There’s good, and then there’s consistently good.
Two Williamsburg restaurants have won top ratings from the American Automobile Association, according to a release.
And it’s not the first time for either of them.
The winners, Fat Canary in Merchants Square and the Rockefeller Room in the Williamsburg Inn, are among 14 Four or Five Diamond establishments in the commonwealth. Both received Four Diamond status.
Only about 2 percent of 31,000 restaurants inspected by AAA earn a Four- or Five-Diamond rating, the release said.
“Every day you have to stay focused and do the best you can,” said Fat Canary co-owner Mary Ellen Power Rogers. “It’s a huge team effort. It’s not one person. It’s the entire team.”
Neither restaurant is a newcomer to the list. AAA first gave Fat Canary a Four Diamond award in 2004, their first year of business. The Williamsburg Inn’s restaurants won the Four Diamond recognition in 2002.
Both have won every year since.
“To keep at that level is hard,” said Georjeane Blumling, vice president of public affairs for AAA Tidewater. “This isn’t kind of a one-shot deal.”
AAA reevaluates past winners each year to see if they’ve maintained the same level of quality, Blumling said. The organization uses professional inspectors who remain anonymous.
“Restaurants at this level offer a distinctive fine-dining experience and attentive service,” according to the release. “Menu offerings are typically distinguished by highly creative chefs using top-quality ingredients and an upscale ambience.”
The Williamsburg Inn did not respond to a request for comment before publication.
Elsewhere in Hampton Roads, the restaurants Salacia and Terrapin also won the Four-Diamond rating. Both are located in Virginia Beach. Salacia has won the award every year since 2006, and Terrapin since 2008.
Editor’s Note: The Williamsburg Inn’s Rockefeller Room earned Four Diamond status, not the Regency Room, as the story originally reported based on a press release from AAA.
