"We decided to treat ourselves to a special birthday dinner while vacationing in Blowing Rock in September, as we had wanted to try this restaurant for years. We were looking forward to enjoying the elegant atmosphere and great food, but when we arrived, the place was busy. After waiting longer than expected, we were seated at a less-than-ideal table, despite another table being available nearby. Since we had made a reservation, we inquired about switching to a quieter area, but were told no, even though it was my birthday. We were left with the choice of sitting at a small table by a swinging door or leaving, so we chose to stay for the food and to enjoy each other’s company.
That’s when the music started. It turned out that there was music happening on the lawn that night, something we were not informed about when we made our reservation. To make matters worse, our table was located near two bathrooms, meaning we dealt with constant traffic throughout our dinner from servers delivering food to outdoor diners and patrons going in and out. Each time someone passed through, a blast of painfully loud music from a large speaker just outside the door would flood in, making it impossible to hear one another. We asked again if any other tables had become available, but were told no. It was take this table or leave it.
Before leaving, we spoke with the manager to express our disappointment. He simply replied, “Everybody knows,” with no regard for the fact that we were not locals and had no way of knowing about the music or the seating situation. Our frustrating experience didn’t seem to concern him at all. We won’t be returning."
