109 Best Restaurants in Virginia, USA

The Vietnamese dishes at this small family restaurant are made from fresh, organic ingredients—as are their specialty smoothies, bubble tea, and coffee. The expected dishes are all deliciously there, but they’re always experimenting with something new, such as Viet shaking beef and salted egg shrimp. There’s even a keto section on the menu.

A reconstructed 18th-century alehouse, Chowning's serves casual quick fare for lunch, including traditional pit-style barbecue, beef brisket sandwiches, and Smithfield ham and Gloucester cheese on a pretzel roll. You can eat either inside the tavern or under a grape arbor behind the tavern. After 5 pm, Chowning's becomes a true Colonial tavern where Gambols (18th-century entertainment), a program presented for 25 years, operates throughout the evening. Costumed balladeers lead family sing-alongs, and costumed servers play popular games of the day. From 8 pm until closing, Chowning's caters to a more mature audience.

Across the street from the Capitol, this tavern serves traditional seafood from the rest of the British colonies of North America. Mrs. Campbell's favorite dishes are sherried shrimp, scallops, and lobster, as well as the Waterman's Supper and lump crab cakes—the tavern's signature dish. An evening's entertainment might include storytelling or traditional music. George Washington often met with local residents at Mrs. Campbell's tavern. Dinner reservations are required.

This lively downtown eatery was voted "Best Live Music Venue" in a reader's poll in a local publication and is also lauded for its great sandwiches and burgers. The dinner menu features steaks, pasta, and seafood with Southern sides like mashed potatoes and seasonal vegetables. The restaurant is housed in the former Strand Theater in the historic district, and hosts live bands from rockabilly and country to bluegrass and jazz on Friday and Saturday nights.

A branch of a popular Georgetown pub, Clyde's has four art deco dining rooms, one or more of which may be devoted to private parties. The Palm Terrace has high ceilings and lots of faux greenery; less formal dining rooms adjoin each other and a couple of bars. Clyde's mostly attracts workers from the nearby corporate buildings, who appreciate the attentive service and high-quality fare. The lengthy, eclectic menu always includes fresh fish dishes, such as trout Parmesan. The wine list is equally long.

It's easy to forget that this is a college town, but this cheerful dive keeps up the school spirit. The white-brick eatery is dark and scruffy inside. Walls are hung with fraternity and sorority pictures, graduation snapshots, and sports-team photos. Booths and tables are in the William and Mary colors of green and gold. Deli sandwiches, subs, specialty pizzas, pasta, stromboli, and Greek dishes are all prepared with fresh ingredients and are all delicious, and there's a wide selection of beers on tap. The Delly delivers free to nearby hotels from 6 pm to 1 am.

Built in 1883 in the heart of Old Town and used as an actual firehouse, this historic building now just off bustling King Street houses a popular brasserie with a barroom, atrium, and patio.

A neon sign reading "Get in here" sits in the window of this intimate local favorite. The menu is Southwestern cuisine, with quesadillas, burritos, spicy pork tacos, enchiladas, and potent margaritas. Cactus plants decorate the front window, and the booths have funky lights. It can get crowded and convivial, and customers like it that way.

It may look like a shack, but this red clapboard restaurant 12 miles west of Charlottesville has been serving up what is renowned as some of Virginia's best pizza since 1977. Choose from about three-dozen toppings, including seasonal items such as snow peas and asparagus spears. Matching the outside, the interior is rustic, with portraits of the owners' forebears and one wall covered with business cards from around the world. On weekends, takeout must be ordered hours in advance.

Out in Del Ray, this Wisconsin-style frozen custard shop was a local family favorite long before President Obama came in with his daughters for a Father's Day treat. The Dairy Godmother features daily flavors of custard and sorbet like maple walnut or strawberry balsamico, as well as sweets like homemade marshmallows and cool treats for dogs.

Get a bird's-eye view of Harrisonburg from the rooftop dining area at Dave's, an award-winning and family-owned local favorite. Like many casual Greek eateries, the menu runs from American classics like burgers and pizzas, to Greek and Italian fare like souvlaki, caprese salad, and linguine. But vegetarians need not worry as veggie pitas and burgers round out the menu.

Located on the historic riverfront, Depot Grille offers classic American favorites including steaks, pasta, chicken, barbequed pork ribs, and lump crab cakes. An extensive kids' menu and the sound of passing trains make this a good choice for families.

Broiled fresh seafood of a dozen kinds is the specialty at this casual waterfront restaurant only a quick bridge-crossing from the James River Plantations. You could start with spiced shrimp, and if you're really hungry, order the seafood platter. Other menu items include she-crab soup, Greek salads, and Italian main dishes. One of the few dining choices in the area, the Dockside is set on Big Bay Creek and overlooks the Virginia River.

As its name suggests, tacos of every variety are the specialty at this lively spot in the heart of Alexandria's busy King Street. From tacos to rice bowls, burritos, and small plates for sharing, Don Taco's menu will make you crave more than just one item. Save room for dessert and, of course, for the tequila selection. 

After he introduced the world to its first ice cream cone at the 1904 World's Fair in St. Louis, Abe Doumar founded this drive-in institution in 1934. It's still operated by his family. Waitresses carry to your car the specialties of the house: barbecue, limeade, and ice cream in waffle cones (made according to an original recipe).

