Wow, just wow. Everything I had here was delicious! Their whipped feta and mushroom bruschetta appetizer was so so yummy, definitely recommend! For my main dish I got the almond crusted trout with the cucumber dill salad - both were so good id go back just to get the same meal again. I did have a delicious espresso martini as well - that was the perfect pick me up for an early dinner. Def make a reservation as they are a busy place but if you call ahead you're in the clear! read more

See all

I met a friend for dinner here while visiting Lake Junalaska. It's in a quaint downtown like out of a Hallmark movie. Everyone was kind when we entered, and we were seated in about 15 minutes after arriving. The menu has something for everyone. There's free parking throughout the area. Like: okra (crispy); crab cake (nice size); service (kind) read more

See all

I love this place! Every time I visit my parents in NC I ask to eat here one night. They have very unique options but also the classics. Their appetizers are always delicious, main course is a lot of food, and the deserts are to die for! They give you a cheesy garlic biscuit while you wait and they are delicious. Highly recommend this place. read more

The Sweet Onion - New American Near Me - Waynesville, North Carolina

See all

Always an amazing meal. Went for four appetizers and bowls of French Onion soup. The brussels were tasty and cooked perfectly. The onion straws and dip were a table favorite- so tasty! The pimento cheese was so delicious and the sweet potato fries were perfect! Very busy place tonight but still excellent service and meal. read more

The Sweet Onion - Onion straws - New American Near Me - Waynesville, North Carolina

See all

We are in town for a week, and while my wife and MIL have been here before, this is my first time -- it won't be my last! First, the location itself is really unique... years ago this was a Greyhound bus station! The whole asthetic was very unique, and beautifully refurbished. We did have to wait an hour for a table (make a reservation!), but it was comfortable and the staff were ALL very friendly! Once seated, our server Nicole was amazing! We were pretty much ready with our order after looking at the menu while waiting. My MIL and I both got the open faced roast beef sandwich, and both with garlic mashed potatoes. I also got a side salad (soooo good, the candy pecans and ranch, wow!), and she got the French onion soup. It looked great, I'll have to try it next time! My bread was slightly burnt on the edges, and while the au jus that comes with it was ok, we ordered some of the brown gravy (that comes with the meatloaf) and it elevated it so much! If the staff reed this, that would be a smart move! My wife got the 12oz ribeye, and she kindly gave me a few bites. OMG, one of the top 3 steaks I've ever had!!! We both don't like anything on our steaks, and the natural flavor was unbelievable! It was cooked perfectly! All in all, it was a great experience and we WILL be back next time we are in town! read more

See all

I came here for dinner on my bachelor party and it was a rousing success! From service to cocktails to food, all 10/10. The meatloaf is the true star of this menu, something I would definitely recommend. The onion strings were tasty, a little floppy and hard to dip, but flavor was perfect. Definitely a place I will visit again in the Waynesville area. read more

See all

I'm honestly shocked this place doesn't have higher reviews..The Sweet Onion is THAT good. I grew up in Waynesville, North Carolina and visited this summer for an anniversary trip, and this restaurant completely blew both my partner's and my expectations out of the water. We started with the okra (incredible) and a cucumber salad, and everything tasted SO fresh and local. For our entrées, we ordered the steak and the salmon pasta BOTH were absolutely phenomenal. There were so many things we wanted to try on the menu, and our server made the experience even better. They were honest, knowledgeable, and took the time to break down each dish, even down to the smallest ingredients, which really helped us decide. The vibe at The Sweet Onion is intimate and personal without feeling cramped or crowded. It's that perfect balance of casual and upscale! You could easily dress up for a date night or come in more relaxed for drinks and dinner. On top of that, the prices were extremely good for the quality of food and the level of service. I would 100% recommend this spot to both locals and visitors!!! I genuinely think about this place at least once a week, and if I still lived locally, I'd be dining here a few times a month without hesitation. read more

See all

Always good food and service. Love just sitting at bar to eat Part of our rotation for close to 20 years now Never disappoints Good wine selection too and craft beer read more

AMAZING!! We loved the food, service, and atmosphere, Krista was an amazing server thank you so much!! Blackened Catfish Sandwich (8.3/10, delish) Garden salad w Chicken (9/10, loved candied walnuts and a perfect amount of everything!! Exactly what i wanted) Open faced pot roast sandwich (8.5/10, perfectly cooked beef, tender, lean meat, loved horse radish, couldve just been one slice of bread) Blackened shrimp carbonara (8/10, amazing sauce, perfect shrimp, a little oily but delish) read more

