The Honey Pot

I was seriously disappointed in this place. The food was ok, but very small portion for the astronomical price. Wine serving for $ 9 small as well. Do not plan to visit again. But that’s what happens when you settle for just anywhere when you have some place to be…

So finally we get a night out in the town in Winston Salem! Being from Los Angeles, I wanted to see what kind of food this place has to offer.
After checking Unilocal,we found this place! Great ratings. I made a reservation on OpenTable.
We show up 30 minutes early. There are empty tables… But since we were early our table was not available. But since there was seating at the communal table, we opted to sit there.
The menu is simple. I ordered the THP Winter Ramen. And they are out… Ok.
Pork Shoulder it is. Not bad. The meat is tender. Good flavoring. I wish I was more unique but it was very very tender. The kale salad that came with it was interesting. The cheesy grits was good. The best was the fried onions.
My friend got the Buttermilk Quail. Kind of like fried chicken but different flavors. The sauce that came with it was amazing! Get this!
Poutine fries– not so amazing. Kind of a waste of calories.
Overall, good experience. Nothing to rave about. It was just good. Service was attentive but not very engaging.

I had high expectations for The Honey Pot. Walking in, the décor and ambiance was eclectic and hip but it went downhill when my server came to place drink orders. I asked for water and the waitress replied «what,» I thought she did not understand me so I asked a few more times before she pointed to the water on the table like I was stupid. I told her that I did not notice it (I was busy reading the menu), I think it would have been nicer to say «we have already placed water on your table» instead of looking at me like I was dumb.
My friend had the ice tea and it was horrible, I tried it and it was like pre-​made tea from the grocery store — there was nothing modern or southern about it, it lacked sugar, depth, everything.
Then I ordered the monkfish, which was overcooked but bearable, however the carrots were under-​cooked and basically raw. I ordered it because I am a pescatarian but did not realize the cassoulet had bacon in it. When I mentioned this to the man at the door, who I am assuming is the manger based on his suit and pocket square, he told me the chef put a bunch of stuff in the dishes and I should I have mentioned any dietary restrictions in my reservation. How hard would it be to put a little «v» in a circle denoting it had no meat…
My friend had the pork which was half fat, which should have been trimmed off before serving, this took away from the overall dish. The chocolate mousse was dense and rich and the waiter made the point to tell us it was gluten and dairy free (but I don’t get the same attention for the entrees…)
On top of this, a waiter (who was not my original) kept bringing extra silverware to my table and tucking it in to the napkin, I did not understand this concept because the extra silverware was not needed for my entrée. Then my waitress disappeared, a different waiter checked on my table and placed my dessert order. Then the first waitress came back to deliver the check but then the second waiter came back and took the check. I have no idea what is going on here but I wonder how the tip distribution works, I am assuming it is tip pooling because the waiters seem to float around the restaurant. Under NC law the tipped employees must retain 85% of the tips they receive, but if everyone is everyone’s waiter how do they know who received the tips?
So for $ 75 I got poor service, a mixture of overcooked and under-​cooked food but a good dessert thanks to the Black Mountain chocolate they used (although they were a bit stingy on the berries). The best part of the night is they played a full Arctic Monkeys album.

