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Shields Tavern, Williamsburg, VA

Shields Tavern

4.4
4.4
39 Reviews
$50 and over
American

Make a booking

2 people
7:00 pm
Booked 11 times today
Experiences are available.
  • Charming
  • Good for special occasions
  • Romantic
Shield's Tavern is now open!

For more information, please visit https://www.colonialwilliamsburghotels.com/dining/shields-tavern/

Additional information

  • Dining style
    Casual Dining
  • Price
    $50 and over
  • Cuisines
    American
  • Hours of Operation
    Lunch Tue–Sat 11:00 am–2:00 pm
  • Phone number
    (855) 231-7240
  • Dress code
    Business Casual

Experiences

  • Christmas Lunch Shields' Tavern

    USD 0.00 - USD 84.95 per person

    Prepaid

    25 Dec 2024 only
    Celebrate Christmas in 18th-century style with your 3-course menu of starter, entrée, and desert. Enjoy your traditional holiday favorites in the historic Shields' Tavern while enjoying 18th-century musicians. $84.95 per adult (ages 11 and older), $39.95 per youth (ages 3-10), plus tax and gratuity. Prepaid reservation required. For reservations, call 1-844-714-3205 or book online.
    Christmas Lunch Shields' Tavern photo

What 39 people are saying

Overall ratings and reviews

Reviews can only be made by diners who have eaten at this restaurant

4.4
4.4 based on recent ratings
  • 4.3Food
  • 4.6Service
  • 4.7Ambience
  • 4.3Value

NoiseModerate

Loved For

  • Williamsburg

    Best Ambience

  • Williamsburg

    Hot spot

  • Williamsburg

    Romantic

  • Williamsburg

    Most Booked

Review summary

AI-generated from verified diner reviews
Shields Tavern offers a delightful Colonial Williamsburg dining experience with "outstanding fried chicken" and a warm ambiance. Guests appreciate the attentive service and "exceptional atmosphere." The fixed menu provides a good value, though some dishes may vary. Enjoy a musical accompaniment for an immersive 18th-century experience.

39 Reviews
  1. Shelley

    Raleigh

    1 review

    4.0

    1 review

    Dined 2 days ago

    1. Overall 4
    2. Food 4
    3. Service 3
    4. Ambience 4
    Food was slow to arrive to table, wait staff was disorganized and/or confused with process, food was good, we enjoyed the entertainment. We would return.

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  2. Ken

    Cincinnati

    2 reviews

    5.0

    2 reviews

    Dined 2 days ago

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    This was an excellent experience. Anne W. Was the greatest!

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  3. Jim

    Philadelphia

    6 reviews

    vip
    5.0

    6 reviews

    Dined 2 days ago

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    It's been a few years since we've visited Shields. The menu changed from a la carte to what they call a "groaning board" fixed price/menu. It was delicious! Fried chicken was awesome.

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  4. Bill

    Baltimore

    7 reviews

    5.0

    7 reviews

    Dined 3 days ago

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Annie was simply perfect as cheerful host who showed a great deal of depth of knowledge on Celiac disease, ensured safe options and a perfect experience

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  5. Timothy

    Indiana

    1 review

    vip
    2.0

    1 review

    Dined 3 days ago

    1. Overall 2
    2. Food 4
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Despite the word “tavern” in the name, this restaurant does not serve any beverages with alcohol.

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  6. Rosemary

    Richmond

    1 review

    3.0

    1 review

    Dined 7 days ago

    1. Overall 3
    2. Food 3
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 4
    We were not advised that Shields is not serving any liquor. We were all looking forward to a tavern ale so that was a disappointed. The food was tasty but lukewarm. There was too much food. I'd suggest that they reduce the serving size and let people go back for seconds. Dessert was phenomenal but we could have done with the leathery piece of cake on top. Our server Bruce was very attentive to our needs. Thank you.

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  7. Dunc

    Richmond

    2 reviews

    5.0

    2 reviews

    Dined on 22 November 2024

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    It was perfect to celebrate our anniversary. The food was excellent and Bruce was great at keeping our glasses full and serving the food. We thoroughly enjoyed the meal and the music. It had been a while since we could eat at Shields and didn’t know what to expect. The experience exceeded what we anticipated. The card we received topped off a wonderful evening.

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  8. Lynda

    Richmond

    1 review

    3.0

    1 review

    Dined on 13 November 2024

    1. Overall 3
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 4
    The food is delicious, the service is great, but don't go as a single diner. I had a reservation that apparently came over for 2 rather than the single diner that I was. This flummoxed the staff. So rather than seating me in the main dining area at the apparent table for 2 that I'd booked, there was a lot of discussion among the staff, leaving me standing outside the doors waiting for several minutes, before I was brought inside and seated. I was seated in a room at the far end of the building, in near darkness, with one other person at another table in the otherwise empty room. Apparently this was the venue for single diners. While again, the food was delicious and the service was great, we were not able to see the performances of the entertainers or engage with other diners. There was no chit chat or atmosphere. It was just the two of us, in a dark room, at separate tables.

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  9. Michael

    Baltimore

    145 reviews

    vip
    5.0

    145 reviews

    Dined on 12 November 2024

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Love the groaning board concept! Your server greets you with warm bread a herbed butter, and describes the entire menu (from salad to dessert). They are the food choices for the evening for everyone, making service extremely efficient. The salad is delicious with fresh greens, pickled onions, cheddar cheese and topped with candied walnuts. Two dressings are offered, one vinaigrette and one creamy. Bruce, our server, suggested mixing the dressings and he was spot on! Delicious! Rolled beef stuffed with cornbread and covered with a Demi glacé, and fried chicken were the proteins, accompanied by mashed potatoes and mixed vegetables in a beurre blanc sauce. This portion of the meal is all you can eat (hence the groaning board), but the first portions served are quite generous. Everything is perfectly seasoned and very tasty. For dessert we had a strawberry whipped cream parfait topped with cinnamon sugar beignets. Scrumptious! I’m hoping that the menu changes periodically so people will want to keep coming back. The entire meal was fantastic! We will definitely be making a return visit.

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  10. Tim

    Philadelphia

    1 review

    2.0

    1 review

    Dined on 9 November 2024

    1. Overall 2
    2. Food 1
    3. Service 3
    4. Ambience 4
    I was mislead by what I found on the internet. I thought it as a lot more than this. Only one (yes 1) food choice… basically no food choices, and no drink choices. I talked with others after this and found they had the same experience. I guess it was real good pre-Covid but not now in 2024. Ambience was “ok” but basically this was diner food. I’m so sorry to write this but they need help. I have never written a review yet on all the restaurants I’ve been in via OpenTable… but I had to write this one.

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FAQs

Shields Tavern is rated 4.4 stars by 39 OpenTable diners.

Yes, you can generally book this restaurant by choosing the date, time and party size on OpenTable.

Make a booking

2 people
7:00 pm
Booked 11 times today
Experiences are available.
Google Map for Shields Tavern

422 E Duke of Gloucester St, Williamsburg, VA 23185-4304

Additional information

  • Area
    Williamsburg
  • Hours of Operation
    Lunch Tue–Sat 11:00 am–2:00 pm
  • Price
    $50 and over
  • Cuisines
    American
  • Dining style
    Casual Dining
  • Dress code
    Business Casual
  • Parking details
    None
  • Phone number
    (855) 231-7240
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