See all

One of the best gems in Waynesville! I love this restuarant and had to celebrate my birthday with lunch over here. I had the trout which is always a winner and my husband ordered the salmon picatta which was just as yum! The sides are great to but I usually stich with the cucumber salad or the creamed corn! Great drinks menu and great service too! If you go for lunch, go early when they open. This place gets chockablock quick! Highly recommend! read more

Had an amazing lunch here today. Service was fantastic and the food was delicious. I had a chicken Marsala with mushrooms and country ham (who have thought this would be delicious?) but it was wonderful. Lovely crème brûlée for dessert. read more

Great food & atmosphere Make sure to get reservations Busy for lunch & dinner Service friendly read more

It's cool inside! Every "touch" today was a good one, from the sweet greeter to our waiter, Jeff. This looks like good management. The tea is bright and delicious, and hubby and I both enjoyed our meals. We've been here several times, and there are reasons why we return when we're in town! read more

See all

Food is always delicious. No service shortcuts ever. Bar drinks are never disappointing.

This was my second time going and I'm already looking forward to my next time. The first time I sat at the bar and I had the special and fantastic service. I met some great people as well who were locals, so you know when you have locals that keep coming back that you're in the right place. Last night I took my mother and my best friend and we all got specials. I had the steak dish and they had the seafood dish. Both were outstanding. We also had great service sitting in the restaurant part. The prices are really good considering what you're getting and the quality of food. The flavors were amazing and to end it all, we ordered a dessert. It was an apple crumble with ice cream. Superior restaurant it's definitely gonna be one of my regular spots to visit when I go to Waynesville. read more

See all

Food is wonderful- tasty and comforting. Everyone was friendly and attentive A good place to eat when you are in Waynesville

This is about the ugliest presentation of food I have ever seen. $25. Did anyone ever teach your staff you eat with your eyes? Sad! read more

The Sweet Onion - Steak, shrimp and potatoes. - New American Near Me - Waynesville, North Carolina

Everything was a ten! Food, service, atmosphere, all of it. Best biscuits EVER. Crushes the competition, Trout and pot roast open face Sammy were both spot on. Double espresso martinis? Tied for best ever . Crème brulee and apple crust? Superior. Thank you Sweet Onion - we have decided your restaurant is our stand by regular. read more

Had lunch here for the first time. Two of my favorite foods were on the menu, so that's what I had. Crab cakes and French onion soup. The soup was possibly the best I've ever had and the crab was also very good. The only complaint was I thought they could be a little more generous for the price $$$. The server was on point and the restaurant is lovely. Recommended! read more

Food is very good. Service has always been friendly. Reservations are a good idea, as it can be slow as a walk- in.

This is our favorite local restaurant. We have eaten here many times, and every meal has been delicious! Whenever we have guests in town, this is where we take them. From the creamy French Onion soup to the prime rib, and everything in between has been so tasty. read more

The server was horrible, had a bad attitude from the beginning. Said she's bring biscuits out, never came. The food I ordered was so salty. The rest of the food was blah. What is the big deal? Better places to go eat. read more

From the moment we stepped in, the warm glow of the dining room and the buzz of conversation set the perfect tone for a truly Southern-meets-modern feast. We kicked off with the Southern Fried Chicken--each bite crackled with golden crispiness and was drizzled in a tangy house-made honey-hot sauce that balanced sweet and heat flawlessly. Then came the Fresh Mountain Trout, seared to perfection, its delicate flesh brightened by a zesty lemon-butter emulsion and topped with sautéed local greens. Our server recommended the house-made Southern Pecan Pie for dessert, and it was fantastic. Cocktails were equally stellar. My wife's Blackberry Smash arrived in a frosted glass, bursting with muddled berries and just the right kiss of mint, while my crisp Bourbon Lemonade hit that sweet-tart mark flawlessly. Service was impeccable: attentive without hovering, warm without rushing. Prices are very reasonable for the quality and creativity here; this meal felt like a grand indulgence that didn't break the bank. All in all, we had an excellent 3 day getaway to Waynesville and we will be back soon! read more

We have dined at The Sweet Onion a few more times since my last review. The place is consistently excellent from the food, to the service, to the cleanliness of the dining areas. The portion sizes are huge so you really get two meals out of it every time. We had dessert for the first time and it was awesome. We split a Crème Brûlée, and an apple crisp with ice cream. Wow, they were exceptional!! We have never had a bad meal here. We have never had bad service. The restaurant has always been clean. They even box up your leftovers for you. That's a nice touch. The Sweet Onion is definitely one of the best restaurants in town. read more

