Dining & Shopping at Mount Vernon -- Mount Vernon’s comprehensive Shops at Mount Vernon Complex offers a range of books, children’s toys, holiday items, Mount Vernon private-label food and wine, whiskey produced at the distillery, stoneground flour made at the gristmill, and Mount Vernon–licensed furnishings. The Orientation Center and slave quarters/greenhouse hold much smaller gift shops. A food court features a menu of deli sandwiches, coffee, grilled items, pizza, and cookies. Although you can’t picnic on the grounds, you can drive a mile north on the parkway to Riverside Park, where there are tables and a lawn overlooking the Potomac.
At the traffic circle outside the main gate, the charming Mount Vernon Inn serves some of the Colonial-style fare George and Martha provided their guests. It's moderately priced, and the atmosphere is great -- period furnishings, working fireplaces, waitstaff in 18th-century costumes. Lunch is first-come, first-served, but reservations are highly recommended at dinner (if for no other reason than to find out if the inn is closed for a wedding reception or other event).
Note: This information was accurate when it was published, but can change without notice. Please be sure to confirm all rates and details directly with the companies in question before planning your trip.
