Retro’s Good Eats

Nice basic burger place next to the college in Merchants Square. Probably the least expensive place in the area. Nothing fancy, but food is consistently good, especially for the price. The fried pickles, in particular, are excellent.

Good, but not fantastic. We were looking for a quick bite to eat and this fit the bill.

They charge for adding mustard ketchup mayo and lettuce on their standard burger. Tomato is a premium so, plan on spending an extra two dollars if you like your burger with anything other than a bun.

I was a little sketchy about going here but so glad my husband talked me into it. It’s very affordable and yummy!

cute little place to stop & eat! Definitely give them a try. Not the cheapest for fast food — but it’s a nice treat every once in awhile. It’s nice to sit at the bar & look out the window as you eat. Also cheaper than most places in colonial Williamsburg.

No, it’s not gourmet, but take it for what it is. Retro’s has great fries and ice cream/​shakes! Their burgers are decent but I haven’t had much else on the menu. While it may not look like much, the food is always fresh, they will accommodate special orders and the staff is always very friendly. Great for a quick meal.

We were last here on Fourth of July but have been here a few other times we’ve been in Williamsburg. The staff are amazing. They are super friendly and attentive. If you’ve been to Williamsburg you know this is rare for the area.
We have ordered the burgers fries sweet potato fries chili baked potatoes custard. It fits the bill of fifties diner food. We always carry out as we have our dog with us and we either sit at a table on the street or have a picnic in CW.
Appreciate the attentiveness of the employees to the orders and their friendliness

We stopped here because they serve hot dogs, which is one of the few foods our son will actually eat from restaurants. I had a BLT that was rather sad and more than a little disappointing, but the fried pickles and «special dipping sauce» I ordered on the side were pretty tasty. My husband had a mediocre chicken quesadilla.
The food did arrive fast, and it wasn’t incredibly overpriced, given the location of the establishment.
If you want/​need something fast and not fancy, somewhat on the cheap, and maybe don’t care too much about what your food tastes like, this is a good dive.

Disappointed and left hungry.
My partner and I went in on a whim after stopping off for coffee at Aroma’s (which is awesome).
I immediately got stink eye from the woman behind the counter when I walked up. No idea why (until I realized later it must have been because they were closing in 20 minutes but really… why would you get angry at a customer about that?)
I looked at the menu which is a giant billboard on the wall and decided to go with the meatloaf platter and a side salad. My partner ordered the chili cheese fries and grilled cheese. I was told they were out of mash potatoes (who runs out of a staple like mash potatoes?) and she’d substitute the salad in instead.
We paid and headed to the drink station which had 5 drink choices and of course the one we wanted was out of syrup and shot soda water.
We walked over to the back and sat near the windows. My partner heard our number called and walked up to grab our food. Two employees who were sitting near us reading their phones told me I’d need to take my trash up to the front because they were leaving and just changed the trash bags. My partner at the moment walks up juggling the food because apparently they either didn’t have trays to set the food on or didn’t want us to make dirty dishes for them?
Reference my pictures to see the delights we were cooked… or in this case overcooked.
I rarely write bad reviews but what we were served was horrible.
Meatloaf– Way overcooked, no idea what meat was used but it was not beef. It had large chunks of green pepper and onion and as I type this I still can’t get the funky flavor it left in my mouth out.
Side salad– More like end of the day leftover hamburger cast offs with wilted spoiled and bruised lettuce.
Chili cheese fries– French fries were good but he hesitated going into the chili and cheese portion seeing my meatloaf. The cheese on the fries was most likely a knock off velveta. He ate half of them and couldn’t continue and the meat was so-​so.
Grilled cheese– Came out late and we know why. It was burned. The bread was soggy with grease. He didn’t even try it.
We placed out napkins on our food and promptly left.
I do not recommend this place.

My family ate here and everyone enjoyed their meals. We did not dine on any milkshakes but they had a variety of options. The burgers were great. You do need to wait for your food to cook. It is not fast food. Order your meal sit down and wait. It is well worth it. They have a couple homemade sauces you can have on your burger. I will definitely eat here again.
There are kids meals but they do not have any highchairs. Menu is written in the wall!

We were recommended to check out Retro’s Good Eats in downtown W-​burg, as it was a retro-​esque eatery that serves up soups, salads, burgers, hot dogs, sandwiches, blue plate specials, and frozen custard. This restaurant came into town when the old Williamsburg Drug Company closed down, and the soda fountain disappearing along with it. I tried their Cheeseburger, with sauteed onions, mayo, ketchup, and mustard (this burger was just okay, as it wasn’t that monstrous; it was just way too heavy with the mustard), Fried Pickles (fried pickle spears — it has a nice thin coating of batter, and their house sauce was delicious that went with it; probably good with the burgers!), Funnel Cake Fries (literally funnel cake, cut into shapes of fries — these were tasty, as it came dusted with powdered sugar, and they were hot and fresh — yum!), and a Chocolate Mint Shake (this was cold, creamy, and had a nice chocolatey mint taste — yum!). I liked the counter seating with the swivel stools, and the cashier up at the front was friendly. I’d love to come back and try out their blue plate specials as well as for their hot dogs.
+Chocolate Mint Shake
+funnel cake fries
+house sauce (for the fried pickles. but probably good with the burgers!)

