Food For Thought

Reviews 3

NA

Nancy Drewish

7/14 We visit Williamsburg annually and were so grateful to see a rather new restaurant in town especially considering that there are few options outside the many chain type restaurants. We waited quite a bit for our server to appear even though it was after 8pm (Wed eve) and they werent overly busy. When she arrived I asked about a particular soup and asked if she could explain the "base" - assuming shed explain it was a red base or broth base etc. I asked because the menu does have some "unusual" variations and my palate is sadly rather bland. She responded saying she didnt know what kind of base it had...so I asked well what "color" is the broth and she said, "Its Green"! (I kid you not)! Hmm....doesnt sound too appetizing so I asked her if she could go and ask for more details...and she swiftly turned and HUFFED out. A few minutes later she returned to the room but walked passed us delivering soda to the table immediately to our left. She passed us again a few minutes later to take another families order. As I was about to ask the hostess if we could be seated with "another" waitress a man appeared and said, "I understand you were asking about the soup". The four of us were taken back, so my husband asked if there was a problem since our waitress hasnt returned and he said NO but Im here to take your order. But who ARE you asked one of our companions and he said, "Im the manager, and Id like to get your order if youre ready. Our friend said, well were trying to find out about the soup first and now you seem to be rushing us to order". Amazingly the manager got annoyed and our friends wife said she was surprised that a manager would come out, not tell us who he was, and not address the problem we obviously had with the waitress. Then he HUFFED (kidding you NOT) and upon hearing it I said to our friends, listen guys Im not sure I want to eat here, maybe we should just go across the street Upon hearing this, the manager said, WELL IF YOU DONT WANT TO EAT HERE THERES THE DOOR"!!!!! (No exaggeration)!! Have you ever thought you were in the twilight zone because youre in disbelief of what you just heard? Well, that was us....so we stood up and made our way to the front door. To our SHOCK, the manager was already waiting and holding the door open. Now I know youre probably thinking that we MUST have done something rude or perhaps Im not telling the full story, but Im honestly telling you that both the waitress and manager of this place were horrid! (The waitress I can forgive but the manager acting like this???). My sister, who ran a very successful and high end restaurant for 12 years said that even if we HAD been rude, a manager NEVER loses his/her cool and NEVER tells customers "Theres the Door"!!!!! I hope the owners dismiss this manager quickly! Also as I mentioned, the menu is rather "different" so unless youre adventurous, youll want to stick with the chains such as Olive Garden, Applebees, Fridays, Outback and others which are ALL along the very same road as Food for Thought and all within a 5-10 minute drive.

HA

Hannah M.

We only ordered take out, but even with our limited time of just ordering to go and having a couple of drinks at the bar, I can honestly say I have never experienced better service in such a short amount of time. Howard especially deserves recognition - as we stood in line (on a busy Saturday at dinner rush hour) he offered us a free sample and was very specific and informed about the ingredients (I always ask as I am vegetarian). He was also the one who delivered our take-out to us when we were sat at the bar, gave us the best instructions for heating it up at home, and when he realised we had decided to open up our boxes of dessert to eat right then and there he politely asked to heat mine up for me so it tasted its best. Bear in mind this was all as the restaurant was packed and very busy! The girl at the host stand as well was exceedingly nice and accommodating. The bar staff was friendly but very very busy; understandable. To be honest Ive traveled quite a lot and eaten at many places; I wasnt expecting much from a local restaurant in a colonial town, but this place blew me away. The food alone was great but the service impressed me the most. Food wise though - if you are VEGAN, VEGETARIAN, or have any type of FOOD ALLERGY you could NOT find a place more considerate of your needs in Williamsburg. They are super informed about all ingredients and what you can do to make an entree vegetarian/adapted to your needs. They even asked me about if I was okay with items I had ordered being fried in the same fryer as non-vegan menu items. (This is amazing as I have hardly ever had anyone ask me if, as a vegetarian, Id be okay with my food being fried in the same fryer as meat. This wont matter so much to everyone, but to vegans and vegetarians Im sure this will resonate!) Try the (vegan) Jamaican Jerk Chicken with the Mango sauce - A+++. I regret not being able to eat here again (we were on a short vacation) but taking the time to write a review (something I very rarely do) is, I hope, enough on my part in the way of a compliment. Definitely give this place a try.

CA

Cassandra Trissler

We came around 10:45 on Sunday for a late breakfast and although the place was bustling, we were seated immediately. Tano, our server, was a gracious host who was friendly, accomodating and extremely helpful. One in our party was gluten-free, and raved so much about the gluten free rolls (bought from annaBs gluten free in Richmond) that she requested to buy a dozen, which was handled by our server with great care. The rolls were brought out specially by the manager, who chatted with us a bit. The owner, a nice gentleman and family man named Howard, came over to speak with us. His employees raved about him, saying this is the best restaurant theyve worked for. Howards put great care into his restaurant which shows in the unique decor (inspiring and poignant quotes from great artistic, philosophical, political and social leaders) the wide variety of food options, and the excellent preparation and taste of the meals. Another in our party was vegetarian and ordered the grit cakes with vegetarian sausage gravy, and was extremely impressed. The food really shines in a traditional sense (with standard options such as eggs Benedict and pancakes) as well as stands out with the gluten free and vegetarian options that arent so easy to come by in the rest of Williamsburg. This place is well worth the hype. As locals, its a bit touristy, but for a good reason. Its well deserved. The place offers complimentary beignets for breakfast and has great coffee. The parking lot can be a little hard to find parking as the place is popular, and youre warned not to park next door as the neighbors might tow you. But there is overflow parking available at the Ripleys Believe it or Not Museum nearby, which Food for Thought graciously puts up signs for to warn their customers. Definitely recommend as a good tourist and local spot.