We have eaten here many times and it is always amazing! Definitely get the game sampler appetizer and one of the featured entree items will be perfect! read more

1st Impression. 1 Star Made a reservation on Open Table about 10 days before my planned dinner. My reservation was for App State homecoming weekend. Which coincided with the peak of the fall season to be in the mountains for the changing of colors of the leaves. During the 3rd quarter of the game I get a text that my reservation had been cancelled. Typically with open table the restaurant calls the day of to confirm. I dont get that. Just a last minute e mail. After e mailing and calling (had to leave a message) I get a return call reinstating my reservation. 2nd Impression. This is not in Boone. They should let people know it's not a quick jont down the road from Boone. It's a good 20 plus minutes from the Hotel areas of Boone. 3rd Impression. Location, setting & decor. Awesome and very well appointed to the name and the setting. 4th impression the service. Although great at the valet it ended with a 15 minute wait while seated at the table to get our waitress over. Two glasses of water later she shows up. Has the potential to be a great waitress, young, knowledgeable and attractive but came off like a used car salesperson. Not dissing just painting an image. 5th Impression. The food. AMAZING. At the table we had the Ostrich, Pork, Bison and the Rattlesnake and Rabbit sausage app. 5 STAR quality. I get around and this evenings food was GREAT. One the way out I had one last bad impression. Don't got to the restroom outside on the way out at the bottom of the stairs. Not a suitable match to the upstairs venue. More of a barn / basement restroom. Ladies it's not recommended for use. Although somebody has their toothbrush and toothpaste in the vanity in that restroom. Sorry. They need to tighten some things up. But not whats coming from the kitchen. read more

Food and atmosphere are both unique in a good way. We sampled the braised ostrich and grilled elk chop. While the ostrich was good, it was not quite how I envisioned it, however the elk was delicious and perfectly prepared. All in all a very different menu than most, surrounded by the beauty of the Blue Ridge mountains. read more

My husband and I decided to spend a romantic evening here while vacationing in Banner Elk. Our dining experience was phenomenal. It seemed like we drove uphill on winding roads forever (part of the fun!), and once we arrived we were treated to attentive service and delicious food. We shared a bottle of red and the pork belly appetizer to start. The pork was delicious and melt-in-your-mouth tender. We each also had the ostrich entree, which was cooked to a nice medium rare and accompanied by a tasty garlic-and-greens risotto. We capped off our meal with the bourbon and caramel bread pudding and the chocolate martini cheesecake. Our waiter said that we should try the bread pudding even though, in his experience, many patrons are skeptical of bread pudding as an acceptable dessert. I have no idea why this is, and I happen to like bread pudding, so I went for it, and am so glad I did - it was amazing, sweet, flavorful, and I was sorry when it was gone. My husband's cheesecake was also wonderful, but I liked my dessert better! The best part of our night at The Gamekeeper was the thunderstorm that rolled through while we were there. We were seated by a window and were treated to a view of the pitch black night sky punctuated by flashes of lightning, with the sound of pouring rain as the background music. The storm combined with the rustic interior made me feel like I was snuggled away in a cozy mountain cabin, and then I realized that's exactly where I was! It was an absolutely amazing sensory experience. It was still storming when we left, and I assumed the role of fearless leader and drove miles back down the mountain in the blackness and rain, while my husband hung on for dear life. I loved it. I would return to Banner Elk simply for the chance to eat here again. It was a perfect evening. read more

You're kidding right? I just don't get it. My steak was tough and nothing but grizzle. The potatoes were like hard little rocks completely void of flavor. Honestly, I've had a better meal at Denny's. There was that awkward moment when the food arrived at we were all eating and nobody made any comment about the food - as sure sign nobody was happy. It's WAY overpriced. The service was pretty good, but the whole experience was like I was duped into something I was forced to pay for. $350 for a party of four? It was ridiculous and I feel ripped off. Sure, sometimes the ticket it up there at some places, but there's usually a trade off with fantastic food. This was not the case. It was embarrassing. If you're used to high-end dinning in places like NY or SF, better drastically lower your expectations or you're setting yourself up for a monster of disappointment. read more

Fabulous views & wonderful unique cuisine. We enjoyed our evening there with friends!

