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.

On our annual trip to Blowing Rock in May, we had to visit Speckled Trout twice. We love their…read morelow-carb options combined with their custom crafted cocktails, this place is a must-visit for every trip to Blowing Rock. Their cocktails are crafted with homemade syrups, and change seasonally. I had the Garden in Tibet--a delicious drink with gin, Prosecco, sugar snap pea syrup (!), green elixir syrup, elderflower liquor, and lemon. You'd think this could be a too-sweet drink, but it was PERFECT. My husband had the Which Damascus the first time, with rye whiskey, cherry basil syrup, hickory syrup, Amaro Montenegro, Tiki bitters, Peychaud bitters, and orange. He enjoyed it, but I thought it was definitely too sweet. He had a Garden in Tibet on our second visit, and preferred the Tibet to the Damascus drink. We love their unique smoked trout deviled eggs as an appetizer. This dish has two eggs filled with smoked trout, and three filled with a deviled egg mixture. The accompanying house hot sauce is so good! For our entrees, we both had hickory-smoked trout on the first visit Mine was definitely saltier than his. We had three sides--collard greens, smoked Gouda grits (our favorite), and corn, hominy, yellow squash & chile hash (so fresh and delicious!). On our second visit, I had the almond and cornmeal-crusted trout with the smoked Gouda grits, and my husband tried their fried chicken sandwich with slaw. He absolutely loved the sandwich--the chicken was thick, juicy, and very tender. He'll definitely get the sandwich again. Service is always good at Speckled Trout, and I love that we can pay with ApplePay at the table via the Toast handheld. We can't wait to return.

Not open when they said they were open. Disappointing since the menu looked good. It is tucked…read moreaway so a bit hard to find.

Beautiful location, tucked inside the heart of blowing rock in the middle of a quaint garden. The…read morephotos on this site are quite unappealing but i have to say the food was outstanding. Soft and flavorful eggs, perfect coffee, addictive hashbrown casserole, delicious bacon.. just amazing. They did forget the syrup in my latte :(, but it was good nonetheless. To top it all off the service was delightful, our server was Aden but the hostess and manager were just as great. Highly recommend breakfast at Cupcrazed if you're looking for a peaceful location and yummy start to your day.

Great experience! We went on a Thursday night and they were quickly able to seat our large party!…read more They have lots of beer options and had a variety of food options. The southern fried chicken sandwich was really good! As far as sides- they only have 2 options- chips or green beans but the chips were homemade and delicious! The server was very quick and attentive and the vibes in the restaurant were fun! They also have plenty of outdoor seating.

After a long day hiking, we made our way down from Grandfather mountain, enjoyed the views along…read morethe Blue Ridge Parkway as we drove to Blowing Rock. We found parking on a side street near Blowing Rock Brewing, so decided to enjoy a drink and get some lunch. We were seated quickly, near a heater, which was nice to help us warm up after being on the mountain. A waiter came by with menus to take our order. We asked for some suggestions, but he was a little less than enthused to offer advise. They had a good variety of beers, so my wife and I each got one, and shared them. We got the Pina Colada Kolsch and the Cloud Rise Hazy Ipa. Both were tasty, the Pina Colada Kolsch had a much stronger pineapple flavor than I expected, but in a good way. For food we started with the white cheddar poblano, which I expected to be more of a liquid queso for some reason. It was instead for of a soft, spread, which was really good, and paired well with the chips. And then we split the Turkey Reuben, which I figured would be made with deli meat, instead, it was warm, cooked chunks of turkey, really great flavor, and hit the spot for us. The sides with the sandwiches were a bit lacking, only offering hot chips, and green beans....I've never gotten the whole hot chip craze, but green beans just seamed like too odd of a side option for a sandwich It was a good visit, and a good meal, to get us back on our feet. Overall, a nice space, with bar seating, a back room, a back and front patio, plenty of space to hang out, relax and enjoy their beer. Food and drink were both good and worth a visit if you're in the area.

limited menu.Food was delicious. my husband had the trout and he loved it. I had the bison…read moreBolognanase. a little heavy on the salt. pasta could have been cook a minute or so more. bread butter amazing. we also had r the Burrata dish. delicious but you def need the bread with it. service was Fabulous well informed staff.

Went for Christmas lunch and it was AWFUL. Just AWFUL. Minimal offerings with a carving "station"…read morethat only offered bloody roast beef. Weird salad, of sorts. Cold popovers. Hard bread smeared with some cream cheese and topped with 2 whole red grapes. Scalloped potatoes cooked to mush, canned yams with some marshmallows melted on top, green bean something from cans, "creamed" spinach that was thawed frozen chopped spinach with breadcrumbs on top-- nothing "creamed" about it. Half the buffet was hours-old leftover breakfast items like rubbery scrambled eggs, dry grits, and -- the worst-- alarmingly undercooked quiche served refrigetator-cold. Thought of the quiche still makes me a little queasy. Dessert station was weirdly dominated by no fewer than five whole buttermilk pies -- the only pie offered. SHAME ON CHETOLA for even offering this, and at upwards of $100 per person. My fault for not checking recent reviews but it is hard to see how anything could go downhill as far as Timblerlake's has. Ugh. Just terrible.

