Little River Pub and Deli — Restaurant in Townsend

Went for lunch and I’ll give you the good first:

The backyard patio area is beautiful, with a really nice river view.

Our server was kind, and brought drinks and updates constantly. There was a large group that showed up at the same time as we did, and it took an hour to be served, BUT…that wasn’t the servers fault.

Now the bad, and man was it bad.

The food is just not good. I ordered the Mount Leconte Roast Beef Sandwich which is named after the tallest mountain in Tennessee (Clingman’s Dome is in NC and I don’t care who disagrees) and described as being ‘piled high with roastbeef.

What I got was the sandwich my mom use to pack me for field trips: 4 slices of Oscar Meyer roast beef and a kraft single on (literal) Nature’s Own wheat bread with some soggy, previously frozen French fries (that came with an upcharge). Looking at photos of this sandwich others have posted, it seems they may have forgotten the tomatoes and lettuce on mine, or maybe I missed an upcharge. 🤷‍♂️

My kid got a chicken quesadilla off the normal menu, which if it wasn’t a frozen microwaveable target quesadilla , it was suspiciously similar and definitely microwaved and plopped on the table with equally microwaved curly fries.

My wife got a panini and pasta salad. She said ‘it was alright’, and I note that it looked a lot more appetizing than my sad sack, stacked low sandwich.

If I were the new owners of this establishment I’d be embarrassed to call myself a ‘deli’ or to serve customers obvious grocery store ‘quality’ microwaved meals.

Work on fixing that, or I’m afraid you won’t make it even as long as my next trip into town.

Total before tip: $55 for a panini, the saddest sandwich I’ve ever eaten, and a tasteless uninspired quesadilla.

I know, I know, inflation! Tarriffs!, but you can’t serve the slop you’re putting in front of people and then charge them for it.

The upcharge for the fries felt especially egregious given that I buy the same exact brand (Arby’s Seasoned Curleys) for my home use, but I put more effort into them and throw them into an air fryer. They are still nasty frozen fries, but someone today put some effort into making sure my fries were EXTRA nasty.

All in, it seems every trip to Tennessee we leave with one experience so bad that it becomes the best memory of the trip. This might be it for this year.

The single star is for the view, the food...

I travel the country doing fugitive recovery. I brought a woman I planned to propose to here and was even going to do it outside next to the river. The server said the fries were well worth the wait but were frozen curly fries from what I’m assuming was a bag of Arby’s fries. The drinks were flat and the sweet tea was bland. The decor didn’t match, and the music was alright simply because the woman can sing. There was just too much change up on the genre. I’m sure it’s a quaint place to drink at, just not the right environment to get quality food. Started as dine in and ended as take out. $50 total. Wasn’t too happy, but the server did seem to actually care. I can’t blame her for being good at her job.

Also, it appears that the woman that seemed to run the place was drinking at the bar with who I assume is her friends. Either way, as a business owner myself I would never mix a good time with work, but if it works it works.

ALSO A LOT OF THEIR THINGS WERENT ON...

I think this little restaurant is trying to be good. They just need some tweaking. I had a chicken pesto pannini which was ok, but plain. Probably would have helped to add more items. There are no burgers or fries on the menu. I can't help but wonder if their business would be better if they offered those items. Service was great. Outdoor patio with a riverfront view is definitely a nice touch. While the lines were out the door and the wait was long at Peaceful Side Social, this restaurant was mostly empty. Might want to take some cues. Easy to see from Hwy 321 across from Townsend Animal Clinic. Unless they make some changes I doubt I'll go back. Dear owner. Please take this as constructive criticism. I am not advocating the big company with deep pockets. There are tons of small businesses just like yours who are successful. All I am saying is that you can learn something from them. This is not meant...