Took forever to order to forever to get the food, the fat guy in the front is rude. But the food was good but it was a cramped atmosphere. I doubt I’ll ever return here.

Good atmosphere but that’s about it. Believe what the other reviewers have said about this place. We went (family of 4) and nobody was impressed including our 2 sons (ages 9 & 12). The boys ordered shakes and they didn’t enjoy them. One ordered a caramel shake and we were like where is the caramel. I ordered a burger and it was so small, I could have finished it in a few small bites. I would not recommend this place to anyone.

We wanted to eat near colonial Williamsburg but didn’t want to wait for a long time or pay high prices so we gave retros a shot. Our shot missed the mark…
We ordered a patty melt, a fried chicken salad, a grilled cheese kids meal and a cheeseburger. The salad was a joke. They fill up a plastic hot dog container with iceberg lettuce and stick some fried chicken and croutons on top. That’s it.
Patty melt was good. Cheeseburger was probably the best thing we ordered.
They advertised hand cut fresh fries. They were just ok. Five guys is much better.
The service was also just meh. We watched this group order after us and the cashier showed no interest in taking the order or helping the group navigate the menu. They also just left their food on top of the counter and didn’t. Other to inform the group that their food was ready.

Stopped in with our family of four to have a drink and a snack. Beer was over priced and the portions were very small. We ordered the large fries (quite small) and an order of fried pickles (got 4) the root beer on tap was very good though.

Food was mediocre. The burgers have much to be desired. They are pretty small, which actually doesn’t bother me, but the meat seemed like a prepackaged patty you would pull out of a freezer. It was pretty mushy and generally not that great. I ordered a baked potato with cheese and butter expecting shredded cheese but got a ton of processed cheese sauce. The milkshake was ok with a cool whip type whipped cream. Seems like pretty much everything is super processed from a can… nothing fresh.

After spending the morning at Colonial Williamsburg we decided to give this joint a try for a quick bite to eat before we headed back to history. Sadly, there was nothing quick about this place and my visit here will be left for history.
After ordering a burger, a hot dog, chili cheese fries, and some regular fries we sat down and waited for what seemed like an eternity. While waiting we took in the décor which was just okay, but nothing special. It has a retro 50’sish look but it’s nothing to write home about. I noticed that there’s a giant slope in the floor near the middle of the place, which is also located right next to the soda machine. This was a double disaster as there was water all over the place. Clearly a hazard, so be careful.
When the food was finally ready, it was a major disappointment. It was bland and the portions were not enough to fill me up, especially for the price we paid. When we left I was still very hungry and felt like I had spent way too much to still feel that way.
The person that took our order was nice, but it was the only interaction we had with the staff. We didn’t see any other staff members, which was needed for cleaning tables, mopping the floor, and restocking the items at the condiments bar.
The only thing I can find that was appealing was the milkshakes that several people were ranting about. I wanted to try one, but after waiting for so long and experiencing several other downsides, I passed. They looked delicious, but it just wasn’t’ worth it.
This place may be great for a milkshake and a retro feel, but that’s about all. If I had a second chance, I would have gone to one of the many other options in the area.

The food here was very good and the atmosphere perfect for a small diner. We brought a youth group and they were very accommodating to us. The prices were fair, but sneaky. Each item you get cost and they charge for condiments over two basic ones. Basically if you do a basic meal and watch what you add the price is a 1 dollar sign but it can go up to two.

Don’t bother.
Nothing special. Hot dogs are OK at best. I’m from Jersey. Maybe other reviewers come from places that don’t have great dogs. Poor pickup counter mgmt/​system.

This place was delicious. Fattening and horrible for you but delicious.
Initially I planned on eating somewhere else on this block but when I saw this place and looked at the menu I figured, what the heck. I’m glad I did, I don’t usually eat this type of food but it’s good sometimes.
They have burgers, fries, shakes, hot dogs, etc. Most of the items you select and then you pick a few toppings (looks like usually you get two included) like mustard, ketchup, cheese, jalapeños, etc.
I got a hotdog with onions and mustard and slaw. It was GOOD. My friend got a double bacon cheeseburger with ketchup and mustard and a large french fry order. The french fries were soooo good. I tried a bite of the burger too and it was amazing.
Everything I had was good — the gals behind the counter were friendly and helpful — the food was out really quickly and there was plenty of seating in the comfortable and retro decorated diner seating space.
MMmmmm, I’ll stop in here again next time I’m in the area.