If there were no stars, I would choose that. Locals, not tourist, just wanted some dinner out. River's End was closest. The restaurant was not busy(we even found parking in front which is unusual) but there was a 15 minute wait(in November???) even though there several empty tables outside and inside. My friend wanted a drink, so we sat at the bar where we were completely ignored by the extremely surly and rude bartender. There are only 5 chairs at this bar and only 3 of them were occupied. It does serve the dining room, but as I said, not busy. My friend asked if they had any good beers on tap and the bartender literally threw a menu in front of her without saying a word. He never verbally acknowledged us in any way, but did speak to the other lady who at the bar and the wait staff. After about 15 minutes of trying to get his attention, we left. Absolutely the worst customer service I have ever experienced there, and that is saying a lot, because there is not much consistency in general and there is the pervasive attitude that they are doing you a favor to take your money. We go there because we live in the community and it's close. Last night was a clincher. Won't go back even though have been going there since the place first opened. Almost 40 years, I guess. I know as a corporate entity that has sucked the soul out of the rafting business in the area and has a monopoly on food vending on the Nantahala, they won't miss our money. We did drive on in Bryson City for dinner at 4 Queens, which was packed. We were seated immediately, my friend got a drink right away, and we were treated like customers rather than annoyances. And the food was delicious. read more

Sloppy seating the last time I was there. When they seat you in the middle with open tables next to windows that's not fun. When you ask to move and they say someone else is coming but they never do you don't want to come back. I first ate here in 1975 when it was just a good hole in the wall. Its character is gone. Sad. read more

Barndoor pizza has been our favorite here for years! Tried the truffle fries and they were amazing!!!!! read more

Delicious chowder. Perfect setting in the mountains along the river. Definitely will be back !

*not dog friendly* I have been here three times so far. It is really the only option at certain times and I hate posting really bad reviews but each time has been disappointing. But this time made me need to post something for others. There is a review from a couple of years ago that says how dog friendly they are. They are not. Most restaurants have patio areas that are dog friendly and the law allows them to let dogs into the bar area but not here. If you bring a dog here expect to order your food togo and sit across the way at the picnic tables in the rocks or in your car. And bring another person because you can go inside to order with your dog. This would normal give a 3 star review but I have yet to have good food here. I have been here three times with several people and seen burnt pizza, under cooked chicken, poorly built sandwiches and burgers that fall apart. This time was breakfast. How can you do eggs and toast wrong? Well you can make the eggs runny, somehow make dry, flavorless hash browns (not sure how that happens), not cook an omelet all the way through and make your grits like soup. Add onto that a dry biscuit and no butter provided on a togo order and your breakfast is ruined. We ate it because he was about to get on a canoe and go down the river and needed something. But in the future I would find any place to stop before here to eat. read more

We stopped here on our way to Atlanta. Such a nice view for dinner. We ordered hamburgers and fries for my husband and sweet potato fries for me. My husband ended up getting sweet potato fries too by mistake, but our server didn't charge us. It was all good but not special. By that view!! Worth the stop! read more

Spur-of-moment stop and was greatly pleased with both food and service! Nice Wrap and good salad. Fast, friendly‍‍, "river knowledgeable" ‍Server. Also offered several Excellent local brews. Nice view of the river on a beautiful, albeit, HOT day. Putting this on my "Must Stop" list for next trip. Many more excellent t spots since my last business trip thru this part of NC. Now I prefer the slow way to Waynesville. Take time to enjoy the ride!! read more

Easily a five star spot. One of the most scenic locations in the smokies, always friendly, genuine and attentive staff with great food, excellent brew selections and a warm, cozy rustic experience. We are regulars. read more

Pro's -view of the river from every table -outdoor seating -super friendly staff -big portions, cheap, and quick! Cons -furniture is a big dated -not a lot of options for breakfast Great spot to eat before or after your rafting trip at the NOC! Definitely recommend. read more

River's End Restaurant - Fontana Hash - Bars Near Me - Bryson City, North Carolina

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Good food, service and views! Highly recommend getting on the wait list if possible before arriving. Popular place to eat.

You can't beat sitting right by the river and staring through the window at the rushing water as the sun begins to go down while enjoying a cold beer and a delicious dinner. Fresh local pan sautéed trout with green beans and almonds, some mashed red skin potatoes...both of us ordered the same, momentary feeling underwhelmed when it was served, then proceeded to lick our plates. Simple, fresh, absolutely delicious. We also had the fried green beans for appetizer, another strong recommendation to try. Let's put it this way, we ate this meal the second week of Oct and now the first week of Dec, we've been obsessed with home made, fresh green beans, every since. We were so happy to return to this restaurant after so many years and were not disappointed. Cocktail prices were prohibitively high like NYC high so we passed on those but that's my only pause. Would go back for the view, service, beer, and food again without hesitation. read more

Good restaurant for a burger or something quick. Great views of the river. Nice place to stop and take a walking break. read more

Excellent food and superior service. Blackened NC Trout was exceptional. Definitely with a stop if your passing through the area.

