Gabriel Archer Tavern

Had a wonderful lunch with 9 colleagues today and I must say the food was excellent. The atmosphere is always wonderful and the menu has expanded and is wonderful.

You can’t beat the location of the GAT! Great outlooks over the vineyards from the indoor area, and a full patio that is comfortable during much of the year.
The menu is pretty simple, but changes regularly. My personal favorite hot dish is the shakshuka – an Israeli stew made with a tomato base and topped with an egg. This, along with other dishes, do have a flair of fusion to them – be prepared to find a different twist to a familiar favorite.
While I’m not sure if it is still on the menu since my last visit, my other favorite is the caprase sandwich. You can’t best pesto, mozzarella, arugula, and tomato on a baguette! You can try, but you won’t succeed.
Finally, the staff is wonderful and accommodating, not to mention knowledgable about the WW wines. Be sure to ask the staff about their favorites – they’ll let you know if they are selling something special by the glass, or if they’re on the last few bottles of that summer wine that everyone was dying to try.

Nice place to grab a bite if you’re wine tasting. Just like the winery, it is very busy on the weekend. Don’t wait until you’re starving to stop in. We visited on a Saturday at 1PM, and they told us it would be a 20 – 30 minute wait for a table for two. The bar was wide open so we chose to eat there. We had prompt service and enjoyed two delicious sandwiches with a glass of wine each in about 30 minutes. The menu is small and casual, mostly sandwiches and salads, but executed well. There were several large parties in the restaurant that appeared to be taking their time with a leisurely lunch and enjoying bottles of wine. It’s a nice place for that, but that backs up the place quickly. It was raining so everyone was stuck indoors, but they have a cute patio to enjoy your meal outdoors as well.

I came here to have a nice lunch with some friends on a beautiful day. Perfect for their big outdoor seating. Our server, Paula, was really sweet. Super understanding that we wanted to hold off on knowing any of the specials or ordering any food until the rest of our group showed up. She was very accommodating! I always buy the Two Shilling wine at festivals and at the local Food Lion. It’s my go-​to perfect every day wine. It was awesome having it AT the Williamsburg Winery. Something about it made it even better than I’ve ever had it.
I ordered the charcuterie plate– country house made pâté, coppa, and their salami. It was really good, actually, perfect with the tiny little pickles and their bread. I then ordered the pear, bacon, and gouda grilled cheese. Like– come on. Best grilled cheese ever. It was so delicious and paired perfectly with the 4ish glasses of wine I had. They definitely don’t skimp on their wine portions!
Overall, nice little place, really cute, and great for groups outdoors who just want some nice scenery and great service.

Perfect setting for an early lunch on a sunny morning with Mom! We were seated on the porch, which overlooked the vineyards and offered lots of sunlight. I must say that the interior was far more casual than I expected, but we still enjoyed ourselves.
The hostess was a little quirky, but our server was awesome! Although I didn’t want to get a full bowl of soup, she brought out a little taster for me because it sounded yummy and I wanted to try it. For my entrée I went with the Gabrial Archer Tavern Salad and added a crab cake. A bit steep price-​wise, but the crab cake was perfect– light with lump crab meat and not saturated in mayo. The salad was basic, but fresh. My Mom really enjoyed her Shakshuka too. The baguette they paired with it was huge, be warned! I was happy to help with it.
I highly recommend the spiced wine. Tasted like wintertime.

Ate lunch here the other day. Had the Gabriel Archer salad with craisins, pecans, and added chicken to it. It was very filling and had a great raspberry balsamic dressing on there. We ordered glasses of wine and shared a cheese plate, the cheeses were a good variety and went well with our wine. They also serve warm bread and some fruit and jam to accompany the cheese. For the price, they give you a good amount of cheese and that is sometimes hard to come by. My husband had the shakshuka which is a Mediterranean stew with chorizo. It was different tasting but hearty and delicious. Wait staff was friendly and attentive. The atmosphere is very relaxing and we enjoyed just hanging out there.