f I could give it a 0 I would. Exceptional Service? Ha. Wasn’t even marginal. I’ve had better service at Cracker Barrel. In fact, I was so horrified and displeased, regardless of the fact I am supposed to be shooting a video right now, I am writing this review. So I guess this restaurant concept is everyone is your waiter (which sometimes as we discovered translates to NO ONE is your waiter). The hostess should actually be put to work as a server and some of the others fired as she was more attentive than ANYONE else in the entire restaurant. Kudos to her and I have to say the female server was slightly more attentive to us than any of the male servers
So when we first arrived we were one of about 4 tables there. The waiter obviously was not impressed with us as we don’t LOOK like much but looks can be deceiving. That’s one reason why I was such a great restaurant reviewer in Chicago. They never expect you to be a foodie and have kids… what’s up with that?
Anyway, I digress. Spoiled Iced Tea. Yeah, really. McDonalds does iced tea right for goodness sakes and it’s the SOUTH. The meatballs were good… but we sat awhile before our order was taken. The servers were very cold with us and made no effort to connect with us as people and barely made an effort to connect with us as diners. We did notice other diners that were DRINKING getting much much more attention. The larger tables also received much fawning over (obviously working the tips at this restaurant.) I tend to be super generous when deserved and often tip more than an average drinking party but no one here discovered that. I sorely wanted to not tip… but used to be a server so can’t quite stoop to that. The Ramen was fabulous… the Mac and Cheese the best we’ve had… so food is good… not stunning… but good. So something is right here. What isn’t right is being ignored. Having empty glasses over and over again. Being walked by with empty glasses, empty plates, etc. We waited 20 minutes at one point to have our drinks refilled. You can bet if that was a wine glass, it wouldn’t have been a minute. I literally had to take out my wallet and put my credit card on top to have a non server (not sure what his role was because he didn’t interact with us much either) ask us if we were ready for our bill. Hmmm. Sitting for 15 minutes after dessert. Wallet out. Credit Card on top. H*** yeah, I was ready for my bill. I was ready to get out of a place where I fought not valued as a customer and invisible. I’ve run into this in a couple other Winston Salem restaurants, see previous reviews. I’ve also had some good experiences. Very few, sadly. I will say some restaurants OWN their mistakes and strive to do better. Some don’t care. Eventually though, they will be forced to.
We eat out often. Sometimes we drink. Sometimes I come with large groups and different people. But they won’t know that. They won’t receive my business and by word of mouth, I will share my experience. I have a huge social media presence and I always use it to shout out the excellent and steer away from the negative. So disappointing. Another WS restaurant bites the dust. PS: I wasn’t offered another cup of coffee either and my cream was «off».

Let’s keep it simple, headed In for vday and we weren’t impressed. Totally understand having the entire table order the prix fix menu on the service side but the offerings on that menu should still be available regardless. What do you do if one person of 4 doesn’t eat meat?
Other than that, it came down to quality. The steak had a lot of grit/​fat and the gnocchi seemed to prepared inadequately.

Excellent food and service! Had the bass with spaghetti squash and beets. All my faves on one dish. I also had the Mac and cheese. Just too good to pass. They use little pasta not the big elbows. It was such a pleasant experience. I cleaned off the plate. Will definitely come back next time I’m in town.

The atmosphere is great. The drink was good however the food was not very good. I had ordered the stripped bass. It tasted good. I opened it up and the fish was red inside. I called the waiter over I told him that I think it was undercooked. He looked and said it looked red and sent it back. The waiter thought it was a vain. The manager comes backs again with comes a second one very apologetic guess what it was red in the middle. This time the head chef comes over and insists that the food was cooked to medium well and that it was well done. However I pointed it out that the fish was still red. He offered to cook it again. This time. I said that I’d have the gnocchi. It was thankfully not undercooked. I would say for the price you pay for a meal there and the quality of the kitchen, it is not worth it and chances are will not be returning.

Outstanding personalized service, great ambience, and incredible dishes, especially lamb tikka and pound cake.

This restaurant had a solid five stars until the entrées came. Upon our arrival, our table wasn’t ready but the staff was extremely friendly and helpful. They even offered to buy us a couple of drinks while we waited. When we sat down, we ordered an excellent appetizer (the avocado crab salad). But the entrées, including the highly recommended gnocchi with mushrooms and shaved truffle, were highly disappointing. Too bad, you couldn’t ask for a nicer staff or a lovelier atmosphere.