Great service and great food!! We just were driving by and thought we would try. We will go again.

Stopped in here to eating before white water rafting. We had to wait for a table when several were open. Our waitress was very nice and stopped in to check on us frequently but the food was...meh. I ordered the open faced burger that came with chili and cheese. I was surprised by how little flavor there was. I tried amping up the meal with salt, pepper and hot sauce and it was still just ok. Fries were nothing special either. read more

River's End Restaurant - Bars Near Me - Bryson City, North Carolina

The setting was lovely right on the river. The cleanliness and quality of food left much to be desired. Service was ok, but really limited to basic delivery of our food. Atmosphere inside had a slapdash feel to it. If there were other options for dinner we would pursue them. read more

I have to say this restaurant is wonderful, OMG the pizza is incredible and all of the other items we ordered. Definitely have the Apple Cobbler, kudos to our waiter James he was outstanding very attentive and great service!! read more

I was pleasantly surprised how good our food was. My husband & I both follow a plant based diet and we're able to order more than just fries and a salad!! The Buffalo cauliflower bites were delicious. Perfect amount of crisp ones and not too much sauce. My husband had the pulled jackfruit barbecue sandwich. Very good!! Server was pleasant & timely. I'd definitely return read more

Greek Pizza removed from the menu. You can still pay individually for each topping but the Greek Pizza option has been removed from the menu. Ordering each topping would make the price of the pizza outrageous. PLEASE bring back one of the Gorge favorites. The Greek Pizza was the best anywhere!!! I even talked about it in other states. read more

It was worth the drive! My wife and I drove out to this place due to the reviews. Love the ambiance! The service was great. The food was good but..... ok here it is. My wife ordered the "dragon" burger which wasn't on their menu. We noticed the pictures in the reviews and the waitress knew exactly what it was and was able to get it for us. I had the trout entree. It was by far the best blackened trout I have ever had, but what came on the plate was not. The green beans with corn needs to be taken OFF the menu. It was not seasoned nor was it cooked. The rice wasn't bad, it went with the trout plate well. But again somebody please tell the cook to do a vegetable medley or something. If they do the beans then don't put corn with it, put some diced potatoes with it. That was my and my wife's opinion. Lol. Everything else was great the reason for the 5 stars! We would definitely eat here again, but I would substitute the beans. read more

Great view of the river, very convenient to NOC outpost. You can park at the outpost and walk over the bridge to get to the restaurant. We had the large pizza and it was enough to share between four people. read more

After a hike, we stopped here for pizza. We were starving and started with the black bean chili tots...So good!! The black beans are sort of like a Cuban black bean soup...Onions, black beans and great flavor! For our pizza we had the supreme. Their crust is so tasty!! Crispy on the bottom but the edge is fluffy and good for dipping in sauce. They will bring you sides of sauce too. We got pesto and it was great for the crusts! Supreme had good toppings and cheese amounts. They chop the onions and peppers finely which I liked. Their red sauce is also tasty with good flavor. They have a great local beer selection. Green Man, Asheville Brewing, etc. The view on the river is nice and they have lots of seating. They have a parking lot but in the summer it might be hard to find a spot. We arrived one night at 7 and the kitchen was closing at 7 so if it is off hours, get there early. read more

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The family struggled with this rating, leaning towards a 2! We waited 30 min for a table for 4, which isn't bad at lunch in a town with limited options. But, after we were sat, we waited 15 min before we chased down a waiter. He brought half of the drinks we ordered and had to chase down another server for the other drinks 30 min later. Food was ok but delivered late and 2 of the orders were wrong. Chips and salsa were good ;) read more

Do yourself a favor and skip the Best Dam Chicken Sandwich. It was hands down the worst chicken sandwich I've ever had anywhere. It was like a giant bland chicken tender on a bun. Absolutely awful. My wife's Mediterranean salad on the other hand was fantastic. read more

The ambience here is unreal...and sitting right over the beautiful Nantahala River is what you are paying for. The extensive beer list served ice cold is spot on. The food? Eh...it is what it is. It's your typical touristy pizza burgers bar fare served by any number of local spots. Hiring a chef of more talent and creativity would set this place over the top. My advice: Enjoy the River's End remarkable location, beer list, service and river ambiance...and pack and picnic your own food. read more