We stopped here on a beautiful spring Sunday morning, and it was the perfect way to start the day…read morebefore exploring Blowing Rock. There's so much to do in the area, and this was a great first stop. The food was excellent, the service was excellent, and the menu had a really nice variety. We sat outside on the patio, which made the whole experience even better on such a nice morning. I ordered the blackened shrimp salad, and it was outstanding. It was a very large salad loaded with fresh vegetables, some fruit, and plenty of blackened shrimp. Everything tasted fresh, flavorful, and well prepared.

Solid tavern in the downtown area of Blowing Rock…read more We popped in here as we were having a bit of a Sunday Funday and got beers and a round of shots. The service was friendly, and the pricing was cheap. While I noticed they did have food, we didn't eat. It seems to be loved by locals though, because it was packed on a Sunday afternoon.

Not much beats some green beer, scotch eggs and Irish music on St Patty's in an Irish pub in…read moredowntown Blowing Rock. Great selection of beers, drinks, regular food items and of course Irish food at this fun spot right on Main St. I had an Irish ale turned green that was cold one tasty. They even turned my wife's cider green which was a nice addition to the day's celebration. The scotch eggs were delicious. Hard boiled eggs wrapped in flavorful sausage that are baked and then served chilled. The dressing and dipping sauce went perfectly with the dish. Really a fun spot all around with great service, fun and hip atmosphere whether it's St. Patrick's Day or not. We'll be back!

A group of us had an early dinner here and I have to say everyone's dish was absolutely wonderful…read morewith large portions! I ordered the fish and chips which was reasonably priced given how much I received in the order. See the pic. The fish consisted of 3 large pieces of fish! The picture doesn't do it justice. I had leftovers for the next day. My husband ordered the salmon with wild rice and collard greens. He said the salmon and rice were amazing. The collard greens were what you might expect for collard greens but still good and healthy. :-) This was one of our best meals while in Blowing Rock. You don't want to miss this place.

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.

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!

The service and the food are incredible, and when there's enough light outside the views are…read moreunparalleled. Great music selection too. I had one of the best steaks of my life, served to me on a log. They were also very accommodating with allergies and preferences.

Excellent food and wine. Very quaint with beautiful views. All the staff are helpful and very…read morefriendly .

Food, service and ambiance is perfect!! My whole family loves coming here for anything they make…read more My go to spot for lunch and dinner and the bar area is the best. If you know, you know!! Make a reservation and take someone special you both will have an excellent experience.

We went to dinner here while in the area. It was a cozy setting with a great atmosphere inside…read more However, they sat us on the closed-in patio by a window which ended up being a little too chilly. For my dinner I ordered the Wood Fried Brussels. The Brussel sprouts were not caramelized like I had at other places but it was very good and probably healthier. There were a lot of good flavors with the beets, candied pepitas, pickled peppers and the saffron aioli. I would recommend this dish. Others at the table ordered the Cobb Salad, classic wedge with salmon, & the Artisan pizza. Unfortunately, the salmon was not completely cooked so it went uneaten. Two people in our party ordered diet cokes which were fountain drinks. The diet cokes were not good because there was no carbonation. The pizza and Cobb salad were good. If you eat here during the colder months, I recommend asking for a seat inside. That seemed like it would have been a cozier experience.

Twigs consistently provides delicious meals! The Thursday night bar filet is to die for! The steaks…read moreare always cooked perfectly. There was only one server in the bar area, but she did an amazing job if keeping all the balls in the air. This is more of an adult type of restaurant, with a cozy mountain vibe.

I have been eating at Twigs for 25 years. It was one of my favorite restaurants. Our experience…read morelast night was WAY off. Our server was amazing, our wine and salads were great. Our food was not up to par. The tuna was way too spicy (not eatable) and the trout (which is usually my favorite) had no flavor at all. Everyone has an off night and I totally get that BUT the worst part is when I called and tried to talk to the manager about it; she completely blew me off. She told me she had a hard time believing me because not one other customer had complained about their food. She also said I should have told her. We did tell our server. I didn't want compensation or anything, I simply wanted her to know because it wasn't their typical. She apparently is not interested in repeat customers. By the way this is the first google review I've ever done of this nature. Typically, a manager is interested in the verbal feedback of a customer. Her attitude with me last night squelched our desire to ever go back. (FYI.... based on our conversation last night: if you have an oyster allergy you need to tell them. Most of their dishes are cross contaminated because, in their words: "Due to a small kitchen, items are stored together and everything is fried in the same grease, including the fried green tomatoes.") I'll stop before I tell you about our burnt pecan blondie.