Make reservations months in advance for this gem! Located in an old stone manor, the Best Cellar is the 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. read more

The Best Cellar - Filet, crab cake, mashed potatoes and acorn squash - New American Near Me - Blowing Rock, North Carolina

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First night in blowing rock we got a rez here. Such a beautiful inn and restaurant and great service. 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! read more

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This was such a nice experience. We were able to snag some last minute items reservations which was a win. Initially we were told we were going to sit in the bar area which was fine considering we booked late, however, when we got there, they seated us in the Cellar dinning area. We went down the stairs and a nice quaint and romantic space was waiting for us. They really had a nice ambiance, including soft music. On to the food. We ordered the starter sampler which was a special for the night including oysters Rocafella, shrimp cocktail and crab cake. The oysters were my favorite and the crab cake was my least. (I'm from MD so unless it's Maryland blue lump crab cake it's not good to me) For entree we both couldn't pass up the scallops. It came with red skinned potatoes and asparagus. The scallops were delicious and huge! The drinks are nice and strong. I would def go back to try the other entrees. read more

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As a pescetarian and vegetarian, I like to sample a lot of food from the sea or lake. I enjoy ordering mussels, shrimp, oysters, Ahi Tuna, walleye, etc. The dinner I had at Best Cellar was the best seafood that I have had in a very long time. My appetizer was the best version of mussels that I have had during the past 20-30 years. The Ahi Tuna was remarkably tasty with the different "dipping sauces." For dessert, I had a towering piece of banana cream pie. This dessert has been on their menu since 1975. What can they do to top this meal for their 50th Anniversary? I am looking forward to answering that question during 2025. read more

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We had a fantastic experience here on our trip to blowing rock. Started out with the oysters Rockefeller. They were good. The cream on top was interesting different but still good. Service was so on point. All of the martinis were great. The duck was very, very good, especially served with the roasted acorn squash. The only thing that was a disappointment was the garden salad really not worth it but everything else was a great experience. read more

Excellent service by our server who was very friendly and knowledgeable. Loved the ambiance and atmosphere. Our appetizer was the highlight of the meal! Very well prepared seafood to be in the mountains. I could have made that my whole meal. The NC mountain trout was delicious as well as the filet mignon. The sides of green beans and stuffed zucchini were just okay- could have used more flavor. Overall experience was great. Banana cream pie was very good as well for dessert! read more

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Liked the ambiance! Pretty cool old place. You can look through the picture book they have in the waiting area. There's a lot to just look at while you wait, and the bar is next to the sitting area. The food was awesome. The acorn squash was almost a dessert in itself with how sweet it was, and the filet was tender but man did I underestimate the bite of that peppercorn! I also got the pepper-jelly vinaigrette on my salad...had to pass that to my husband because it *also* has a good bite I wasn't ready for lol. It was a fun and nice experience :) read more

The Best Cellar - Certified Angus Filet au Poivre, Acorn Squash - New American Near Me - Blowing Rock, North Carolina

We have enjoyed The Best Cellar many times over the years and it remains consistently good. This time we had a small group and sat in the cellar. It was a bit chilly but not unbearable. We ordered three different steaks, each person preferring their choice, which was a bit humorous as the idea was to share. Each steak was cooked to perfection and had great flavor. For desert we ordered the banana cream pie. You can tell how good it was given the lack of a picture. Did not have a chance! The service was outstanding as well. If you are in Blowing Rock this is a great place. read more

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We had a wonderful dinner at The Best Cellar two weeks ago in Blowing Rock. The service and food were absolutely top notch!! For cocktails my wife went with the Vanilla Lemon Drop and I went with the Lavender Old Fashioned. Both were delicious. For appetizers we started off with orders of the Oyster Spinach Salad and the Sea Scallops. Both were fresh and tasty. The scallops were huge and were cooked perfectly. The oysters were lightly fried and delicious. For dinner my wife went with the short ribs and I got the bone in rib eye. Both were great!! The garlic topping on my steak really made the flavor of the meat "pop." For desert, yeah it was a cheat day, we got the chocolate cheesecake and a couple of cappuccinos which finished off our meal nicely. We had a really nice experience here at this establishment and will definitely visit it again we we are in Blowing Rock. read more

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My friend and I traveled to Blowing Rock for my birthday getaway. While on the way, we saw great reviews for The Best Cellar so we decided to go there for dinner. When we walked in the vibe was off. There was a couple sitting in church pews at the front, who would turn around and laugh. It was strange. Overall, the restaurant was not busy and had many open tables. We were greeted by the hostess and requested a table for 2. She looks at the sheet of paper and asked if we had a reservation. We did not. She then goes to ask what I assume to be the owner if they have any availability. They both return and tell us no. I asked if we could sit at the bar and she said yes, but they do not serve dinner. She then proceeds to say "you can squeeze in the two seats by the door". Everything about the interaction and ambience was not welcoming. I'm very disappointed and will not be back. We ended up going to a brewery down the street for my "birthday" dinner. read more

Great menu, lovely setting, good food, Good service. nice music on the lawn in summer.

