Artcafe26

One of my favorites and so sad it’s closed. Sibilla, we hope you find another chef fast! We dreadfully miss it!!!

My wife and I went last night for Valentine’s Day. It was excellent. The meal was five courses, with an cheese and fruit starter and peach Bellini, a salmon course with various types of smoked salmon, a pea soup that was incredible, a rum and lime sorbet course and finally beef filet with Mac and cheese and vegetables. Desert was a variety of small deserts. Everything was delicious and ingeniously presented and matched. The gallery itself gave the right atmosphere and the staff was top notch. It’s pricey but you can hardly do better for a special occasion.

I had some time before my meeting, so the hubsters and I were able to check this place out for some quick breakfast. I had this place on my list for a while, so I was really excited! I ordered the French Breakfast, which included a flaky croissant topped with powdered sugar, two slices of brie, scrambled egg, homemade jam with toast, a small salad, and a coffee I substituted for hot chocolate. The salad was mixed greens with a great light and flavorful dressing. The slices of brie were generous. The scrambled egg was bland, and the croissant had a funny aftertaste. I did like the hot chocolate that I substituted for the coffee — it came with a little cup of whipped cream, and it was hot and creamy and chocolaty. The presentation was cute — I loved the interior of the place as it was filled with artwork and modern tables and chairs, and the French music playing in the background. The server was a bit distracted as we were the first patrons of the day, but I was still glad to have tried it out! I would like to try out their dinner menu sometime in the future.
+hot chocolate

I had a pleasantly and refreshingly unusual Sunday brunch here. The menu was simple, with a few offerings for both breakfast and lunch. The space is chic and modern, yet relaxing and warm. I really like the combo of art gallery/​café.
The coffee we had was wonderful, they brewed it fresh for each cup. I ordered the butternut squash/​pumpkin soup as an appetizer. It was simply divine. Thinner than expected, but bursting with bright flavors. This was the highlight.
We both ordered omelettes. Mine had a much lighter texture than I was expecting and was served open, unlike a typical folded one (more of a frittata perhaps?). The ham and veggies were very good, and the amount of feta cheese was just enough so that the flavors and textures were there but not overpowering the dish.
The service was very good and the owner made sure of it– super friendly.
Prices were a bit on the steep side, but definitely worth the unique and tasty dining experience.

The French Breakfast is wonderful. Everthing about it is 5 Star worthy. The Brie with the croissant is great but save some of the croissant for the homemade strawberry jam. Still, even if you don’t the homemade bread is also good.
The owner is very friendly and involved and a real pleasure to speak with. We would give more stars if we could.

Fantastic restaurant for foodies. The menu is fresh and unusual with a European/​German flair with such tasty items as Apple strudel. Don’t miss this sophisticated and delicious restaurant.

What a delightful meal we enjoyed on this our first (of many, I hope) visit to Art Cafe26.
The proprietor has cleverly combined well-​appointed art with delicious food. We loved it. We were there on a Sunday for a noon meal, and had not realized we’d have a «brunch-​only» menu. There were several egg based choices as well as salads, soup and other lunch fare. We each chose a vegetable omelet, and boy were they good.
All fresh ingredients and cooked to perfection. We ordered the homemade strawberry jam for 90 cents —-worth every penny. It was the best jam I’ve ever tasted. For dessert we shared a home made apple streudel with *fabulous* home made ice cream.
So, here’s the deal: attention to detail, superb taste, very friendly and attentive waitstaff, and an art show to boot! Don’t overlook this little spot in Town Center in Williamsburg, VA

Beautiful service on top of an excellent dinner. Owner was outstandingly nice and warm to my family — explaining history of restaurant, the chef and her passion.
Looking for quality that is hard to find in dining nowadays, if you are near Williamsburg, it is a must to stop by for a meal.
Thank you to the staff for a memorable experience.

Excellent atmosphere and food. Very light and tasty — had the spinach, tomato, and goat cheese omelet, which is definitely enough to split! The croissants were flaky and warm. The jam was excellent.

