Had dinner here twice with a group. The absolutely worst service I ever encountered. Our dinners were warm at best and very small portions. Only two drink options lemonade and water, no coffee or tea at the end of the meal. I have been in foodservice for many years and this has to be the worst I have ever
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 1
Service: 1
Mary
Food was delicious and staff was very
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
K Fields
We ate here a while back. The food was delicious. We ate in the basement which was a unique experience. From the outside it looks like any other building in Colonial Williamsburg, but inside it has more to it than meets the eye.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Ron H.
Shields Tavern Taste southern comfort food in the charm of Shields Dining in the 18th Century setting is provided at the following: * Christiana Campbell's Tavern® * Chowning's Tavern® * King's Arms Tavern® * Shields Tavern® We have taken care to frequent Colonial Williamsburg for decades; Probably the Christmas season is our favorite, and the long hot humid summer is the season we avoid. Any frequent visitor to Greater Williamsburg is in for a culinary treat; we focused our first few years on Colonial Williamsburg dining, and we still recommend the historical taverns. Reservations are highly recommended. We like Shields Tavern, and we arrive at our Marriott's Manor Club at Ford's Colony during our colonial visits, and enjoy a Williamsburg immersion. Servers for all Williamsburg taverns are well trained, and can speak to people. Shields is pleasant, and we like the period furniture. Both lunch and dinner menus are limited, and select a three course dinner: soup, fried chicken, and pie - all is fine. Close your eyes and it is 1740's. Always excellent service, and ambience is that of a 1740's Virginia tavern ( with ac of course.) We like the furniture, decorations, and lighting. Servers are on period dress. The tariff is appropriate for the fare.
Restaurant Rating Critic
A great buffet. Just couldn't indulge with it being so hot outside 95° and soupy
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
TimB
To;Dr - they over charge and under preform seek I would advise eating elsewhere. We prepaid for a pitcher of alcohol, $27; upon being seated I noticed that they were selling the same pitcher for $20. The food is a buffet style. Nothing special. The brisket was a let down, the fried chicken, which was probably their star and ribs which were also so-so and they had ribs which were eh... For the price we paid, around just under $300 for a family of four it was really overpriced. This compared to Barrets just down the street we paid a third of the price received exceptional service and had amazing sea food from oysters, crispy fish, amazing grits, scallops, shrimp, frog legs and more for a third of the price we paid at Shield's Tavern.
LindaL
One of the buildings next to Shields, should be open for breakfast, lunch, dinner, at the least. Having so much closed in Colonial Williamsburg is sad. Our Shields experience was of course fantastic. We always cherish our visits to Colonial Williamsburg, and look forward to many more. We hope that the dining in the Colonial establishments will improve.
JoyP
Went here for a 4th of July colonial buffet. It was pretty pricey for food that was okay at the most, except the Brunswick stew which was delicious. At a certain point our waitress disappeared and did not return, leaving us with empty drink glasses and dirty dishes. The room where the buffet was set up was warm and as we were leaving around 3:30, portable air conditioners were set up. The buffet was open till 5, so a little late in the game. Both my husband and I ended up with stomach issues which started within 15 minutes of leaving and lasted 2 days. I called to report but did not receive a response.
Keith
We live within walking distance of Colonial Williamsburg and enjoy occasionally eating at the taverns. It is usually more about the atmosphere than the food although the food is usually pretty good. However this buffet at the Shields was not good in any way. First off we were not greeted at the door like usual and we stopped one of the people that walked by us to say "hey, we are here and have a reservation" She looked confused and ran off. OK. So then someone does come by and acknowledges our reservation and takes us to a table that is crammed with too many chairs and place settings leaving us no room. Then I notice how hot it is in there. The AC must not have been working. The front door was open and bug were flying around. We paid $165 for the two of us and got one lemonade and one iced tea and was never served or asked if we needed anything for the rest of our meal. We have never had service this poor. Then there was the food. Gross is all that I can say about it. Dried up beef, bland fried chicken and no vegetables unless you count baked beans. NOT WORTH THE MONEY. Very disappointing.
GLTS
There were multiple empty tables tet were were seated at a table with another family. Food was limited and mediocre at best. Lemonade had been sitting in glasses and I've had melted so it was watered down. Atmosphere was poor. We were extremely disappointed that for the amount we paid we did not feel it was worth it at all.
No drink service. Foid comes from the main resort so tgere is no kitchen in this place. Waiters were very rude, never offeref water or ice tea which was sitting on the side table.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 3
Recommended dishes: Braised Beef Short Rib, Warm Wild Berry Crumble
tom m
One of the best places and reason to go to Colonial Williamsburg, Is no longer open for dinners. First they took Breakfast away and now not even open to the public for family dinning. What a disappointment.
Helena A.
We came here with a school group. This is my third visit while on a field trip. I have witnessed a decline in service and food quality. I am gluten free and the one choice of soggy vegetables and roasted chicken or turkey, not sure, isn't something I enjoyed. My gluten eating coworkers really did not enjoy their pot pie either. Although they did like the puff pastry it really is not what they remember having on previous visits and the filling was over salted.
janesR8484IO
Food is highly overprices. Beware of waitresses not confirming stay before charging to room. Loudly repeating room number on receipt could cause an issue!
Hay E.
