To say this was a let down would be an understatement, the Barkery at the Hound's Tale is described as a dog friendly section of the aforementioned restaurant which offers good food and good vibes but in truth, the vibes are mediocre and the food is bland. When I set up on this establishment to eat some food in the walkable part of Williamsburg my hopes were high; I find that good people and tasty food is plentiful in this area so to say that my hopes were dashed would be an accurate descritption of my experience. Upon walking in there was an unruly dog and the bartender had similar mannerisms, it was obvious who the canine's captain was. We asked about food and were grunted at that it was served here and we were handed a single menu for our group of five. We sat and ordered water and waited ten minutes for the beverage, at this point, the dog which claimed the dining room as domicile had been barking at and nagging at us and our own furry friend. After ordering food we waited another thirty minutes for our meals which arrived in a manner befit a grander and greater gourmet experience. We ate our Hound's burgers in silence, relishing the sustenance which was provided. It was halfway through our burgers where I trouble began. The centers, were cold and undercooked and the general flavor tasted as though the patties had been cooked from frozen, the fries were limp and soft without any signs of life in them, their pretzel was of store bought variety with a disgusting excuse for pimento cheese accompanying it. This pimento cheese tasted as though no one in the establishment had eaten pimento cheese and someone in passing has merely described it to them and based on this description, they made some. The server/bartender continued to neglect us and attend to others which were made to seem as "regulars" but how are regulars made other than by providing exemplary service ot those who are new. Once we received our checks, we boxed up our food and left, our arms laden with the disappointments of the kitchen. The animal which has been announcing our arrival, our staying, and our eating, now announced our departure in true small dog screaming fashion. Needless to say, we will not be back.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 1
Service: 1
Terry Rempert
My wife and I had a great dinning experience last Friday) night at The Hounds Tail. Our server Destiny was fun and very helpful. Her dinner suggestions were spot on. I had the Stuffed Flounder and my wife had the Tikka Masala. Both excellent dishes. We also had the Mussels for a startes. I also loved the Creme Brulee which Destiny suggested.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
S Lounsbery
Had the most amazing dining experience I’ve had in quite some time! The food was great, I had the seafood medley, but the service was incredible! Had the best server ever!!! Margherita was the best server, so attentive and a great attitude! Made the experience top notch, I would definitely come back again as long as I had Margherita as my server!!!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Anna Marston
first of all, we didn’t even get water right away and 15 minutes later when the server brought it to us he said “here’s the water you requested” im sorry requested? I didn’t know getting water was such a privilege nowadays. What if I was choking on my salad. Also we ordered a bourbon flight and the price was never listed and it ended up being $55!!! My date was gonna pay for dinner and we ended up having to split the bill because it was so much money. Now I’m broke and have to live off honey nut cheerios for a week or two. thanks a lot hounds tale. more like hounds FAIL
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 1
Service: 3
Jaida Anderlik
I enjoyed the food here, especially the Osso Bucco.There are confusingly two different parts to this restaurant, it seems. The Hound's Tale Barkery is where we went which has a smaller interior than we expected, but it is dog-friendly inside and has a large patio attached. Then there's the Hound's Kitchen (which we didn't go into) that seems to be where some of the reviews here are from. I'm guessing that the negative reviews about being turned away by the host from not having a reservation come from the Hound's Kitchen because the sign says, "private dining and special events."
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 5
Candi Marie
Piper the mascot is adorable, Brussels are amazing!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Fried Brussel Sprouts
Vandolyn Powers
Our first visit to this gem. It was my son's anniversary. Our server Margarita was awesome. I had the grilled romaine salad and charred Brussels sprouts. My DIL had the flank steak, and my son had the lobster ravioli. The reese's cookie skillet was a delicious ending!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Fried Brussels
melony bradford
We landed there as part of the murder pub crawl. The food being served looked amazing.
BethAnn Hinton
We were seated promptly. The food and drinks were very good. Our server was friendly. There was a very large party there at the same time as us that I think affected the speediness of drinks from the bar and food from the kitchen. The person who I believe was the manager spent most of his time at the door and I think could have helped with running food/drinks. There was a problem with one of our dishes, but the server handled it appropriately. This was our first time here, we will definitely try again.Parking: several shops and restaurants in this area can make find close by parking difficult.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Popcorn in Dog's Bowl, Fish and Chips
Rossitza Newhall
Never drove 4 hours for a stale, tasteless fish and chips. It is an elementary dish, takes a lot to spoil it. The service was good, but it's the food that wasn't.