4 of 5 stars (very good, upscale dining).
(see explanation of ratings below)
In the evening, entrées are priced at more than $ 30, so this qualifies as fine dining. However, at lunch, we had a dish that included a serving of butter in an individual-​sized packet (which smacks of casual dining, for sure!).
Delightful space to dine! Sibella (Hostess/​owner) is German and quite lovely. Chef is Austrian.
Beautiful presentations of all dishes (except for the butter as noted above).
Only disappointment was the sachertorte: we all felt it was too dry.
Lunch: $ 40-​$ 45 per person, gratuity excluded (lots of wine).
Would absolutely return to try dinner there!
About my ratings:
Only high-​priced dining establishments can garner five stars. Until Unilocal realizes that a fast food joint cannot possibly be ranked equally with a $ 100 per person place, I need to draw the line somewhere. If we were only talking about the quality and presentation of the food, it would be a different story. But, as we know, Unilocal’s rankings take into account the entire dining experience.
Therefore, I divide restaurants into three categories (and I wish Unilocal would do the same):
1) fast food and «fast-​casual», low-​priced (no table service).
2) casual, mid-​priced dining (table service, average entrée price: $ 10-​$ 20).
3) fine, high-​priced dining (linen napkins, no plastic cups, no TV’s in dining room, average entrée priced at more than $ 20, can vary depending on the city).
High-​priced dining can earn a max of five stars. Mid-​priced dining can earn a max of four stars. Fast food can earn a max of three stars.

Awesome, awesome, and awesome. This food is amazing!

Delicious food and great atmosphere. We walked in with our kids and were a little concerned because it seemed way too nice to bring small kids there. The owner walked right up and introduced herself to our daughters and made them feel so special and welcome, and then proceeded to give them toys to play with! The food was also excellent and just the way we like it — small portions of many different types of food, which would not normally be combined, but go perfectly together. Try the French breakfast, it is amazing.

Art Café 26 offers an extensive menu of delicious items, all with a light texture and taste. The combination of food, café’, and ambiance makes Art Café 26 my favorite brunch destination in the region, hands down.

A very unique experience in the New Town part of Williamsburg. The dining space has artwork on the walls and is very modern/​contemporary. If you are looking for a delightful breakfast/​brunch/​lunch, this is THE place to go!
Before we sat down, the woman that served us brought a unique cube toy from the MoMA for Xander to play with. She had him entertained and us feeling very welcome immediately. To say the restaurant is child-​friendly is an understatement!
So the food… My wife had scrambled eggs, bacon, a small salad, whole grain toast, and a cappuccino. We got the fruit plate and a scrambled egg for Xander. I got the French breakfast, which included scrambled eggs, a croissant, brie cheese, a small salad, and coffee. Everything was delicious!
The moral, anytime we are in Williamsburg, we will be stopping here!!!

After reading the rave reviews of this place and bringing some friends here for breakfast while on vacation, I did something I’ve never done before: I read every single review again, including the filtered ones. I am almost positive this restaurant is paying reviewers to rave about its unexceptional, overpriced food and bizarre atmosphere. Here are a few vignettes from our meal:
Me: (reading from the menu) I’ll have a latte.
Waitress: (bites lip, raises eyebrows) Oh. .. I’m not sure about that.
Me:…
Waitress: Well, our cappucinno machine is pretty finicky. We call her Gisele.
Me:…
Waitress: You know what, I’ll ask the owner if she’s had any luck this morning. Maybe she can make her work for you.
This is just the beginning, folks. They eventually did bring a latte that was almost creamy and delicious enough to make me forget what had just happened. Then, toward the end of the meal, the owner stopped by our table:
Owner: Hello! This has been such a strange morning.
My friend: Yes, it has.
Owner: Well, you know, A says she isn’t feeling well, and B has a sick child, and C can’t come in until later. .. it’s just been crazy.
My friend: (eyeing the mostly-​empty restaurant) Sure looks like it.
The food? Oh, yes, we did come here for brunch. Nothing was great, but nothing was awful. Our omelettes were huge and wonderfully fluffy, but when we tasted them we realized why — there was a ton of water beat into the eggs so that they were practically tasteless. Croissants were flaky and warm; homemade jam was excellent. Everything was dramatically overpriced, from the champagne split billed as «2 glasses» to the $ 7 «platter» of a slice of ham, a chunk of cheese and one egg.
I’m sorry that I cannot adequately convey the airheadedness of the staff, the pristine mediocrity of the food and the strangeness of the atmosphere. I felt like I had been sucked into an episode of the Twilight Zone. We did enjoy the gallery-​esque atmosphere as soon as we entered; lots of light, minimalist (though comfortable) furnishings and artwork that, while slightly sterile, was at least more interesting than what typically greets diners at a café. I might come back for another latte, but I would bring my notepad to record the comic material that just oozes out of this place.

