Nineteen19 Grill and Bar — Restaurant in Cumberland Gap

Just had a bizarre meal at this restaurant. I’ve been eating here a couple times per month for quite a while with a friend of mine who is a local business owner. I have never been particularly thrilled with the food, but would say it is on par with what is available in the area overall. The service has always been great, but with average food. This evening I ordered their “wagyu jam” burger cooked medium rare. The burger that was brought out might have been medium when leaving the grill, but by the time it made its way to the table it was more on the medium well side. So, nowhere near medium rare. On top of that, it was pretty dry and had a dense, rubbery texture as if it was a previously frozen, premade and overly compressed patty. For $16, nowhere in the ballpark of being able to choke it down. We alerted our very nice waitress that burger was over cooked and requested a new order to be fired. 10 to 15 minutes later the second one comes out even more over cooked, well-done by the time it arrived to the table and still the same dense, rubbery texture! When she came back through, we informed our waitress of the second burger being way over cooked. She told us that she would go back to the kitchen and get the chef/owner of the restaurant to come out and get everything sorted out. Here’s where it gets interesting. This guy proceeds to acknowledge that my well done burger might not exactly be medium rare and that he would take it off of the bill, but also passive aggressively states that the original burger was correctly cooked to medium rare. It was not, not even remotely so as previously described. When myself and the gentleman who invited me to dinner both rebutted his ridiculous statement, the owner got in his feelings and suggested we ought to take our business elsewhere, stating that he would not stand to be insulted. Besides the obvious absurdity of suggesting somebody take their business elsewhere over a disagreement on the doneness of a burger (Especially when you are so miserably in the wrong) he said this to a local business owner who dines there several times a week. I would ballpark he spends about $1500 per month there. Everybody has bad days, but that was a profoundly terrible and fatal business decision. So awful that it prompted me to write my first Google...

Enjoyable comfort food and atmosphere. My partner and I met a friend for early dinner. This was my first visit to Nineteen19. Considering the geographic location, this is a really nice restaurant. There are not many restaurants of this caliber in this area. Nineteen19 is an excellent choice for special occasions/gatherings or if you desire higher quality food and dining experience. The restaurant facility is immaculate and well maintained. Located in historic downtown Cumberland Gap, Nineteen19 offers a diverse menu with moderate pricing. Chicken, burgers, stir-fry, fish, chicken and waffles, sandwiches, steak and salads are on the menu, as well as desserts. Nineteen19 also has a full service bar for adult beverages, including cocktails, wine and beer. The three of us all order the southwest salad, my friend had steak and my partner and I had grilled chicken. The service was efficient and the dining room has a very pleasant atmosphere, perfect for small intimate gatherings or larger groups. My only negative comment is regarding the dining table and chairs; VERY SMALL AND UNCOMFORTABLE! The chairs are so small I felt like kindergarten again (I'm a small person, not sure how larger people deal with the small chairs??). In addition, the chairs are, in my opinion, most uncomfortable. Otherwise, our early evening dinner was very pleasant and enjoyable. I would have no objections to returning to Nineteen19 again. Especially if you're tired of the fast food scene (which is extremely prevalent in this part of the world) you will find Nineteen19 a welcome change and...

We arrived about 5.15, restaurant wasn't really busy. Instead of sitting us at a table they sit us at the bar, which was fine. We got our drinks, water and a Woodford and ginger ale. We placed our order. Meanwhile the restaurant started filling up. As we were sitting there the table beside us had a party of about 12. Had ordered and received their food, by this time I'm getting a little irritated. As we had ordered the corn croquettes as an appetizer which we still haven't gotten. Tables came and went and we still haven't gotten anything. Finally I asked the bar tender, (which was very busy) what was taking so long he again asked what we got. In a few minutes the appetizer came. So now it's been an hour and a half and no foid I finally yelled at bar tender and told him to just cash us out we had waited to long, he then says we'll the kitchen is small and they go by ticket order, I said yes I understand that but 1 1/2 hrs is ridiculous. He saus let me ho check i said no and he had already gone, he came back and said oh your order is coming out. I said I didn't want it, ok so he says if you just wait a minute I'll give u a discount. My husband really wanted his filet, I only ordered a salad. So we waited ANother 15 minutes, they brought it out he says so I can give you a dessert or a discount I dudnt want dessert it was already almost 8pm. So he rings our ticket out and gave us a 20% discounted. What a frecking joke. Usually love this place and we drive an hour and a half just to eat there, which is our...