If I could give this restaurant TEN stars I would. The experience my husband and I had here, from beginning to end, was perfect -- from Harmony our waitress to the ambience of the Best Cellar to our incredibly excellent entrees. Let's start at the beginning. The restaurant is part of an Inn so when you enter you see a cozy room with books and comfortable seating area. The restaurant has two dining areas, the upstairs and the downstairs which is similar to a grotto. I have to admit at first I was a little disappointed we were not seated in the main dining room (found out you need to request this when making a reservation). But when our host brought us down, I was enchanted. It's an intimate space with five tables set far apart from each other. It's actually the wine cellar but heated cozily on this cold night. Then our waitress Harmony came to take our orders. What a delight this waitress was - personable and efficient. No problems she could not solve cheerfully. What a difference from all the wait staff we have encountered in our years of dining who thought the diners should be grateful to have them as a waiter instead of actually providing service for their tips. When hearing it was our first time, Harmony gave us a short history of the grotto we were in and then proceeded to make our dinner probably one of the top five we've had and we have travelled all over the world and eaten at many so-called Michelin rated restaurants. My husband cannot eat shellfish and dairy. This is a first class restaurant and half the menu is shellfish or incorporates shellfish and butter based sauces. My husband had his heart set on rack of lamb but it had a butter based sauce and he cannot eat dairy. No problem!! Harmony went to talk to the chef a couple times and brought not one but three non dairy sauces for the lamb!!!! Which probably needs no sauce because it is so expertly grilled. But I am getting ahead of myself. The Best Cellar has one of the most extensive wine lists I've ever seen outside an ultra expensive snobbish French restaurant. And a list of drink cocktails - I had an excellent one and my poor husband declined because he is the driver and we had a half hour return through winding dark mountain roads home. But if we had stayed at one of the hotels/motels in town we would have definitely had a bottle of wine. All entrees come with a choice of mashed potatoes and a side of choice. Or two sides if you don't want the potatoes. I ordered the duckling with stuffed zucchini and asparagus with hollandaise and hubby ordered the rack of lamb with garlic sautéed green beans and acorn squash. You can order a side salad for an extra few dollars. Nice size. Excellent blue cheese dressing for me and a dressing of pepper jam for hubby which was unique and soooooo delicious. My duckling in raspberry sauce was so incredibly good -- crispy skin, melt in your mouth duckling, that I'm still dreaming about it as I write this review. My husband's lamb was so good and perfectly cooked he was picking the meat off the bones. For desert we had the banana cream pie - trust me, you will think you died and went to heaven. I hope I did not miss anything as I write this review. We will definitely be back to try the halibut which is another often requested entree and some of the other entrees. We can ask for Harmony to be our waitress and we will!! What a delightful dining experience from start to finish!! Kudos to the restaurant manager for running such a tight ship read more

Great experience!!! We were seated quickly, ordered an incredible bottle of wine and the seafood sampler appetizer. All were great including the lobster bisque. My wife had a jumbo shrimp pasta dish that was very good and plentiful. My Daughter, who turned 22 this evening, got the petite filet and said it was the best she'd ever had. I had the lamb chops which were cooked perfectly and tasted amazing! Seeing that it was our celebratory dinner for a Birthday, our Anniversary and Father's Day, the restaurant offered us a complimentary three desert plate of crème brûlée, banana cream pie and chocolate cheesecake. We enjoyed great food, wonderful service and reasonable Prices for such an incredible experience. We will definitely be back! read more

The Best Cellar - New American Near Me - Blowing Rock, North Carolina

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The best restaurant in blowing rock ! Love the staff . The duck is probably my favorite