Loved the fried eggs with whole grain toast and salad. I wish more places offered salad instead of potatoes

Went here for a Sunday brunch and it was great from start to finish. The omelets are excellent and so is the service. The server was very nice and the owner came out to ask us how everything was with our meal. Try the croissants! They are divine. I’m not an expert but they are definitely the best I’ve ever had. The decorations were very cool and trendy. Definitely would go back.

Hubbs brought me here today for my birthday. Clean, modern, trendy place. Arrived at 1015 and was glad to see no line. Ordered coffee, mimosa, OJ, omelets, kid waffle, croissant. All were quickly and well presented. Delicious, fresh, and high quality food! The croissant is to die for just like everyone says. It is so light, fresh, warm, and flakey; not heavy and greasy like most. Homemade jam is impressive! OJ is very sweet and fresh, best ever! Owner came out, greeted us, and checked on us. Young waiter was nice but too quick to take away dishes that still had delicious food on them! We weren’t done! :) Will be back!

I’ve only had breakfast here, but what a breakfast it was. Once I tasted the croissant with the house made jams I almost regretted ordering an omelette, as I would have been perfectly happy with the croissant alone. Not that the omelettes are bad, quite the contrary… everything I had that morning was perfection. The surroundings are beautiful, as this truly is a gallery and restaurant in one, and the woman who owns it is charming and friendly. In true European fashion she kept inviting us to stay and linger over our coffee… I might have sat there for hours had work not interfered. We’ll most definitely be back for dinner, as our friends tell us it’s outstanding. What a gem.

Wow! I can’t believe it took me a handful of years to finally get out to artcafe26, but now I’m pretty upset it took me that long. This place is instantly one of my top three choices for taking a date, parents, or even a group of friends, out for a meal.
If you’re intimidated by the «art plus café» concept, don’t be. You can walk in here and treat it just as a regular restaurant — you’ll sit down, get your menus, order from the friendly service, and be good to go. And if all you did is treat artcafe26 as a restaurant, you’d still leave happy. I was here for brunch and ordered a Belgian waffle that managed to be both filling and, well, artsy, all at the same time. My girlfriend ordered a great omelet along with some fresh-​squeezed orange juice that tasted pretty good, too. We were told by the college-​type waiter that artcafe26 has recently hired a European chef that specializes in molecular gastronomy; apparently, if you want a real culinary experience, come here for dinner some time. I definitely would.
Beyond the food, though, artcafe26 continues to be a great spot. The art on the walls is fresh and fun and a great change of pace from staring at a wall or the faux-​art you’d find in other establishments. It also provides a great way to digest, sitting in one of the comfortable couches post-​meal and admiring the work.
The owner came by and checked on us, too, as we ate. Since we had already read reviews of artcafe26, we were prepared for this eventuality, and really had a great time sharing a few words with her about her business. She especially wants more attention from William & Mary students, so if you go to the College, why don’t you stop by one of these days? There might be something in it for you!