Olde Towne Butcher

Even if you are just passing by, you need to stop into Olde Towne Butcher, if for nothing else, the bacon. The apple-​wood smoked thick cut bacon is the stuff dreams are made of. In today’s world of super-​mega grocery store chains pushing out meat on a Styrofoam container, Olde Towne Butcher is breath of fresh air. They offer great cuts of meat you can’t get in the grocery store anymore, and the friendly staff will always help you find what you need (and want). Try and find a real Tri-​tip at the grocery store! The addition of a deli and produce section make it easy to get an entire dinner from right inside the store. I’ve been going in every couple weeks since it opened and I find the prices are very competitive with the grocery store. Do yourself a favor and stop reading this, and go in and pick up a cut of meat… now.
BACON!

So we were excited to try the ground beef here to make burgers based on the good reviews. Well, the ground beef was mushy. It was the strangest thing. Did we get a bad batch? We know how to cook burgers so it’s not like we didn’t know what we were doing. Let’s just say we would have been better off buying ground beef at the regular grocery store.
Why does this place deserve a 3 star A-​OK rating? Hubby really likes their hot dogs and bacon. They also have some really amazing ice cream and other farmer’s market produce and dairy products.

Great products at reasonable prices, and excellent service. It’s nice to have a «sort of» grocery store down town.

Their fish and meat is very fresh and always really good. I made the best hamburgers in my life from some freshly ground beef that I purchased here. The staff is almost always friendly. Sometimes you have to hunt down someone to help you. They are very young and inexperienced. Sometimes the young staff will begin putting away the meat early before they are closed and refuse to sell you some items because they are interested in getting home quickly. This happened to me on at least one occasion. Their wine and beer selection is unfocused with no knowledgable staff running it. Seems like an afterthought. And unfortunately they do not carry turkey sausage or turkey bacon, despite how popular these items would be. Go to Kickshaws down the block for these items.

Really excited that we have a butcher in Fredericksburg! I’m new to this area, but was so happy to learn about this place. I love that I can get local, non-​funky meat (the stuff in the stores is loaded with so much crap and is so much lower in quality).
The best part is the price is so reasonable! I bought enough meat for my husband for like 7 meals, and only spent $ 30. That was some awesome steak, pork, lamb, and sausage, so it’s not like I only bought cheap stuff. I did have the butcher cut the steaks smaller, as they have some huge cuts. But my husband says it is the best meat he’s ever had – particularly the local steak and their sweet Italian sausage. The price probably will be more than you would spend at Giant, but the quality far exceeds what you will get at Giant (and those steaks at Giant are small, thin, and so flavorless).

Where do you go when you want that special cut of meat that the grocery store doesn’t carry? Or what about that special sausage that isn’t offered by the common packager sold at the grocery store?
You go to Olde Towne Butcher.
I will forewarn you up front that the prices are going to be very different from what you see at your local grocery store. That is because they are selling a high quality and usually a local product. If nothing else consider that by purchasing from Olde Towne, you are supporting a local farmer.
I have yet to get a cut of meat from Olde Towne that was not of the highest quality. I always get excited to stop in and see what sausage offerings they have. They offer sausage making classes with various blends of spices to those interested.
The only complaint you might have with the place is the selection is limited. Then again, that is likely why the products are always fresh and of high quality. It is a butcher shop, so if there is something special you are looking for, call ahead and order it.