We came to the Hounds Tale on Nov 30 for our 1 year anniversary dinner. It was our first time visiting.When we arrived it was very busy. They asked if we wanted to sit at the bar, we declined. We were given a table in a really awkward spot. I was bumped by a waitress multiple times during my visit. There was nicer tables in the corner that I would have much preferred and made more sense to me. My date told me maybe they were for reservations. Nope. They stayed empty the entire time. It’s a small space so I understand the need to put tables wherever you can but ours was so awkward and the only one just in the middle of all the foot traffic, right outside the kitchen/heat lamps with a lovely view of the bathrooms opening and closing and made no sense to me.The Hounds Tale really plays into the dog theming which I personally loved as I am a dog trainer. They give you popcorn in a dog bowl almost as soon as you walk in!We had the crab dip with naan which was amazingggg. I am super picky about crab dip but this one was delicious. Definitely my favorite thing from the night.But things kinda went downhill from here.We didn’t use the small plates from our appetizer, they sat on our table while we ate, talked and even coughed! — to which later before our meals came out the waitress returned them to the clean pile of small plates by the heat lamps. This bothered me a lot. I then watched another waitress pick them up and take them in her hands to another table, for the table say they didn’t need them and then returned to the “clean” pile again. Multiple sets of possibly dirty hands holding “clean” plates to be passed onto someone else later:Waitresses openly use their phone while leaning up against the bar. As someone who used to work in customer service this bothered me. It comes off rude and unprofessional. This wasn’t just quick glances at a phone it was minutes long scrolls and texting. (This is important later)Our meals took quite a while, which was fine, we expected it as the place was very busy when we arrived.We both got the hounds tale burger. It was alright and very messy. The fries were very good. The toppings are super flavorful but the burger alone tasted like just a meat patty. My boyfriend said it had no sear and looked like it had been boiled. There was no seasoning or flavor to it outside of the toppings. It was still a good burger though. The toppings are what makes it.We were asked if we wanted a refill to our drinks and we both declined and asked for our check. I happened to have glanced at my watch and noticed the time at this point as I was trying to make it to Kilwins before close.We sat. For quite a few minutes. This entire time the waitress was on her phone at the bar. I checked my phone. 5 minutes. Then 10 minutes. Then she went to sweep and just disappeared. At the 15 minute mark at this point I flagged down the manager. I explained the situation.I did not like how he handled it. He immediately found the waitress and addressed it, in front of us, much to my horror. It was incredibly uncomfortable to watch and made things incredibly awkward for us. Any type of reprimanding or coaching to staff should never be done in front of customers.The waitress then came over and defended herself to us claiming she did not hear I wanted the check and I didn’t say that I did and she thought we just wanted to sit and relax for a while. I’m not sure why she would assume what I wanted to do, but I digress. I didn’t appreciate being confronted about this.Considering we go to Williamsburg fairly often I wanted to love this place, but I just can’t.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 1
Nicole Norman
We ended up here for cocktails after going out with a group for a Murder Tour in Colonial Williamsburg. Drinks were fantastic and it was such a nice place to enjoy time with friends and the food was wonderful.Edit: 2024I've been back several times now and really enjoyed the food and drinks.This evening we had the Bischon Frirsé and the Hound Dog cocktails that were absolutely delicious. The bartender was so fun and friendly. We have a great time catching up in a casual atmosphere that makes you feel at home.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Ericka Bitz
Opened the door took two steps in and and was told by the hostess immediately “Back up, back up, back up” and he aggresively pushed us back to the door. He then barked at us “Do you have a reservation, I sure hope so?!” We stated we were just interested in sitting at the bar, and he responded rudely “oh it’s clearly occupied”. We immediately left and will never return. Honestly have never experienced such blatant disrespect simply as I walked into a restaurant.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Rob Weghorst
Great food and atmosphere!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Erin McGillicuddy
After a wonderful evening of taking in the amazing sites Colonial Williamsburg had to offer my family of 4 set out to find a nice place to sit and have some food and something to drink. My husband, myself, my daughter who is 7 and my sweet son who is 4. We entered the Tavern to wait behind a nice group who were waiting for a table. We made small talk while the hostess wiped down a table for them. They did not have reservations like us, as we discussed how happy we were to find a place that allowed walk in diners, as this was a pub and it was a busy Sat night. They were seated and the hostess came to seat us and as he was getting the menus we were met with a very rude “manager” who looked at my children and said,” we are reservation only”. When I explained the people in front of us were sat without reservations and that the hostess also had no idea this was now all of a sudden the rule, he looked at me again and said, “ma’am , I am the manager and we are reservation only.” It is fine to have double standards but try not to make it so obvious in front of my young children. As we walked out my very observant 7 year old looked at me as said, “mom why did they not want us just because we are kids”. It broke my heart. Horrible customer service and horrible manager for allowing such a double standard and literal discrimination based on age of the patrons.