Looking through the reviews I’m confused why they don’t have 5 stars? Reviews raving about the food and service and then only 4 stars? That’s confusing.
Now for my review: I finally visited the Honey Pot for my first time last night. My expectations were very high since I have a love affair with food. We chose to eat at the bar, I love watching food being prepared being able to watch the chef was fun and interesting. It was like dinner and a show. The bartender was very busy making beautiful craft cocktails but that did not take away from his attention to serving us. He was friendly, knowledgeable and attentive.
I had the tasting menu and it was absolutly amazing. I can not say that enough AMAZING! The drink amd wine pairings that were recommended were perfect. I will probably crave the mushroom toast every day for the rest of my life. The lamb chops were so good i literally wanted to gnaw the bone lol. The portions were generous but not overwhelming. I was quite happy to have leftovers that they boxed without having to be asked after each corse. That was a nice added touch. Which is how I would describe the entire experience, everything had a lovely extra touch. Also I loved having this quality of a food experience in such a relaxed environment. They have nailed relaxed fine dining.

Smallish portions but the food is fantastic! Attentive service and a really nice, bright spot in the heart of downtown Winston. I believe their cocktails come from Tate’s, which is the bar next door (owned by the same people?), so the drinks are killer.

My mom and I stumbled on this gem during a recent trip to Winston Salem to see the American Impressionist exhibit at Reynolda House. Busy! But they fit us in – first at the bar where we enjoyed the best cosmo – had to have a second just to make sure. When a table finally was available, we ordered dinner and WOW. The chef transformed the ordinary into the extraordinary – pork loin with collards and this amazing gratin of turnips. We enjoyed the food so much, we returned two nights later (with reservations this time) to enjoy the same dish again. We’ll definitely be going back to HoneyPot on our next trip to WS.

I wasn’t prepared to like this restaurant so much. I had visited a couple of times before, and there was always some glitch that made me grumpy, either wait staff far too interested in talking amongst themselves, or too-​long waits for the food. I totally understand bad reviews of this place, but I agree with the good reviews. This place isn’t perfect, but by Winston-​Salem standards, it’s a top 10. That says more about the lousy restaurants in Winston-​Salem than it does about the Honey Pot. Honey Pot gets my vote because of EFFORT. Maybe not everything is perfect, but the effort for perfection is made, which is rare here.
My most recent visit started out a little rough. It was cold and rainy, which makes visiting any restaurant on Fourth Street a pain in the ass, because parking is blocks away. A parking deck is in the block behind the restaurant, between Marshall and Cherry, but the elevators are slow, the deck is creepy and you still have to walk a long way.
When the hostess seated us, I put my hand down on the seat as I scooted into the booth and felt crumbs. Gross. I don’t want to sit on someone’s «leftovers.» Someone should explain to the staff what a whisk broom is for.
Another annoying thing about this restaurant and most others is how little thought they put into non-​alcoholic drinks. If I’m having a meal that a chef spent a lot of time on, I would like a beverage that shows a little thought, too. How about a flavored iced tea, or a house-​made ginger ale?
Wine by the glass is on the back of the menu. If you want a bottle, you have to look through a «book.» There’s one for white and one for red. Honey Pot is a small restaurant, and I wish their wine list was more carefully curated. I came to eat, not to read. Give me a selection of 10, not 40 wines. I’ll be OK, I promise. The wines are fantastic, nothing typical, so I’m not complaining about the selection, I just wish I didn’t have to wade through so many choices.
Nothing on the menu looked good to me. I pouted. Judging from the four main courses that were delivered to our table, there was plenty that was delicious. It was my preconceived notion of expecting to see chicken, seafood and steak. Everything is just a little different, so try something out of your comfort zone. Give your taste buds a VIP upgrade.
I chose the Korean BBQ Atlantic Salmon, with grilled leek, edamame and soba noodles. The meal arrived with a few edamame IN the noodles, which I didn’t like at all. The salmon tasted fresh. The leek, which took up a good portion of the plate, had a nice grilled flavor, but it was tough and chewy, and I could only manage a couple of bites. The sauces are where the kitchen reigns. My Korean BBQ and my date’s Jamaican jerk sauce on his place, were knockouts. The mac and cheese side was exceptional, too. One order was enough for 3 of us to share, and damn, it was good! Not too «wet,» not too bland, a perfect comfort food for a rainy night. Someone else at my table had the vegetarian plate. She loves vegetables more than anyone I know. One of the vegetables was 3 – 4 different mushrooms. One ended up in her napkin. 3 out of 4 ain’t bad. It was nice to see innovative vegetable selections, not the same old broccoli.
The wait staff is a lot more professional now, and I imagine that memorizing daily specials and menu changes isn’t easy. I like their enthusiasm for the food. You can tell they share a pride in the food. And the front of the house staff is totally handsome/​beautiful, and you know, that matters to me.
Even though not everything on my plate was awesome, I enjoyed the «something different» aspect. I finished every bite of the salmon.
I had some coconut/​chocolate ice cream thing for dessert. By that time, my tummy was completely happy, so I wasn’t paying too much attention to details. The other couple at our table ordered doughnuts, four fried balls that were more like cake, like a sweet hush puppy. A liquid jelly for pouring over or dipping was served on the side. That jelly should be served by the glass!
I guarantee more crumbs were on the booth when I left.

