Black Sheep Restaurant — Restaurant in Blue Ridge

Review: Black Sheep Restaurant, Blue Ridge – Part 2

We are staying in this area for 6 weeks and wanted to support the locals. However, like all my reviews, I strongly believe in telling both the good and bad.

We ate at Black Sheep a few weeks ago for dinner and wrote a review. Luke, our waiter last time, encouraged us to come back for brunch – so we did! Of course, I asked for Luke!

Service – Luke is amazing. He should be sent over to Grace. He has a great personality, very attentive and conversational. Just an excellent solid waiter.

Ambiance – We sat out in the pavilion. Gorgeous. I love the décor – it’s very modern. Great for parties or a romantic date at night.

Food – We started with the homemade Cinnamon Rolls. Outstanding. There were 6 with additional glaze to put on top. They were about tangerine-sized, so they were definitely shareable. I then had the Seafood Gumbo, which was also well done. Seasoned perfectly with just the right amount of spice to it. Flavors were perfect. We got the Fried Chicken, and Red Velvet Waffles and the Braised Short Ribs for our entrees. The Fried Chicken and Red Velvet Waffles were excellent. Especially the chicken.

Then there was the Braised Short Ribs. Here, the restaurant fell short, which is surprising since it was the most expensive thing on the brunch menu. While the presentation was great, it lacked flavor. The short ribs were a bit dry, and there was no sauce or glaze outside. You would think, being in Apple country, they would make an Apple Cider demi-glaze mixed with apple cider, stock from the ribs, and additionally (tomato paste, thyme, rosemary, sage, garlic, onion, and a splash of cinnamon. The hash was also pretty blah. I wouldn’t get the short ribs again.

Lastly, before we left, I used the restroom. Fairly clean, but it definitely needs an air freshener that works. The air freshener in the restroom didn’t seem to be working. What really killed our morning was what happened next. As I was leaving, I noticed another waiter (Zack) walking back into the restaurant from the outside area with his hands full. I kindly opened the door and held it for him before I exited. He didn’t acknowledge me and walked right by me; as he walked by me, I said, “your welcome,” to encourage him to thank me. He ignored me completely. It’s unfortunate we experienced this poor customer interaction with Zack, because the service overall with Luke was flawless and drew me back. Zack – he needs to wake up. He is a poor representation of the business.

I hope if we visit Grace next weekend (their sister restaurant – Steak and Seafood), we will have a flawless experience, especially given the price point.

Who am I: I have traveled the world, including 67 countries and 32 US states and have had the opportunity to eat at over 500 Michelin-star restaurants and dined with several international chefs. I believe that every restaurant has opportunities to grow, and consider myself fair...

We came this past weekend for a visit in blue ridge with a few of our friends and our total of 4 kids. My friend was really looking forward to trying this restaurant as she had heard great things so we booked a reservation for Saturday. We were sat in a dark wine cellar with only a few windows opened and we assumed that the lights did not work. The kids meals and appetizers were served first of calamari, shrimp, and Mac and cheese. These items were great, but unfortunately, that was as good as it got. Our server was fantastic as well!

Two of the kids meals consisted of chicken tenders that were so overdone they were inedible and could chip a tooth. My friend and I got the steak that wasn’t cooked as requested and didn’t taste right. I took about 3 bites and couldn’t eat it anymore, I had to shine my flashlight on my food to see it was indeed not correct. My other friend got potatoes that were so overdone they were completely black on the inside with no potato even visible. These were all served to us by the chef himself who saw what he was serving before bringing it out. The manager Heidi even came in at the end of our meal saying “wow it’s dark in here” and cut the light on finally. We explained what had happened and all that was offered was a new steak to be cooked. However at this point we had been there over an hour and a half with 4 kids and would have to take it to our cabin to microwave. We explained everything to the manager Heidi who instead of trying to make things right just wanted to argue with us as customers while admitting that what we experienced was wrong but she would not do anything at this point. I asked for the owner to explain the situation who wasn’t available, but Heidi said she would get the director. We couldn’t stay as the kids were beyond tired at this point and ready to leave. I’m assuming the director found the manager to be in the wrong just as we did as our steaks and chicken tenders were comped. However, all we had truly wanted was for things to be made right or to be offered another chance to come back to correct the mistakes as we were hoping to fully enjoy the experience that we all looked forward to. We had wanted to come for brunch on Sunday as well before our experience and unfortunately we will steer clear due to...

It saddens me to write this review. Our first family trip to Blue Ridge was four years ago, and we had a great dinner at The Black Sheep. Naturally, we were excited to return this year and try the brunch menu. Unfortunately, our experience this time was a major disappointment.

When we made our reservation, we specifically noted we would have a baby with us and would need a high chair. We were told seating would be in the pavilion (high tops only) but that high-top high chairs were available—great news, or so we thought.

We arrived at 12:45pm for a 1:00pm reservation, only to be told we wouldn’t be seated until closer to our reservation time. By 1:20pm, we were finally seated. At that point, we learned there were only two high chairs in the entire pavilion, both in use. We ended up holding our baby for the first hour of dining.

Service was painfully slow. It took nearly 20 minutes just to get water. Appetizers did not arrive until about an hour into the meal. By 2:20pm, after an hour and a half of waiting, our server informed us that the kitchen was out of the loaded potato casserole that comes with the short ribs and crab cake benedicts. The substitute? A side salad—hardly comparable.

When the entrées finally came out sometime after 2:30pm, every single dish was cold. Anything with eggs had congealed yolks. The red velvet waffles were ice cold. My sister’s steak was old and tough. After such long delays, there was no excuse for the food to arrive in that condition—it had clearly been sitting.

We voiced our concerns, but the server brushed it off. The manager never came to the table. We were offered free desserts, but after nearly three hours in an un-airconditioned pavilion, we just wanted to leave.

We arrived at 12:45pm and didn’t leave until 3:20pm. What should have been a relaxing brunch turned into a frustrating, uncomfortable ordeal. Sadly, this was a far cry from the memorable experience we had four years ago.

Oh, after checking the receipt - we were charged $2.00 for the toast my mother requested as a substitute for the resturant running out of potat casserole that goes with the crab...