To say this was a let down would be an understatement, the Barkery at the Hound's Tale is described as a dog friendly section of the aforementioned restaurant which offers good food and good vibes but in truth, the vibes are mediocre and the food is bland. When I set up on this establishment to eat some food in the walkable part of Williamsburg my hopes were high; I find that good people and tasty food is plentiful in this area so to say that my hopes were dashed would be an accurate descritption of my experience. Upon walking in there was an unruly dog and the bartender had similar mannerisms, it was obvious who the canine's captain was. We asked about food and were grunted at that it was served here and we were handed a single menu for our group of five. We sat and ordered water and waited ten minutes for the beverage, at this point, the dog which claimed the dining room as domicile had been barking at and nagging at us and our own furry friend. After ordering food we waited another thirty minutes for our meals which arrived in a manner befit a grander and greater gourmet experience. We ate our Hound's burgers in silence, relishing the sustenance which was provided. It was halfway through our burgers where I trouble began. The centers, were cold and undercooked and the general flavor tasted as though the patties had been cooked from frozen, the fries were limp and soft without any signs of life in them, their pretzel was of store bought variety with a disgusting excuse for pimento cheese accompanying it. This pimento cheese tasted as though no one in the establishment had eaten pimento cheese and someone in passing has merely described it to them and based on this description, they made some. The server/bartender continued to neglect us and attend to others which were made to seem as "regulars" but how are regulars made other than by providing exemplary service ot those who are new. Once we received our checks, we boxed up our food and left, our arms laden with the disappointments of the kitchen. The animal which has been announcing our arrival, our staying, and our eating, now announced our departure in true small dog screaming fashion. Needless to say, we will not be back.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 1
Service: 1
My wife and I had a great dinning experience last Friday) night at The Hounds Tail. Our server Destiny was fun and very helpful. Her dinner suggestions were spot on. I had the Stuffed Flounder and my wife had the Tikka Masala. Both excellent dishes. We also had the Mussels for a startes. I also loved the Creme Brulee which Destiny suggested.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Had the most amazing dining experience I’ve had in quite some time! The food was great, I had the seafood medley, but the service was incredible! Had the best server ever!!! Margherita was the best server, so attentive and a great attitude! Made the experience top notch, I would definitely come back again as long as I had Margherita as my server!!!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
first of all, we didn’t even get water right away and 15 minutes later when the server brought it to us he said “here’s the water you requested” im sorry requested? I didn’t know getting water was such a privilege nowadays. What if I was choking on my salad. Also we ordered a bourbon flight and the price was never listed and it ended up being $55!!! My date was gonna pay for dinner and we ended up having to split the bill because it was so much money. Now I’m broke and have to live off honey nut cheerios for a week or two. thanks a lot hounds tale. more like hounds FAIL
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 1
Service: 3
I enjoyed the food here, especially the Osso Bucco.There are confusingly two different parts to this restaurant, it seems. The Hound's Tale Barkery is where we went which has a smaller interior than we expected, but it is dog-friendly inside and has a large patio attached. Then there's the Hound's Kitchen (which we didn't go into) that seems to be where some of the reviews here are from. I'm guessing that the negative reviews about being turned away by the host from not having a reservation come from the Hound's Kitchen because the sign says, "private dining and special events."
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 5
Piper the mascot is adorable, Brussels are amazing!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Fried Brussel Sprouts
Our first visit to this gem. It was my son's anniversary. Our server Margarita was awesome. I had the grilled romaine salad and charred Brussels sprouts. My DIL had the flank steak, and my son had the lobster ravioli. The reese's cookie skillet was a delicious ending!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Fried Brussels
We landed there as part of the murder pub crawl. The food being served looked amazing.