Loved the experience, ambiance, quality. Was probably the better if the feed we had and it was the last night. Loved the history and the staff was awesome. Would go back every time. The food was a great experience and quality. Fresh ingredients and good quality mea
Had dinner here twice with a group. The absolutely worst service I ever encountered. Our dinners were warm at best and very small portions. Only two drink options lemonade and water, no coffee or tea at the end of the meal. I have been in foodservice for many years and this has to be the worst I have ever
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 1
Service: 1
Food was delicious and staff was very
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
We ate here a while back. The food was delicious. We ate in the basement which was a unique experience. From the outside it looks like any other building in Colonial Williamsburg, but inside it has more to it than meets the eye.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Shields Tavern Taste southern comfort food in the charm of Shields Dining in the 18th Century setting is provided at the following: * Christiana Campbell's Tavern® * Chowning's Tavern® * King's Arms Tavern® * Shields Tavern® We have taken care to frequent Colonial Williamsburg for decades; Probably the Christmas season is our favorite, and the long hot humid summer is the season we avoid. Any frequent visitor to Greater Williamsburg is in for a culinary treat; we focused our first few years on Colonial Williamsburg dining, and we still recommend the historical taverns. Reservations are highly recommended. We like Shields Tavern, and we arrive at our Marriott's Manor Club at Ford's Colony during our colonial visits, and enjoy a Williamsburg immersion. Servers for all Williamsburg taverns are well trained, and can speak to people. Shields is pleasant, and we like the period furniture. Both lunch and dinner menus are limited, and select a three course dinner: soup, fried chicken, and pie - all is fine. Close your eyes and it is 1740's. Always excellent service, and ambience is that of a 1740's Virginia tavern ( with ac of course.) We like the furniture, decorations, and lighting. Servers are on period dress. The tariff is appropriate for the fare.
A great buffet. Just couldn't indulge with it being so hot outside 95° and soupy
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
To;Dr - they over charge and under preform seek I would advise eating elsewhere. We prepaid for a pitcher of alcohol, $27; upon being seated I noticed that they were selling the same pitcher for $20. The food is a buffet style. Nothing special. The brisket was a let down, the fried chicken, which was probably their star and ribs which were also so-so and they had ribs which were eh... For the price we paid, around just under $300 for a family of four it was really overpriced. This compared to Barrets just down the street we paid a third of the price received exceptional service and had amazing sea food from oysters, crispy fish, amazing grits, scallops, shrimp, frog legs and more for a third of the price we paid at Shield's Tavern.
One of the buildings next to Shields, should be open for breakfast, lunch, dinner, at the least. Having so much closed in Colonial Williamsburg is sad. Our Shields experience was of course fantastic. We always cherish our visits to Colonial Williamsburg, and look forward to many more. We hope that the dining in the Colonial establishments will improve.
Went here for a 4th of July colonial buffet. It was pretty pricey for food that was okay at the most, except the Brunswick stew which was delicious. At a certain point our waitress disappeared and did not return, leaving us with empty drink glasses and dirty dishes. The room where the buffet was set up was warm and as we were leaving around 3:30, portable air conditioners were set up. The buffet was open till 5, so a little late in the game. Both my husband and I ended up with stomach issues which started within 15 minutes of leaving and lasted 2 days. I called to report but did not receive a response.
We live within walking distance of Colonial Williamsburg and enjoy occasionally eating at the taverns. It is usually more about the atmosphere than the food although the food is usually pretty good. However this buffet at the Shields was not good in any way. First off we were not greeted at the door like usual and we stopped one of the people that walked by us to say "hey, we are here and have a reservation" She looked confused and ran off. OK. So then someone does come by and acknowledges our reservation and takes us to a table that is crammed with too many chairs and place settings leaving us no room. Then I notice how hot it is in there. The AC must not have been working. The front door was open and bug were flying around. We paid $165 for the two of us and got one lemonade and one iced tea and was never served or asked if we needed anything for the rest of our meal. We have never had service this poor. Then there was the food. Gross is all that I can say about it. Dried up beef, bland fried chicken and no vegetables unless you count baked beans. NOT WORTH THE MONEY. Very disappointing.
There were multiple empty tables tet were were seated at a table with another family. Food was limited and mediocre at best. Lemonade had been sitting in glasses and I've had melted so it was watered down. Atmosphere was poor. We were extremely disappointed that for the amount we paid we did not feel it was worth it at all.
Restaurantji Recommends
No drink service. Foid comes from the main resort so tgere is no kitchen in this place. Waiters were very rude, never offeref water or ice tea which was sitting on the side table.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 3
Recommended dishes: Braised Beef Short Rib, Warm Wild Berry Crumble
One of the best places and reason to go to Colonial Williamsburg, Is no longer open for dinners. First they took Breakfast away and now not even open to the public for family dinning. What a disappointment.
We came here with a school group. This is my third visit while on a field trip. I have witnessed a decline in service and food quality. I am gluten free and the one choice of soggy vegetables and roasted chicken or turkey, not sure, isn't something I enjoyed. My gluten eating coworkers really did not enjoy their pot pie either. Although they did like the puff pastry it really is not what they remember having on previous visits and the filling was over salted.
Food is highly overprices. Beware of waitresses not confirming stay before charging to room. Loudly repeating room number on receipt could cause an issue!
Loved the experience, ambiance, quality. Was probably the better if the feed we had and it was the last night. Loved the history and the staff was awesome. Would go back every time. The food was a great experience and quality. Fresh ingredients and good quality mea