The New Public House & Hotel

Yay!!! I happened upon this great place and stopped in on a whim. Turns out it was local’s night and they had great drink specials included in the food price.
I had the caesar salad & the Korean BBQ chicken legs on soba noodle salad. Both were AMAZING. I was full after the salad but could not resist the delicious chicken.
I watched the table beside me enjoy what looked/​sounded like an amazing hamburger plate that made me wish I had ordered that.
The service was fast, and super friendly, and I enjoyed the time spent there and will definitely return when possible!

Baked eggs and grits– Yum! Excellent breakfast to start out the day, and at a reasonable price to boot! Try the chicken sausage.

This was a great little restaurant… had pimento cheese and queso fundido to start, and they were both excellent. My girlfriend had the country ham stuffed chicken breast, and I had the cornmeal crusted catfish, also both on point. Would return, and reccomend to friends

We had breakfast here in October — excellent. Great service, great food. Creamy grits, thick cut bacon, fresh fruit, everything. Our hostess was great and seated us in a section off to ourselves as a family with young children were in another section — they were adorable, but as a couple we appreciated the distance. Will definitely return

It’s great to have another breakfast choice in BR. Such a pretty spot — looks like Restoration Hardware décor — soothing. Coffee good and strong. Eggs were undercooked and over-​salted on first visit, but I’ve gone back for lunch and appetizers and it’s all been good. Prices are pretty high.
We also spent a couple nights upstairs in the inn and loved our stay.

Food was good — overpriced. Ambiance/​trade dress is great. Hostess was very kind and accommodating. We came for Sunday brunch and they weren’t that busy yet we waited over 30 mins for a table for two. Once seated, we wondered why the wait was so long since there were so many open tables everywhere. Service was horrible. Got our 2 year old son the special of chocolate chip waffles. 4 mini waffles and two sausage patties were $ 10. Pancakes were good! Biscuits and gravy were «light» (for biscuits and gravy), which was surprisingly refreshing. Giving it a 3 for the poor service. We won’t be back. Too many other good places to try.

3.5 stars. We visited New Public House for both breakfast and dinner while visiting Blowing Rock for a long weekend. Breakfast was, by far, our favorite.
We could tell the chef and kitchen staff took great care in making the food. Breakfast was truly phenomenal. I had the biscuits and sausage gravy with scrambled eggs (and added cheddar cheese). Their biscuits are like nothing we’ve had before. They were thick – but light – then split and grilled. The texture is less biscuit-​like, and more airy, like an English muffin. This was one of my favorite versions of this dish, hands down.
My husband had the crispy pork hash with fried eggs, potatoes, and a biscuit. The pork was cut into thick chunks, carnitas style. He said it was also amazing.
Our dinners were less satisfying, however. Two of our three dishes (clam chowder and lamb bolognese) had sweet undertones. The chowder had an amazing presentation and delicious taste, and I’m sure it was just sweet from the added corn. It needed a bit of salt to counteract the sweetness, but there was no salt (or pepper, for that matter) on diners’ tables.
The lamb bolognese was the biggest disappointment — it was far too sweet to be enjoyable. The portion was huge and the pasta was quite delicious, but I didn’t enjoy the sauce because of the sweetness.
My husband had the beef tenderloin. It was tasty, but cooked more like medium than his requested medium-​rare. The server did come back and ask if the steak was cooked to his liking, and he said yes because he didn’t want to complain. But at $ 32 a serving, we had hoped the steak would have been cooked properly. The other entrees are very reasonably priced (the lamb was only $ 19).
The dining room is small, but very comfortable. Definitely get reservations, as they seem to book up quite early. Service was also very good during both visits.
Will we be back? Most definitely for breakfast. I’m just not sure about dinner.

Location, atmosphere, décor, service, and food are all deserving of all 5 stars. We were greeted and sat immediately. Amanda promptly greeted us, brought drinks, and made suggestions. It was our first time, and she recommended the lamb Bolognese. Every single bite was positively sinful. My wife’s trout po’ boy was also delicious, but the lamb Bolognese was to die for. Sweet, savory, herby, cheesy perfection. If we lived anywhere near here, I’d probably weigh 1000 pounds. We also had the butternut squash bisque (light, creamy, fantastic) and the bread pudding (wonderful). Oh – not to be forgotten – the Skeleton Key cocktail was perfectly balanced, tart and sweet. Seriously, I cannot say enough good things about this restaurant. Anytime you find yourself in Blowing Rock, the New Public House should be your first stop.

Lamb Bolognese. That’s all I have to say. It is the reason for every single star!!! Delicious doesn’t even begin to cover it. And server Amanda is phenomenal.

Good to great food, wonderful ambience & décor. Server was ok. Biggest pet-​peeve/​problem was that they were busy & my cocktail came @ the exact same time as my dinner… I do not like to have them together. Would go back though!

Great food, pretty good beer selection. Be wary of bartender watering down drinks. He described to me personally: he waters down drinks when, many/​multiple same-​drink-​same-​customer (?) orders come in, from (same) tables. He did same for perceived drunk at bar, instead of refusing to fill drink order. Is this proper?

