Le Yaca is very nice for either lunch (a great $19 three course lunch) or dinner. The colonial taverns are also interesting if you want to immerse yourself in the Williamsburg historic vibe. Have fun!
We did the evening guided walking tour as well, for a nominal charge. They were informative and the area is quieter at night.
Guiding yourself in Colonial Williamsburg is pretty easy. Eat at various places in Colonial Williamsburg—try some different foods there.
I may have missed where you’re staying. If you’re on Richmond Road (northwest of CW and the W&M campus), I recommend Food for Thought for dinner. Very good food, mostly classic American with some nice vegetarian selections as well. A fun, quirky atmosphere, reasonably priced. Open for breakfast and lunch, too.
For something high-end near CW, the Fat Canary is quite nice. It’s next to the Cheese Shop. The taverns are an enjoyable experience but I think the food at some of the restaurants recommended on this thread (Blue Talon, Le Yaca, the ones I mentioned) is better.
We haven’t been to CW since our youngest d graduated in 2013. We’ll be there in a few weeks on our way to the Outer Banks. I’m looking forward to your trip report!
@snowball If you’re in Williamsburg, Colonial Williamsburg and the Governor’s Palace is pretty neat. There’s an art museum pretty close by I believe. Food for thought is a really clever and really nice restaurant that is full of clever puns, quotes, and interactive cards on all the tables – I do recommend. Peter Chang’s is really good if you are looking for Chinese food. Blue Talon is also in the area but a bit pricey.
William & Mary is right next door with historical tours of its own. Busch Gardens and related amusement parks are a lot of fun. For more random fun things, there is the Ripley’s Believe it or Not Museum, Go Carts/Escape Rooms/Laser tag, etc.
I don’t think anyone has mentioned yet, but there is a bit of farmland that has these really amazing Presidential Head statues that happens to be right there in Williamsburg. I have never been myself, but several of my friends have gone when I was studying at William & Mary. They have everyone from Lincoln, to FDR, and Washington, and they are ginormous. Apparently a farmer decided to buy them all and preserve them, they were going to be thrown out.
Unfortunately, Presidents Park is no more. It was a quirky treat for the few years it was around. But the presidential head park went bust.