The Abbey at the Heartland Little River Chapel — Restaurant in Townsend

We again tried The Abbey while in town. Nah, for us, we have decided after a handful of tries, hoping for improvements (food being served). A kind of too-dull a feel... still, even after some building improvements... 'broken-up' with various rooms & exterior seating -- a mostly-self-serve restaurant. Yes, after ordering, an employee delivers your on-a-paper-plate order to your table after you have assured that you have grabbed some napkins and plasticware. There isn't any "table service"; just know this ahead of time. Yes, The Abbey has added attractive expansions... an exterior river-side patio area and an additional interior dining room; though the day we most recently visited this room was empty except for 4 patrons.... a quiet space and a good-looking add-on, but unappealing in a way; large but with no interesting art nor visuals, a large TV but not functional ... and an employee moving around this floor area, sweeping, while we "dined"... this room's key feature may be considered the view towards the river (for several tables, nice, but not all). A new entrance, you may know... taking one closer to the bar area where you place your order, though a funky walk between the entry door and the bar-order area .... always friendly bar attendants. Offered cookies that were boasted as the best-- though hard, sugar cookie-like cookies (chocolate chip cookies), cold (although it was mentioned they were just baked) and more like a sugar cookie vs a chewy and moist choc-chip filled homemade cookie... just nothing we'd like to be offered & not anything we'd take another bite of. Menu, overall, is not appealing to us after various "tries" and limited... understood, but most fare we've tried--not something to try again (except the pork slider duo). Speaking of the menu, their "Italian"--a soft breaded, mostly pastrami sandwich... patrons might appreciate a re-naming of this sandwich (as it in no way whatsoever represents an Italian sandwich, in the U.S. anyway). A nice place to hang out with a glass of beer or wine & a light snack when musicians are actually there playing live, or just to sit outside and enjoy a river view. The pork sliders have been good, soft buns & tender pork-- although the teeny-tiny 2tablespoon "side" of coleslaw is an awful portion-size--yes, enough to add to two "sliders" served, but not a "side". No other menu items to discuss nor go into detail about here; feel free to try yourself. In the bar area, a h-u-u-uge table remains ... taking up the majority of floor & move-about space there... not a table we've seen folks using routinely; possibly used if The Abbey is ever really busy, though we haven't seen this nor heard the same from other patrons. We have seen 2-4 patrons leaning on it waiting for drinks (that they ordered when they placed a meal order; this table is right next to the handsome bar). As to this huge table and bar area -- this restaurant may consider replacing this expansive table with several high-top tables/chairs, inviting a better area to actually use and to move about & through? We have read many reviews for The Abbey, and we are disappointed in Mgmt. replies... for the Reviewers, those taking time to share with "the many"... their honest feedback... for the less-than-stellar reviews... The Abbey replies are ?generally, in a way, expressing disappointment with the customer etc.--vs simply thanking any reviewer/patron... & not holding a patron responsible in any way for what one may consider restaurant shortcomings. Mgmt./ownership -- (hopefully) sincerely & seriously consider Reviewer feedback with open minds for praise, & for prospective improvements/changes that a majority may embrace; we all would like to see a growing patronage. Hours of operation are appreciated! Lastly, as to safety & aesthetics.... in the construction & recent building-improvement areas... it would take VERY little effort & time for mgmt./ownership to (immediately) clean up these exterior pathway & patron-/staff-use areas. Sending the best...

I’m sorry but I guess I’m the "rare" reviewer that really wanted to like this place and after two tries, I’m throwing in the towel.

When you order at the bar and pick up the menus you can tell they haven’t been cleaned or wiped down in ages. They were flat out filthy and some were so worn down the plastic was missing.

Because servers are paid the basic $2.13/hour in Tennessee, I tipped 20% out of guilt. Otherwise, I would not be tipping. You order your own food and pick up your own beverage when paying (instead of a server taking your food and beverage order) then someone brings your dinner on paper plates, with plastic cutlery and paper napkins. So I'm basically tipping to have my order brought to me on paper plates, that's it. The customer does everything else.

I ordered a chicken salad on croissant which was greasy 🥐 with a side salad. The chicken salad was warm, the side salad was warm and the tater tots were cold. So everything that I ordered was served at the wrong temperature. The only thing that was right was my Diet Coke with ice. Seriously.

The windows that over looks the river were in need for a dire cleaning and were filthy. There was residue from tape that was torn off, and was still left on the windows that needed to be removed. The tables and chairs outside really couldn’t be wiped down because they are a wire mesh and you could see where food had dripped in them. There needed to be a covering of some sort so at the very least the tables could be wiped down and sanitized between guests. So you are sitting and eating off a table and chairs that aren't wiped down. The only way to clean the gunk is to power wash them. Seriously. Once we saw what the tables outdoors looked like we made a beeline for seating inside.

And the true test is that you can judge the cleanliness of a restaurant based on the bathrooms....and well, let's not go there.

I seriously don’t see the draw here, I really don’t. And I’m not doing this to be punitive. This place is a gem with a lot of nice qualities like the river view and lots of sitting space in a unique setting. But it sorely lacks good food served at the right temperatures on dining plates with real silverware and napkins with a staff that takes your order for an earned 20% tip. It really needs to step up its game in the kitchen. Even if it claims not to be "full service" -whatever that means- it’s just a big turn off to be “surprised” like this. Why don't you tell your customers this in your description on your website that the customer would be doing 50% of the waitstaff work? I would have bypassed The Abbey and saved my money. And I don’t think letting a server know the food is lousy isn’t going to change a thing.

Think of the additional business if the food was on point instead of something that’s barely above cafeteria food served in elementary school. It just isn’t a clean place to eat and unfortunately I won’t be back or refer this...

Update 6/15/24: I went back today with a group after tubing the Little River and had a good experience. I ordered the supreme pizza, and it was delivered to our table soon after we sat down. It was fresh, hot, and tasted good, and sitting outside next to the river was very enjoyable. Everyone in the group seemed pretty happy with their experience as well. I would say just be aware that when you order at the front and are prompted to tip, you are really only tipping for food delivery and not any kind of service. At least that was my experience today. No one came back to ask how our food was after it was delivered or if I wanted a to go box towards the end of the meal.

Original review 5/30/24: If you are okay with getting your food an hour after you order it, then this is the place for you. At least that was my experience tonight. I ordered at 7:00 and finally got my food (to go) at 8:00. I have no idea what was going on, and I appreciate the manager for comping both mine and my friends’ meals, but this level of service is unacceptable. This was my first visit. I don’t think it will be my last, but it definitely put a sour taste in my mouth. Others were in the same boat as us. Whatever was going on, hopefully management will take some steps to ensure it doesn’t happen again. I’m giving 3 stars because I know this place has done much better in the past from what I’ve been told, and the atmosphere outside sitting next to the river...