The Whitehall Restaurant

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You will never know how negatively a waiter can affect your meal until you have an evening like we had at The Whitehall Restaurant. The food isn’t great either.

When we arrived at Whitehall there was only one other table being used by customers. This surprised us, given the stellar reputation that had preceded our visit. The designer of the interior was a huge fan of hard woods, as it can be found on the floors, walls, ceiling, tables and everywhere else you look. It feels like you’re dining in a sophisticated log cabin, or perhaps an outdated country club. There is an interesting glass floor near the entrance which allows for a view of the wine cellar below. While this is conceptually intriguing, in practice it simply creates a bottle neck because everyone who walks near it slows to look below. I saw more than one customer nearly trip over another person or nearby table as they mindlessly peered into the glass.

We were seated immediately by our waiter, an older gentleman with a serious attitude problem. He possessed an air of arrogance that I have seen from no other waiter (or even chef or owner, for that matter) from any establishment, ever. He gave curt, one word answers and often answered questions as he was walking away without turning around. Dishes were slapped on the table and food pushed onto us whether we were ready for it or not. He referred to the Amuse-bouche as a “special treat”, as if we were children who wouldn’t know any better. We were blown away by his seemingly endless ability to offend.

It is extremely difficult to look past the terrible service we received at The Whitehall, but in order to give a fair review of the food I will attempt to put that part of my experience out of my mind. The bread was bland, the ceaser salad far to oily, and the lamb portions minute. Though the lamb was well cooked, it overly spicy for my taste. The sides, an uninspired vegetable medley given to every customer that evening, was inedible. And then there was the hot tea. It was served to us not in a pot or kettle, but by the cup. We had to place our bags in our cups every so briefly, remove the dripping bags and place them on our bread plates where they promptly created puddles rendering the plate otherwise useless, and then prepare each cup to our liking. As soon as you were happy with that cup you needed a refill, which meant moving the bag back to the cup and repeating the whole sordid affair. This is the worst method of serving tea that I’ve ever experienced anywhere, not just in a restaurant.

All told the experience was a nightmare. There were no redeeming qualities and the service was so unbelievably terrible that I would never consider going back. It doesn’t help matters that the food is uninspired and the prices are exorbitant.

Charlie gives The Whitehall Restaurant 1 1/2 stars!

 

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Whitehall has a reputation for being an excellent restaurant for special occasions. I was thrilled when we finally had the chance to try it. Located in Williamsburg, the interior has a classy historic feel to it. When we walked in, we were greeted and then seated. It was a chilly evening, so my table ordered hot tea. Apparently serving hot tea to a group has not been mastered at this establishment. We were not given a pot of hot water to keep at our table. Instead, the server came around with a pot every time he thought it was time for a refill, which for us, just wasn’t often enough.
The service was the biggest downfall of this place. I don’t know if our server was having a bad night or what, but he was not happy about serving us. We seemed more like a nuisance to him than anything, especially when we needed a tea refill.
Moving onto the food, my appetizer was okay but Charlie’s was not, and I say this because I tasted it. The dressing, which was made table side, was much too oily for my liking. The main course however was delicious–seasoned well with warm flavors. I can’t help but be impressed when fish is cooked perfectly. The side of vegetables was slightly overcooked, but the desert hit my sweet spot.
Before ending the evening, I decided to stop by the restroom for a peak to compare it to the rest of the place. It definitely did not have the same feel as the rest of White Hall. Let’s just say there was nothing classy about the restroom.

 If it weren’t for the service, then I would probably recommend Whitehall. Unfortunately, bad service can ruining a perfectly good meal as well as an entire evening. Since the meal was a little less than perfect and the service was just awful, I would recommend not wasting your time on this place.
Geraldine gives The Whitehall Restaurant 2 1/2 stars!
 Contact Information for The Whitehall Restaurant:
The Whitehall Restaurant
1325 Jamestown Road
Williamsburg, VA 23185
757-229-4677
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