We were seated promptly. The food and drinks were very good. Our server was friendly. There was a very large party there at the same time as us that I think affected the speediness of drinks from the bar and food from the kitchen. The person who I believe was the manager spent most of his time at the door and I think could have helped with running food/drinks. There was a problem with one of our dishes, but the server handled it appropriately. This was our first time here, we will definitely try again.Parking: several shops and restaurants in this area can make find close by parking difficult.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Popcorn in Dog's Bowl, Fish and Chips
Never drove 4 hours for a stale, tasteless fish and chips. It is an elementary dish, takes a lot to spoil it. The service was good, but it's the food that wasn't.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 2
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
We came to the Hounds Tale on Nov 30 for our 1 year anniversary dinner. It was our first time visiting.When we arrived it was very busy. They asked if we wanted to sit at the bar, we declined. We were given a table in a really awkward spot. I was bumped by a waitress multiple times during my visit. There was nicer tables in the corner that I would have much preferred and made more sense to me. My date told me maybe they were for reservations. Nope. They stayed empty the entire time. It’s a small space so I understand the need to put tables wherever you can but ours was so awkward and the only one just in the middle of all the foot traffic, right outside the kitchen/heat lamps with a lovely view of the bathrooms opening and closing and made no sense to me.The Hounds Tale really plays into the dog theming which I personally loved as I am a dog trainer. They give you popcorn in a dog bowl almost as soon as you walk in!We had the crab dip with naan which was amazingggg. I am super picky about crab dip but this one was delicious. Definitely my favorite thing from the night.But things kinda went downhill from here.We didn’t use the small plates from our appetizer, they sat on our table while we ate, talked and even coughed! — to which later before our meals came out the waitress returned them to the clean pile of small plates by the heat lamps. This bothered me a lot. I then watched another waitress pick them up and take them in her hands to another table, for the table say they didn’t need them and then returned to the “clean” pile again. Multiple sets of possibly dirty hands holding “clean” plates to be passed onto someone else later:Waitresses openly use their phone while leaning up against the bar. As someone who used to work in customer service this bothered me. It comes off rude and unprofessional. This wasn’t just quick glances at a phone it was minutes long scrolls and texting. (This is important later)Our meals took quite a while, which was fine, we expected it as the place was very busy when we arrived.We both got the hounds tale burger. It was alright and very messy. The fries were very good. The toppings are super flavorful but the burger alone tasted like just a meat patty. My boyfriend said it had no sear and looked like it had been boiled. There was no seasoning or flavor to it outside of the toppings. It was still a good burger though. The toppings are what makes it.We were asked if we wanted a refill to our drinks and we both declined and asked for our check. I happened to have glanced at my watch and noticed the time at this point as I was trying to make it to Kilwins before close.We sat. For quite a few minutes. This entire time the waitress was on her phone at the bar. I checked my phone. 5 minutes. Then 10 minutes. Then she went to sweep and just disappeared. At the 15 minute mark at this point I flagged down the manager. I explained the situation.I did not like how he handled it. He immediately found the waitress and addressed it, in front of us, much to my horror. It was incredibly uncomfortable to watch and made things incredibly awkward for us. Any type of reprimanding or coaching to staff should never be done in front of customers.The waitress then came over and defended herself to us claiming she did not hear I wanted the check and I didn’t say that I did and she thought we just wanted to sit and relax for a while. I’m not sure why she would assume what I wanted to do, but I digress. I didn’t appreciate being confronted about this.Considering we go to Williamsburg fairly often I wanted to love this place, but I just can’t.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 1
We ended up here for cocktails after going out with a group for a Murder Tour in Colonial Williamsburg. Drinks were fantastic and it was such a nice place to enjoy time with friends and the food was wonderful.Edit: 2024I've been back several times now and really enjoyed the food and drinks.This evening we had the Bischon Frirsé and the Hound Dog cocktails that were absolutely delicious. The bartender was so fun and friendly. We have a great time catching up in a casual atmosphere that makes you feel at home.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Opened the door took two steps in and and was told by the hostess immediately “Back up, back up, back up” and he aggresively pushed us back to the door. He then barked at us “Do you have a reservation, I sure hope so?!” We stated we were just interested in sitting at the bar, and he responded rudely “oh it’s clearly occupied”. We immediately left and will never return. Honestly have never experienced such blatant disrespect simply as I walked into a restaurant.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Great food and atmosphere!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
After a wonderful evening of taking in the amazing sites Colonial Williamsburg had to offer my family of 4 set out to find a nice place to sit and have some food and something to drink. My husband, myself, my daughter who is 7 and my sweet son who is 4. We entered the Tavern to wait behind a nice group who were waiting for a table. We made small talk while the hostess wiped down a table for them. They did not have reservations like us, as we discussed how happy we were to find a place that allowed walk in diners, as this was a pub and it was a busy Sat night. They were seated and the hostess came to seat us and as he was getting the menus we were met with a very rude “manager” who looked at my children and said,” we are reservation only”. When I explained the people in front of us were sat without reservations and that the hostess also had no idea this was now all of a sudden the rule, he looked at me again and said, “ma’am , I am the manager and we are reservation only.” It is fine to have double standards but try not to make it so obvious in front of my young children. As we walked out my very observant 7 year old looked at me as said, “mom why did they not want us just because we are kids”. It broke my heart. Horrible customer service and horrible manager for allowing such a double standard and literal discrimination based on age of the patrons.