Nate's Trick Dog Cafe

Nate's Trick Dog Cafe is a wonderful little restaurant full of music and laughter and extraordinary food located in the quaint watertown of Irvington, Virginia. It has been called the “best place to eat on the Northern Neck,” and whether that is true or not we are proud to be seen in that light. We are often asked about the origin of the name Trick Dog. As a painting inside the restaurant depicts the legend, it originated in 1917 after the Great Fire in Irvington, which destroyed most of the businesses along Steamboat Road. In the basement of the Opera House a local resident found a statue of a “black sooty dog.” He took it home to “Neddie and told him it was a trick dog because you didn’t have to feed or water it and it would always sit and stay.” You can pet the Trick Dog for good luck in the restaurant today. And it always seems to work.