FRESH Wood Fired Pizza & Pasta

Have eaten here since they opened & have always enjoyed it. Tonight I ordered a pizza to go. After waiting 5 minutes for someone to acknowledge me, (there were 3 young girls at the register), I asked if my pizza was ready. They brought out a lukewarm pizza that was burnt & made incorrectly. When I pointed it out they tried to tell me it’s always like that, which I know is not true. However, the last few times I ordered this pizza, it had also been burnt, but I did not discover it until I got home. When I asked them if they could remake at, they said they were out of gluten free dough. When I asked them if they could take something off the price, they said they could not do that. This place used to be great, but the high school kids they have working here have very poor customer service skills. Won’t be back.

AWFUL service. If I could give it 0 out of 5 stars I would. Waited an hour for food to come out and they messed up my order

Loved the salad and pizza roses pizza with pepper and pepperoni:-) enjoyed and great staff

Great little eatery with both indoor and outdoor seating. The wait time (abt 10min) was minimal but well worth it. Each pizza is around $ 13 and extras are $ 1.25. The view of the mountains, atmosphere and rustic feel to the place made me think it was in Tuscany. The wait service was good and they were all zipping around the place like little worker bees. I would definitely recommend this place to anyone who loves brick oven pizza. Oh, what’s also a plus is that you can request ‘no char’ to ensure you don’t get any burnt pieces, otherwise it’ll be nice and crispy for you.

I don’t write reviews, but my experiences at Fresh has compelled me to compose. I have been there 3 times. Don’t ask why– I guess I have a bad memory! Each time the service was sketchy and the food was average to awful. The last visit was the worst. The Rose’s pizza that my son ordered had huge chunks of basically raw (the menu promised roasted) old-​tasting garlic on it. It was super soggy and not at all appetizing. The salmon on my salad had a strong odor (old fish smell). My daughter’s pasta was overcooked and drenched in sauce that tasted like they just opened a jar. Nothing tasted or smelled «Fresh». Someone in the kitchen was screaming at the staff. Seriously, I will NEVER go back there. Three strikes and it’s out!

The pizzas and pasta we had at Fresh were delicious. I can see why people love this place.
This is a modest little pizza joint tucked away in Black Mountain. Our group of five visited on a Friday night and the place was packed. We had to wait about 10 – 15 minutes for a table to open up. I guesstimate the dining room can seat about 40 – 50 customers comfortably. It’s a cozy, casual spot with table seating only. The 850-​degree wood-​fired oven is on display and you can watch the chefs work. Additional seating is available on the small covered patio outside along with a few picnic tables. There’s plenty of parking in a paved lot in the back.
Fresh serves a variety of Italian appetizers (e.g. olive trays, bruschetta, cheese boards), soups, salads, pizzas, pastas, and sandwiches. Sandwiches are only available from 11am to 4pm. They have 18 specialty pizzas. They come in one size only and all are $ 13 each. They also have a plain cheese pizza option ($ 9) and you can add whatever toppings you’d like. There are nearly 30 toppings to choose from and most cost about $ 1 to $ 1.25 each.
There are about a dozen pasta options ($ 8 – 15 per entrée). You can customize the pasta (fettuccine, penne, angel hair, spaghetti) and protein ($ 3 – 4 extra: chicken, shrimp, salmon, meatballs) in each order. Fresh focuses on using local and organic ingredients.
We shared the following:
* House Salad ($ 7, side order) — mixed greens, sliced tomatoes, green peppers, red onions, cucumbers, house dressing
* Fun Guy Pizza ($ 13) — sauteed mushroom blend, ricotta, feta, Parmesan, fresh basil, red sauce
* Drunken Clam Pizza (13) — olive oil base, mozzarella, diced clams, roasted garlic, bacon, topped with a butter wine sauce and fresh parsley
* Pesto Pasta ($ 10, full order) — fettuccine noodles, pesto sauce, shredded Parmesan, focaccia bread
The food was yummy. The salad was crisp and refreshing. Nice big slices of tomato, onion, and cucumber. The dressing was some sort of vinaigrette.
The pizzas were great. They were Neapolitan-​style and cut into six slices each. Thin, soft, floppy crusts with intentional charring. Appetizing flavor and chew. I liked the variety of cheeses on the Fun Guy, especially the ricotta. My nephew likes the Drunken Clam and I do too after trying it. It’s a fantastic garlicky white pizza with just as many savory bacon bits as there are morsels of clam. Quite tasty.
Portion size on the Pesto Pasta was generous. If you’re eating it by yourself, you’ll probably have leftovers. A half order ($ 8) is only a couple bucks less than a full order, so I think getting the full is worth it. The pasta was filling and satisfying. Wide strips of fettuccine with a toothsome consistency and plenty of pesto and shredded Parm. I believe the seasoned glistening focaccia bread was baked in the same wood-​fired oven as the pizzas.
Service was fine. Pay at the counter.
I did not like where we were seated. There were 2 – 3 tables in the dining room, closest to the entrance, that had poor lighting. I don’t know if the lights were out in our part of the dining room or if it was designed that way, but the other sections of the dining room were much brighter. Literally, night and day. It was so dark on our side, the party sitting next to us had to use the flashlight apps on their phones just so they could read the menus.

