple Salad which was great. Martini's were large and perfectly "shaken" not "stirred." Some fun entertainment...musician and orator made an appearance. Didn't get downstairs to the bar but it sounded like we were missing out. Need reservations. Not many eateries in Colonial Williamsburg. Would probably try to make reservations before arriving next time. Trying our third Tavern meal tomorrow night and will check in. read more

Wonderful and cute little place. We went in the rain under an umbrella. It was nice and warm inside, and there were absolutely no electric lights in the dining room we were in, only candles. We ordered way too many fun dishes and drinks : cider, ginger ale, Ale beef, Flounder crab special, and then the wonderful dessert - crumble wild berry something. Really special and fun. It is a little difficult to find, you park off Francis and then walk through the garden onto DOG street. The live music even on a Wednesday night was quite special. Can't wait to do the pig roast. read more

So not worth a stop here. Arrived with my party of 8 including children for our reservation. We were sat in the basement or "wine cellar" as they call it. This was where all the other families were seated... clearly children are not to be seen. Limited food choices and what we had was blah. read more

Absolutely revolted by the actions of this place! In no way could I ever visit an establishment known to bully a child and refuse them the right to their comfort and safety by eating a meal made to their needs. MCDONALDS was in the news just days before this for giving a man w a possible deadly allergy to lactose a hot chocolate when he asked for black coffee!! Mistakes happen and this boy doesn't want that happening to him so his parent assured him it would not by making his meal themselves. The fact that one person acted in such an appalling manners one thing , but more then one of the staff to agree. Having a kid eat out in the rain is just disgusting! Shame on this restaurant. I visited the area not long ago and hit capt georges and planned to hit a more historical place or somewhere else near where we will be checking things out. Never never would I walk in even just to piss in their toilet, they are that beneath me. I remember a little about my trip in school to the area , but the trip itself and eating w my class made lots of great memories I can still smile about. I really am just still in shock an disbelief at the behavior of this restaurant. If your ok knowing how this restaurant shamed, embarrassed and humiliated a child w special dietary needs and choose this place it really doesn't say good things about who you are. How would you feel if your child/niece/nephew came crying to you about this happening to them ? Making a child eat alone in the rain while the entire class dined inside because he had his own food due to food allergy!? The restaurant wants to claim his food could cause health issues!? Excuse me how about all the people that burp and fart, cough and sneeze out in the dinning area. Iv never gotten an employee to ever ask someone near me doing those things to leave. Sneezing near buffets not covering your mouth iv seen but a child w allergies that's possible contamination...wtf!? At a many restaurants iv brought my own bottled water and it's never been an issue, but guess this place doesn't care about their customers they just want every penny they can get from everyone walking in the door. Don't try to breast feed , they will probably try to tell your baby they have something that could be purchased but breast milks not allowed because they don't sell it there themselves. read more

Went with the wife and kids after a day of touring the Revolutionary City. I started with the garden salad with English malt vinaigrette, then had the Ale-potted Beef and for desert I had the wild berry crumble. All of this was excellent. The service was good and the atmosphere was fun. My son ordered off of the regular menu and enjoyed the barbeque, my daughter got the kids steak which she liked. You will definitely want to make reservations in advance. read more

Really great food and ambience here. I've had several meals here and only was let down once. I highly recommend it read more

Good, but you cannot make reservations for lunch. The chicken and dumplings was very EH and would not get it again. It has no flavor and was more like soggy pasta with pieces of bland chicken. Please don't waste your money. The BBQ sandwich and Turkey sandwich were super yummy, definitely worth it. The ginger ale tasted pretty unique. Overall, it was really good! read more

Surprisingly fresh and flavorful for a decent price in the historic district. Had a fresh salad with lots of protein and my daughter had delicious fish and chips. Service was friendly and quick with a roving singer to add to the mood. Didn't need to leave the area to stay in budget and got a table quickly by waiting until the tour groups were done eating. read more

Shields Tavern - Light and fluffy fish with tasty house made chips - American Near Me - Williamsburg, Virginia

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This place was amazing! The staff was friendly and spoke about the history of the tavern and the period time, but not in an overwhelming way. The food is absolutely delicious. We will be thinking about our meal for sometime. read more

This is the restaurant that threw a young boy out who had brought his own food on a field trip due to severe allergies. Rather than apologizing , the restaurant fought this in court . read more

Had an ok lunch experience. Expected to have a more authentic colonial menu but food was standard pub fare. Ordered a chicken salad sandwich with succotash. They initially brought it out with fries but corrected it once I mentioned it. Sandwich was decent. My girlfriend ordered the crayfish and shrimp soup and they initially brought out the wrong soup. Once we pointed this out they brought us the right soup with complimentary biscuits. Soup was very good though. Overall we thought it was a nice location right along colonial Williamsburg but that also means they don't have to have great value - kind of overpriced. read more

I have been to Colonial Williamsburg about 10 times or so; every time, I have eaten at Shields Tavern, and I have yet to be disappointed. Of all of the taverns in the Historic Area, I think Shields has the best "bang for the buck". The menu has more variety, as well. Somewhat on the pricey side, but here you are paying for ambience as well (even in the cellar! Who says candelight doesn't say ambience?), and especially around dinnertime, it is common for musicians to stroll through in costume and offer 18th century pop songs. Staff is always efficient and polite, and some of them really get into the role and will speak in an 18th century manner. As for the food itself, its what we might call "basic": decent cuts of meat, pot pies, stews, etc. They seem to have chosen the less outlandish and more familiar recipes from 250 years ago. And it will perhaps be helpful to remember that spice combinations were not the same then as they are now. Alcoholic beverages are also top notch as are the desserts, especially the unique ice cream flavors. read more

Very expensive! Nothing was amazing, most were only ok. Service was fine. The one thing that was awesome was the live musicians that played for us! Many better restaurants out there in my opinion. read more

Shields Tavern - Night time dinner at Shields Taven! - American Near Me - Williamsburg, Virginia

Excellent meal a very tasty potroast and chicken that falls of the bone tender and juicy . Several excellent house drinks don't remember the name. Some thing with peach in it. Yummy. Knowledgable staff in character dress take them up on recommendations. Overall a fantastic meal. As this is a colonial building access is somewhat limited. read more

Yummy ,unique food. Charming entertainment. Great service. Fast but not rushed. Great surroundings. Beautiful pottery you can buy at a local store. I'm on my way. read more

My girlfriend and I had a FANTASTIC dinner at Shields! The candlelit atmosphere is unbeatable as far as a tavern experience goes. And there were minstrels playing colonial songs! It was a really fun night. I had the dish of pork and she had the chicken. Both were amazing. Very flavorful, tasty and fresh sides, and the drinks were also great. The cider spiced wine was especially unique and delicious, and the special Home Brew beer they serve was very good. I shall definitely be returning to Shields Tavern! read more

Worst food I've had in a long time. I got the fish and chips, but the fish was chewy and dry. The tartar sauce tasted more like mayo and the chips (which were literally chips, not fries) were very oily. My boyfriend got the pulled pork sandwich which was nothing special. The bill was $40 for two lunch entrees. Definitely wasn't worth the price and the portions were very small. Currently feeling very sick from this lunch. Wouldn't recommend. read more