food was amazing! there nachos was amazing! our server was great! and had a great environment!read more

This was only the second time we've been to The local, but it's because the first experience with…read morethe service & amazing food was so amazing that we had to make the drive back! I ordered the shrimp & grits and it's been all I thought about since the first time I had it! The flavors blend beautifully and the grits are amazing! My daughter got their Stuffed French Toast (peaches & cream) with fresh fruit! Looked fantastic! We love the outdoor seating which allows us to bring the dog, but the indoor ambiance is wonderful! Highly recommend if you're in the area! We can't wait to go back!

Wonderful, delicious seafood, and a good value. The nicest staff you can imagine. Just a friendly,…read moregood place to eat. Very similar to the quality and preparations of dishes you get at the North Carolina coast (but in the mountains!) Service here is warm and excellent. Very highly recommended! A local favorite.

A hidden gem in Boone for great seafood taste, service, nautical restaurant. First time going…read morethere and now a beginning of a destination routine . Everything had flavors. Down to the green beans. If you don't like it, that just means more for me and family and friends.

We spent the day exploring beautiful Blowing Rock and decided to stop by The Speckled Trout after…read morehearing so many great reviews. It absolutely lived up to the hype! We ordered the trout deviled eggs, the smoked trout Boursin, and split the cracked crusted trout lunch with Hoppin' John and smoked Gouda grits. Every part of the meal was delicious and perfectly prepared. The trout was fresh, flavorful, and the sides complemented it so well. The only thing I'd mention is that the smoked trout Boursin is incredibly rich. It's delicious, but if you're dining as a party of two it may be a bit much in flavor so you won't want to eat too many. We weren't able to finish it. Flavor was great but could have saved. The staff was friendly and attentive, and the service was excellent. I'd definitely recommend making a reservation, even for lunch, to avoid a long wait. We were lucky enough to sit outside on the patio on a beautiful day, and the atmosphere made the experience even better. We'll absolutely be back the next time we're in North Carolina!

Took a little day trip while visiting our daughter in Charlotte, and her boyfriend highly…read morerecommended The Speckled Trout Restaurant and Bottle Shop. It's definitely a bit of a drive from Charlotte, but well worth it if you're exploring the mountain towns and scenery in the area. The restaurant has a really cool upscale mountain vibe that feels relaxed and comfortable without being stuffy. Great atmosphere, friendly service, and the whole place just had that quality mountain town feel to it. My wife and I both ordered trout, which felt like the right move here. I had the almond crusted trout with basil potatoes and garlicky grits, and it was excellent. Everything tasted fresh, balanced, and thoughtfully prepared. The garlicky grits were especially good. My wife ordered the smoked trout, and let's just say they do not mess around with the smoke flavor here. It was seriously smoky. A couple hours later she was still burping little smoke rings on the drive home If you love strong smoky flavor, you'll probably love it. They also had a really solid craft beer selection that fit the mountain atmosphere perfectly. Overall, high quality food, great service, fun atmosphere, and absolutely worth the drive. Easy five stars from us.

We had a close friend in our 54 house had not seen in years so we had him stay overnight. The first…read morenight we got to take him to supper and he really liked the food. I had fish with shrimp and house salad. Then I got a delicious desert to go.

We celebrated my husband's birthday here while we were visiting the area. It was recommended to us…read moreby our AirBnb host. The service was very attentive. The food was good and fresh. Italian/American cuisine. We were a bit surprised there was no alcohol available. We were looking forward to a cocktail after a long day of dirtbike riding, however the dessert display was impressive! We had the Snickers Chess pie, chocolate addiction, caramel pecan cheesecake and the brownie trifle. YUM! The ambiance was a quaint, quiet, and local, nice for a special occasion.

Always quality seafood in the case. I go there every week for salmon, tuna,halibut etc. The…read morecoleslaw is very good and so are the salmon and trout dips. Crab claws come in up to 3 pound bags and are delicious. I never have eaten in the dining room but from the looks of it always being busy then it's probably great.

Great tasting and always fresh .Service is unparalleled in the Tri Cities and Marty and Krista are…read morethe best owners

Fine dining in the mountains, and some of the best dishes and food at this elevation!…read more This place hits on all levels if you're in the mood for a great evening out. Elegant inside and out, friendly service and top notch food. We sat at the bar and our bartender took care of us all evening. Had one of the best old fashioned's in the area. He knows his stuff! The food was fine dining at its best. A garlic buttered escargot with puff pastry just melts in your mouth. Lobster bisque full of flavor and full of, well, lobster, and a ton of it. I have to say, the extra touch to the tasty French onion soup was a talking point all evening...it came with dedicated scissors so you could cut the cheese. What an amazing touch. And they sure did help lol. The center cut medium rare filet mignon paired with some frites was definitely the showstopper this evening. Thick, tender and juicy...one of the best steaks on all levels. Whenever we're in town and want an elegant evening out, this is the spot!