While we've been visiting Blowing Rock for almost ten years, and my husband and I have never tried The Best Cellar, mainly because of some of the negative reviews I've read here on Yelp. I'm really glad we decided to try them for my birthday, because the food and service were outstanding! The Best Cellar has a sizable menu with a lot of options, making it hard to select your courses. We started with the burrata and lobster bisque. They do include a house salad with every meal which you can replace with any of their appetizers for a small upcharge (hence the two prices on the appetizers on their menu). I did that for the lobster bisque. The burrata was a not-to-be-missed dish, full of flavors that blended well together. It was also large enough for sharing. My lobster bisque was thick, but delicious. For our entrees, I had the halibut and my husband had the short ribs. The halibut was absolutely delicious, topped with a creamy Gouda sauce and slivered almonds. It was cooked perfectly, and I scooped up every bit of that sauce. I chose asparagus with hollandaise as my side (along with their standard mashed potatoes), and the sides were good as well. My husband's short ribs literally fell off the bones (he got two of them). They were cooked perfectly, and he enjoyed the Gorgonzola added on top. His sides were the Mediterranean beets and garlic green beans, both of which he enjoyed. Since it was my birthday, we indulged in a slice of their triple chocolate cheesecake, their special for the night. It was perfect for sharing, and we loved it. When the server learned we were there for my birthday, she removed the charge from our bill. How nice! I cannot forget to mention the drinks. I had a vodka French martini, and I daresay it was the best one I've EVER had. It was so good, I got two of them (which I NEVER do). Finally, I need to mention our server. I cannot remember her name, but she was delightful. She was always there when we needed her, but was also unobtrusive. Our courses were delivered at perfect intervals, making the service just exceptional all around. We'll definitely return to The Best Cellar during our next visit to Blowing Rock! read more

We were away for a girls trip and excited to have a nice night out. The grounds are lovely and worth seeing for sure. We had reservations for 7:15 but arrived at 7:05 and asked to wait until our time even though there were vacant tables. That was fine. We were seated and ordered cocktails. It took quite some time but again it was fine, we weren't in a hurry. We ordered filet and 2 salmon dinner in our group. The food was fine enough, nothing to rave about. The stuffed zucchini somehow really don't have any flavor for all the components listed on the menu. Again it was fine. We finished our meals, we finished our cocktails and watched our waiter visit the tables next to us 2 separate times without asking us about more drinks or dessert. Finally he came back over but at that point we were annoyed. Personally I don't eat out and higher end restaurants often but was looking forward to that extra attention to making our night something special and it just wasn't. I think that's the first "girls dinner" that we all only had one cocktail. That's the fun of it - getting a rental in walking distance and enjoying extra drinks and ambiance in a nice spot. It just missed the mark 100%. read more

We had several beautiful meals there where we felt like we were truly having a dining experience with knowledgeable and attempted staff that wasn't trying to shove a check in our face every five minutes. The bacon wrapped dates are exquisite. We've had nothing but beautiful meals here. Thank you so much. read more

Every item on the menu is amazing, and the staff is extremely courteous. If you are visiting the mountains, this is a great place to stop in. However, you do have to get a reservation. read more

Had an amazing dinner here! Do not pass up the chicken... Best chicken dish I've ever had! My fiancé for his birthday had the steak and it did not disappoint either. We had a great time. read more

My fiancé and I went there for her birthday. The valet didn't take our truck and just waived us through. The service from Ri was great. I had the fillet and she had the veal. Drinks were on point. Oysters Rockefeller was also great. We made reservations prior to our trip. read more

The Best Cellar - Oysters Rockefeller - New American Near Me - Blowing Rock, North Carolina

If you're in the Blowing Rock area, a meal at the Best Cellar is a must! My husband and I visited on our recent vacation to NC and had the most wonderful date night. Our server, Micah, was attentive and very accommodating when we had questions about the menu or dietary restrictions. He was wonderful. We had the seasonal seafood platter, Appalachian trout, Salmon, and the house salad with pepper jelly dressing (to DIE for-I haven't stopped thinking about it since!). Service was amazing, atmosphere was cozy and romantic, and our food was stellar! It was a little pricey for an average night out but well worth it. The only downside was parking-there was no designated parking area for the restaurant, so we had to park on the street about 1/4 mile away and walk in the cold, but it wasn't too bad. Highly recommend if you're in the area! read more

I made a trip to North Carolina from Virginia for Sugar Mountain and I am so very pleased with the food that I was served. The server was very friendly and attentive. Overall a great place to eat! Few notes: 1) Oyster app broth tastes great with some bread 2) Caesar Salad tasted a little old and would not recommend getting a main salad, but it was free 3) Rack of Lamb tastes great 9/10 4) The Banana Cream Cake dessert really wasn't all that and it was $9. Was probably just a slice of refrigerated cake read more

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Food and service are fantastic!! Great place for a wonderful dinner and great selection of wine.