This place is tucked away in a nice location. It's got a quaint, romantic ambiance. I first frequented this place in Feb 2009 when my husband, (boyfriend at the time), surpised me with reservations to the GK after work on Valentines day. I had the Ostrich, he had the Venison. We also ordered some Spanish champagne, but it's been so long I can't remember the name of the bottle. The food was so good, and I savored every bite. We have been repeat customers every time we visit Boone, and they always impress us with their food and service. read more

This restaurant is AMAZING! My husband and I enjoyed a dinner here a few months ago we really enjoyed it! I had the pheasant and my husband had the ostrich, we were not disappointed. We loved the atmosphere, and the service was fantastic. It was s splurge but oh so worth it, we still talk about it! read more

Wow! This was the most delicious meal I have had in a very long time. In our group we had the emu, elk, pheasant, and Peking duck and all were absolutely delicious. The plum and strawberry pie was also sublime. Overall this was a fantastic place for a nice dinner - we all highly recommend it! read more

The menu is certainly creative, but the entree I got wasn't that good (wild boar pork chop, this was like 6 years ago). I'd still go again just to try something else. read more

My girlfriend and I stopped here last weekend during a vacation. It was featured on one of the "Best Restaurant in NC" lists (which had a bunch of other restaurants we really liked), and it was relatively close to our cabin so we made reservations. I'm really glad we did, it was delicious. The decor is really interesting. It's a pretty small place without a whole ton of seating, which explains why we weren't able to reserve the time we wanted even weeks out. I totally understood why that was once we got there. We were greeted by the valet two parked our vehicle for us, walked up to the restaurant and were seated immediately. I must say, that was really nice. It seems like most times I make a reservation, I still have to wait for a table. Not the case here. The interior was rustic, yet formal at the same time. The waitress was super nice, and gave us a rundown of the menu and the best dishes on it. I ended up ordering based on her recommendations, and wasn't disappointed. We split the appetizer meat platter, which came with alpaca, duck, rabbit sausage, bison sausage, homemade steak fries and a trio of sauces. It was very well put together, and everything was delicious. I do wish there was more meat on the platter, especially for $26. There was definitely an abundance of fries, which was okay since they were good, but more than a half dozen small pieces of each meat would've made the dish more worth it. That being said, it was quite tasty. We also ordered a couple drinks, which were nice and strong. My girlfriend doesn't eat much, so she ordered one of the salads for her entree. I ordered the venison shank, which came with a delicious risotto and some veggies. The waitress described this as the 'most hearty' of the dishes on the menu, and after a relatively light appetizer, that (in addition to a love of venison) is what drove me to the dish. The venison was flavorful and fork tender, and the accompaniments worked well with it. My girlfriend enjoyed her beet salad as well. We finished the night off with a piece of flourless chocolate torte, which was good but nothing to jump up and down about. Upon leaving, we did have some speedbumps with getting our vehicle back. The group of 5 in front of us came in 3 separate vehicles, and there was only one valet. The way the parking lot is configured requires the valet driver to find the car, exit the parking lot, drive down to the entrance, and drive to the building. He was working as hard as he could, but my girlfriend was getting rather cold standing outside with no heater while that happened 3x. Totally not the fault of the valet, who was really apologetic, but it would've been nice to have one of those propane heaters to wait under. Overall, a great experience and we would love to come back next time we're in the area. read more

Fantastic restaurant. You are doing yourself a huge disservice if you are in the Blowing Rock area and do not give the Gamekeeper a try. The food pairings are second to none. We have yet to have a meal here that wasn't exceptional. Dinners are not eaten here. They are savored. Diners may be concerned about the nontraditional meats offered here. Fear not. The chef is an artist. Truly a superb dining experience. Enjoy. read more

So I drove cross country recently from Los Angeles to New York and stopped through Boone on the way up. Thanks goodness I did, because in the South- vegetables are either slathered in gravy, covered in marshmallows, or melted cheese. The Gamekeeper was an escape and answer to my vegetarian diet, overlooking the mountains. It was the perfect place to get delicious and fresh game specials (for my mom) and the fish and vegetarian options were sooo good, they should be located in NYC. Since I'm thinking about getting married in the high country this year I asked the waitress to see they're catering menu and was pleasantly surprised by the options and diversity. I would recommend this restaurant to anyone seeking a unique dining experience, fine food and wine, or a full bar, and the cozy atmosphere of a rustic family lodge nestled in the beautiful Blue Ridge mountains. read more

