Cafe Provencal - Williamsburg

Located in the cool, dry basement of the Wedmore Place, the Williamsburg Winery's on site hotel, the Cafe Provencal is a high end French restaurant complete with intimate lighting, uncomfortably close seating, elaborate dishes and a minimalistic menu. The interior of the restaurant is a brilliant cross between French architecture from the 16th century, ceramic busts filling areas in the walls, and a classical New England basement with fine China and pitchers on ledges near the ceiling. The attire is listed as business casual but most patrons had formal dress jackets and dresses, with only one or two elderly patrons wearing track suits. The entree menu is quite sparse when compared to the burgeoning wine menu, containing the finest wines the Williamsburg Winery has to offer. Prices on bottles ranged from the mid 20s to low 70s be aware that even their medium priced wines tend to be delicious so the most expensive bottle may not be the best or most frugal choice for your meal. The chef brought us out complimentary wontons covered in salmon and micro greens a very nice touch for a very nice meal. The local seared rockfish was fantastic and bursting with flavor a feat not easily accomplished for most fish entrees). The charcuterie board $15) was brimming with treats, from mustard seeds and pickled carrots to fresh baked breads and five year aged Gouda cheese. My entree, the crispy baby fennel raviolis, $26) was rather disappointing, quite a surprise given the phenomenally high quality of the rest of the meal. The homemade cheese and fennel inside simply didn't match the flavor of the other items, and did not engage my tastebuds the way I had hoped they would. With that said, the other appetizers and entrees I sampled were of the utmost quality and lovingly prepared. The Cafe Provencal is a romantic date spot, though make sure you come dressed appropriately. Track suits in high end establishments are gauche and unseemly, regardless of age.

Dave purchased the Food, Wine Escape package which is only available on weekdays (Nov-Dec). The package included dinner at their Cafe Provencal. Reservations were at 6:30pm so we spent time in the Wiley Minstrel lounge. Dinner was perfect....dessert was heavenly. Since we purchased the package deal-they gave us a different menu. Its similar to the original menu however some items were omitted/ not available. We started off with their caramelized onion soup and oxtail. Damn that soup was delish!! Dave ordered the scallops entree and I ordered the polyface farm chicken with mushrooms entree. Both dishes were yummy. Scallops were seared perfectly but still moist. The chicken almost feels like it melts in your mouth. MUST try their pumpkin pie for dessert!! The service was superb. Our waiter was very attentive and knowledgeable on all of the items we ordered. Of course We had a bottle of wine... was still buzzed from the wine tasting so can't remember which one we had lol... We ended our stay with their complimentary European breakfast. They had a nice self serve station which included bagels, pastries, yogurt, a variety of juice drinks, fruit and breakfast quiche. They had croissants that were so delicious! They get them from France and it was like no other crossiant we've had before! The server said they're made with French butter which is probably what makes it tastes so yummy... like perfectly crisp on the outside but inside it's soft and fluffy. We really enjoyed our time there. Needless to say we will definitely be back!

All I can say is... WOW! We came from DC to visit... anyone who knows the DC food scene knows that there is nothing in existence like Cafe Provençal anymore! I was looking forward to a quiet evening with good food... and we got it! We started with the clams casino and the sweet potato beignets. The clams were OUT OF THIS WORLD. Best clams casino I have ever had. Super flavorful, lemony and had a nice pepper relish also. Typically the clams casino I've had is on the shell. This was not, but I felt like we got more clan than average. I was looking forward to the lamb, however, when we were seated, we were told that the menu was changing and lamb was no longer available. I was initially really sad, but in going for my second choice, the duck, I couldn't have been happier. The duck was cooked perfectly. Best duck I've ever had, hands down. The farro it was served with was also phenomenal and the grilled endive was unexpected but just delightful. I wouldn't change a single thing about it. When the appetizer came out, the table next to us was ranting on about things that didn't matter to the waitress which was to a point of being distracting and obnoxious. I decided to take it upon myself to ask the other staff to send a manager over because I felt horribly for the server, Kara, which was mentioned as being wonderful in a lot of reviews I've read. She was wonderful, and so was the manager (mike ? who stepped in immediately and took care of it. All of the staff who were there were extremely nice and professional. Best service we've had in a long time. Despite the minor blip in serenity, it was a wonderful experience and the food was out of this world. All for a very good price. We had one of the Sauvignon Blancs made at the winery which was delicious, too. The restaurant staff was kind enough to also unexpectedly comp our dessert for having to put up with the madness of our neighbors. Couldn't have asked for a better experience. Go and get the clams and duck asap!!!!!

We took advantage of a Groupon while we were in town. The place is on the grounds of a winery, downstairs in the inn portion. When we came in, we were warmly greeted by the person at the front desk of the inn, and taken to the elevator. We came in, and were given the menu. We had a yummy butternut squash soup (with a sage marshmallow! and beautiful mixed green salad to start. Then, a cheese board (the raspberry preserves were the star of the board, for sure , and a bowl of clams in a yummy wine sauce. Let me pause here, on food. We ordered a bottle of dry rose that was delicious, and had finished our first two courses and were waiting on our entree. Kara, our server, came over with two glasses of champagne, which we hadn't ordered. The kitchen had forgotten our entrees, so there would be a bit of a wait. They made it right, though! Champagne and a butcher board for our trouble. I love when a restaurant works to ensure that the relationship isn't destroyed when accidents happen (and we all know, accidents happen . Our entrees were delicious and artfully presented, and desserts (creme brulee and chocolate cake were perfectly portioned after such a filing meal. Overall, the ambiance, the house-grown herbs, and the kind service made my husband and I fans. I'm glad we went!

I was really looking forward to dining at this restaurant because it had excellent reviews, an inventive menu, and a charming atmosphere. While the ambiance and menu lived up to my expectations, I found the food to be quite underwhelming given the prices. It felt like they had some interesting concepts for the dishes, but they were executed by a less-than-stellar cook using ingredients that seemed store-bought. If you're primarily seeking a great atmosphere, this place is hard to top, but personally, I would prefer to get more value for my money elsewhere.