The place is beatiful and super cozy. The food was excellent. I had the Trout with the Lobster Bisque as a side and they were both spectacular. And as a visitor I felt super welcomed by the server and the manager who quickly found us a little spot by the window. Thanks for the attention!! Highly recommended. read more

The Best Cellar - New American Near Me - Blowing Rock, North Carolina

The service was excellent, the ambiance lovely and the food excellent. My wife and son each had pork chops but with different preparations. I had pan seared grouper which was yummy and I particularly enjoyed the acorn squash. Excellent wine list and our son picked out a lovely wine. read more

We originally had Dinner reservations at the Timberlake's Restaurant at the Chetola resort, however after eating breakfast (Not Good) at Timberlake's we cancelled our reservation and made a reservation for Dinner at The Best Cellar. The atmosphere was very nice. The staff was very good, and the food was delicious. They saved the evening and honestly was the best part of our Blowing Rock weekend. Thank you read more

My wife, son, and I visited The Best Cellar on Sept 24 to celebrate my wife's birthday and my son's first year at ASU. We have visited the Blowing Rock area over a couple decades but never tried The Best Cellar. Thus, this was planned as a special occasion. We made reservations for our table about 3 weeks prior to the dinner. Let's start with what was great about the restaurant. The food was excellent. We started with a mixed seafood sampler which was very good. For dinner, i had the grilled fish special, my wife had halibut and my son had fried chicken. The fish was excellent! We tried 3 different desserts and I loved the chocolate cheesecake. Yum, yum, and yum. Also the waitress was excellent and very kind and prompt. Now the very disappointing part of our dinner. it turns out that the restaurant was hosting some outdoor music event on that Friday evening. We were never told in advance or else we would have visited on another night. First, we couldn't find parking and had to park about a half a mile away. When we got to the restaurant, we were told that they have valet service (but we were never told and didn't see a sign for valet out front if they had one). Next, we were sat at a table near the windows and exit to the patio where the music was. The music was deafening and we could not hear each other talk. We shouted during the whole meal. Our table was also near the bathrooms where there was a long line of people waiting to use it. The people in line were also talking loudly. The whole environment was opposite of relaxing and killed our celebration for that night. I called the restaurant a couple days later to note above and was only allowed to talk to an "assistant manager". I was told next time to call the restaurant directly to reserve a table instead of using online reservation system. Other than that, the assistant manager said he was sorry for our experience. I thought I would be calmed down a few weeks later to write this review, but still mad our very expensive celebration was ruined by The Best Cellar. Thus, my rating is 3 stars....high for the great food and waitstaff and low for the atmosphere. I will likely never want to visit this place again. read more

Made reservations to dine here during our vacation. What a great, and relaxing dinner we had. Everything was top notch. Everyone was so friendly..even the other patrons. Food was great! Your basic Steakhouse type menu. However, the recipes/freshness of the food take it to another level. It's a rare thing to see a traditional upscale restaurant like this do everything so great, without being pretentious. Best Cellar did just that! Can't wait to return. Try the Banana cream pie for dessert. You won't regret it! read more

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Outstanding food, service and ambiance. Definitely one of the best restaurants in the mountains.

We had a delicious dinner and our server, Azalea, was very attentive and helpful with our meal choices. Drinks and appetizers were excellent. We were first seated in the downstairs cellar and we asked to be moved upstairs and were accommodated. The cellar has no windows and bad acoustics and a very loud party at the adjoining table made it impossible for us to have a conversation. Make sure you request to be seated upstairs unless you like eating in a cave . Restaurant has a new bar area which is cool for a drop in afternoon beverage. All of the staff was professional and worked with us when we asked to be moved upstairs. We would definitely dine there again. read more

We had a great evening tonight at the Best Cellar! Our server Maggie was spectacular! Everyone was super friendly and can't even begin to talk about how great the food was! This is a must see place to go in blowing rock. We will be back! read more

Literally the worst restaurant we have been to in years. We waited 1.5 hours - NO EXAGGERATION - for 2 dishes of halibut that was flatter than a flip flop and a piece of MICROWAVED chicken. The server was NOT apologetic or even accommodating. The hostess came out and said "sorry for the wait" after the microwaved chicken was served. Never once did anyone say - this was not up to our standards..we apologize..literally no explanation. We would have COMPLETELY understood if someone acknowledged that we paid $32 for frozen Trader Joe's fish and a microwaved hunk of chicken. I PROMISE you this place has DISGUSTING food. Don't overpay for the atmosphere. There are plenty of great places to eat in Blowing Rock - don't settle for here. read more

The Best Cellar - This is the Parmesan crusted chicken. Gross. - New American Near Me - Blowing Rock, North Carolina

