Mockingbird Kitchen — Restaurant in Fayetteville

An absolute gem. The food is excellent. In one weekend we showed up without any reservation, and the waiting line was huge. We could not get a table that day. The front desk lady told that they take reservations, except on the Sunday. Next time we made a reservation and hit the place for our Friday night date dinner. The place was fairly packed. They have an outdoor patio seating option too. We chose to sit inside. The indoor environment was cozy and cool. The server lady was very nice. She gave us suggestion on what to eat. The house lemonade was great to start with, on a sunny hot long day. We skipped the appetiser and jumped into main course. I took the fried chicken which was supposedly the most famous dish from their kitchen. It was terrific. Usually chicken fry means greasy big chucks of ‘southern’ delicacy that comes into our mind. This was so different. This was not greasy. It was lightly battered, absolutely crunchy outside and juicy inside. It came with some cheesy mashed potato and green leaves. Greens were essential to balance the taste with so much fried and cheesy stuff. My husband ordered the meatloaf. That was too good. The portion size of both the dishes were right. It’s neither tiny nor humongous that you have to carry the left over. We ordered a slice of mockingbird pie to finish the meal. The dessert was excellent. It was a layered pie with perfect amount of sweetness. Overall the entire experience was awesome. I highly...

My husband and I met another couple here for dinner. We were excited to try their food. Our friends didn't wear a mask due to a medical exemption and the restaurant made a stink about it. My husband and I wore our masks and were seated promptly. We were told we could remove our masks once our waters arrived at our table. (Because water kills COVID, right?) But we were pleasant and cheerful all the while. We were looking over the menu when our friends arrived, they were allowed to come to the table with us, but a waitress quickly brought over two disposable masks for them to wear if they left their table. They said they wouldn't be getting up, so it wouldn't be necessary. The waitress left the masks at the table and walked away. We were then greeted by the manager (owner, perhaps?) and she said she was appalled at how selfish "we" all were... She didn't care that our friends had a medical exemption. She refused to serve us and asked us to leave. We were prepared to spend most of the evening there visiting with our friends and enjoying the food and cocktails. The manager saids she couldn't afford to lose her business due to COVID, but service like this is what is going to do...

When I walked in I thought I would become a regular! Woohoo, I found a local gem! Fantastically creative and diverse menu. I was excited. That soon dissipated and was replaced with disappointment.

I finally asked my server what the odd taste was and after a few questions it was identified they use soybean oil in their fryer. Soy oil tastes terrible and absolutely ruins food in my experience. Also: soy oil is extremely unhealthy and dirt cheap, and almost always high GMO sourced. It’s just junk IMO.

My two cents: what should be tasty meals instead tastes like chemical aftertaste. If a kitchen or owner cuts corners in one category they cut corners in others, too. Sad, because otherwise the food was fairly well prepared and creative menu.

I had great service and liked my server very much. If you are health conscious I recommend finding another place.

Oh and I almost forgot. I also tried the tomato soup. Not only was it cold but I am 95% certain it was straight up Campbell’s canned...