Had the Hungarian sweet potato and pork soup. It was hearty and delicious. We ordered hamburgers. They were «over the top» with mushrooms and fried onions. I ate mine minus the bun using a knife and fork. Dessert of cranberry bread pudding with a scoop of vanilla is cooked/​served in a small iron frying pan… tip. get a second scoop of ice cream and share the dessert with someone at your table. But be sure to leave room for dessert for sure. Place has a great atmosphere. Clean, uncluttered, relaxed, and welcoming. Our waiter was down to earth and helpful. Would enjoy going back!

My husband and I ate here for an early dinner after a full day of hiking. We got one of the last reservations they had. Food was awesome! I had crab cakes and my husband had the Wellington burger. Everything was fresh and delicious. Service was great, our glasses were kept full and the waitress was attentive! Will definitely be back. I’ll be sure to call early to get reservations because with food this good, I’m sure this place stays busy!

I visited The New Public House as part of a group of 10 (!) women on a girls weekend. Wisely, the restaurant asked if our party could wait until 8:30 to be seated. It worked out perfect. Our server was just wonderful! So professional and really did a great job describing options, checking on us and even splitting all those checks. Holy moly, what a pain that is, I know!
Everyone’s food was simply amazing. I don’t think there was one bad or even mediocre item among all our plates. The peach and heirloom tomato salad and the crab cake appetizer (a special) were particular standouts. I felt the pricing on the menu was more than reasonable, especially for the quality of ingredients, plating/​presentation and portion size. We also shared two desserts — a berry cobbler and a skillet cookie. Both were also excellent.
Last but not least — the grounds and restaurant are tastefully decorated, modern and exude tranquility. I will definitely have this one my «must try again» list next time I come to Blowing Rock!
Final note — someone else mentioned the sanitation grade at 91. I happened to notice that on my visit as well. It’s lower than one likes to see, for sure! On my visit everything appeared very organized and clean. Hopefully they have remedied any issues!

In a word — fantastic. Started with a White Peach Mojito, which was refreshing. I didn’t taste much of the peach but it was still very good. Followed with the Peach and Heirloom Tomato Salad with Beef Tenderloin added. Absolutely fabulous. Good portion, fresh, perfect blend of flavor a. The meat was grilled to perfection. Definitely won’t be my last visit.

I came here again with my sister to celebrate our mother’s birthday. The appetizer’s, entrée’s and dessert were superb, as usual. The best part, however was the expertly crafted martini. This restaurant has become my go-​to restaurant for special occasions… And any time I want a fabulous meal. It’s also the best value in this town!

My wife and I found this to be a very pleasant experience from the greeting at the door, to the mouth watering entreés, desserts, to the exit.
The staff were welcoming and attentive. They deserve a five star rating right along with the food.

One word: WOW. Here’s why.
Pro’s:
–The service. Absolutely outstanding. The manager, Chris, bent over backwards to make sure we were taken care of.
–The value. Great food for VERY reasonable prices, especially when you compare their menu to their neighbors (I’m looking at you, Best Cellar restaurant).
–The food. WOW. It was delicious! Everything from the entrees to the kids food was really really tasty. My husband got the fish and chips and loved it, and I got the spinach salad with trout with a homemade dressing that was wonderful. The coconut shrimp is like the Bang Bang Shrimp you can get from Bonefish, but way better. Soups were all to die for. I snuck a bite of my son’s mac and cheese from the kids menu, and I want to order that next time I visit the restaurant as it was so good! The only thing we didn’t like was the brussel sprouts because they tasted like they were undercooked, so they took them back and got us a new order that was cooked to perfection, and didn’t even charge us for it.
Con’s:
–Parking. They have a very small lot.
Tips: It’s small, so think about making a reservation if you want to go (they are on opentable).
Overall: It’s worth going off main street about a block to go to this place. Great food, awesome service, with very reasonable prices.

Excellent restaurant! We enjoyed not only walking the town but this great restaurant. My husband and I split the heirloom tomatoes with mozzarella and arugula. Delicious! Then I had the special of meatballs with linguine. Every bite was delicious. I cleaned my plate and enjoyed every bite. My husband really enjoyed the Wellington burger with fries. He truly loves it.
We sat outside on a lovely evening and enjoyed some glasses of wine. We ordered some half glasses of wine and a few taster glasses to sample different wine. Truly a great spot on a wonderful evening. The service is spectacular.

The outside of the hotel doesn’t do the inside justice. It’s a smaller quaint venue, but I think that’s what I like about it. The décor as my husband would describe it is country, but modern. We loved their set-​up. Chris took care of us with lodging and his service was outstanding. He went above and beyond.
Regarding dinner, we had the «new» wings for an appetizer. It was unique, because it was served with a bourbon rosemary sauce. My main entrée was the beef tenderloin. The marinated shitake, smashed potatoes and asparagus went so well together. The plate was perfect.
For a sweet ending, we had the white chocolate cookie in a cast iron skillet, topped with vanilla ice cream. It sounds simple, but it really hit the spot. Sometimes you don’t need to go over the top to taste good.
Although we left early in the morning and were going to miss the 8am breakfast, they kindly made us a to go package.
Lodging and dining here was truly a pleasure. I highly recommend this place, and hope to return during our next snowboarding trip.