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!

Have to say I'm local but never went here because of old mixed reviews…read more Went last Sunday, and have to say service and food was fast. The portions are huge for a very reasonable price. Had the flounder, oysters and shrimp. Plus hush puppies. Could only eat half at lunch. Air fried the rest for dinner. Was excellent, thought I was at the coast.

Haven't been here in a number of years but this place is easily better than four stars. I don't…read moreknow what those one star givers were on, but look at the number of reviews they've given and you can see for yourself they are nothing but complainers. We were here on a Sunday and Candice our server was awesome. I had three cups of coffee and never had to ask. I had a regular catfish plate that was huge. It came with a baked potato and delicious Cole slaw. There were hush puppies that were very tasty too. The wife had a shrimp special with large tasty shrimp & slaw, plus potato. Our friends had the flounder that was also great. I might say that this catfish may have been the best I ever had! Food, service, and atmosphere were fabulous.

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.

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.

From the moment we walked in, the entire staff was incredibly friendly. A team effort for sure…read more Seth our server was so polite and very helpful in recommending some options. Both my husband and myself ordered a steak, him a New York and I had the filet. Both were cooked to order and very flavorful. The salads were awesome as we could build our own! We were sat in what I would call the atrium area and it was quite nice with the natural light. We will come back here the next time we come to Boone.

Full disclosure: our reservation was at 8pm after graduation…read more Unfortunately, we did not have the best experience. The Caesar salad was underwhelming. The mozzarella sticks had very little cheese. Two of our steaks were undercooked. One was ordered well and was given rare. The other was ordered medium and was given rare. They did fix them after requested. The steak did not have enough seasoning. About 5 or 6 different servers kept coming to our table every few minutes asking if we needed anything or if they could refill our water. The disruption of conversations from being constantly asked negatively affected our experience. While I understand our reservation was later in the night and that this could have been the reason for this poor experience, I had higher expectations for this steakhouse. Sadly, this was an enough to deter me from coming back. Every server was pleasant though.

First night in blowing rock we got a rez here. Such a beautiful inn and restaurant and great…read moreservice. I had the halibut and chose acorn squash (all entrees come with mashed potatoes too). Delicious! One got steak au poivre and it was highly peppered but so tasty. One got steak and crab cake. One got Parmesan crusted chicken. Everything was so good! We brought home their signature banana cream pie and a peanut butter pie. Both great!

Make reservations months in advance for this gem! Located in an old stone manor, the Best Cellar is…read morethe best restaurant in Blowing Rock! The rack of lamb and buttermilk chicken are some of my favorites. The staff are very professional and seem to continue working there for years. The renovated the gathering area to make a rustic, yet upscale bar. Parking is not a problem because they offer valet.

Kim seafood shack is fantastic. Has a lot assortment of seafood as well as some sweet tooth…read moreoptions. I'm definitely a person that likes little mom and pops place and this is definitely it in central South Carolina beautiful location.

Very affordable restaurant for breakfast. Was not busy and the food came out quick. Has great…read moreoptions including bologna and liver mush!

Oof! This place is top notch yummmyyyy! After a long day on the slopes of Sugar Mountain, Puerto…read moreNuevo was conveniently located right on the corner as you exit. My family and I were hungry and are also TexMex lovers, so we had to stop in. We all agreed this place was great! We ordered fajitas and two quesadillas (chicken and cheese only). The quesadillas were probably the best I've ever had, and the fajitas were delicious. Everything was seasoned on point. Service was great. Very attentive and made sure we always had chips and our beverages filled. Food also came pretty quickly, especially considering they were pretty busy. The restaurant is also decorated very nicely! It had a really cute bar, and I loved the salsa bar!! Prices were reasonable, as well. If you like good Mexican you MUST try this place out. You can thank me later ;)

We kept seeing this place so we decided to give it a try. They started us out with tortilla chips…read moreand refried bean dip which seemed weird to me and not a good combination. It wasn't a good combination. I didn't realize that if I wanted salsa I had to get it from a bar they had in the back of the seating area. That was weird, but okay. I'm not from this area and I'm used to being offered mild and spicy salsa with my tortilla chips, but whatever. I had a chicken enchilada with a beef taco, Mexican rice and refried beans. It was okay, but again, different from what I'm used to. The main issue I had was with the flavor of the chicken. The taste was off and I really didn't eat much of it. That was disappointing. The taco was okay. Nothing out of the ordinary. My husband had a chicken quesadilla with Mexican rice and guacamole salad. He said it was just okay. Nothing memorable. Overall, we probably won't return here if we find ourselves in the area again. I didn't appreciate that in addition to the price of this mediocre food there was a "service charge" on the bill. Nope. Won't be returning.

I am sorry that there are no pictures for this review. My hungry family ate the pizzas before I…read morecould even take a picture. Make sure you get the Greek calzone. It is absolutely the most amazing thing. The pretzel with the beer cheese is out of this world. Pretty pretty pretty please do not sleep on the Cole's white pie. We added meatballs! We did take out and the wait was 45 minutes.... BUT SO WORTH IT!!!!! If you are in town go here! Trust!

After reading a lot of the reviews in hindsight ,I'm sorry I didn't read them before we ordered. My…read morebad. I struggled between 1 or 2 stars only because it wasn't completely terrible,BUT... the things that were not right about our order could have and should have been avoided by a restaurant of this scale. We ordered by Door Dash after 2 days of traveling and outings as we were tired. The food did come very quickly and very hot. One meal was spaghetti and meatballs and was described as fair in taste. I ordered the Tortellini Carbonara(it wasn't great but not terrible) that came with a side. I chose soup. I was given 2 choices of soups and what was sent appeared to be French onion soup......NOT even one of the 2 choices. I don't know when it became ok to assume let's just send whatever when someone has paid a lot of money for just OK food. I didn't send them Canadian cash to pay for it .To top it off not one utensil was in with the order.even though the address on the order clearly stated were in a local hotel. And yes you guess it, one and done!