Went here for my bachelorette party. Lunch was nothing short of amazing. I ordered the turkey with Brie sandwich and was thinking it might be the best sandwich I ever had. Everyone lived their lunch. And it came with a salad

After our trip to the winery, we had lunch here while we waited out a storm. We got a bottle of wine (only $ 14!) and sandwiches. I got the Turkey & Brie, which was one of the best sandwiches I have ever had. My boyfriend felt the same about his, the Smoked Chicken Panini. Everything about our lunch was impeccable!

I am genuinely surprised to see the low reviews. We ate here this morning following a tour and tasting at Williamsburg Winery. We dined outside under the wisteria covered trellis in a magical, old world ambiance. Our server Beth was pleasant and very knowledgeable of the menu. She made excellent suggestions of wine pairings based on our meals and preferences. We split the soup of the day, asparagus soup, ($ 6 but free with coupon) and loved it. It had a smooth texture with notes of garlic and several large chunks of ham. The boyfriend then got the tavern burger ($ 14) and I got the quiche of the day: salmon, roasted tomatoes, and goat cheese quiche ($ 10). Both were very tasty, and I appreciated that mine came with fresh greens in a light vinaigrette. The majority of the produce is grown on the property and tasted oh-​so fresh. I had a glass of the blush ($ 5) and he a glass of Lord Botetourt Red ($ 8). The price, $ 37 pre-​tax/​tip, was a bit steep for lunch, but the food was high quality, the service terrific, the portions adequate, and the ambiance phenomenal. I would highly recommend stopping here after your tasting at WW.

We have eaten here for lunch twice, and really enjoyed it both times. Whereas the hostess left something to be desired, our waitstaff was informed and attentive. Both times we have enjoyed wine and the cheese plate. This is not just cheese and crackers. It has 5+ types of quality cheeses, crackers, and fruit. It is fantastic. You should definitely plan to have lunch here if you take the wine tour!

Loved this place. It’s small, but cute, with beautiful views of the winery depending on where you’re sitting. We came for Sunday brunch and really enjoyed it. We only had water to drink, because we were planning on wine tasting afterwards, but they had both glasses, bottles, and flights of wine.
My husband and I split the roast beef & gouda sandwich and the cheese board. The sandwich was awesome with well-​chosen ingredients (horseradish sauce, pickled onions, arugula, etc) and fairly sizable. I liked that it came with a salad rather than fries or chips. The cheese board featured 3 wedges of cheese (1 soft, 1 medium, 1 hard), 2 bunches of grapes, apple slices, lingonberry jam, and a basket of bread. We were really impressed with both and are looking forward to our next visit.

Oh my expectations. Just not met at all. The place was pretty empty when we rolled up at 12:30 for lunch but we waited for about 15 min. No biggie, I guess there were a lot of reservations. But when our waiter finally did arrive, he was so pushy! Bad mouthing the hostess for not providing us with the wine flight list and then rushing us for drink and lunch orders. I didn’t really like my Acte 12 Chardonnay at all and the Cobb salad with the world’s smallest crab cake seemed very overpriced at $ 19. Hubs got the panini which was fine, but nothing to write home about. The wine flight was just ok. At least the pours were generous for the price. Our waiter even tried to pick up our bill moments after dropping it off. We get it, you want the table back!!! I just felt so incredibly rushed and unappreciated. Don’t think I’d go back.

Went there on a Sunday and was very disappointed. We had a reservation but they did not have a table for us. When we were seated we were given a menu that was very different then the online menu. No appetizers save a cheese plate. And nothing but wine. No beer… not even champaign for mimosas. I mean «Tavern» is in the name. It was very loud and our server was abnormally loud for no reason. My wife’s omlet was so salty she could only eat half of it. When we told the server all he said was thanks for letting us know, I’ll tell the cooks. The only reason I’m giving one star is cause my mac and cheese was tasty but very small and I left hungry. Take my advice and visit one of the many other restaurants in the area.

We called on our way and asked how long the wait was and they said it was 15 – 20 minutes. They don’t do call ahead seating. We arrived 15 minutes after calling and the wait was now 45 minutes. I’m not sure why the wait increased so much in that short of time, but it did. And the hostess was pretty rude and just not friendly. Since we now had a 45 minute wait, we decided to walk over to the winery and do a tasting which was awesome.
When we came back to the restaurant, they told us our table was ready. The atmosphere was really cute and country chic and really fit in to the vibe of the winery. Our server was super friendly and answered all our questions. We both ordered sandwiches that came with a mixed green salad. We both enjoyed the sandwiches a bunch. The restaurant sells wine from the winery. We ordered cookies for dessert and it says they are freshly baked, but I guess it means they are freshly baked in the morning, because the cookie definitely didn’t come out warm. It was ok, but I had much higher expectations for a freshly baked cookie.