MMMMM, every time I think about my chicken piccata and spaghetti entrée, I think perfecto! Perfectly seasoned with garlic, broth, butter, and capers. The rose wine paired nicely. A wood burning oven for pizzas is really the only way to go, sorry other pizza parlors, but it is a more authentic process to bake dough. The salad to start was huge, too much food for one meal, so leftovers work for me. Also started with a loaf of fresh baked bread from the oven. Our server was super nice, and the meal wasn’t too expensive. If you are looking to get out of the high prices of downtown, Black Mountain offers some great alternatives. It’s got a good feel about it too. LOVED FRESH.

Great little place. The pizza and craft beer were very good. The crust is thin and the toppings tasty. The pizza reminds me of what you get in Italy.

Fresh should really keep in mind that their pizza kitchen is in public view. My wife and I had drinks served and order taken, no problem. Friendly and prompt. We realise after about the first 10 minute our order has been taken that no one is in the pizza kitchen, which means our food isn’t being made. Then a scraggly guy who is obviously the pizza cook comes in from the back door, most likely from a smoke. He then is more concerned with hooking his ipod back up to the stereo and getting a drink than washing his hands. Finally he is ready to make our order, wait no gloves (health code violation), ok it’s an 800 degree oven it going to kill any germs. Probably not in my wife’s calzone that was still cold center. Just an all around fail. Also no one around that seemed like a manager. We really have no reason to ever go back.

The BEST pizza I have ever had. We ordered the bruschetta for an appetizer and wow was it delicious. Also ordered the garlic cheese bread with marinara and Alfredo dipping sauces. Heads up, this is the size of the pizza and so good. I had a side salad and the house dressing was great. We ordered the Madonna pizza and YUM! Will eat here the next time we are in town. This place is a must! Everything is fresh and local!

We called on a Saturday night to make a reservation for our party of 8. They said they don’t take reservations on the weekend, but told us that they’d put down a «warning» so they can try to be prepared for us when we came in at 6:00pm. Part of our party went in at 6:45pm and were told they could seat us all in a few mins, so the rest of our party came in. However, when the rest of our party arrived, we were suddenly told there’d be a 25 min wait. It really felt like they were trying to bait us in in hopes that we’d stick around no matter the wait once we were there. But the man at the counter was really rude when we discussed all of this with him, so we were turned off by that and the sudden wait and we left.

FRESH is a perfect name. Crust is amazing on the Pizza, even the Gluten Free crust taste good. Salad was a wonderful mix of fresh greens and pizza toppings are also fresh. Great stop on our way through to the Mountains! Thanks for having Gluten Free!

