Wild Thyme Gourmet — Restaurant in Highlands

Excellent food, good service, pleasant atmosphere, not tourist friendly. In October 2021, not knowing much about the Wild Thyme, we went for dinner on a Monday when most restaurants in the area were closed. When my girlfriend called to ask a few questions about the restaurant's location and parking, the lady on the phone was a little short with her and did not answer her question. Therefore, I would not consider this restaurant tourist friendly. However, we found the restaurant and were not disappointed in the experience. The Maple Brie appetizer was particularly good, as was my girlfriend's Shrimp and Scallop entree. The goat cheese, cranberry and walnut salad was also particularly good. The pan seared WNC Mountain Trout was the best trout dish I have had. I loved it! The chef did an excellent low-carb version by subbing spinach and asparagus for the polenta. A friend had the Portobello Mushroom Napoleon which she thought was well prepared, but too soupy for her taste. The portions were appropriate. Our server, Dolledon, was knowledgeable, friendly, and professional. I thought the prices were fair. Most menu entree items were between $25 and $35 with a few more expensive. They offered indoor and outdoor seating. I would return.

We returned in July 2022. The food was as good as we remember from last October. We found the hostess and the staff to be very friendly, efficient, and accommodating. I had Bacon Wrapped Quail, and my girlfriend had the Veal Chop entree (The special that day), We enjoyed our entrees. My girlfriend had coconut cake for dessert, which she described as the best she has had.

Back again in May 2024 as the Wild Tyme has become a must when we visit the Highlands/Cashiers area. I can now state that the food is consistently great. I had the heart of palms salad and my girlfriend had the beet salad. For our entree My girlfriend had the shrimp and sea scallops and I had the crab cakes. The scallops were large and sweet. The crab cakes had no filler, and all crab. They were the best I have had outside of Maryland. So far in three visits over three years we have not had anything that was...

On 7/15/21, I arrived in Highlands, NC and the staff at my hotel (Park on Main) suggested this restaurant as dogs are allowed on their patio. My dog and I arrived at the restaurant at 6:45 PM and there were 4-5 open tables on the patio. The restaurant was busy (not slammed with business) and the 2 women at the front desk seemed frazzled. I waited outside with my dog, called the restaurant to ask about a patio table. The woman who answered confirmed there were open tables on the patio, but she didn't offer to take my name or confirm if those tables were already reserved. She abruptly ended the call before I could confirm an outside table.

So, I entered the restaurant with my dog, stopping inside the door at the host desk. I do realize dogs do not belong inside a restaurant, but again was trying to secure an outside table. One of the women chastised me for bringing in my dog and I tried to explain it was just me who called. They also then produced a reservation list and insinuated none of the patio tables were actually available.

I reluctantly decided to place a to go order and one of the women finally came out to take my order and payment. The only positive was the food order was ready when promised, but I had to go back into the restaurant vestibule to pick it up (they didn't offer to call or text me). The mahi mahi was average, a bit dry, served on a bed of dry jasmine rice. There was a good ginger sauce for the fish that made it a bit more palatable. The beet salad special was a bed of romaine with a handful of beets (maybe canned?), nuts, feta cheese and two endive leaves. No salad dressing was included. They did include bread with the order, which was also quite good.

My advice? If you are traveling with a dog, don't go here. While we waited for the to go order, I saw another traveler with dog treated in the same manner. The entire weekend we were in Highlands, I didn't see a dog seated on the outdoor patio once. Perhaps the restaurant can rethink the food ordering process for travelers with dogs to avoid this issue...

I went online and made a reservation for dinner yesterday and had proof my reservation had gone through. When I showed up, the owners wife, an Asian lady who runs the entire front part of the restaurant, was the person who greeted our party. She was defensive, argumentative, rude and did not want to honor the reservation telling my entire party she books a month in advance and there’s no way my reservation would’ve been accepted. I had to tell her twice I did not want to continue this type confrontation. When I pulled the reservation up on my iPhone, she immediately reached out and was attempting to grab my phone out of my hand to look at what I was telling her. I had to let her know she was not going to touch my phone considering she waits on hundreds of people and touches so many things in the restaurant on a daily basis. At that point, she had us sit on the sideline and said she would try to see what she could do to accommodate us. The next party who came to check in, gave their name and said they had made a reservation the day before as well. Their reservation went through and she immediately sat that party down at a table. We sat waiting for almost 15 minutes to see what she was going to do next. One of the other people who work in the restaurant, came from behind and showed her on an iPad that my reservation had in fact gone through. At that point, she sat us at the bar and hovered over everyone sitting at the bar and the bartender the entire time we had dinner. There is a mandatory policy in force for the entire town of Highlands, North Carolina that you must wear a mask while inside a business. She was not wearing a mask and that was another reason I did not want her touching my phone or getting close to us. The only thing we have good to say about this restaurant is the food was amazing.

Thanks for taking the time to read this long review and happy dining. Be sure and try the fried shrimp and...