My wife and I celebrated a wedding anniversary here. Atmosphere was wonderful, the service was wonderful, and the food was just incredible. My wife was really I would have easily given this 5 stars, but left the restaurant with a really bad taste in my mouth. No, not from the food, but from a $15 split plate charge. And yes, we did split two entrees between the two of us. Wait - is that really a split plate? I would have been fine with it if we weren't already spending over $200 on drinks, appetizers, entrees, and dessert, but this fee was just insulting to have on the check. read more

This is my favorite restaurant in the entire world! My family lives in Banner Elk and I try to eat here each and every time I come up! I've never had a bad experience in the 3 years I lived in Banner Elk, NC read more

My star rating means as follows; 5 stars= would go back in a heartbeat and highly recommend. 4 stars mean same as 5 but there is something lacking and they could do a little better. 3 star rating means I will not go back but would recommend. 2 stars would mean its not good so don't go unless you are starving. 1 stars mean I would not go even if they paid me and would not recommend. My husband and I went because of the great reviews on Yelp and it was near where we were staying. The restaurant is set on side of mountain and is beautiful. But ambiance will not get me to come back if food is not good. The food was good but not exceptional. I would give it 4 stars but my husband will not go back. The price is too high. We have been to fine dining restaurants in the bigger cities such as San Francisco, NYC, Chicago, Seattle, and smaller ones just like Boone in nearby Asheville. The lowest entree price was $29 for a vegetarian meal. There were at least two entrees at high $50s. I had scallop appetizer (just two large size scallops and I have had larger ones than these) on puree parsnip, cost $16.....for just 2? They were tasty but not exceptional. For entree I had trout. Yes, I know, its a game restaurant. But every entree should be great shouldn't it? If you like all variety of meats, then go. This place is where you will get choice of Ostrich, Bison, Elk, Rabbit, Duck, Wild Boar. The portion is generous for the entree. read more

Did not get all of the hype for this place. The food was nothing more than average with below average portion sizes. My "bowl" of soup was less than a cup's worth spread out over a plate masquerading as a bowl. The bison was decent but only had 5 small strips of it on my plate. The macaroni was the worst I have ever had. It was just a small, solid, dry block with no discernible taste other than the noodles themselves. Oh, and they even skimped on the bread, giving us 4 of the tiniest slices I have ever seen. For the money, go somewhere else in the area. Nothing about this restaurant makes the price or the drive worth the trouble. This is basically a tapas restaurant with steakhouse prices. No thanks!! read more

Awesome experience and would recommend to anyone! The information about the owner's and their philosophy of their restaurant was enough to get us there - but the grounds, atmosphere and menu kept us there! The restaurant is very eclectic - a large bear outside the window, valet mascot that looked like the Ga bulldog, old movies of the girls camp that was on this property, etc..... The food and wine did not disappoint. Our server was very knowledgeable about the wine list and actually steered us to a lesser expensive wine than the one we were going to choose - he was spot on as the wine was perfect for what we were ordering. We started out with a cream of potato soup for our son - creamy goodness as he called it. We started off with a acorn squash filled with rabbit and rattlesnake sausage (great flavors and very moist) and also the coconut shrimp (accompanied with a great black bean / rice mash) - both were very good! For our entrees, the server got with the chef and they created a fried shrimp dinner for our son which he absolutely loved. We order the wild boar chops which were cooked med well and very tender. We also ordered a pork chop stuffed with a mixed game sausage and a lemon caper sauce which was incredibly moist and tender. The service was very good and it seemed the entire staff really enjoyed working there. We will be back for sure! read more

The cuisine is nothing short of glamorous. The wait staff is tentative and very well educated. He/she can make you almost taste each bite as they describe the exotic choices on the seasonal menu. The atmosphere is fancy meets eclectic meets cozy...different feeling each time we go but the same glorious experience. Words in a review can't do the Gamekeeper justice. read more

One of the best meals I had in 2012. (I know, I don't update yelp very often.) This place is wonderful. The bourbon bread pudding is amazing! The atmosphere is perfect, though my husband and I just sat at the bar. They also do a wonderful job of catering! read more

Went to the gamekeeper for the first time this evening... And it was absolutely amazing! I was so worried that I was going to be disappointed because it was so hard to believe that everyone who's been there had an amazing experience.... But it really is true! We started with the fried oysters and got the elk medallions and wildboar chop for our entrées... Dessert was equally good with a cheesecake that tasted like an eclair... And a bourbon bread pudg! It is pricey... But you get what you pay for and then some! We are so happy to have this restaurant in our backyard since we just got a place here in Yonahlossee. read more

This place boasts Amazing food and Great service!!! They don't over book themselves so you are seated fast! When reserving I told them it was our anniversary so we were greeted with happy anniversary! Great place to celebrate something or just have a nice relaxing meal! read more

Love this place. Best service. Rotating menu keeps us coming back for the wild stuff. Always fun to share this place with friends.