Stonewalls Restaurant was one of the more pleasant surprises during my time in Banner Elk. It's a…read morebeautiful restaurant, and I had been looking forward to dining there for quite some time. From the moment we arrived, the staff was warm, welcoming, and attentive. The atmosphere, however, felt a little mixed. The restaurant seemed to have two distinct personalities. The newer side, where the bar is located, felt polished and cohesive, while the older dining room--where we were seated because it had more availability--felt like it hadn't quite received the same attention. The lighting on that side of the restaurant was particularly harsh, which made the dining room feel less intimate than it could have been. Since it's also the larger and busier dining space, I think small touches like candles on the tables or softer lighting would go a long way toward creating a warmer, more personal atmosphere. I also noticed an interesting contrast between the beautiful leather-bound menus and some of the furniture and wall décor, which felt more reminiscent of a hotel dining room than the upscale mountain restaurant the food suggested. Thankfully, the meal more than made up for those observations. I ordered the wild mushroom pasta with lobster, and it was the standout dish of the evening. The pasta was rich without feeling heavy, the mushrooms added wonderful depth, and the lobster was cooked beautifully. It's a dish I'd gladly order again. My boyfriend ordered a steak, which he thoroughly enjoyed. We also started with the escargot and the crab cakes. The escargot, while not quite on the level of some traditional French restaurants I've visited, was still very well prepared and enjoyable. The crab cakes were outstanding--full of crab, nicely seasoned, and easily one of the best appetizers of the meal. Our only complaint was that there was only one crab cake on the plate; we both found ourselves wishing there had been another. Overall, Stonewalls Restaurant delivered an excellent meal with genuinely welcoming service. While I'd love to see the older dining room updated to better match the quality of the cuisine, the food alone makes it well worth a visit if you're in Banner Elk.

Delicious food, lovely service…read more I was visiting the area and this place and the menu caught my attention. 'The Gamekeeper', what name could be more intriguing for a unique dining experience? I was not disappointed in the food. All selections were ideally prepared, seasonally balanced, and well paired. What I was really pleased about was the service. The staff elevate the entire experience. To name one or two would leave out what was an incredibly welcoming, knowledgeable, and cohesive Team. I would certainly recommend The Gamekeeper to anyone looking for the complete dining experience.

Let's just start out with the obvious. The service, meal options and atmosphere are tops. Our…read moreparty of 6 was fortunate to have Allan G as our server. The wine and cocktails assistance was great and the mixed grill appetizers were perfect. The bison short ribs are killer. A very enjoyable evening. Everyone in the party raved about the meal and service. Bravo to the chef, staff and management. Our first trip to the area proved challenging on a rainy night in the mountains. We opted for transport via uber and Lyft services. FYI it's almost impossible to confirm service in Blowing Rock. With no show transportation at 9:30 pm the staff jumped into action. Lucky for us the one driver that did show agreed make 2 trips.

Delicious food! Friendly and quick service! Easy to find. Great location. Definitely recommend.read more

We stopped at Captain Jim's last FRIDAY to give it a try- we do not live in Mountain City so…read moreeverytime we are there we try new places. This will be the one and only time there. The lights were not on due to trying to keep the place cool (we understand that) and she asked us if we wanted them but we said no. I guess one of the 2 women working there was taking care of a young boy, he was sitting in a booth watching a movie or program on a cell phone and he had the volumn up that we heard it while walking into the restaurant. He was never asked by either women working there to turn it down. The lady working the front told us to have a seat and she would bring us a menu. We ordered the fish and chips in which the price had been edited from $15.99 but the new price was rubbed off so we thought it was only a $1-2 dollars more. Apparently it was not, The fish were a good size and delicious but that was the only thing, When my husband paid our bill he was shocked that it came up to $46.80 not including a tip. 2- Fish and Chips; 1 tea and 1 water. Yes looking back now we should have asked the price since it was unreadable but that was our mistake. Unfortunately I have misplaced the receipt to comfirm all the charges, but the prices are very high and from looking on line at the menu I still cannot come up with that price and it definitely was noy worth almost $50,00.

It was ok. We got the #1 lunch meal. The popcorn shrimp was basic cheap tiny fried bits from a bag…read more I like cheap tiny fried shrimps. I also liked the little hush puppies. My problem was with the fish. The white fish was so thin it was 75% batter. Truthfully long Johns sells a better fried white fish. Our waitress was great. It's just there are better lunch options out there.

We visited for lunch since my colleague was craving seafood before driving back to Knoxville…read more Although this may not be the fanciest or most scenic location for seafood, it does seem to have the highest rating currently on yelp. Decor inside is 80s and 90s with baby blue walls. Ambiance is okay, with carpet and mostly an older crowd on a weekday lunch. I reviewed the menu and saw many fried options, but they also had many broiled options too. I went with the captains platter and colleague went with the fried platter called the fisherman's platter. My colleagues meal was a huge fried platter and I didn't think he could eat it all, turns out I was right but not because it was to nuch food. It was actually just not very good. He kept complaining about the stuffed clams and how rubbery and nearly impossible they are to eat. He is from Louisiana so he knows good seafood, but when we were heading to the car he said the food was basically like Captain Ds...... My seafood was edible but it didn't taste fresh by any means. We were not a fan of the hush puppies, at all. I really didn't like the baked potato either....it wasn't cooked well. The best part of the meal is that the iced tea tasted good.

What a wonderful little roadside cafe - the staff was so friendly and accommodating and the home…read morecooking here is real if not all of it is prepared from scratch all the food is prepared with a love for what they do. We stopped here with friends who have a lot of connections to the area so this was the perfect meal to compliment the time we spent exploring today. This restaurant is simple and the signage and decor represents many of the current events of this community. The lunch special today was a 12 Oz hamburger steak with two sides for $13.95 which is such a bargain in this day and age - most of us chose the lunch special with different sides and the conversations all stopped when the food arrived and only resumed when it was time to order pie. I'm sure all the food here meets the level of our lunch today, it was simply delicious and I envy the people that have access to this restaurant. If your in the area I'd recommend you give them a try...

The food quality was atrocious. They serve instant mashed potatoes even. My founder was disgusting…read more Save your money avoid