Assembly on Main — Restaurant in Waynesville

It's best to manage your expectations when visiting the newest location of BearWaters as each one has a different vibe. First, the owners have done a marvelous job in renovating this old building into a fun space. If you want a family atmosphere where parents can enjoy a brew and bar food while the kids roam wild, then this is it. If you wish to throw hatchets and drink beer, then this is it. If you are looking for a more adult barlike atmosphere for enjoying some conversation, brew and a game, then this is not it. We visited on a Sunday afternoon and it was more like a Chuck E Cheese than a bar.

The main area is extremely loud as in arcade-loud and you run a very real chance of being knocked about by energetic kids or stuck in the gut with their pool cues as you retrieve drinks from the bar. The hatchet throwing area is quieter but that's only if no one is throwing hatchets. At that point it is too noisy to even enjoy a game on the nearby TV. But that's okay...it's a space designed for thwacking large blades into a piece of wood.

As usual for BearWaters, the beer is excellent. But our party of three each had sliders and the food portion is small and expensive. Granted sliders are called that for a reason but ours seemed smaller than most. Our All Americans came with the requisite tiny patties, cheese, lettuce shreds and a pickle--no sauce. The brisket ones had a smidgen of meat. The fries were very good. However, there was nothing special about these two sliders and fries to justify $15+. Unfortunately, our service was slow and sloppy on this Sunday afternoon. Our wooden trays were slid onto our table by a disinterested server with nary a backward glance. We had to hunt up our own silverware and condiments by asking someone up front at the bar. In summary, families with kids will love the new Warehouse location. And now that we know, we will continue to enjoy the other two BearWaters...

Okay, to start out I want to say that this place had a fantastic beer selection and an amazing area for kids. Extremely kid friendly, which is hard to find. The bartenders were also super sweet and wonderful!

With all of that said, the food wasn't so great. The chicken Parm and Philly cheese steak were just alright, nothing special. The Mac and cheese needed a ton of salt to make it edible (our five year old wouldn't even eat it). And the chicken tacos were incredibly dry and bland. The kids "large bowl" was the same size as the side orders which were two dollars cheaper. The bartenders tried to make it up to us with the kids portions but it's worth noting that it wasn't very much food.

One real issue we had was we have a child with food allergies. When the bartender asked about allergens to the chef, who was sitting at the bar, automatically he said all the items had his allergens in them without even checking the labels on the bread. Perhaps they make everything from scratch and he knows all the ingredients by heart, but after eating there I can guarantee not much is made from scratch, especially the buns that we were questioning. Most buns are free of his allergens (milk and eggs) but he didn't even bother to walk away from him friends and check for us. That should have been our sign not to even order anything from there, but the kids were having fun and we figured it could be worth it.

All in all, it's a great environment for families, the beer was fantastic, but skip on the food because that's not worth it. We still had to feed two of our kids dinner when we got home because it wasn't enough and didn't taste great.

For anyone wondering, the sidewinder fries...

It’s been over a week since we visited here but I’m going to be writing reviews more and more because what I’m seeing in WNC area as far as SANITATION goes, is treacherous. At Bear Waters in Waynesville, this is what I saw and why I am struggling to bring myself back.

Firstly, it’s always a slapdashery of confusion when I go up to the counter for anything. There could be four beertenders behind the bars (yeah it’s always a wonder which one I’m “supposed” to go to for my forgotten silverware or napkin), and they will all suddenly make it their job to avoid eye contact. Last weekend, I think someone thought they were doing us a huge favor by bringing us the drinks we ordered and didn’t get when we were at the counter. But when she set it in front of me, the same person who has been running every nose-picker and ball scratcher’s credit card on the iPad, she used the top edge of the glass to set it down in front of me. Her fingertips, with her long fingernails, touching the part of my glass where my lips go. I just need people to think more logically about germ theory. Please. It is making us sick. I didn’t drink my beverage that day, and I begged my boyfriend to ask for a new one, but he would’ve just gotten another, probably served by the very same bacteria-oblivious people.

Also, if you’re charging $5 to add brisket to anything, you should probably offer more than two meager tablespoons of brisket. The prices look ok on paper, but these proportions do not cut it. If I have to cook when I get home again, I can just skip...