Everything was delicious! Service was top notch! The decor was an eclectic blend of mountain and mid-century. The Gamekeeper is my kind of place! The bread pudding is DIVINE! read more

Excellent service by Jordan at the bar. Special occasion that truly was the peak of my time spent traveling here. Kid has the charm, better see him here next time! read more

This place is HIGHLY OVERRATED! The ambiance and the food were a disappointment. The fries were good and the bison was different, but the ostrich was chewy! read more

We had a great dinner here! Fantastic service and delicious food. We loved the atmosphere. The decor was super homey and cozy.

It's coasting on its past high reputation for menu uniqueness. For the prices charged you'd expect table cloths & a small salad, not $15 extra for a couple fried green tomatoes piled up. Very noisy when over half full. Not mountain rustic any more, just seedy, needing reimagining spruce up, and renewed owner's engagement in the total dining presentation. read more

First of all, they are actually open today--Sunday--despite what the Yelp listing says. Next I am happy to report that The Gamekeeper seems to have very successfully managed its recent changes and has come out better than ever. I particularly like the lighter and more varied side dishes (the meats have always been excellent) and the desserts. The lime gelato was served with a white chocolate and rose essence madeleine that was first class. I'll be back! read more

Definitely worth the trip! Great atmosphere, the bison is amazing and the bread pudding is decadent.

This was our second meal at this restaurant. This is a restaurant that really and truly cares about the food and experience they are putting forth. We hit them on an off night a few months ago and we were so impressed with our follow up discussions with the owner that we wanted to come back. Boy, are we glad we did. The passion they have for food comes through. My new potato soup was delicious, and the pheasant pot pie equally as delicious. My husband had the trout which was one of the best trout dishes he has ever had. Extensive wine list. Our only regret was that we had a very late unexpected lunch before arriving - wish we would have had our full appetite! And the view....did I mention the view? Give it a try! read more

Firstly, the food was very good, even the emu (which apparently is not an Aussie endangered species) and the service as good as any. The place does have some oddities. It's a smaller place and they run out of things. The manner in which the trout shortage was handled was excellent. read more

Very quaint atmosphere and wonderful food. First time visit so I kept to the more traditional fare of beef tenderloin. Excellent!

We had read about Gamekeeper online before coming to NC and wow, what a truly original, unique and fantastic dining experience. Tucked high in the mountains along a scenic winding road, this restaurant is ONE OF A KIND and not to be missed. We had Bison, Trout and side dishes of locally grown farm to table goodness. The owners are wonderful and the atmosphere is so unique among the beautiful woods. FABULOUS read more

Overall this experience is worth the trip via winding roads. Excellent wine list, fantastic service and both meals (trout and bison) were delicious. While the decor is a little eclectic, it adds to the ambience. Very relaxed, gourmet mountain experience read more

We really enjoyed this restaurant. It is in a very secluded location and the staff were very welcoming. the fresh game choices were varied and delicious. We felt really cozy here and will come back. read more

Phenomenal!! This is one of our favorite restaurants. We took friends with us that are pretty picky and they too loved this meal. I had the venison osso bucco and it was delicious. The meat fell right off the bone and the flavor was delicious! read more

Great atmosphere. Great food. Wonderful service. I had Bison hanger steak and my wife at cornmeal trout. Both were top flight. Not the easiest place to get to, so give yourself 10 extra minutes. Well worth the effort read more

We barely got in after calling in a reservation just over a week in advance. It was Memorial Day weekend so I'm sure that impacted it some. It was a very busy place thought. I had the bison tenderloin and it was perfectly cooked. They had many items that you don't see often like emu...elk....wild boar...etc. Great location for us it turned out to be .1 of a mile or a few hundred yards from out condo. read more

Amazing place! It's a must if you're in blowing rock or Boone. High class dining in a beautiful place. The inside is very nice and the outside is beautiful. The service is great, when you drive up you are greeted by smiling and courteous valet. They direct you inside where a host will take your coat and take you to your seats. The wait staff are very friendly and knowledgeable with the dishes. This is some of the best food I've ever had and I can't wait to go back again! read more