The Blackbird Restaurant

We did outdoor seating on a beautiful day. Didn’t have reservations to eat here, but they let us have seats outside and the menu looks good. Fresh food and ingredients and some amazing accommodating servers and staff. Definitely a good breakfast or brunch spot to try in Asheville

The Blackbird has some nice touches, but overall the experience was a bit underwhelming, especially considering the price point. The service was definitely a highlight—friendly and attentive without being overbearing. As for the food, it looked beautiful, but the flavors didn’t always land. The corn and feta pie came in a broth that felt more confusing than complementary—it didn’t really add to the dish and kind of threw the balance off. The bread starter with cheese was solid, and the candied pecans were a nice touch, but not enough to elevate the overall experience. For the quality of the dishes, the prices felt steep. It’s not that the food was bad—it just didn’t quite meet expectations for the cost. If you’re looking for great service in a cozy setting, it’s worth checking out, but don’t expect to be wowed by the food.

We (party of 2) came for dinner after reading the Chef's online menu offerings and "Farm-to-table" descriptions. It started with my better half ordering a spicy margarita, and I had a sparkling water. Unfortunately the manufactured jalapeno infused Tequila was the only effort placed into this spicy margarita. No Tajin as requested, no muttled peppers as expected. Just an overpriced tasteless miss. I'll address our menu items as we go, seems the pragmatic way to continue this review. We ordered the "Pork Rinds with Honey" since my girlfriend had never had the oppurtunity to try this southern snack. Unfortunately pouring pork rinds from a bag, and drizzling some local honey does not impress, especially when charged $6. Yes, the pork rinds were room temperature cold. No hint of freshness, or attempt to heat slightly to make it appear anything but what it was...pitiful. Next we ordered the "Caeser Salad" which sounded refreshing with house made caeser dressing and tallow croutons. The salad was a very generous portion, but for $17 it should've been. Unfortunately it fell short.The croutons were not fresh, and quite soggy, the dressing albeit generous was bland and tasteless. We ate less than ½ of the pork rinds, and less than half the salads. Next were the entrees, I wish I had better news. I ordered the crawfish stuffed flounder and fingerling potatoes.The potatoes and the sauce were excellent. The flounder was stiff and dry as though it was wrapped around the crawfish mash days ago. Yes I said crawfish mash, the crawfish were clearly frozen as their texture was dry without spring (yes, I know crawfish), and worst was the baseball sized burnt area of the flounder that was like a charred wafer, but thick. At $32, someone besides myself should be ashamed of this being served. My better half ordered the "Shoulder Steak with Asparagus, and Fingerling Potatoes ($46)." She ordered the steak "medium-rare-plus." Her potatoes, sauce, and first bites of steak she said were "very good." The asparagus was cooked beyond recognition and left untouched. After enjoying the start of her meal, unfortunately the hidden pieces of shoulder steak were found to still be very rare, purple in color (see photos). Very disappointing. Just to note...I will not send back food to a chef. I am paying for what is on the menu. I expect him/her to do their job. I am not there to be his preceptor or his Quality control officer to correct the errors. And this evening, choosing this restaurant was a complete error, not to be repeated!!! (pictures upon request). If we would like to discuss "kitchen appreciation added" topic to the discussion. Yes, it is in the small print on the menu. An amount or percentage are not explained ahead of time and just added quietly to the bill. Just because it is on the menu does not make it an expected and routine charge. This is deceptive. You should be better than this, especially at these prices!

My wife and I tried Black Bird for the first time and we were pleased. We had a 5:30 reservation and basically had the dining room to ourselves. By the time we left the room was full. We tried the red & golden beet appetizer, the goat cheese corn pie and the heritage pork chop. All of the food was flavorful and fresh. For two glasses of wine, and app, and two entrees we spent $113 before tip. Definitely a place with trying and we are happy to have found another local restaurant to add to our date night list. Cheers!

First time here and this place made a great first impression on me and my wife. We love trying new places to eat. We will be adding this one to our list of spots to return to. The restaurant has a nice vibe to it and our service was pretty good as well. I had the corned beef hash and my wife had the goat cheese omelet and neither disappointed. If you're ever in Asheville swing by there for a nice brunch

TL;DR - steak I ordered to medium well was RAW, like actually blue rare, even after sending it back. Waitress was so kind and gave me a huge discount. If you’re going to eat here do not come within 30 min of close. I was so disappointed in my experience here. I decided to grab lunch here at 2pm-ish. I walked in and there were only 2 other tables and the staff was doing side work. I asked if they were already closing down and if the kitchen was still open. The host assured me they were not closing, the kitchen was still up, and sat me. I ordered the steak and shrimp Caesar salad at the waitress’s recommendation. I ordered my steak medium well. When the dish came out my steak was raw. Like RAW, raw. Not even blue rare; it wasn’t even seared on all sides. I scraped the steak pieces onto the bread plate and flagged down the waitress. She was mortified and took the steak back to be put back on the grill. In the meantime I ate the salad, which was fine. The shrimp was cooked well and the greens were dressed perfectly. The coupons weren’t my favorite due to texture and the flavor did not complement the salad very well. When the steak came back out ~5 min later it was still blue rare. The waitress was so, so kind and kept apologizing profusely. She ended up taking half off the dish. Here’s the thing - I understand it was 30 min till mid-day close. I’m sure the kitchen was already cleaned and they were pissed to have to dirty up the grill again. I truly wish the restaurant would have told me the kitchen was already winding down for the afternoon rather than serve me subpar food. Serving people a damn near raw steak is going to give someone a food borne illness.

We had the cheese board, goat cheese pie and scallop and trout risotto. Our favorite was the risotto, the scallop was perfectly seared and salted and the risotto was well cooked. Would come back again to try their steak!

Stopped in from out of town on a random Friday and WOW … alllll our food was prefect. My vegan wife found a great meal, all four kids loved their breakfast and my goat cheese omelet was perfect. Thanks for a great experience blackbird