Smoky Park Supper Club

This week we went to SMSP with 2 friends. WAY to expensive for a so so meal. The setting was nice, the waiter friendly. The wines were all $ 55 plus. Most restaurants have at least some bottles for $ 25-​$ 35. They charged for bread, which I know some of the other expensive restaurants do, but the bread was burned. I ordered ½ a grilled chicken, which was ok. It came with two sides that I did not like so I asked the waiter when I was ordering if I could substitute. He didn’t know, went to ask the manager, and came back and said that it would be $ 2.00 extra. WHY? I should have asked. The worst thing was the side salad. I would say it was about 3 tablespoons of greens. I told the waiter it was not a salad. It was a more like a garnish. So he brought me (reluctantly) 3 more tablespoons. Our friends had the one vegetarian dish that was on the menu, spaghetti squash with something on top. Minuscule for about $ 18. I would not say the food was horrible but definitely not great, especially the prices. The meal for the four of us came to slightly over $ 200. We will not be back.

Item:
Pork chop
Flavours: smoaky, tangy, sweat, savoury, salty, meaty (in that order)
Review: Absolutely mind blowingly good! Grilled to a crispy perfection on the outside in a woodfired oven, and juicy on the inside. Served with grilled cabbage, carmalized fennel, pickled cranberries, and with a brown bourbon butter sause.
The star of the dish was the meat as it should be, large portion cooked so perfectly I felt sorry for all the pork in the world cooked differently, as a matter of respect.
The picked cranberries make this dish stand out from the competition, they are picked in cinnamon and clove with apple vinegar and sugar. Most pork is served with apples but I will be serving picked cranberries from now on, what a treat.
Service was great, atmosphere felt special, looking forward for when the weather is nice enough to eat outside. Accustics indoor could be damponed a bit due to the metal construction but not worth writting about any more.
This place will go far as long as fresh high quality ingredients are avalible to them.
10/​10, I’m going to go enjoy the afterglow now.

The building is very interesting, and the location is great. There is so much potential I hope they can pull it together. After we were quickly seated for our 7:00 pm reservation the waiter came to our table and started pouring water, he did not say a word until he abruptly asked if we had any questions. We asked for a drink menu, and to hear of any specials, to which he fumbled through the beer list and told us that they didn’t have the lamb, or the pork chops. Because of the apron the waitstaff wear, his lack of introduction, and the awkward exchange, we weren’t sure if he was our waiter, or if perhaps he was an assistant we had caught off guard when he came to pour our water. Ten minutes later when he came back we ordered drinks, the pork belly, and brisket empanada appetizers. We attempted to order our entrées but our waiter cut us off and asked if he could come back in just a minute as he ran off, literally, he sprinted away. The pork belly was decent, but the empanada reminded me of an over microwaved hot pocket with a nice sauce. The sweet potato side was great, and the collard greens and brussel sprouts were good. The two people who got the burger loved them, but my husband and I who both got the NY strip medium rare both agreed they were the worst stakes we’d ever had. They were so tough, I maybe two bites that were ‘ok’. My husband and I had been drinking Pinot Noir, when he ordered a second glass what came out was certainly not the same wine we had been drinking. All in all the price did not reflect the quality. I may come back in the summer just for some drinks by the water, but I don’t recommend eating here. Save your money.
*Update– About 10 hours after eating, one of our dinner guests woke up with an awful GI illness that lasted about 24 hours… you do the math.

I went to Smoky Park Supper Club around 1pm this past Saturday afternoon with my family. There were 5 adults, 1 child. As soon as we walked in the hostess began telling us it would be a very long wait for food, at least 20 – 30 min. We said fine, we will just get a drink and wait a bit for food. She continued to discourage us from staying and eating with what she said and with her general attitude towards us. Baffling.
The bar was completely empty. There was one large table in the dining room with a party of 15 or so, and then two other tables. On the porch there were maybe 8 or 9 tables of two and three people. Needless to say, it wasn’t a full house.
We sat outside, glad to revel in the warm weather and fine to enjoy a glass of wine and wait 30 min for food.
We NEVER GOT A SERVER. Tables next to us were seated and served. We couldn’t get any waiter or waitress to make eye contact. After an hour it became a comical, if somewhat ridiculous, game. We finally left after nearly 2 hours with no service. We went to pay for our drinks at the bar (which had taken 30 min for us to get ourselves by walking in waiting at the bar) and the bartender 1) closed other people’s drinks out who came up after we’d been standing there waiting to pay at the *empty* bar and 2) Then COULDN’T REMEMBER what drinks we had and asked us to tell him. At that point my dad, who is usually a very calm person, started getting angry.
The discouraging hostess came over and said she would comp our 4 drinks. An appreciated gesture, but way too little too late.
Obviously, don’t go this restaurant for lunch. Especially on a beautiful weekend day in Asheville right before the holidays.
Pretty bummed about the experience, as I live only 2 miles from this place and I loved the location and site along the river. Oh well.
P. s. We didn’t smell and we were all dressed nicely!!!

First off– what a crazy building, honestly amazing someone came up with this concept! Secondly the food really was delicious, if I lived in the area (was visiting from Jersey) I would be dining her about a couple times a month.
While doing research on where to dine while in Asheville an article popped up about the process of the restaurant, I was intrigued by it so it made it a must stop at while on my road trip.
When we walked in the sun was at the worst possible spot in the sky… at every table option we would have been literally blinded by the light. After checking out practically every table we found one that would do. With this the manager opened up the large French doors so we got some fresh air (early October).
Salad was boring, not un-​tasteful just nothing special. Wood toasted half chicken was to die for, couldn’t have been cooked more perfectly. I’m a huge fan of olives so naturally went for both the ‘ember roasted Romesco dip topped with olives’ and the smashed local potatoes with garlic cream and crushed olives.
If you’re in the area please give this place a try!

Went with a group of 8. None of us had been there before. Enjoyed the setting, nice dining area and comfortable chairs at the tables. Friendly staff. Nice selections of alcohol and the cheese platter was a nice addition. Some at the table ordered oysters on half shell but no one able to finish. One our group stated they were awful. My husband and I had the pork shoulder entrée, 25 dollars. About a half cup shredded pork resting on about a cup of polenta or mashed potatoes… we weren’t sure. 5 Brussel sprout halfs scattered about and for whatever reason 4 grape halves… which added nothing. They topped it off with a unnecessary little pile of sprouts on top. Flavor wiser, there was nothing to complain about, pretty much just a little bit of meat over a pile of mashed something. Everyone at our table found their entrees to be lacking in some way or another. Even the bread on the cheese tray tasted like it had been toasted over a Bön fire, like burnt sticks. So our meal was 2 of the pork shoulder entrees, 1 small salad, a cheese tray to share and, one glass of Noble cider and 2 ice teas. With tip we spent 105 dollars! Absolutely not worth the money. My advice is to look elsewhere.

Incredible dinner in a unique setting. We arrived early, about an hour before the kitchen even opened, but we were welcomed to the bar warmly. We grabbed a couple beers and were told to basically make ourselves at home– wander around, check out the very unique building (shipping containers!) and the beautiful location right on the river.
When it was time to eat we started with the pork belly on a polenta cake and it was delucious! Crispy and perfect. I had the whole trout (minus the head) and my husband had a steak from Hickory Nut Gap Farm. We finished with some ice cream from The Hop which is always yummy.
It wasn’t a cheap night out. Our bill came to approximately $ 130.00 including tip. We will definitely go back and maybe sit by the river in a warm day.
(Tip– the parking lot is small so carpool or get there early!)