Timber! — Restaurant in Johnson City

Had a Friday date night at Timber! We were both very disappointed after reading the glowing reviews. The restaurant is indeed casual, but very overpriced for the just-average quality food. The restaurant is in a bad location, is very unfinished, and feels like they are unsure of what they are doing. Hopefully this will improve in time. I find it necessary to outline my visit as to possibly help the restaurant or advise others of what to expect. There was a line extending from the counter where you order towards the kitchen with staff constantly going back and forth trying to get around the line. Other staff members are constantly asking people to move out of the way so they can open the large walk-in freezer door. We tried to read the menu, but there was not enough light in the hallway to read. The menu instructs you on how to order and says to signal a hostess if one is needed. Options are eclectic but few. We noticed lots of food on a shelf in the kitchen with no one bringing it out to patrons. We finally ordered and received a number. The receipt even had a space for a tip when you are paying before receiving any actual service. That kind of bugged me. It's a small nit-pick but is representative of the larger disorganization. Seating is minimal with several picnic tables and some comfortable bar stools inside. An inside lounge area is present as well as some outdoor seating although we were told it may or may not be open on a 90 degree August evening. We waited a long time for our food to come out. We sat at the bar with the last diners' glasses and plates left on the bar until we requested a hostess remove them after sitting there for 10+ minutes. No one wiped the bar area down either. Luckily the last diners weren't messy. We ordered the pan seared trout and a cheeseburger. The thin burger patties were pretty bare and definitely not worth $12. It came with cheese and onions on the burger. The fries were alright, but we've had better. A $5 fast food burger would have provided better quality and quantity. I recently paid $10 for a burger at Chop House that was much better and was enough to share between at least two people. The trout was not fishy but had no special taste with its possibly mustard-based glaze with corn, green peppers, and a few other veggies composing the dish. The smoky-flavored bacon was not good. The drink menu was not very interesting. Some drinks use nitrogen to chill the glass. That was pretty cool to see. Their beer appeared very foamy. We saw several drinks made that were just sitting there, not going to anyone for several minutes. The bartenders appeared to be cleaning their prep areas as they worked. We saw multiple people ordering the burger and corn dogs. None of the food looked exceptional. For the price, we were very disappointed in this new restaurant. When I went back and read the reviews again, they all seem to read very similar from one to the next. All gave it 5 stars and spoke of the exceptional quality. I saw the complete opposite. We believe the restaurant has an identity crisis wanting to be a family restaurant with lots of people bringing in infants and toddlers (nothing on the menu would interest kids besides the corn dogs) but more closely resembling the typical Johnson City bar with an air of a minor outdoorsy/national park theme. The walls were pretty bare. Water was room temperature in small plastic glasses poured from an old brown bottle. There is no air conditioning or fans in the restaurant from what we observed. This was our experience dining in this new restaurant for the first and probably only time. No one even asked if we needed anything or were enjoying the meal. We ended up going to another restaurant because we were still hungry after eating here. Hopefully this information will help the owners to fine-tune their new restaurant. There is potential, but many changes are needed to improve the service, ambiance, and food. Maybe they are only catering to the yuppie crowd, but we were not impressed and have found much better local...

Dining at " Timber " is a unique , but WONDERFUL experience! Food choices are so interesting with the slightly different combinations the Chef offers. Two in our party of three were celebrating birthdays. It was the first time any of us dined here. While the restaurant is small, the acoustics are quite good. Even as the restaurant filled up closer to when we left we could still carry on conversations easily. Because of the intriguing Menu offerings, we decided to sample several of the appetizers. The Smoked Trout, Corn Ribs, Warm Stuffed Dates and Pimiento Spread all were Exceptionally good. The Fingerling Potatoes were excellent, and were adequate for the entire party to enjoy. The Beef Tartare, although presented in a non- traditional " chopped " form was nonetheless superb. The Lamb Meatballs and Pan Roasted Stuffed Quail were wonderfully prepared and delicious also. Although a totally satisfying meal could have been made with just the first two courses, we opted to try the main courses at " Timber " as well. The Braised Chicken Legs, Indian Spiced Chicken, and Shawarma Lamb Neck all were prepared great and tasted very good. The portions on the main course, like everything on the Menu we had, were very generous, and easily could be shared among everyone at the table. While the parking outside can get a bit tight, it is well worth it to experience the unique blend of tastes and offerings this little gem in Downtown Johnson City provides its guests. The entire staff at " Timber " was welcoming, courteous, and very attentive to our table, without being intrusive. It is easy to see why this restaurant is so popular. It IS an experience I highly recommend to anyone who likes to try traditional selections from a Menu - with deliciously crafted twists. The Drinks we had from their generous list were also very good. " Timber " offers visitors and locals yet another reason to check out one of the many reasons more and more are finding the revitalized Downtown Johnson City, " the...

Ate here last Sunday with friends for dinner and was very excited to try the unique menu. My overall impression of Timber! can be summed up with: “chill out”

Service: The timing of service was appropriate, but several interactions left us confused or annoyed. I’ll recount a few:

Part 1: server offered to bring a sample of a drink for A and A said yes please. B just wanted to order the drink, no sample needed. Server brought B drink and asked if A needed his own sample or just wanted to drink from B’s (???). Why would a server offer up another guest’s drink?

Part 2: B ordered a burger and asked to add pickles. Server “wasn’t sure” but it “might be okay” since they’re on another sandwich but would have to go on the side. Pickles on a burger!? Gasp.

Part 3: C ordered a burger and asked to have it on a different bread (same bread used for a sandwich, not an invented bread). Server said she couldn’t do that because “the chef is gonna say no.” Her solution was to bring a bunless gooey smashed burger and a side of bread for me to construct myself. I said no thanks, not necessary— still brought it bunless.

Food: absolutely love the creative menu and glad to see this variety in JC. Overpriced. We sampled a large variety. Everything was good, but also just had a tiny thing off that became more pronounced with each bite. Examples: fried green tomatoes need more salt and less honey; cauliflower and beets need more salt (I see salt has been an issue in the past and it sounds like y’all overcorrected); cauliflower too saucy, unbalanced; too much mint on beets; burger needs some kind acid to balance out all the fat; the dark chocolate dessert was WAY too salty :(

They can’t do Bloody Mary’s because they don’t have the ingredients. Ordered a Jack and Coke and they kinda can’t do that either. Not a bar for “classics,” just “quirky” drinks as far as I can tell.

Server said we could smoke next to the fence, then complained and made us move...