Let me start off by saying this: I am a dyed in the wool, stone cold meat eater, and there is nothing better, in my mind, than finding a good butcher, who only carries fresh, non-​GMO product from local farmers who raise their cows right…
…that being said… I really want to give Olde Towne 5 stars, but I can’t bring myself to do it. Biggest complaint? Lack of consistent stock — I know this may seem contradictory to my above statement, and maybe I’m missing something as to why I can’t come in every week and get their beef ribs, or veal rib chops, etc., but it is a major detriment to me, especially considering I can put in the time and effort, drive to Belmont Butchers in Richmond, and pick up veal, or blood sausage (yes, they had boudin noir in the freezer, along with MANY very good cuts of meat, and even exotic like kangaroo), or anything else, and I don’t have to get addressed by a staff as an annoyance when I want to special order something. If they improved their consistency in what they offer, easily another star.
Second big problem: the staff. I absolutely hate being addressed as if I’m an annoyance, rather than what I am: a paying customer seeking a product. If I have questions, I don’t expect bewildered looks and attitude, I expect courtesy, even if it’s a simple, ‘let me go check real quick’; as opposed to a vague, blank stare eventually followed by a, ‘hold on’. I also expect a level of knowledge related to the product: if I ask for beef ribs, and then proceed to describe that I am looking for individual bone beef chuck ribs, not short ribs, and someone brings me a rack of short ribs, I get a little annoyed — it’s your product; you have it in your case, yet I can’t describe what you sell and have you bring me the correct item? Disappointing. Not all the attendants are like that, but enough of them are.
I guess the last thing that somewhat detracts (but which I won’t have affect the rating) are the out-​of-​towners/​DC people who came down to Fredericksburg for whatever reason and happened into a butcher shop, looking like 5 year olds trying to read a book on astrophysics. I try to keep my cool, but when some hipster stands at the counter asking asinine questions like ‘what wine would go good with this’ or other random stuff like that, it grates on me.
Lastly, price: be prepared to spend money here if you are planning on getting anything more than a single days worth of meat. I can go in there and spend $ 100 dollars in the blink of an eye, and that would probably only be enough for 3, maybe 4 meals. You are paying for quality though, and I’m sure the butcher takes a good chunk off the front of that.

What a great selection! I love being able to get such good quality products in Downtown. The staff is very friendly; I had to ask a woman behind the meat counter on how to cook the chicken (hey, I’m new to this), and she was a great help. It is a bit pricier than what you could get at the grocery store, but the quality makes it way worth it.
Also give the lemon chicken a try! Best thing ever.

Enjoyed my first experience with OTB this weekend. Saturday hours, unusual for many downtown Fredericksburg joints, made shopping easy and guaranteed fresh steaks for my wife’s birthday meal on Sunday. Not the kind of prices I’d pay for food very often, but excellent value for the money. Steaks were simply delicious and I cooked them to perfection right in my own kitchen. Yes, I’m a bit full of myself, but honestly, for less than a quarter of the price it would have cost my family to eat quality steaks at a place like Olde Towne Steak, we enjoyed just as good a meal, and my wife got to eat her birthday meal in her jammies! What’s better than that? BTW, my wife enjoyed the personal note written to her by the pleasant young lady who wrapped her steak for her. She even included a cute little heart sticker. Nice touch. We will be back!

Tried this place for the first time this weekend. Very clean, and homey atmosphere. They cary some hard to find stuff, but I felt like the product variety was a little small. The butcher case (obviously) was the center piece, and man they had some awesome looking cuts of meat it there! A little too pricey for my blood though. I did pick up some of their homemade sausages, and breakfast sausage, (also pricey) and will grill them up tonight. If they’re worth the extra $$ I’ll definitely be back. If you’ve never been, it’s a little hard to find, since it’s on the business route downtown it’s on the one way street that heads back OUT of Fredericksburg on RT.3.

So great! I cooked and served the best loin of pork I have had in maybe thirty years.
The staff is so helpful, but Lee is amazing. He will cut to your specifications, and if you order something that is not up to his standards when it comes in, he will tell you. He would rather lose a sale that day, then have you disappointed at the dinner table.

Still so happy we have the butcher in town! They just expanded and it is awesome — even more produce and dairy (including ice cream) available, plus all the meat goodies you can eat.
The sausages are amazing — so many different varieties that vary day to day — italian (both sweet and hot), breakfast sausage, brats, kielbasa, chicken and sage, even andouille sometimes! You really can’t go wrong. I’m looking forward to the next time they offer their sausage making class.
We love ordering our holiday meats from here — the price is great especially compared to the super-​market (pretty much just the same price or just a little bit more a lot of the time) and the quality is far superior.

I cannot afford the steaks unfortunately but there sure is quality meat here. I have purchased sausage from the area to the right where the yogurt is and it was very greasy and didnt have sausage spices that I expected. Bought stew meat once and it was fine. Yogurt is real good.

I was so happy this place opened up. I am not a huge meat eater, so when I do partake of the flesh I want it fresh and fabulous. The staff here is super nice, you can call and order in advance and they will hold things for you. They also carry organic dairy products like milk in actual glass bottles! So cute! The prices are GREAT too. After browsing the nasty brown meat selection at the local grocery store, we are now loyal to Lee over at Olde Towne. Some of our favs: Corn dogs, breakfast sausage, kielbasa, ground beef, and pork butt.
They carry a wide variety of dairy products including the milk but also cream, ice cream, and cheeses. They have canned goods, bread, fresh produce sometimes, seafood, and seasonings.