Just had a turkey sandwich with salad on the plate. The bread was very tough (stale?), and the salad was wilted. There was very little of the mayo and berry spread on the pressed turkey sandwich, but there was a nice slice of Brie on each sandwich half. We ate at this place several years ago, were disappointed then but thought we would give it another try. We were disappointed again. We won’t be returning.

A great place to munch off the wine binge
Food: Froo-​Froo food
Quantity: Perfect
Price: Reasonable, considering they are in the winery grounds
Noise: Birds chirping, perfectly timed warm breeze through hair. you get the idea, right?
Attire: Everyone dressed really nice
Service: Average
Parking: Plenty
Recommendations: Turkey sandwich with side salad was delisioso! Tried their new item on the menu: Lamb sausages. Spicy, but somehow worked great with a glass of Cabernet Sauvignon. Menu is simple. Dine outside when the weather is good.
Tips: If you plan on doing the wine tour across the way and think that you will be hungry, eat here first for something light.
Side note: A black snake decided it wanted to join us for lunch. Luckily, it got bored and slithered away.

Pros:
Good food (artisan sandwiches that are huge, refreshing salads, and delcious cheese boards)
Friendly wait staff
Beautiful scenery
Patio and porche seating in addition to inside seating
Cons:
Food quality is not always consistent. Normally it is delcious but as a frequent visitor of the winery they do have off days.
Depending on the time of year it can be crowded with a long wait. There is not really anywhere for one to stand while waiting on a table. Though you can always persue the wine shop :)

Surprised to see the low reviews for Gabriel Archer. I’ve been visiting at least 1−2x per yer and always enjoy my visits.
My husband and I decided to get lunch at Gabriel Archer before having our Reserve Tasting at the winery (figured it’d be good to get food in our bellies before all that wine!). When we arrived, there was one table open on the patio, which we requested… but then, unfortunately, we both used the restroom and in that time when we were gone they gave away our table due to a ‘miscommunication.’ A bit frustrating. We ended up sitting inside in the back of the restaurant facing the vineyard. Not bad, but not as nice as sitting outside would have been.
We both ordered sandwiches — the crab cake for my husband and the turkey for me. This is the first time we’ve been to Gabriel Archer since the Chef changeover, and I was pleased to see that our sandwiches were as good as I remembered. The French bread was crispy and fresh on my sandwich, and I loved the lingonberry jam. My husband really enjoyed his crab cake sandwich, as well.
Service was fine. Not great, not bad. Average, and sometimes on the slower side… but not bad enough to deduct a star (even with the ‘miscommunication’ that cost us our nice outside table). Maybe if this had been our first visit, I’d give it three stars taking that into account a little more, but I’m confident saying that my 5+ visits over the past several years warrant a solid 4 stars based on the food and the general ambiance. It’s a charming little place.

Came here after the winery tour. Food was delicious had a turkey sandwich and side salad. Whatever dressing the use on the salad was amazing. Wait for food was a bit long even though there was only three tables that were occupied. But would come back for food and scenery.

We had a delicious lunch here on a rainy day. We started with the cheese plate, with salami, brie and herbed chevre. Delicious. The bread and pickled accompaniments were excellent with it. The butternut squash soup was sweet and creamy. I also had the arugula, gorgonzola and walnut salad. Very nice balance of all of the ingredients with the dressing on the side. A perfect lunch on a poor weather day.
The only improvement could have been our server and also update their menu on their website as several options were unavailable. Our server originally didn’t tell us they had the butternut squash soup, but we heard another server mention it and we ordered it at the end. Otherwise we should have not ordered the quiche and pasta side. Overall I would highly recommend eating here after the wine tour so you know what wine to order with it. We did the tour after and it was good, but could have been more useful if we had done it before.