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Colonial Williamsburg is not only educational but a lot of fun as well. There is so much to do see and do there.
So much so that you can definitely spend an entire day there. And if you do, you will need to break for lunch at some point.
There are not a lot of dining options at Colonial Williamsburg. There are a few restaurants that are part of Colonial Williamsburg. One of those restaurants we’ve reviewed before is Chowning’s Tavern. This is a great choice if you want a really authentic Colonial Williamsburg experience (though I will say this is not a cheap dining experience).
You could walk to Colonial Williamsburg’s Merchant Square. There are a number of restaurants here. One we really like is Blue Talon Bistro, which we reviewed here. However I will say most of these options are sit-down restaurants and are a bit on the expensive side.
But let me throw out another for you. And this option is the Museum Cafe.
Museum Cafe
The Museum Cafe, as the name might imply, is a dining option in the Art Museums of Colonial Williamsburg. Naturally then this restaurant is a great choice if you plan on visiting the art museum.
But it can also be a great choice if you’re not visiting the art museum, as long as you have a pass to Colonial Williamsburg (find out how to get discounted Colonial Williamsburg tickets here). Your pass allows you to take the free bus to the Art Museums. This is what my family did last time we visited Colonial Williamsburg. We did not visit the art museum (that is not included in your Colonial Williamsburg ticket). But we did check out the Museum Cafe.
The Museum Cafe is a dining option I had noticed the last time I had been to the art museum (I had a free ticket to the museum that day as I was a guest of my dad who is a vet and it is was Memorial Day). But we were too late to try it that day because it closes at 3:00 PM (so you won’t be able to eat here for dinner after spending a day at Colonial Williamsburg).
It’s hard to miss Museum Cafe when you visit the art museum because it is at the very front of the museum. By the way, if you are visiting to the museum just to eat here just let the person working at the front of the museum that you’re just eating at the cafe. Why I mention that is that you are not allowed to bring any bags into the museum so you have to get a locker and put your stuff inside. That is not the case if you eat at the cafe, so I want to tell you that so you don’t waste your time putting any bags in a locker when you do not need to.
Museum Cafe Decor & Atmosphere
One reason why the restaurant caught my eye initially is its location. And I am actually not referring to the fact that it is easily accessible by the Colonial Williamsburg bus. I mean because it is indoors!
This is a big deal because it can get very hot in Williamsburg. It was hot when we ate here about a month ago. And since the cafe is inside and air-conditioned, eating here will really help cool you off.
It’s also just a really nice and relaxing atmosphere. I really like the decor in eating area. I love the brick interior, artwork, and plants.
They also had nice tables with comfortable chairs. The comfy chairs with nice back support was very welcome after having walked around all day at Colonial Williamsburg.
Museum Cafe Menu & Food Review
So one aspect of Museum Cafe that appealed to me was the price. Now, it was not cheap (of course, these days, what is?). You definitely pay for the location.
But unlike some of the restaurants at Merchant’ s Square or Chowning Tavern, this is a quick service dining option. So there’s no expensive tip involved. There are even some menu items that are under $10, which sadly is a pleasant surprise these days.
The menu has a nice mix of drinks, with soda and my favorite water brand (Fiji Water). They have a great mix of food options, too. It’s not just a few standard food items that you might expect at a museum restaurant. This menu has items like Lafayette’s Croque Monsieur, a Grilled Chicken Rice Bowl, and Pasta Salad.
You can get a small cup of the Pasta Salad right now for just $4.
You can also get Vegetable Soup.
The vegetable soup was very good. The carrots were especially good. They were melt-in-your-mouth tender. It had a good variety of different vegetables, too. It was steaming, too, when we got. We got it right away.
Which does bring me to a negative. I ordered the Smash Burger. It was listed as having a Martin’s potato roll, tomato, lettuce, pickle, onion, and a choice of cheese (Swiss, American, Cheddar, and Pepperjack Cheeses). First of all – and this is positive – I absolutely love that you can choose your cheese. I chose the Swiss cheese and it was great.
But there was no mention of sauce in the description. And my burger came with a sauce.
I was able to send it back for another burger. But it took a long time to make the burger, and I was starving.
But once it came I was very pleased. It was very good. And I did like that the toppings (except for the sauce of course!) were on the side so you could discard any you didn’t want.
Also while I waited I could eat my French Fries, which were very good.
You can also order a single all-beef frank hot dog for $8. A family member of mine ordered it and said it was very good.
The food was filling and served us well. If it hadn’t been filling, I may have tried the desserts because they had some good ones, like pecan pie, rum cream pie, and chocolate fudge cake.
Conclusion
Museum Café is a wonderful choice for a place to eat lunch while you are spending a day at Colonial Williamsburg. They have a great menu full of delicious food and a great mix of food and drink options. There are (relatively for the area) affordable options as it is a quick service restaurant. The atmosphere is relaxing and it is air-conditioned on hot days (and I imagine warm on cold days). And you can easily visit there by taking the free Colonial Williamsburg bus you get access to by having a Colonial Williamsburg ticket.
And once again, you can get discounted Colonial Williamsburg tickets here.