Early Girl Eatery — Restaurant in Asheville

I stopped by the Early Girl Eatery for an early lunch. I was by myself and had just finished getting a haircut. I was seated at a small table behind the hostess stand and was handed a menu. Problem is, it was completely different than the online menu I had studied before my plan to eat here. But, after some conversation, I chose the Chicken and bacon sandwich with lettuce, tomato and a spicy sauce. The fries didn’t come with it like the older online menu so I ordered a side from the choices. I chose the curry cauliflower. I asked for a water and I watched her pour it from a pitcher. I took a drink and realized it was warm without any ice at all. I’ve never had a restaurant give me warm water and I was taken aback.

I pulled out my Verizon phone and could not get a signal for data. As a single diner I usually read my phone just like I would read a paper years ago. I asked the waitress if they had WiFi and she answered no. She said it’s difficult to get a signal in here as well. She said they have all told the owner but to no avail. I told her how important it is as part of the dining experience for a single. She said she understood. I sat there working on some note offline.

The chicken sandwich came out hot, on a very nice bun, a small bun, with chicken and bacon sticking out all over, but good. The chicken was superb and the fixings were super fresh and delicious. The sandwich was a bit dry. I didn’t really see any sauce. The small side of curry cauliflower was very soft but the sauce was good.

All-in-all, a nice sandwich in a cozy place that can’t afford WiFi or ice for their water. Additionally, if I had ordered fries as a side, it would have been $4 extra (is what she told me) but I ordered the very small side of soft curry cauliflower and paid $5.50 and I didn’t know it was more and she didn’t tell me. Guess I should have asked for more time to read them because it says ALL single sides are $5.50 (fries are listed as a single side). That means that the new menu without the fries included is actually a price increase of $1.50 for the same from the old menu. So, price increase plus cost...

This review is for the south location: My husband & I have frequented Early Girl for over 10 years - the big draw originally was that they took over King Daddy’s location on Haywood St & kept offering the gluten free chicken & waffles from that menu. Up until the pandemic, Early Girl held their own & even opened a 3rd location. They remained stable & we considered them to be an excellent restaurant. Too bad, so sad that EG has probably reached their expiration date. They seem to be holding on by a thread. Our last 5-8 visits have been disappointing & pretty lack-luster. After expanding their menu with innovative & creative options, they recently slashed that menu about in half. Business hours are now extremely limited and the food portions (no lie) have been cut in half, if not more. The food quality now registers below standard, food execution-below standard & cleanliness/sanitation is unacceptable. The wait staff, however, still seem to shine! We have always been treated with the utmost courtesy & respect from EG’s staff. I will not go into details regarding our meal today (veggie bowl & chicken & waffles) as the usual mishaps were there - the only thing served hot was the overcooked, dry chicken, the tables had not been cleaned, crud all over the condiments, eggs not cooked as ordered — etc, etc.

We’ll NOT be back again - we will miss you, Early Girl! Our friends have a betting pool now, wagering how fast EG will be closing down…hopefully they can keep the downtown location - but we’ll not patronize that place simply because it’s too small & too inconvenient. Maybe they can keep the tourists coming… the locals, I think,...

This is for the downtown location. I have been to Early Girl a few dozen times in the last 20 years or so but after my experience today, I won't be going back. We got seated reasonably quickly but it took our server a while to take our order. We finally ordered and, as we waited...and waited...and waited some more, we realized that hardly anyone around us had their food. There were lots of servers milling about but hardly any food was making its way out of the kitchen.

One couple got up and left without getting their food. Another family spent at least 30 minutes waiting for someone to take their order (and was still waiting when we left). People around us were looking at their watches and trying to flag down servers. Eventually, I asked a server to check on our order. We had been waiting 50 minutes by this point. During that time, our server had not come back with any refills or acknowledged us in any way. When the second server didn't come back with our food, we got up and left. Altogether, more than an hour in the restaurant with nothing to show for it. And all we ordered was a side of toast and a 2-egg breakfast!

Called in a pick-up order at Biscuithead and had my breakfast there in 15 minutes. Looking at some of these other reviews for Early Girl, I'm not the only one that's had this issue. When did the service get so awful? If they were short-staffed in the kitchen, they just shouldn't have seated so many people. Avoid this place until they get their service...