Fat Canary

Lucky to get a 5:00 pm reservation on a Friday night when reserving on Wednesday. The service was great as well as the food. Everything was perfectly cooked and had great flavor. Perfect end to our vacation.

great place, need more room at tables. no very private.

Only went here for drinks and dessert because I didn’t get a reservation for dinner. But pleeeeeease get the dark chocolate mousse! You will not be disappointed — one of the best I’ve ever had! Service is very friendly as well, so we’ll be coming back for an entire meal experience!

The Fat Canary is the restaurant you want if you’re a foodie, if you’re wanting to have a special meal to celebrate a special occasion or just wanting a quick bit & a glass of wine. Tommy Power & his culinary team blend flavors & present a dish that is beautiful as well as pleasing to the palate. Friendly & attentive servers; a great bar experience with David & Craig. There’ll be items on the menu you may not recognize; trust them. Everything on your plate
will compliment each other & you will be quite satisfied at the end of your evening.

My favorite place in Williamsburg. Exceptional in every way. David at the Bar. Tink in the dining room…
The Beverly Hilder’s love you

Now THIS place is where it’s AT!
Food: A+!
Service: A++!!
I went here with my boyfriend and grandparents while on a trip to Williamsburg and WOW, I knew I heard such great things about this place but it definitely exceeded in every way.

Still trying to figure out what pear cider they have… best I have ever had… appetizer was phenomenal…

We made our reservation for a Friday date night. Let me just say, I was super impressed when they called to confirm my reservation (I booked through Opentable) to ask if we were celebrating an occasion! Our server was also fantastic, unfortunately for the life of me I cannot remember her name!
The atmosphere is really romantic — the tables are close, but not too close like some places we have been. We had purchased a bottle of wine at the wine cellar downstairs, and they brought it up to the bar to wait for us — there is only a $ 10 corkage fee if you buy from downstairs, well worth it in our opinion!
I ordered the rabbit fricassee and my boyfriend ordered the seared foie gras — both were excellent! I think the rabbit was probably our favorite thing of the night though. For dinner, I got the lamb shank, and he got the guinea fowl. The lamb was cooked to perfection and fell right off the bone and the mashed potatoes they were on were amazing! He loved his entrée as well — the guinea fowl was tender and the gnocchi was on point. We almost didn’t get dessert, but the ginger crepes stuffed with goat cheese and their madelines tempted us, and we weren’t disappointed! We can’t wait to come back!

Very schnazzy place inside, the service was attentive and just plain nice. The bread was served warm and was fantastic in both variety and quality.
Portions were gigantic and we ended up being full after splitting an appetizer and a salad. Nonetheless, the duck breast and game hen entrees were done with care and skill. Although one dimensional flavor wise, they were no glaring problems with anything and they were presented beautifully.
Our appetizer and salad were definitely executed better than the entrees.
We’ll be back next time we’re in Williamsburg, and likely split an entrée instead of getting our own.

I have been trying to get in to visit this very busy place for a long time. Each time I called they could only accommodate my reservation at 5pm or 9:30p which are not times I am used to eating dinner. So after realizing that I would have to make my reservation at least two weeks in advance, I finally got a table for two at 5:30p on a Saturday night just recently.
I was very disappointed by the frosty reception we got from the hostess. She looked at us as if we were inconveniencing her by being there and didn’t even smile (time for someone to find a new line of work; perhaps where there is little interaction with the public). Fortunately, the rest of the service staff was very attentive and helpful.
The wine selection (yes, I tasted four different wines) is amazing and well thought out. The caprese salad was playful and tasty. My boyfriend’s port chop and my Asian duck salad were expertly prepared. I think the food quality and menu selections are top notch and worth coming back for (if I can plan my eating social plans weeks in advance).

My wife surprised me with dinner here while in the area for my birthday, what an amazing experience.
From the walk in the door to the walk out everyone was phenomenal. Our server had a unique sense of humor and style that complimented the entire evening. Our water and wine glasses were never left a attended, except when the unfortunate event of an empty bottle occurred.
We started with the rib appetizer which had an amazing sauce truly complimented by the cucumber salad. This was one of the waiters recommendations as requested and was perfect. My wife had the salmon and I the rockfish special. Her salmon was amazing with great texture and flavors, but my rockfish was on a whole other level. My wife even complimented on the dish loving the sample I permitted her (lol). It was a pan seared rockfish atop a bed of mashed potatoes surrounded by shrimp and Brussels sprout leaves among a few other notes topped with an amazing compound butter.
To finish off my wife had the profiteroles and I finished with the crepes, both of which was a perfect end to a perfect dinner. Also, in celebration of my birthday, the staff printed a special menu with my name as well as signatures by the staff. A small, but very well noted treat which I will keep as a reminder of an amazing experience.
If ever in the area again I hope to be able to go experience their hospitality, charm and food again.

This is an excellent restaurant. It is billed as one of the top restaurants in Williamsburg and it does not disappoint. I was very pleased with the food as well as the service.
Our initial reservation was was 4 and when we told them that we were only three they changed the place settings in a creative way so as to have more interactions. The service is formal but not stuffy.
The recommended mushroom soup was quite tasty. I also enjoyed the fois gras very much. I wouldn’t say it was exceptional, but the presentation was lovely, and it tasted pretty good. The highlight of the meal was the Rock Fish special, which was cooked superbly on a bed of mashed potatoes and vegetables. Definitely 5 star quality.
If you’re in Williamsburg Virginia for a visit, I highly recommend this restaurant.

