On our way back home from our trip to Westmoreland State Park, we stopped at Willaby’s Cafe in White Stone, VA for lunch. The restaurant, situated on the Rappahannock River next to the bridge, offers a wonderful view of the river and bridge. I can only imagine the spectacular sunsets you would see looking out over the water. The photos of gorgeous sunsets displayed on tv screens in the restaurant proved my imagination correct.
The restroom walls, covered in vintage 1920’s newspaper and Saturday Evening Post ads, were charming. In the dining room, they use oyster cans as lampshades. We sat in a booth by the window. Unfortunately, the table was extremely wobbly.
Our server, Reva, was competent and friendly. I always ask for a cocktail menu because I enjoy sampling “specialty” drinks. Willaby’s Cafe’s cocktail menu features five drinks. I ordered one and started looking at the menu. After a few minutes, Reva returned to tell me that they were out of the liquor for my cocktail. I picked another. Unfortunately, they did not have the ingredients for that cocktail either. She brought my third choice, Mermaid Water. The drink is a blend of Captain Morgan, Malibu, Blue Curaçao, and pineapple juice. It had a very pineapple flavor, with no hint of Captain Morgan. Our guess is that they were out of that as well so, not wanting to have to tell me that they couldn’t make a third drink, they used something else.
Under the Seafood heading on the menu, it says, “When you are this close to the water, you’d better do seafood right!”. I had high hopes that we were about to enjoy a fabulous lunch. Those hopes were quickly dashed. Chris and I both picked The Big Fish, a half-pound of fried pollock on sub bread. We decided to split the sandwich and an order of the Steamed Spiced Shrimp. The food came out in a reasonable time. The shrimp was flavorful but was about a minute overcooked, which gave it a rubbery texture. The fish sandwich was big enough to share but did not have seasoning of any kind. I loaded it with salt and added slaw and lots of tartar sauce, making it edible. The hushpuppies, while very flavorful, were a bit gummy.
Cost for a shot, a beer, a cocktail, and two entrees $42.60.
I was prepared to drool after seeing the photo but after reading your commentary on the food and drinks I’m guessing my fried eggs and grits will taste much better this morning!