A pleasant surprise to find a place like the Honey Pot in Winston-​Salem. I was in town for a conference and it was located a block from my hotel. Great cocktails created by an actual mixologist; I highly recommend the Presbyterian. Great selection of small plates and large plates. I had the quail with Mac and cheese and it was delicious. I was scrapping the last bits off my plate. If you are satisfied with a chain restaurant heating frozen food, or a Golden Corral pig trough, the Honey Pot is not for you. However if you enjoy creative food in a truly relaxing environment, this place will not disappoint.

I was in town for a few days checking out the neighborhood I hope to call home. The Honey Pot is absolutely lovely. Excellent wine selection, innovative food: fried catfish with green curry over quinoa… I mean c’mon now that ish was delicious. The friend got the pork belly, okra and Mac and cheese. Presentation was great and the server was friendly. My only complaint was we got there about 6pm, asked for table and was told that we could only sit at this long community style table. The chairs were incredibly uncomfortable and hard to maneuver. About 1.5 hours later the first of several reservations stated to show… so not sure why we couldn’t get a table. But other than that check this place out and I guess make a reservation for a table.

Just ate here for the second time and was pleasantly reminded how good the food and service is here. I wasn’t a fan of their previous menu, but when I noticed it has changed for the summer, we hopped on in.
Started with a fantastic watermelon cocktail, which was on special. And as keeping with my previous experiences here, their cocktail game is on point.
For apps, we enjoyed the grit hush puppies, which were delicious, but I wish both dips (apple butter and honeysuckle butter) were not sweet as a whipped goat cheese would have been tasty.
For the main, I throughly enjoyed the mahi mahi with red grits and ranchero sauce. The fish was fabulously cooked and I enjoyed the creative combination of ingredients on the plate. My husband ordered the farmer’s plate, which that day, consisted of a variety of seasonal veg over an incredible kohlrabi purée. He loved it! Only slight quip was the amount of purée seemed a bit paltry.
Overall, we had a very very good meal. The service was great and the food/​drink are fantastic. I do wish the portions were bigger, esp with the price paid, but still consider this place one of the best spots in town!

I came to The Honey Pot for my birthday dinner. It was a Wednesday evening and we were informed that they were now doing half priced wine on Wednesdays. Naturally we chose to partake.
We started with the Grit Puppies. I know a lot of people have raved about them but I just couldn’t find any flavor to enjoy. I wouldn’t get them again.
However, my entrée was awesome. I got the steak with the fingerling potatoes and glazed carrots. It was delicious. The demi that was on the plate was incredibly tasty. I was also able to try the quinoa fried rice that came with the catfish and it was amazing. Very creative and spot on with the fried rice flavor.
We finished with the donuts which unfortunately suffered from the same issue as the grit puppies, no flavor and boring. It’s a darn shame when donuts are boring.
We had a relaxed but attentive server. I very much enjoyed the ambiance of the restaurant. The styling is wonderful.
I’m not sure if I’ll return to The Honey Pot again. I love the fact that their menu changes regularly but the risk might not be worth the reward.

