This place sounded too good to be true in the guidebooks so we had to check it out. Let me tell you straight out…they were right. Good food, fun shopping, ambiance and convenient location.

The Old Chickahominy House Restaurant & Antiques is located a few blocks from the Historic area of Williamsburg on the way to Jamestown and near the John Tyler Highway that takes you to the James River Plantations. We arrived in time for the last breakfast seating. While we waited we wandered the shop and found some items to leave with the cashier while we ate. Other people waited out on the wide veranda of this authentic old plantation house. When our name was called we were seated in a room decorated in the style of a colonial tavern. The chairs were a little wobbly from much use but they slid easily up to the table and were comfortable. I ordered Eggs with Cheese, Hot Biscuits and tomato juice. Bill had the Plantation Breakfast of Old Virginia ham, Country Bacon, Sausage with two Eggs, Grits, Hot Biscuits and Coffee. He was a happy man. While we waited I overheard a women at the table behind me exclaim. "Their flat!" We wondered what that was all about until our order came. It was the biscuits…they were flat and square and very tasty. The food was excellent and service was top rate, too. I noticed this was a favorite place for locals and tour groups, too. I would like to return and sample the lunch menu. Breakfast for two with two beverages and tip was $20.23.

After eating we continued to shop in the upstairs and basement rooms. Lots of treasures to be found here, but the place is a firetrap. With only one exit and small window openings and very narrow convoluted aisles it would be very difficult to escape from.

The Old Chickahominy House is not a chain restaurant. This is a local family operated establishment that has been in business for more than 50 years. It only serves breakfast and lunch; no dinner. Reservations are not taken, but you can call ahead and get on the list for the first lunch seating. The house specialty is salt cured Virginia Ham biscuits. The flat, square biscuits are not like you find anywhere else. Like the home made pies, the biscuits are made from scratch every day.

The restaurant has a huge local following, so if you have to wait, there is a quality gift shop to browse. The merchandise changes from week to week, and is sprinkled with a variety of antiques. There are gifts available for all ages, from kids toys, to jewelry, and household furnishings. The shop offers lamps and other fine household furniture including tables and chests of drawers.

My favorite lunch item is the chicken & dumplings. I learned that there are no recipes which lead to small variations in each day's meals. Our small son likes the Brunswick stew - a chicken based vegetable soup that is made fresh every day. We always delight in the summertime offering of blackberry pie; but that flavor is not always available among the usual selection of 5 varieties offered daily.

The Old Chickahominy House staff aims to please, serves great food at a very reasonable price, and keeps me coming back again and again every time I visit Williamsburg. Plus, you can meet locals to find out about other gems in the Williamsburg area that do not fit the chain restaurant mold.

If you seek out the unusual, try the Old Chickahominy House, speak with the owner, Maxine, and learn some interesting facts about the Williamsburg area.

I went to this restaurant with a skeptical husband in tow, based upon reviews. I consider myself a pretty good cook so maybe I am a bit hard to please but I was very disappointed in the food at this restaurant, and paid $40 for four people to eat here. We ordered the lunch special which came with soup, fruit salad, drink, ham, and biscuits. The kids choices were limited so they had grilled cheese with potato chips and I tried the chicken dumplings. The drinks were good, fresh lemonade, and sweet tea. The soup was tasty, but the biscuit and ham sandwiches were dry and the ham was also salty...I don't know how anyone can say this is good. I was expecting light, fluffy, and crunchy biscuits with moist ham. I got crunchy, thin, hard square flat biscuits and dry Virginia ham. The fruit salad was a sweetened peach and pineapple you would get out of a can, salad dressing (I believe it was ranch) and shredded cheddar cheese on top. The chicken and dumplings were awful, had no flavor and the dumplings were not cooked all the way through. The pies were good. We got buttermilk and chocolate.

The service was good, however next time I will cook at home. I know I can do much better than that. Now for the atmosphere, if you have small children beware, they don't have high chairs or booster seats. They have a lot of nice items to purchase in the house part and the eating area is rather homey although a bit roudy as you feel like you are at an Aunts house with your extended family members and they have to crame you together to make room to fit everyone.

This place was a wonderful surprise. I love tavern dining, but my confidence in a 4 & 6 year old sharing the love was not high. Here all were appeased. A gift shop provided cool distractions, from gorgous antiques to whimsical and inexpensive toys the children liked, while we waited for our table. The decor is beautiful and the food superb and very reasonably priced considering it's on par with the finest taverns in old Williamsburg.

Sunday morning Will and I headed off to the Old Chickahominy House. I read about this place online and knew I had to try it while there, and I am so glad I did.

We arrived rather early, I guess around 9:15am. The wait was only 5 minutes, which gave me time to look around the gift shop. The items in the shop were nice and it was a good blend of antique and new items.

We both ordered the two eggs, ham, and biscuit combos; mine with water, Will had coffee. The service was quick...our food was on the table within 10 minutes. Everything was so delicious, especially the biscuits.

Our total, minus tip was around $10, which was very reasonably priced. Out of all of our meals, I think I enjoyed this one the most. I'm not sure if it was the simplicity of the food or the fact that Will and I were tucked away in this small dining room that only had four tables. It was certainly a welcome change to be in a restaurant and actually be able to carry on a conversation with my husband. Nice & peaceful indeed. I would highly recommend this place, and can't wait to get back there again.