The Cheese Shop

This has become me and hubby's tradition when we're in town. We often come here for lunch on a Saturday afternoon. I tend to order their prosciutto, cheese and tomato on a baguette. And I usually order a cheese meat mini plate to go. Always delicious. Their shop is so busy and it usually requires a Xanax to deal with the chaos when you're inside, but it's always worth it. Delicious food. Nice people.

As a William and Mary alum, I have been visiting The Cheese Shop and enjoying bread ends and house dressing for 20+ years. I remember when it was a different location, smaller, and the only way to get house dressing was in a small tub.So as much as I love this place, I have to say I was a bit disappointed in my most recent visit (November 2024)--after waiting in line to order for 15 minutes, waiting another 10 for my order, I excitedly picked up my sandwich (ham, swiss, sprouts and house dressing on French Bread--I'll never stray from this combo), grabbed my chips, and got a draft local beer (another pleasant new-ish addition, but another 10 minute wait).I headed outside to enjoy the sun and relive college memories...only to find hard bread, not nearly enough dressing, and extremely salty ham.The staff was clearly working as hard/fast as they could and they were very kind, but it's just hard to have high expectations and then have everything fall a little flat (especially after waiting so long).So I think what I'm trying to say is: the people are great, the House Dressing is popular for a reason, but I think it might be a case of a place of being *too* popular and growing *too* fast...or that could just be my nostalgia talking.

The wine cellar at the Cheese Shop is a great place to find wine for dinner or for a party. The people who work there are knowledgeable and can help you find the perfect wine to fit your needs and in your price point. If they don't have what you are looking for in the shop, they can often order it for you or find something similar. In addition to selling bottles of wine, they offer a wine club where they select a bottle each month from their distributor for club members for one annual fee. They send you information about the wine in a monthly newsletter. The first Saturday of each month they offer a tasting of that month's selection if you pick up your bottle that Saturday. They also offer a 10% discount on all bottles you purchase that first Saturday. If you would like a glass of wine to enjoy with your cheese or sandwich from the Cheese Shop upstairs, they offer selections by the glass. In the winter they also often sell cups of mulled wine. So perfect on a chilly day.

Gonna get flamed but so so overrated.Huge crowd on Saturday morning (esp on W&M move-in weekend) thus was expecting a yummy sandwich - sadly, mediocre at best.Note , to move the line along, sauce/condiment served on side - hubs didn't realized his mustard packet was in bag (thought omitted) until after finishing half sandwich (sigh).Both sandwiches could easily be made at home - ingredients weren't fancy or unique.Really don't get the hype.

Fun place for a beer that's open all day. They have a variety of beers as well as many other snack and light meal options. We just had beers after strolling through town. Staff are friendly and there is a café feeling/atmosphere.

This place is a Williamsburg institution and has been in business since 1971 serving delicious sandwiches. Now if you are are used to going to a sandwich shop that has 5009 different sandwiches with all the toppings and ingredients this is not that kind of place but it is still very good in what it does provide! I always get the turkey with mayo and provolone on French bread and to me it's perfection! Simple but good fresh ingredients. Some people swear by their house dressing (which is good, I just prefer mayo) I also tried their minestrone soup and it was also delicious. On the menu they have different bread, meat, cheese choices as well as mayo, mustard, house dressing and a few other additional add-ons for the sandwiches. The cheese shop also provides drinks, desserts, chips, speciality grocery items, and much more. Fun to look around while you wait for your sandwich to be made.

The cheese shop has been my favorite lunch place in williamsburg and the best spot to get a sandwich since i was very little. My parents went to William and Mary and every homecoming, this is a most-looked forward to staple. So amazing! I usually get the sliced chicken sandwich on wheat with pepper jack cheese, sprouts, tomatoes, and the house dressing. Highly recommend also getting some bread ends to dip into the house dressing

Such a great selection of cheeses - the amount of cheese in this store is amazing! The service was quick and the staff are very knowledgeable! They helped us find a very specific cheese from Holland. The store has a very nice ambiance in downtown Colonial Williamsburg.

This is a cute deli and gourmet food store (with wine and beer) in the heart of Merchants Square. It's well worth a stop - especially if the weather is nice for an outdoor picnic. I came here around 5:20pm on a Wednesday evening in late October 2023, but arrived too late to order a sandwich (they stop talking orders around 5:30pm). Instead, I picked up a cheese plate ($11), bottle of water, and some Petite Cider (from Potter's Craft Cider in Charlottesville, VA). Overall, I enjoyed the delicious cheese plate with sausage, which made a pleasant low-carb picnic meal outdoors. Would have preferred a glass of wine, but the dry cider was nice for a fall evening. I hope to return during the day on a future visit to try their sandwiches. The only downside is the early closing time for sandwich orders (be sure to arrive by 5:15pm!).

Food is good, a little overhyped. There isn't a ton of seating, you have to go downstairs. Typically there's a long wait but the food is generally good. GET THE HOUSE DRESSING PLEASE IT IS SO GOOD