The Whaling Company

My family and I arrived at The Whaling Company for dinner around 8 p.m. on a Saturday. Because it was rather late, there weren’t many people remaining in the restaraunt, so it confounds me why it took almost 15 minutes for anyone to acknowledge us once we were seated. The waiter who finally came to take our order was very nice, but not incredibly attentive. He took our drink order (we all ordered water) and then we didn’t see him again for 10 minutes. When we got our drinks, he left for another 10 minutes before getting our food order. After ordering, it took 30 minutes to get our food. I will admit that the others in my family enjoyed their meals, but the catfish that I ordered was not completely cooked (and by this, I don’t mean there was a spot in the middle that looked questionable – I mean that it was cooked only on the outside and the rest of the fish was clearly still raw)! I politely asked the waiter to take the fish back to be cooked more thoroughly, and he did so, apologizing profusely. However, another man brought my meal back to me and when he was waiting for me to make sure it was okay, he spoke to me as though I were a child. I even asked my family how they perceived the way he addressed me and they said he was very rude and pretentious. One would assume that after being served neatly raw fish that took entirely too long that at least my meal would be removed from the bill. Wrong! We still paid full price. I will never return to this restaraunt and advise that others stay away, as well.

Excellent service, good atmosphere, my wife’s steak was to die for. My blackened swordfish was overcooked and sub par. Mussels were the best! We recommend this place highly

The service was adequate and the food was sub par. Went with family —they ordered a special dish and enjoyed it. I had the broiled seafood platter and it was awful. Old grease and over over cooked. Farm raided salmon was an odd color. The catfish was fried and seemed average. Kids left hungry. Swordfish was tasty but small portion. we were scared to order desert based on the food quality. This place was AMAZING in the past clearly over the years it has fallen.

This is a fine restaurant with great food and friendly service. My seafood platter was a delight and my oysters on the half shell were sweet and plump. My wife had pasta that was al dente and well executed. Our server was Ben Franklin (!!!) and he was helpful, courteous and a a total pleasure to deal with. We will return.

Service was excellent. had the almond crusted trout and it was so so. not much taste. broccoli was slightly over cooked… desserts were excellent. had higher hopes for this restaurant as it was my first visit. I would still return

In town for business by myself so I sat at the bar. My server Victoria was very attentive even though she was handling the bar & a private party by herself.
I had the early bird fried catfish dinner special. The fish was fried perfectly & very light & flaky. The bread was hot & fresh. I look forward to going again & trying something else before my trip is over.

Just ate a fabulously delicious meal at this wonderful restaurant.
If you are near Williamsburg you must give them an opportunity to serve you one of the best, most reasonably priced fresh seafood meal ever. The wait staff was friendly, attentive and appropriately social.
Great meal + attentive staff = super dining experience

We had an excellent seafood meal. Perhaps, a bit on the pricier side. Nice ambience. The waiter and the host took excellence care of us.

We were here for dinner last Saturday. Warned about seafood quality, boyfriend and I ordered the steak which was a perfect medium rare as requested. It was good! Unfortunately the scallops appetizer we ordered was soggy and deemed inedible by my boyfriend. More for me!
They got my T&T right which is more than what some places can do!
Desserts were tasty!
They accommodated our large group quite well.

The people here are amazing! The food is great. They let you see the desserts on a tray instead of a menu. Very cute decorations that go great with the restaurants title!

Excellent restaurant with great service!!! Everyone in our party was beyond satisfied with our food; ordering things like the chicken Caesar salad, the shrimp scampi, the stuffed mushrooms, the stuffed flounder, and the amazing desserts (apple cobbler and fudge brownie). We loved it here, no complaints!

My wife and I were in the area and wanted a nice meal after a long drive. This place was close to our hotel and the ratings weren’t bad so gave it a try. I think their ambiance probably adds more to their appeal than their food unfortunately.
We were promptly seated and our server was awesome offering recommendations as well as providing some alternatives when ordering that made perfect sense. My wife ordered a shrimp cocktail and crab cake dinner and I had the pan fried flounder. We shared the shrimp cocktail which was good, but probably would have preferred fewer but larger shrimp. Her crab cakes were good as well, but small. My flounder was also good, but very greasy and not as flaky as I’d had hoped.
We each had a glass of wine which brought out total to around $ 65 which is as others have said pricier than the quality justified. Don’t get me wrong, there was nothing we didn’t like, especially the great service. It was just quite pricier than we’d expect for what we had.

We were so lucky that our hotel was right next to this amazing seafood restaurant!
I would have the Baked Seafood Platter everyday if I could. So tasty and super fresh! He got a special: scallops and shrimp over linguine. He said it was good, but very heavy on the mushrooms.
The absolute best thing on the menu is the lump crab appetizer. The chunks of backfin are huge and fresh, and the butter comes on the side for the more health conscious.
Eddie was an excellent and funny waiter, and had great timing.
Can’t wait to go back — try it out for yourself if you are a seafood fan!

The service was impeccable, Sonny and Eric took care of us all night. They were truly the dynamic duo.
The food was enjoyable. My wife had sides of crab and baked potato and a salad and a peach martini. She loved it. My daughter had a Caesar salad with shrimp and she really enjoyed as well. I had Sonny special, which was a scallop & shrimp with sun dried tomatoes and linguine (w/​mushrooms). I loved it. Many selections to choose from and the Prices were fair for seafood.
For desert we shared a warm brownie with ice cream.
We definitely will be back.
From 4pm-​6pm (except Saturday) it is a specials time, certain food items are discounted, like a «happy hour» for food.

Went to Williamsburg for Christmas Town and saw that this restaurant was right beside our hotel so we decided to have drinks and dinner here. We sat at the bar & Victoria promptly greeted us~ (hi Victoria). Anyway, the apps and entrees were absolutely delicious. We shared the Surf and Turf, lots of food and wonderful. The bar area is very cozy & the bartender is absolutely delightful~

I don’t know what happened to this place. They used to have very consistent quality and great seafood. Disappointing overcooked shrimp, bland stuffed trout, and flavorless mussels. The broccoli side is great (if you just add salt) and the red potatoes are good also. Service is still great and the wait staff are friendly. Unfortunately that is where the goodness ends.
Two stars for wait staff, good sides, and great history. I hope they improve before my next trip to Williamsburg. This used to be a destination restaurant, that is not the case anymore.

Waiter «Eddie» was jus great!
Food was very good. The MS mud pie to die for…
Prices were right
We would come back here the next time around.

Kid friendly, fresh trio: swordfish, salmon, catfish, clam chowder, mussels, scallops and shrimp. All the seafood was fresh and cooked perfect. The waiter stole the show. One of the best service I’ve had in a long time. He anticipated my kids needs every second. Got my daughter a new drink when she didn’t like the apple juice. Split a dessert we were all sharing. If your in Williamsburg you need to eat here at least once in your stay.

The service was very good and the food was excellent. Our group ordered the seafood combo which was very good and generously portioned. We also got the shrimp linguini which was very good but the best was the scallop linguini with sun dried tomatoes.
The waiters were attentive.

Our waitress was nice, but Larry rocked.
Great sense of humor, very professional and attentive.
The food was OK. I got the fillet mignon with maine lobster tail. It was spendy but nothing that knocked my socks off.
My honey got the stuffed flounder, very good, not too fishy and the stuffing not over powering. The red potatoes as a side was OK but could of been flavored more, they were just plain red boiled potatoes.
This would be a monthly outing but not a weekly go to place.