This former motel diner 5 miles west of Charlottesville fills up early, and because they don't accept reservations, be prepared to wait up to 30 minutes. The fanciful menu, which changes daily, emphasizes fresh, seasonal fare in its seafood and pasta dishes. Appetizers may include lamb and green peppercorn pâté with grilled bread. Several fish selections appear daily on the menu, along with specialties like veal sweetbreads or duck breast, served Continental style. While there isn't a kids' menu, the chef will make a burger or kid-friendly meal, and also accommodate vegetarians and other special diets.

On the eastern side of the island, happily ensconced along the Assateague Channel away from the more heavily trafficked main streets of town, this meticulously maintained family-friendly restaurant has a vista as soothing as its food. Its dishes include pastas and popular meat dishes as well as typical fish and shellfish creations. Try the crab cakes, Etta's signature dish.

Not a grill in name only, this restaurant has an open-grill kitchen in the dining room. It can be noisy on the bar side when live bands play in the evening. Locals get comfortable in padded chairs and booths as they relax with happy-hour specials nightly or order from the extensive wine vault. The California-inspired fusion menu offers a variety of price ranges, with excellent homemade pizza from wood-burning ovens, sandwiches, pasta, chicken, steaks, and seafood, followed by sinful desserts such as homemade bourbon chocolate-chip pecan pie. Try the yellowfin tostada rare, with black-bean-and-corn salsa, guacamole, and goat cheese, a manager's favorite.

In the heart of the historic district, this circa-1789 tavern provides a taste of the interior decoration, cuisine, and entertainment of the early Republic. A strolling balladeer usually makes the rounds on Friday and Saturday nights. The tavern was a favorite of Thomas Jefferson and George Washington, who is commemorated on the menu: George Washington's Favorite is half a duck grilled with scalloped potatoes, corn pudding, rhotekraut (sweet and sour red cabbage), and a port wine orange glace. Brunch is served on Sunday.

Goolrick's has been in its present location since the late 1890s, and still maintains a retro feel. At once a lunch counter, ice-cream shop, and an actual pharmacy, it's said to be home to the oldest operating soda fountain in the United States (theirs was installed in 1912). In addition to malts and egg creams, Goolrick's also serves light fare like sandwiches.

Beside the Hampton History Museum, you're greeted by an enticing aroma and a gift shop with tea-related items when you enter this cozy room decorated with Victorian tea-party prints in gilded frames, antique teapots, and knickknacks. Brunswick stew, creamy Hampton blue-crab soup, and biscuits are permanent fixtures on the "everything-homemade" menu, and daily specials, such as chicken and dumplings, are posted on the wall. Desserts are especially good, but avoid the canned fruit salad on iceberg lettuce. The tearoom is open for lunch only.

Bring a big appetite with you on the drive up and over Catawba Mountain to get to the Homeplace. Famished Appalachian Trail hikers and diners in their Sunday best eat side by side family-style in this farm home in a tiny country hamlet—so come as you are. Old-fashioned cooking is dished up with all-you-can-eat fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans, pinto beans, baked apples, and hot biscuits. It's a popular spot, so be prepared for about a 30-minute wait.

Inside an old building just one block from the Potomac, Il Porto's interior is reminiscent of Italy, with plaster walls, exposed wooden beams, and checkered tablecloths. The menu includes traditional Italian versions of veal, seafood, pasta, and chicken. Healthful touches include whole-wheat pasta and organic wines. On weekend nights the cozy dining room can get crowded.

The specialty here is New Southern cuisine, with seasonal lunch and dinner menus that include tempting dishes such as shrimp and grits or roasted game hen stuffed with a risotto of country ham, green peas, and mushrooms. The wine list is one to linger over. Try not to leave without sampling one of the restaurant's namesake drinks. The restaurant's location in the heart of downtown makes it a popular pre-theater or concert spot.

This 18th-century-style chophouse is where the gentry dined, and is still the finest of the historic area's four Colonial taverns. Colonial delicacies include roast prime rib of beef, pork chops, Cornish hen, game pie, and favorites such as peanut soup. Mrs. Vobe's Tavern Dinner, named after the tavern's 18th-century proprietress, Jane Vobe, is a fixed-price three-course meal.

A spinoff of the posh Karma Modern Italian in D.C., Kismet offers a new take on Indian food: elevated dishes amid blue couches and booths, orb lights, and a mosaic-tiled bar. The menu follows the seasons, with favorites including red snapper peri-peri (hot sauce with red chilli peppers), lamb ghee roast, and tandoori pulled chicken with tartare sauce. On a warm-weather day, opt for the courtyard patio.

Set in the Virginia countryside, this sprawling restaurant serves the German-influenced cuisine of Alsace. The decor is romantic—a fireplace dominates the main dining room, and red-jacketed waiters courteously guide you through the all-inclusive six-course meal. Choucroute (sausage, duck, smoked pork, and foie gras served atop sauerkraut), and Le Chateaubriand de L'Auberge (beef served with fresh vegetables, béarnaise, and truffle sauce) are just two of the generously portioned entrées. You are asked in advance whether you'd like a soufflé. Say yes, unless the Alsatian plum tart is calling you instead. Make dinner reservations up to a month in advance.