The Tavern at The Holly Inn — Restaurant in Pinehurst

I stopped by the Tavern for a late lunch (2pm). I was in between appointments and was intrigued by the person who wrote that it was "the best food they've ever had." I love good food and this set the bar pretty high. But its Pinehurst so I figured the food might actually meet this standard.

I walked in and was immediately greeted. The lunch crowd was kinda thin so I was seated right away. Multiple people came up to take my drink order. Chips arrived quickly and they brought out water and sweet tea right away. Sweet tea was perfectly sweet and I didn't feel like my teeth were going to rot out of my head. Two big thumbs up there.

Let's get to the meal. I ordered a Hot Mess. It's a burger with pepper jack cheese, onion rings, bacon, house pickled jalapeños, and served on a brioche bun with roasted garlic Sriracha aioli. Sweet potato fries for my side.

Holy Mother of all that is holy. Can I bow down to the greatness that is this burger? It was hands down the best burger that I have ever had. Not too big, perfectly juicy, and absolutely delicious. This is not a frozen burger. This is clearly a house made burger. I wish there was more aioli and BACON! The bacon is absolutely delicious. Order extra. You won't regret it.

I'll be honest, I ordered the jalapeños on the side. I can handle heat, but as a native Texan, I'm judgemental about other state's jalapeños. Big mistake. Those bad boys BELONGED on the burger. They were the perfect mix of slight crunch, sweetness and spice. Leave those little nuggets of heaven on there.

All in all, highly recommend. The atmosphere was great for a perfect pop in lunch. I will definitely be going back for seconds. And thirds. I'm not sure who the chef is, but they have truly created a...

We’d like to go back but we are not sure……Hubby’s burger was so under seasoned and it came out rare when he asked for medium and so was the coleslaw (almost like there was none) My crab cakes and remoulade were good but the corn skillet veggies (there’s no skillet) were terrible…again next to no seasoning and there was an over abundance of raw red onion so it was inedible. My dish also came with 3 asparagus that were the fattest I’ve ever seen and some tasty hush puppies. **I’m hoping management sees this…when we asked our waitress for a recommendation as to what to eat, she replied with, ‘I have food taste like a young child so I don’t know. The burger is good’ This is not the representation you want in a food...

Delicious food! My husband and I arrived during the lunch hours but just before dinner. I really wanted to try the salmon on the dinner menu. We inquired about choosing our meals from the dinner menu and we were obliged. I am so glad we did. It was delicious! We also had the Southern Hushpuppies as an appetizer and blueberry peach cobbler for dessert. Both were amazing!! I don't think I've ever had better tasting hushpuppies. The dessert was truly unique and paired well with the blueberry ice cream. My husband had The Butcher's Turkey sandwich with sweet potatoe fries, another great dish. Hats off to the chef. We will definitely dine here again even if we're not...