We (me, my husband, and ederly parents) will be doing a trip next week starting in DC and traveling through Richmond and on to Norfolk with stops in Fredericksburg, Williamsburg, Yorktown, Jamestown, and Newport News. Would love suggestions for lunch and dinner restaurants where the food is great, but not overly expensive. Our tastes run the gamut from crab shacks to foodie spots and anything in-between. We especially love to take in the local fare to get a feel of the area culture. Some favorite ethnic foods are Italian, Mexican, and Greek, but love good old American classics too.
When we were in the DC area a few years ago, we ate at Canlter's Riverside Inn near Annapolis where we ate on the back deck at the brown paper covered picnic tables and LOVED it. We also ate at Tim's Rivershore Restaurant and Crabhouse near Dumfires. Loved it too. For Mexican, we ate at Tacqueria Poblano in Alexandria and enjoyed it as well. One of the Italian restaurants we tried was Geranio in Old Towne Alexandria. A nice experience, but maybe a little over-priced for the quality of the meal. Thought these restaurants (if you are familiar with them) would provide some idea of what we enjoy.
Any suggestions or help you can offer would be most welcome!!!
Need great restaurants for DC to Norfolk trip
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I really only know the Norfolk area.
One of my favorites is No Frills in the Ghent area.
Not sure if you are stopping in Richmond, but if you do, go by The Jefferson Hotel and have a drink and appetizers (or dinner) at Lemaire.
Before my class reunion last Saturday, my husband and I had a bottle of wine and the 3 for $20 apps & had fried clams, a charcutterie (sp?) plate & fried green tomatoes. Everything was very good but you MUST get the fried clams.....they were spectacular.
Or stop by Comfort on Broad for Southern food with a twist.
Can only say that Cantlers is still there and going strong. Jalapeno's continues to be my Annapolis-area favorite.
My husband and I were liking the looks of Smithfield when we were visiting in that area and had planned to go there for a little getaway. If you like ham....
On a trip back from Outer Banks, we stopped in Yorktown at a resto right on the water and it was nice. I can't remember the name, sorry but you will see a big, new building on the water. Parking is across the street. Very different from a previous visit.
First, I would take any recommendation Janet gives for Richmond dining.
There are so many excellent places in DC, hard to pick so I'll name my favorite, Jaleo. Definitely book ahead. It's easier to get a booking at the Jaleo in Crystal City than the one in Penn Quarter.
In Williamsburg/Jamestown I'd suggest the Blue Talon, menu priced in the range of Geranio (whose food I like). Or Pierces BBQ, very popular and inexpensive. For lunch consider the Cheese Shop, excellent sandwiches.
In Newport News you might check out the Crab Shack on the James River. I also like Tortilleria La Morena, a small and very unassuming taqueria.
Have a good trip!
This is great info. Thanks to you all! I've already checked out the menus for many of the suggestions and they definitely look enticing. I'll keep watching to see if there are additional posts before we leave.
BTW, one other restaurant I forgot to mention earlier that was probably our favorite on our last trip was Bizou in Charlottesville. We had a wonderful meal in what I would call a quirkly little setting. Wish we had time to go back, but that will have to wait for another time
Consider, as suggested Jaleo's in D.C. or its sister restaurant, Zaytinya.
For Jaleo's we stopped bye about 3pm for a reseveration and they said they were not taking any more, but return before 6pm and it should be no problem getting seated. It wasn't.
For Zaytinya, our hotel could not get us a reservation [JW Marriott] and so we just happened to be walking by at 11:30am and while not open, the door was open. I walked in, asked for a reservation and a man, said, 'face to face will do it every time.' We had a 6pm reservation.
You can find both on this web site. www.jaleo.com You can also try to make a reservation on-line.
Thanks for the tips and link, iris1745. When you are siteseeing, it's good to know which restaurants you really need reservations for and which spots take walk-ins even if it's at a particular time of day.
You can also use this site for half off tickets to many venues. We did for the hop on, hop off bus and the International Spy Museum. They charge a small sevice fee. www.goldstar.com/washington-dc