Everything was perfect at the Sweet Onion! The food is always amazing, the service is great and the feeling is very upscale! We live in Florida but always go to the Sweet Onion when we're vacationing in the mountains. We've never gotten anything that wasn't delicious, I especially love the creme brûlée and have been known to order more than one . read more

Let me first start by saying that a 3-star review is not a bad review, and in my experienced opinion it was average. Lots of hype about this place. We walked by and looked at the menu and saw several possibilities for a dinner so we made our reservations. We were seated within 5 minutes of our reservation time. Our server came to our table and it felt like we were being hurried to make our dinner choices. We both ordered the French Onion Soup for a starter. The cheese was delicious but the broth itself was extremely salty. I could not finish it. My wife ordered the beer-battered shrimp with fries. She asked to substitute the fries with mashed potatoes but was told it was not possible, so she ordered mashed as a $5 side. The shrimp were tasty but the coleslaw was bitter and had way too much pepper. I ordered the bacon wrapped meatloaf atop mashed cheddar cheese potatoes, with onion rings on top and an au jus. My first bite was the meatloaf with a piece of bacon. It was too salty so I removed the bacon altogether. I then took a piece of meatloaf and swirled it in the au jus ... it was so salty that all I could taste was salt. Our server asked how our meals were and I told her I could not finish my entree. She offered to replace it but I declined. (She did remove the charge from our tab). I should have ordered a pasta dish which I will do next time. Every restaurant has a misfire now and then. I hope the chef and staff, after reading this review, will rethink the amount of salt that goes into a dish. One of a chef's mantras should be "what you add, you can never remove." read more

The Sweet Onion - French Onion soup - New American Near Me - Waynesville, North Carolina

See all

My mom and I are from Robbinsville and come to waynesville once or twice a month. Sweet Onion is one of our favorites. I had the pimento cheese chicken sandwich, and French onion soup. Delicious. My mom's favorite was probably the espresso martini. Friendly wait staff. Great atmosphere read more

See all

Ate here for the first time this weekend - had a wonderful experience! The hostess was so kind, our server was great. We definitely plan to come back. Breakdown of our dinner: started with the pimento cheese and fried saltines - really delicious. The pimento wasn't heavy - almost had a light flavor to it in the best way. I think there were chives or green onions added which was a great surprise flavor. We also ordered the tuna crispy rice. Perfect texture on the rice, and the tuna, avocado and sauce were great. Only thought is it was lacking some seasoning or umami. The spicy sauce needed some extra soy and the sushi rice could have had a tad more salt to the rice vinegar mixture before frying. Overall good and I would probably order again. The sweet onion soup was fantastic. If you're hoping for a classic French onion soup, this is completely different, so order it knowing that it's not traditional - it's their take on it. But this soup should be in its own category! Perfectly balanced and seasoned with lots of herbs and a great creaminess. The Swiss on top was delicious, too. Tasty pivot from Gruyère. This was probably my favorite thing I ordered! Then I had the corn and shrimp gnocchi which was very delicious. Good combo of flavors and textures. Also could have been slightly more savory to balance the sweetness of the corn - maybe a little more parm or finishing salt on top to complete the dish. I would order again. Also had the cheddar biscuits - was very excited about these but they were crunchy, dry, and lacking flavor. Maybe ours were just over-baked. Might be best paired with a sweet honey butter of some sort rather than a salted butter. Overall wonderful experience and we look forward to coming back to try some more dishes. read more

I'll give it five stars because the food was good and our waitress was amazing. We started with the Fried Saltines & Mixed Nut Encrusted Pimento Cheese. The Pimento Cheese was tasty, however I was not a fan of the fried saltines, however my friend really liked them. My friend had the Lemon Grass Grilled Chicken Salad which she said was very good. She especially liked the Thai Peanut dressing. I had the Pecan Chicken Salad Melt with the Green Chile Cheddar Cream Corn. I have to admit it was a lot of food! The chicken salad is delicious. The sandwich comes with bacon, lettuce and cheese. I might have liked it better without the cheese and bacon, but still it was delicious. Cream corn was different, but I really liked it. The cheese topping was really different, but tasty. Our waitress was great - givings us space, but still making sure we were giving excellent attention and care. Give it a try - I'm sure you won't be disappointed. read more

The Sweet Onion - PECAN CHICKEN SALAD MELT 14.5 - New American Near Me - Waynesville, North Carolina

See all

Dinner was delicious and the service was on point, Our group really truly enjoyed it. Definitely will return.