If I could give this place a 10 STAR I would. It’s so cute and quaint! The staff is sweet and attentive. The atmosphere gives a cute little town feel. It felt like a place I would want to call home.
Everything was super fresh and packed with flavor. Cory and I both got the app
THREE-​DIP CRUSTINI
Crustinis served with Olive Tapenade, Creamy Artichoke Hearts and Roasted Red Pepper Hummus
(It’s a must! You need this in your life)
The soup changes, but we got a fennel sausage deliciousness! It was amazing!
So I have forgotten the name of our pizza and I could not find it on the menu. So maybe it has recently been added. It’s got chicken, bacon, spinach and some tomatoes. Holy crap was this good! We legit almost killed the whole pizza.
I’m not supposed to eat gluten anymore, but this was my cheat meal and I don’t regret it! (wood fired pizzas!)
We also noticed a lot of Michiganders. (Corys hometown) The owner was very friendly and the staff was too.
Check out this cute town and enjoy some pizza! We didn’t have any pasta, but it looked super yums!

Awesome wood-​fired pizza, local ingredients, great service, $ 4 draft beer — definitely worth a visit!
We started with the olive tray and a Tuscan salad, both delicious. Loved the lemon-​parsley vinaigrette.
Ordered three different pizzas, all thin crust (hooray!) each delicious. They are listed as individual servings, but are generously sized and cut into 6 slices, perfect to share between 2 people.
The Fun Guy (wild mushrooms, ricotta, loads of fresh basil) was *amazing* and the Baby Blue? was unique and also delicious– can’t remember the clever name but was topped with blue cheese, carmelized red mushrooms, and sliced pears. Very rich flavors.
Food came to our table very quickly, even through they were busy and most tables were full– the kitchen was hustling!
Kids’ menu had several options and they were very accommodating.
Tried the Amber Ale from neighboring Lookout Brewery (literally across the street), very good and a nice break from all the hoppy IPAs that abound.
Would definitely return for that Fun Guy pizza!!!

Has to be some of the best pizza I have tasted in the country. Service was spectacular. Environment was cozy. It feels like you are sitting in a mountain cabin kitchen. When you eat their pizza you can tell the ingredients are fresh. I should also add this place is very kid friendly. I do appreciate the local beer they have on TAP. The size of the pizza is also enough for 2 which makes it easy on the wallet. My wife and I enjoyed the Chevre pizza which includes sun-​dried tomato, fresh basil, local goat cheese, and mozzarella. It was really cool that my wife and I were able to sit close enough to watch the cooks actually prepare and cook the pizza. If your in the area check them out. You won’t be disappointed.

My husband I enjoyed the Napoli pizza. Wow!!! So good and Crust was nice in crispy. We also split tiramisu for dessert, very good. Will definitely come again.

This is business is casual in nature. Love the displayed art work on walls and shelves. Everything is Fresh. The pizzas are prepared on fired pits like they were done in Italy. They claim to use only FRESH ingredients. You can watch your pizza cook in the wood fired hearth oven. The offer local microbrews. The area is getting pretty famous for its local brews. Almost as famous as Denver Colorado. They do offer homemade pastas and desserts. There will be a weekly chef selection of menus.

My husband and I stopped by here based on Unilocal reviews. It’s a great place and worth stopping in! We both ordered pizzas. The pizzas use only fresh ingredients and are actually quite large for one person. My husband and I ordered the Napoli and the Veggie. Both were excellent. The only reason I took off a star was for the service. We waited 15 minutes for our waiter to take our order and another 15 for our food. I think it was just a busy night. My husband and I can’t wait to go back!

We picked up 2 pizzas after a long trip. The Rose and The Napoli.
Fresh ingredients: basil, sun-​dried tomatoes, roasted garlic.
Thin crust. and delectable.
Savory sauce.
Friendly and helpful staff.
All good.

Amazing gluten free crust! This is the best wood fired pizza in town. A little pricey, but worth it on a night out with a loved one. Cute, simple place with kind servers. We got the chevre pizza (sun-​dried tomatoes, roasted red pepper, goat cheese and fresh basil) and a calzone — the pizza with the gluten free crust. They make it fresh themselves, which in itself is fantastic, and the texture is spot on. So good.

Sehr sehr lecker! Gemütliche Atmosphäre, nettes Perdonal. Nur weiterzuempfehlen!