Great food. Totally unexpected. Atmosphere is so relaxing. Outdoor eating under an open air roof. No bugs. Listen to the rapids flowing a few feet away. Trout burgers, Greek salad and Dragon burgers. Totally worth it. read more

Super nice place on the river just like other reviewers stated. My wife says the fish (trout) is the best she has ever had. The menu is small which I like because it means the food will be awesome as the chefs can concentrate on good food instead of a lot of food. And everything we had here was delicious. read more

I'm updating a review I did of Rivers End three years ago and unfortunately knocking off two stars in the process. I ordered the chicken sherpa and the only redeeming feature was a huge portion size. I'm a light eater, so that's not even a big selling point to me. The quality of the ingredients - chicken, peppers, mushrooms, lentils and broccoli were of sub-par quality and sparse in quantity. My husband had the club sandwich and had the same issue - the deli meats and cheese all tasted like they were cheap quality. Also he ordered the chips. On earlier visits, we really enjoyed the house made chips. When we got our food, the sandwich came with fries. I commented on this and our server said "oh, I always just automatically put in fries" followed by "don't worry the chips are only Lays out of the bag". Uh, color me doubly unimpressed. Beyond that service was mediocre- we got our food, basic requests were handled and that's it. Also, the restrooms and the restaurant overall were dirty and in need of some updating. This is sad to see as we enjoyed this place a lot on earlier visits. It is still nice to eat by the river and this is one of the only games in "town". read more

River's End Restaurant - Chicken Sherpa - just okay, not high quality ingredients - Bars Near Me - Bryson City, North Carolina

My first time here and I am so impressed by everything. Our server Ned was so quick and our food and drinks came out so fast and every single item we ordered was delicious!! We sat outside by the river and it was truly a pleasant time. read more

Grill was down this afternoon. Ordered a small 10" pizza. Not good at all. After two slices, threw the remainder away.

Great place to get breakfast- recommend the sweet potato pancakes and eggs. Good place for a beer and watch the river. Relaxed and clean. Dinner is good- I would recommend the pasta- for a more casual dinner. love to eat on the porch to watch the river. read more

Food, service, and location were amazing!! Watching the River right outside your window made for a great ambiance!! I had the pizza and my wife had the blackened trout they were both so good! Must try the fried green beans and mashed potatoes! read more

After a long drive, we picked up takeout since we had our dog with us. They told us we could eat outside by the riverbank. I had envisioned eating on the grass, but instead there was an entire kid and dog friendly picnic area directly across the river accessible by walking bridge. The kids lived their burger and club sandwich, but the real winner was the steak sandwich! Buttery diner buns, grilled onions and the potato chips added the perfectly needed crunch! I made my husband share a second bite with me. My summer salad was pretty good as I was going for a healthier option, but how do you compete with that steak sandwich in front of you?!? Atmosphere was wonderful and gave us a break from being in the car so long. Glad we got take out instead of eating inside!! read more

Great place and good food!!! Service was excellent and will go back. The scenic view of the river while eating was a plus.

Beautiful location on the river, friendly servers, and great food. Many photo ops along the river also.

I've enjoyed finding this restaurant. Food is very good & staff friendly. Love sitting and looking at the river and watching the rafters & kayakers. Just a nice place to eat & close to home. read more

Stopped for lunch before zip lining. It's a small restaurant. The service is friendly and helpful. The food is spicy, so be careful. We ordered the chilly cheese fries. They were very good. The chilly wasn't hot, it was very tasty. Hubby ordered the pull pork sandwich. It was full of fire. The restrooms were small, but clean. The prices were average. Great place. read more

River's End Restaurant - Bars Near Me - Bryson City, North Carolina

Great food and great service after a day on the river. My son had the Tail of the Dragon burger, he said it was awesome. I had the classic bacon cheeseburger, daughter had the 10" cheese pizza, wife had the huge Greek chicken salad. Thumbs Up! Try the Trout Cakes! read more

River's End Restaurant - Bars Near Me - Bryson City, North Carolina

We sat on the patio for dinner and it was perfect. We weren't in a hurry - our waitress mentioned they were backed up on the kitchen.. no worries - we enjoyed the view and drank a few beers. Pizza was great. Would go back read more

First time in the Bryson City area for a birthday getaway. We had a party of 10. The staff was very nice and seated my group right away! Mita and Kyle were very nice and accommodating. The view was amazing and the food was incredible! We really enjoyed and will definitely be returning. Definitely recommended. read more