If you are in the area this restaurant was worth visiting. The crab cakes are phenomenal! All the dishes our group had were delicious from the meatloaf, to the short ribs and the trout. Service was excellent as well. read more

The Sweet Onion - New American Near Me - Waynesville, North Carolina

We have had great meals here in the past but last night kitchen was having challenges. Virtually all surrounding customers sent food back including us advise they retain the quality kitchen help as there are many other choices in town. read more

First time eating at this nice restaurant in Waynesville. Nice to find a town that wants to encourage business and customers with plenty of free 3 hour parking. We arrived just after 11:30 am on a Tuesday and people were already lined up to be seated. By 12:15 pm many seats were taken. The sound level was quiet for the number of patrons. Dinner rolls were light and savory. The onion soup was delicious and unique. The first spoonful was salty but after that it tasted fine. Plenty of melted cheese and a broth that was a bit creamy. We split the chicken parmesan sandwich and fried mozzarella, tomato and lettuce salad. Both were well prepared and tasted okay, but nothing outstanding. We did enjoy the sweet potato fries that came as a side with the sandwich. read more

The Sweet Onion - View from our table looking at the booths - New American Near Me - Waynesville, North Carolina

See all

We've always had a great meal here but today was meh. The service was great but I had the plainest, more boring ahi tuna bowl ever. Served with non-seasoned raw slices of cucumber, shredded carrots, and a few edamame and chickpeas, and some mashed avocado. The tuna was fine but again, not seasoned one bit. There was a bit of soy sauce on the side. Sure was healthy - but soooo boring. Husband's burger was fine, nothing special. I doubt we will go back. read more

The food is awesome. The service is excellent. The ambiance is the best in Haywood County. Make reservations. It's not to be missed. read more

We called for a Saturday lunch and luckily were able to sit before the time quoted. The onion soup was good- I wasn't a huge fan of the creaminess- I'm a stickler for the standard French Onion I guess. The cheese on top was prefect amount and consistency. The salad was good and I liked the candied pecans- the lemongrass vinaigrette was amazing. A bit small of a salad for price but flavorful. I added a crab cake and it was delicious. You can see into kitchen and understand it may be hard to wear a mask back there. I only saw one person in kitchen (out of 4 men) wearing correctly and consistently. When our order was up, I saw the ticket thrown onto my plate. The manager who ran food removed ticket then brought to table. Our server was great. So my only big complaint was kitchen- especially when guests can see what's happening make good choices! Food 5 stars, Service 3 read more

See all

Just adding to our five star review! The Amelia martini, and the blackberry margarita were divine! read more

The Sweet Onion - Cocktail Menu - New American Near Me - Waynesville, North Carolina

See all

This place was pretty good. We sat at the bar since you need a reservation to have table seating and the bartenders did a good job with staying on top of our drinks. They did try to keep pushing their seafood on us but being in that I have lived near the ocean most of my life I was a little hesitant to believe their seafood was that fresh that far from the ocean. I had the black angus burger medium rare which was cooked really well. The only complaint I had was that they shredded their lettuce like McDonalds where as most nicer restaurants have leaf lettuce on their burgers so it doesn't just come falling out. Other than was pretty good. read more

I love the sweet onion. The food is always good. I've been going for years and it's never been an unpleasant experience. The only time I'm bothered when I have to wait for a table. They also have a really nice bar and the service is always excellent. read more

My parents treated us to lunch at Sweet Onion on our first full day visiting the area, and it was a lovely meal. Just off the main street of downtown Waynesville, it was crowded enough on a Saturday afternoon that I was glad they'd thought to make a reservation. The space is bright and lovely, and service was friendly. Food is a rather traditional Southern menu at first glance, with a decidedly upscale take. We had: --panko shrimp appetizer: some of the better fried shrimp that I've tried, and we were visiting from Florida. Crispy exterior, juicy interior, and the ginger plum sauce was great. --shrimp and grits: I'd absolutely order this again. Shrimp were excellent. Grit cakes were delicious, cooked perfectly and a nice textural twist on the traditional bowl of grits. The sauce was wonderful. I was expecting chopped bacon mixed in but the slices were crisp excellence. --chicken fried steak: my husband loved it. An easy dish to make but a hard one to do well. The gravy was on point. --pecan encrusted trout: my dad said this was delicious, and he loved the sauce. --open faced pot roast: tender beef, excellent gravy, not much more you can ask for. --sides: fried okra was tasty, not slimy at all. Apparently the cucumber tomato salad was excellent. If I was a local I'd absolutely be a regular. read more

The Sweet Onion - Shrimp & grits (cake) - New American Near Me - Waynesville, North Carolina