The Local Lounge Kitchen - Asheville

My husband and I, downtown Asheville residents, finally had dinner here last night, and wondered why we waited so long to do so! We began the evening at the stylish bar, enjoying craft cocktails (margarita and black walnut Negroni), having a fun time chatting with the bartender. We were seated in the beautifully decorated contemporary dining area and ordered from the Locals’ Menu (both that menu and the regular menu are small, ensuring really fresh ingredients). We shared the best tempura we have ever eaten, a beet and feta starter, the Sunburst trout, and the hearty pork loin. The collards that accompanied the pork were absolutely amazing! Dessert was buttermilk panna cotta with a lime topping and a deconstructed carrot cake dish. We had glasses of a nice Sauvignon blanc. Friendly service, and they honored our Go Local card. Definitely highly recommend this restaurant!

Fantastic staff and amazing food! Hands down the best steak I have ever had. In a city that has a lot of food options, this one is a winner!

Cool place with great service but the foot was just okay. The burger/sandwiches we got didn't really have much flavor

Food was, overall, pretty decent. But the devil is in the details. I made a reservation for solo dining on Sat nite. My table was surrounded by twosomes and foursomes. I watched all of these tables get far more attention from their server than I received. I had to ask each time for my two extra water glass refills, Flagging down misc servers who passed by- my server never offered me a water refill. When my second glass of wine never came,I had to ask another server to intervene. They offer bread sticks, Ala carte, $4.50 for 4 sticks. I asked my waiter if I could get 1/2 order, as I really only wanted one bread stick- he said, no, this is t possible because the computer counts them and this would mess up the count- Really?? I told him I thought this was a d policy and discriminates against the solo diner. You get the idea. As a solo diner I’d never return here. Ok, now the food- the glazed beets were good, as an app. Tossed w prosciutto and goat cheese, v tasty. Spanish Octopus, grilled w frise, onion and quinoa. Listed as an app. This was good, nice preparation, the octopus was a little tough, not sure why- Overall, it gets 4 out of 5 stars on octopus. $18]. The house salad, greens w bacon, boiled eggs, heirloom tomatoes and a buttermilk dressing. V tasty and generous for a house salad $12] V nice wine list. One glass of Pinot Grigio $11] which was v decent. One glass of Barbera, $12] which was v. very good! The barbera wins. Dessert menu looked good, but not one spot of room left for dessert. Its a good central location downtown, nice surrounds, including outside patio. Nice atmosphere, good food. But DO NOT recommend if you’re a solo diner- you may get far less attention than the doubles and quads sitting in your midst.

Went for a very special occasion and food was way overpriced! $40 for a chicken breast. They take advantage of tourists.