Hillman Beer — Restaurant in Asheville

My go to restaurant for good beer and food. Most breweries in Asheville have food trucks, no food at all, or the food is just OK. The food here is excellent. I easily spend $500/mo here, love the environment, sometimes with the wedding venue across the street it gets busy, and they take up all of the parking for Hillman.

I’ve met a lot of great staff at Hillman, pretty much never had a negative experience. James should be the benchmark/example of what top notch customer service looks like. He’s always on top of things, remembers the regulars, and is very kind. Victoria always greets us with a big smile, she seems genuinely happy to be there. While all of the staff have been great, James and Victoria go above and beyond.

READ: MY ONE COMPLAINT:

At most sit down restaurants with a server, it’s pretty much expected that you tip at least 15%. I always tip 20% or more. However, Hillman is walk up and order. They DO bus the tables, they DO bring the food out, but that’s pretty much the extent of the customer interaction with staff. At a sit down and order, you may see your server 5 or 6 times, and they have to manage your table, whereas here, you have to walk back up and stand in line. I’m sorry, but this should not equal a BIGGER tip for the staff, and especially because it’s not suggested, it’s expected. If you have people behind you, or the employee is standing behind the counter watching you, there is pressure to click one of the default tip amounts, and not set a custom tip.

The default tip options are 20%, 22.5% and 25%. Come on guys, the options should be at most, 10, 12.5 and 15. Customers should not feel bad for leaving less than 20% tip at a place like this. A dollar per beer is my usual tip as a pour takes less than 30 seconds, and 10% on the rest of the bill. I still think they need to make some changes here, and this should NOT result in any loss of income for the staff, the restaurant management should be fairly compensating their staff without putting it on their customers (as I mentioned, the food is already priced at a premium; it’s more expensive than you’d expect)

Food, beer, and staff: 5/5

Management: 3/5 (for expecting customers to help pay the workers’ wages in addition to already expensive...

I travel for work and was recommended this place by hotel staff at the DoubleTree on Henderson when I stayed here last week. I came here the first day and came back each night after for the rest of the stay. Hana was so welcoming and helped point me in the right direction for beers. Nate’s the jam, his friendliness and hospitality make you feel like you’ve been coming here for years. I wish I could remember all the names of the staff members I’ve chatted with, but I’ve been to a decent amount of breweries and can honestly say that this place is one of my favorites. Food + beer + stellar service? Say less. Can’t beat it.

So here I am again for work this week, and I was pleasantly surprised to see the place packed!! I don’t mind waiting in line for a while especially when I know that the product is worth waiting for. I heard some conversation from impatient patrons, but when you’re in a busy bar, you gotta be able to use your eyeballs. You could clearly see that the staff was working their asses off, all the while providing the best service possible. This is why I wanted to post my 5 star review for this place!! If you come on a busy day and aren’t pleased, try them again. Nate, Keegan, Chrissy, and the rest of the staff rocked it tonight, but in my experience, are phenomenal every night. I’m happy to have this place be on my frequently visited list. Don’t miss out!! (and take a chill...

This is a fantastic brewery! We loved everything about our visit yesterday.

Service - Amazing! Everyone was helpful, friendly, and made you feel welcome. Food was brought out quickly and bartenders were helpful and know.

Food- Awesome! At our table we had the pretzel and beer cheese, falafel wrap, fried chicken sandwich, pimento cheese and naan bread, buffalo wrap, bbq burger, and signature burger with a black bean patty and pimento cheese. We loved ALL of it. Haven’t been to a brewery that had such top quality food across the board. Food was brought to our table in a timely manner and super fresh and delicious. The bun was so fresh on the burgers and the pimento cheese is the best we’ve ever had.

Beer - Some to tastiest beer we have had. The old fort was nice and crisp, and the other beers the table had were darn good as well. The only one we didn’t love was the tropical seltzer. Need more tropical notes in it. Other than that the beer is fantastic!

Great brewery with large tables for big groups as well. We sat out back at the picnic tables and enjoyed the sound of small creek running along the property. They have a nice merchandise shop as well.

Can’t say enough about this place. We’ve been to many, many breweries around the world and this instantly became one of our favorites.

Give it a...