The Speckled Trout Cafe

Dirty. The restaurant name is about the only good thing. Can’t believe I just ordered food here. So dirty. Go elsewhere.

Amazing rainbow trout! The chef was personable and accommodating. There might be newer restaurants in town, but don’t let that fool you. The bread alone is worth it.

Wow! Should have listened to the reviews. There is no menu service. Must order off hand written board. Also, must pay in advance of food. Crazy just like food trailer! Only bottle or can beverage with do it yourself soda or tea at the counter. We order the pan fried trout which you would think would be the signature dish. NOT I played it safe and order an angus cheeseburger for $ 7
When it arrived… my goodness it was on paper plates. $ 30 meal served on paper plates. The trout was greasy and had little taste.
The burger was fresh (from the freezer) pack of patties. No seasoning and less tasty then Burger King. We will not be back and will discourage our friends.
The one star was for the service

Disappointed. Only a single trout dish on menu. Trout was over seasoned which completely masked the delicate taste of the fish. Hopefully the dining room will receive a freshing soon. Staff was attentive and very helpful. They did take great care of us.

The service was okay but the food was underwhelming. I wouldn’t go back or recommend this place. The seafood is not fresh.

We both had pan fried trout and it was excellent, along with the service. The sides of mashed potatoes, creamed spinach, and broccoli were also good.

Ordered take out. Went with something simple since we weren’t sure about the restaurant. You never see cars there. Well there is a reason for that. Ordered the roast beef sub, first bite was rank and had to throw it out. Bread was stale, beef tasted odd, small, processed melted cheese. Awful! Who are they paying to write these good reviews.

hmmm… sat at one of a half-​dozen dirty table on the porch, waiting for them to open for dinner… in the meantime we went in to use the retsroom and saw an absolutely dirty foodline on the way… there had been plenty of time to clean up between lunch and dinner service, but between the dirty tables, the poorly kept bathrooms and the gross cook’s line, I can’t see how anyone would order fish here. If the public places look like they do, what about the places you can’t see… like the walk-​in and line refrdigerators.
We left.

Super good food. Hush puppies amazing, trout and flounder awesome. Oysters fresh and firm. Super casual and relaxing. Def a fan

Seafood was very fresh. sides were awful. Broccoli was rotten and rice was Uncle bens like, only undercooked.

Had lunch with the family there. Order then sit. Food was good, fast and with a smile. Would definitely go again.

We visited from TX, and we enjoy fine dining. The speckled trout was totally unexpected! What a pleasure! We rank this meal in the top 10 we have ever had. I had the beef tenderloin, it was perfection. My husband select had the grilled salmon with sautéed broccoli. He loved it! The clam chowder had a little spice to it, and was delightful. I finished my meal with the apple streusel which was warm and flakey. Without a doubt the best $ 100 we ever spent! And did I mention the smooth jazz background music? Kyle the chef came by our table and asked about our meal, he is truly a delight. I cannot recommend this place highly enough.

This place used to be a staple for trout and good service, but that time has passed. We went there on a Saturday night at 6:00 and there was only one other table occupied. The hostess kindly asked us if we’d like to sit outside or inside. After we pointed out it was 65 degrees and raining… we settled on inside. Our waiter was nice enough, but no skills in the service industry. Despite the hostess mentioning a special and the fact that the waiter would tell us more, he didn’t. His first comment to us was «are you ready to order». This may be fine for a regular, but we clearly had never been there before, hadn’t heard the specials, hadn’t ordered drinks, and had only been seated 30 seconds, which isn’t long enough to consume the menu.
On to the food. We ordered the scallops wrapped in bacon as a starter. When it arrived, you couldn’t see the scallops. The bacon was crisp, but the scallops were really small and a bit over cooked. Not a full «strike against», but close. For the mains, we ordered the Stuffed Rainbow Trout and a Filet. The Stuffed Rainbow trout meant it was folded over with crab and shrimp inside. Sounded good, but wasn’t. The trout itself was mushy, the shrimp entailed 2 small shrimp each overcooked and undoubtedly frozen, the crab was mush as well. The largest piece of crab was smaller than a tine on a fork. Really glad I hadn’t ordered the crab cake entrée. The steak was small, had a bit of fat for a filet an was slightly over cooked. And those were the good characteristics. The steak had either been seasoned, which the menu definitely did not mention, or more likely it had been cooked in a pan used to cook seafood. I don’t think it was the quality of the meat, but it tasted fishy.
The total bill, with tip was close to $ 75. Considering the below average food, service, & ambiance, you could do better for your money.
Overall bad experience and I think you’d be better off selecting another of the downtown Blowing Rock restaurants for your High Country dinner.

There is no better place anywhere to get a great piece of trout. The panfried version here is wonderful, with a delightfully light crunch crust. Unfortunately the service and management seems to slip a notch every time we visit. One night there was a scramble as the staff attempted to determine whether they had any bourbon at the bar, finally bringing us a bottle of Jim Beam and asking whether that would be ok for our mixed drinks. At our last visit there appeared to be absolutely no communication among the waitstaff, who tripped over each other as they duplicated each other’s tasks (our table was wiped by 3 different people before someone finally seated us) and failed to do others at all, while complaining out loud to customers about the confusion and communication problems. With each visit we see fewer patrons (this was a Saturday night, and one dining room was completely empty) and the place looks a little more shabby. Go for the trout before the Speckled Trout is gone…
UPDATE: We have been back a couple of times since I wrote this review, and the service is better. The food quality, especially that trout, remain consistent. Place is still not very busy, which is unfortunate (and surprising, given that this was both peak leaf and college homecoming weekend in town). We even went back on Sunday and were disappointed to find that, despite the sign, they chose to be closed even though town was very busy. I’m glad they’re holding on.

Unfortunately in the mountains, the only way to get fresh seafood is to eat mountain seafood. And in Blowing Rock, that happens to be Trout. And lots of it. This place specializes in Trout. It’s quaint, and has decent prices. The town of Blowing Rock is very charming, and this is just one of it’s many treasures in eating establishments.