CJ's Grille — Restaurant in Bryson City

My family and I found ourselves in Bryson City on an overnight pit stop to break up a long drive to Charlotte. We ended up finding a reasonable airbnb in the area to crash when we arrived late that night, and after checking out the following morning, we decided to poke around and explore a bit before heading home.

I did a quick search for dog friendly restaurants since we had our big ol lovable 100 lb great pyrenees with us, but nowhere to leave him while we went to get a bite. Google Maps suggested CJ's so we rolled up right as they opened, were offered a seat on the patio by the super friendly server, and since it was a little chilly she even offered to turn the heater over our table on for us. There was water out for our dog and he made himself right at home at the foot of our table. It was chilly and drizzly but we were all quite cozy and content.

Everything we ordered was good! We started with fried pickles which were perfectly crispy (and chips, not spears, which is always important). My teenager got a buffalo chicken sandwich that was very nice and crispy and juicy. My husband got a jerk chicken dish that he found very interesting. Being from the UK, he has had a lot of good jerk chicken from the large east indian population in England. He really enjoyed the jerk sauce on his dish and mentioned that it had a fun, very "Carolina" twist on it that made it quite interesting and enjoyable. I had the corn dogs 😂 and those of course are hard to screw up so I enjoyed mine. The mustard sauce was really tasty.

Our server also let us order a plain cut up hot dog to use as treats to keep our pup happy. We got to sit, be cozy, and stay dry while the rain passed. About the time we finished our meal and were ready to head out, the sky cleared up and we could go enjoy some views and light hiking before going home.

What a lovely little spot--we were made to feel at home the whole time we were there, and our server took great care of us. Over a week later, I am still thinking about how enjoyable our little excursion to CJ's was, which spurred me into writing this review. Thanks for the hospitality, the great mountain views, and for welcoming us AND our pupper! (Pic of Magnus enjoying the CJ's patio included...

While outdoor seating puts you close to the tracks so kids can watch the train pull-in/leave, the food is less exciting If you have food allergies, DO NOT EAT HERE!! One of our dining partners has a severe gluten allergy and had a reaction to eating a bland salad with vinaigrette dressing!! Cross contamination is probably what caused the reaction. That said, the place could be cleaner. Dirty walls inside, outside tables were only being wiped on top. No one was cleaning guests seating inside/outside With Covid happening, one would think this place would be trying harder to keep the place cleaner. The restaurant could work on their menu and have more to offer, especially nowadays with so many allergies Since almost everything here is fried, not much else to eat but a salad while trying to be somewhat healthy. (And they only offer one salad) Our food orders varied, but the best food any of us had was a hot dog. The fried fish was a three inch square, and greasy AF, and the salad with fried chicken was depressing. Cold sliced fried chicken, looked like half a breast for a full sized salad. All the fries served that day to our table, were not edible. Hard and greasy, like they were refried - yuck! Won't be back, after everyone felt sick from all the grease, even the salad people ended up ill, especially our gluten allergic partner. Just not worth the drive over just to feel so sick from eating :( Probably should give 1 star, but at least they are open and...

We were very hungry after hiking all morning and stopped in for a late lunch. Normally after hiking, everything tastes good, but not at CJ's. The place was filthy and the service was confusing. Normally you can overlook some grime at a bar if the food is good, but YIKES, the food was bad too. We ordered fried corn nuggets, which was the most salvageable thing we ate, but it came with bottled ranch that was not tasty. We asked the waitress for a straw, she told us there weren't any, but my husband walked up to the bar and found a cup of straws. We both ordered burgers that were promised to be amazing, but man, were we disappointed. They tasted frozen and severely overcooked, with the buns being burnt. Normally with fresh-made burgers, you get asked how you want it cooked, but we were not asked as you would have supposed for a "hand-formed" burger, leading us to believe it was frozen. The homemade chips were cold, soaked in oil, burnt, and tasted old. The fries were ok, but needed seasoning. Try not to use the restroom, we've seen cleaner restrooms in a gas station. Don't believe it when a local tells you that this is a good place to eat, they must just go there to drink, because only if you were drunk would the food be even considered remotely edible. We left with 3/4ths of our food still on our plates and regretted ever walking in there. Save your money and go get Italian food at Pasqualino's. So...