Second visit here, and one additional star (up from 3). Was disappointed last time but made some bad choices. This is «modern southern» food, so no more ordering ramen like last time (which was off the menu this time) or lamb vindaloo (on the menu now). We told our waiter we were taking it «straight down the middle»: grit puppies, pork chops, and fried chicken.
Each of these dishes was good. Were the $ 8 grit puppies worth $ 1/​each? Not really, but they were tasty — like what you can get at Bib’s for much less.
The chicken was good, but as my southern wife said, «If you are going to charge me $ 20 for fried yard bird, it better be damn good.» It wasn’t damn good. The spicy sauce they serve with it was, though. Too bad they didn’t include that in our doggy bag. The mac and cheese was yummy, too. Possibly the highlight of that plate.
The pork chop was the best. Juicy and delicious and on top of tasty (mostly, but for a couple of uncooked chunks) mashed potatoes.
About the service: hit and miss. Hit: When we arrived for our 8:45p Saturday Open Table reservation, there wasn’t a table available, so the hostess showed us over to Tate’s next door (same owners) for a cocktail while we waited. That’s a nice bar to wait for a table at. She checked back with us a couple of times to make sure we knew she hadn’t forgotten about us. When she finally came to get us to seat us around 9:15p, she offered to comp us a dessert, which she remembered to do.
Miss: Our waiter was sometimes there, sometimes not. Other than bringing the food, he hardly checked on us. We had to refill our champagne glasses and water glasses one each. We are not too precious to do that, but if you are going to charge as much as Honey Pot does, I expect better. Perhaps he was rushing to get his other work done so he could leave, because as we left out the front of the restaurant, we saw him leaving out the back.
Now that I think about it, I guess I’m really saying this is 3.5 stars, but will round up to 4 in hopes of incremental improvement next time I go.

No exaggeration, my fiancé and I agree that this is the best meal we’ve ever had in our lives. We’re out of town customers so we just picked this place randomly from Unilocal due to the good reviews, not expecting it to be so incredibly good.
We started off with the pork sausages with pretzel bread, words cannot even describe how amazing this was! The flavors were just perfection all together with the amazing mustard on the side. Cooked to perfection.
We also had the fries grits with the side of apple jam and honey butter and you can just tell how fresh it all is. It’s nice to be able to appreciate things made in house.
Then we also had the gnocchi, fried chicken, and ended it with the maple bacon doughnuts.
Overall, I would recommend anyone and everyone to come here. Everything from the food, the laid back atmosphere, to the drinks was to perfection.
A++ to whoever the owners are! I respect you!

Back to The Honey Pot again. I was putting together a small bachelorette celebration and the bachelorette has a lot of food restrictions which can make it tricky to try out new restaurants (no soy, no gluten, limited dairy). The trickiest is the soy, since a lot of restaurants use soy oil to cook with. Luckily the Honey Pot was able to accommodate no problem and even offered to make something off menu if nothing on the menu interested her.
Their French wine list is pretty impressive! They had no problem letting us sample some before we committed to anything, which we appreciated!
We started off with their deviled eggs with salmon roe. They were a big hit with the table, they were made with a Japanese mayo which makes them sweeter than what you would traditionally think of for deviled eggs. For my meal I went with their arugula salad and the duck poutine. The duck poutine was amazing, crispy, and delicious. The salad was good, but its a salad so not as much to rave about as the poutine. Three other dinners got the duck and loved it and the gnocchi was a big hit as well.
We were treated to the s’more dessert which was pretty darn tasty. I would recommend it if you are looking for a sweet way to end the meal.