You’re a fool if you don’t eat here when you’re in Williamsburg. The food is fantastic, the service and experience are even better. We had a group of 12 and tried every aspect of the menu. Everyone left happy and glowing with compliments. Hard to believe the bar could be set that high.

I can’t even begin to describe how off the charts amazing the food was. Easily, it was one of the bast meals I’ve ever eaten from start to finish.
The special cauliflower soup with bacon, herbs, truffle oil, oysters, and… oh yes… cauliflower is the soup that every other soup needs to compete with from now on.
Scallops, were next and the portion was generous. Six large Pan Seared Sea Scallops, Cous Cous, Smoked Tomato, Snap Peas, Green Beans, Pork Belly. Literally I could only eat half,
My husband had a crab cake appetizer special which was awesome, and for his entrée he had the Free-​Range Guinea Fowl, Parmesan Gnocchi, Garlic, Rapini, Charred Tomato. It was all gone. As in he practically licked the plate clean.
Service was wonderful. We had a super attentive waiter on a pretty busy Monday night. We will totally come again. Easily, the best restaurant in the historic area.

Faboulus Place to dine!
Great Service
Wonderful Food
Amazing wine menu
A little loud but all in all a must dine if you get to Williamsburg VA

Service «F». Very poor attitude. Price «way way over priced». Food selection «working to be past fancy».
Was not impressed. Wouldn’t return.

Great find. Very friendly and good service. Everyone from the hostesses to the bar and the waiter.
The restaurant has a good atmosphere and comfortable. The choices on the menu were good. We chose the food gras appetizer, the local salad with strawberries, the oysters with pork belly main entrée as well as the lamb entrée. Every bite was amazing. The waiter was perfect; was always there when we needed him but not intrusive. The food was very flavor full and good sized portions. We could not finish everything. We did share the sorbet trio (key lime, pineapple, and peaches) were a nice wait to finish our meal.
Definitely would come back for dinner here.

My amazing boyfriend is a CIA trained chef and co-​owner of seven restaurants in the DC/​VA area and he was very excited about eating here. He made reservations for Friday night.
We were in town for the W’burg Challenge Half-​Ironman triathlon on ⁶⁄₁₄. He had heard a lot about the Fat Canary and I was fortunate to have such a fantastic experience before my race on Sunday.
Patrick: server extraordinaire. Knew everything about the menu, even where the bread originated in Richmond! He has great hair too! Recommended the special — halibut. outstanding.
Restaurant business is hard, to put it mildly. The chef, staff, bussers — all made our experience perfect. Seriously.
W’burg is not exactly the culinary landing pad in VA — think pancake houses and chain fast casual.
So when you go here, understand the prices are in line to fine dining and if you expect $ 20 halibut, you better know your seafood prices and understand that $ 40 is spot on.
Understand they own the cheese shop next door — wish I had more space in my belly for that!
The Fat Canary was a magical experience for both of us.

My family and I had dinner here after graduation and I can see why we needed to make those reservations really far in advance. The place is tiny with only perhaps a dozen tables and a small open kitchen in the back. There is a good size bar though along the length of the restaurant for those who did not plan months in advance to dine here on a busy week-​end to sample their excellent cuisine.
We were greeted warmly at the front door and promptly shown to our table, seated and provided menus including a «special» one signed by the staff for our graduate. Darcy, our server, appeared magically and with her bubbly personality made us feel even more welcome if that was possible. She shared her insights into the menu along with some specials and took our drink order including a bottle of wine from their excellent wine menu. Insider tip we learned later on from a neighboring table is to buy a bottle of wine from the downstairs wine shop and bring it up with you for only a $ 10 corking fee. I found their wine prices reasonable though if you don’t want to go to the added trouble.
We started with the House-​made Mozzarella that was super fresh and presented in a beautiful floral arrangement with sliced tomatoes piled in the center on a layer of pesto and surround by a ring of balsamic. It was amazingly delicious and the four of us almost came to arms to fight for the six rolls provided. We left nothing on that plate as we even used the bread to sop up that wonderful pesto and balsamic.
We split fifty-​fifty on the entrees with two of us selecting the pork chop and the other two the tenderloin. I still think we were the wisest selecting the pork chop. I mean come on there are dozens of spots that can serve a decent tenderloin but many fewer that can come up with such an unbelievably great pork chop as they do here. The chop was served at my desired medium temperature, quite juicy and with a wonderful grilled onion on top. When paired with the chunky cut apple sauce, the favors were marvelous. I probably could’ve eaten another one it was that good. On the side was a light and airy cheese soufflé that was equally as delicious. My wife kept trying to trade a few of her fries with me for a slice or two of it and I finally relented and shared the rest of it with her. I can’t rave enough about this dish and at $ 32 well worth every penny.
I didn’t hear much from the other two attacking their tenderloin. It disappeared quickly along with positive comments on the bleu cheese butter server with it. My one daughter would have liked her asparagus cooked a little more crispy as she prefers the tips to be almost burnt but a minor nit for the evening. Everything can’t be 100% or they would have nothing to strive for in the future.

Came here for my boyfriends birthday last night and i have to say… i was blown away
We started off with the foie gras and the rabbit appetizers. Perfectly cooked. The right amount of food to leave wanting more but satisfied.
For our entrees Corey ordered the duck breast with rye spetzel and i had the guinea fowl will gnocci.
The guinea fowl dish was perfectly constructed. When you put a piece of everything together on one bite… mind blown. Best thing i ever have eaten.
Service was lovely and as both industry people, when the waiter knows specific details of the menu, it gives us more confidence in what they are trying to sell us.
They even were sweet enough to sign a happy birthday menu for a commemorative piece.