Special Event: Dinner with Mrs. Vobe
August 22 @ 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Special Event: Dinner with Mrs. Vobe
King’s Arms Tavern
August 22 from 6 – 8 pm
Step into the World of Mrs. Vobe – A Refined Colonial Dining Experience
Join Mrs. Jane Vobe, the original tavernkeeper of the renowned King’s Arms Tavern, for an evening of elegant colonial fare and captivating storytelling. This exclusive four-course prix-fixe dinner with expertly paired wines showcases the refined English influences that shaped 18th-century tavern cuisine.
Dine by candlelight in period surroundings as Mrs. Vobe shares tales of managing one of Williamsburg’s most distinguished establishments—as a single woman—with charm, wit, and resilience. Her tavern was the preferred choice of Virginia’s elite, hosting the likes of George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. As one 1765 French visitor observed, “all the best people resorted” to her hospitality.
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Crab Cakes
Sweet potato, Va ham, and apple hash
Chardonnay, Macom-Lugny, Burgundy
French Onion Soup
Sharp cheddar crouton
Graville Lacoste Graves France
Pork Roulade
Pecans, apples, Spanish and goat cheese, herb roasted potatoes and good vegetables|
Louis Jadot Beaujolais, France
Blackberry Cobbler
Vanilla Ice Cream
A little more about this historical figure:
We know little about Jane Vobe’s early life. She may have been born in London in 1720.1 We do know that she married a tavernkeeper named Thomas Vobe, who disappeared from the historical record by 1750. Whether he died or disappeared, his absence allowed Jane to keep her own tavern (also known as an “ordinary”) in Williamsburg for decades.2 In 1772, she moved her business to a prominent location on Duke of Gloucester Street. The tavern used “the Sign of The King’s Arms,” but patrons usually preferred to call it “Mrs. Vobe’s.”3
Her tavern on Duke of Gloucester Street was quite large. In 1777, a workman charged her for “Whitewashing 14 Rooms, 4 Passages, Barr & 2 poarches.”4 At this time, taverns were important social and political centers for the city. They hosted the many visitors who attended courts or legislative sessions in the city. Indeed, the colony’s government depended on taverns such as Jane Vobe’s to provide lodging, food, and drink for visiting Burgesses, lawyers, judges, witnesses, and defendants. Vobe’s tavern was an upscale establishment, with all the amenities that genteel clients expected. In 1765, one French traveler noted that he “got a room at mrs. vaube’s tavern, where all the best people resorted.”5 Leading colonists like George Washington and Thomas Jefferson frequented Vobe’s tavern.6 They gathered in small private rooms to gamble, drink, discuss politics, and conduct business. From ColonialWilliamsburg.org