We ended a great trip to Blowing Rock with dinner at the restaurant at our inn. We started with wonderful craft cocktails, perfectly made, followed by lobster bisque. We then had veal scallopine Marsala which was delicious. For dessert, we went crazy - Granny Smith apple pie, créme brûlée and chocolate Kahlua toffee mousse cake, a chocolate martini and a chocolate espresso martini. Wow! Everything was delicious! The location is lovely - indoor and outdoor seating in a beautiful inn. All of the staff were personable and well informed. We loved it here! read more

Reservation for 7:45. Seated at 8:15 not on the heated porch but down on the parking lot. Once seated, a table on the heated porch opened up. I ask if we could be moved to the open table. Told no, someone had asked for it first. But we were the last seated so it should have been our table. My 73 year old wife was cold in the parking lot. The food was OK but portions were small. I will never eat at this establishment again. The waitress sensing our displeasure made the best of the situation for us... not her fault. One of the worst dining experiences in my memory. read more

The BEST place to eat for a nice dinner in the high country. Hands down. The service, the wine, the FOOD, the beautiful atmosphere. Highly recommend, this is our new favorite place to eat for our special occasions. read more

A friend and I came to visit a friend who was vacationing in Boone for her birthday. We decided to go out to the Best Cellar for her birthday dinner- what a treat! We had the champagne and strawberries for our drinks. For the appetizer, we ordered the burrata cheese (one of my personal favorite foods) and it was delicious!! The entrees were also amazing- we had the duck, the lamb, and the tuna. Each entree was beautifully plated and tasted amazing!! The ambiance was quiet and intimate, and the view is beautiful. Definitely recommend! It's on the pricey side, so check the menu vs your budget before you go- it's worth every penny! read more

The Best Cellar - The tuna entree - New American Near Me - Blowing Rock, North Carolina

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Celebrated my husband's birthday here & it was fabulous! We ordered the calamari & burrata appetizer & they were both delicious. My husband ordered the short ribs & I ordered the shrimp pasta. We also ordered the creme brule & banana cream pie for dessert. Everything was so delicious! I can't say enough about our experience here. The food was fantastic and the service was above & beyond. The restaurant is quaint & cozy. We loved everything about it. To make our experience even more amazing, when our server brought the bill he told my husband to be sure to read it closely. When my husband opened the bill, there was a note that our meal had been taken care of by an anonymous donor, in celebration of her father's birthday. It was an amazing experience all around & we are already looking forward to our next visit. read more

Excellent server..Anna. Fantastic food! Beautiful atmosphere!! Top notch meal! I had the roast duck with raspberry sauce and it was perfectly crispy outside and moist and juicy inside. The potatoes were delicious too. I chose the butternut squash side and it was so sweet and delicious I could have eaten it for dessert! The salad the comes with dinner is a generous size and very nice too. My daughter got the crab cakes which were in a lobster cream sauce and also fantastic! Light and crispy with no filler and creamy inside. Yum! She had the zuchinni stuffed with cheese etc side and she ate it so fast I didn't even get to try it! Lol She said it was delicious! This restaurant is a MUST DO if you are in town!! Ask for Anna!! She is so wonderful!! read more

Horrible Service with Just OK Food. We went here on a Sunday evening to celebrate a birthday. When we made the reservation we pointed out that is was a special occasion (birthday). We were seated promptly, but then forgotten about. After nearly 10 minutes I went to the bar and ordered (and paid for) pre-dinner drinks. When I got back to table the server -- S. M. -- seemed very irritated that she didn't get to take the drink order. Things went downhill from there. My wife and I ordered salads, but she never received the type she ordered. We gave up after 3 attempts to get the right salad. Throughout this back-and-forth S. M. didn't apologize and clearly was not happy my wife pushed the issue. The end-result was that my wife never did get a salad, and we indeed ended up paying for one. Amazing! My $44 fillet was cooked medium rare+. Had it been cooked 20 seconds longer it would have qualified as well done. My wife's short ribs were dry, and the blue cheese sauce just did not work well with the dish. We were fairly disgusted by the time we finished our entrées, and opted to pass on dessert. Had we not done so, we may have found out if we would have been comp'd due to (1) the salad fiasco, (2) the marginally acceptable steak which I clearly communicated was being accepted with reservation to avoid being wasteful, or (3) the meal being a birthday celebration. Sadly, S. M. never presented dessert as something we should consider. In summary, this was the worst dining experience in my or my wife's memory, and we view this restaurant as a dinner place of last resort. On the plus side, the setting was very nice, and the au poivre sauce was tasty. read more

Best "higher end" restaurant in town, Blowing Rock. Within walking distance of Main Street, it never disappoints. Make a reservation with the best hostess, ever, Missy. read more