Native Brews Tap & Grill — Restaurant in Yellowhill Community

We visited on a Sunday in early November 2024 for lunch. There were a lot more people here than expected. We were in the Great Smoky Mountains NP and decided to visit the Oconaluftee Visitor Center. We got hungry and found this place on Google.

The parking was a bit packed for a Sunday at lunch time. There were a few people waiting to be seated. We were just doing take out because we wanted to go back into the park for more sightseeing. We had just hiked Alum Cave Trail to the Bluffs that morning and up to Kuwohi (formerly Clingmans Dome). We were hungry and ready to eat.

The restaurant was nice and had a large outdoor area adjacent to it. They had corn hole and large checkers board kids were playing with while we waited for our food. It took maybe 15-20 mins to get our food ready. The atmosphere in the restaurant was nice but it appeared to be a little short staffed. The hostess said her waitress said not to seat anymore groups and we had to wait but we told her we just wanted take out. There were some empty tables but without staff I guess they didn't want to spread everyone too thin and then have terrible service.

Wife ordered the Colossal Pretzel and loved it. Not sure if it was worth the cost but the smile on her face made it worth it. I'm not a big pretzel person. We wanted to try the "Say What?!?" (Deviled Eggs breaded and deep fried, served with House Bacon jam) but it was sold out we were told. We also got the Brewhaus Nachos which were just fine. The chips were a bit stale. The Fried Pickles and Fried Mushrooms were AWESOME! Would 100% get those again.

Youngest ordered a Kid's Corn Dog & Fries and Macaroni & Cheese Bowl which he gobbled up. Middle one ordered Green Chile Cheese Burger and liked it. Oldest ordered a Warrior Burger and like it as well.

Overall the food was amazing and delicious minus the nachos we got. The pricing was a little high for everything. Even with the quality of the food they felt a little like theme park pricing. Maybe because we were so close to the National Park entrance. If I was a local I wouldn't be eating here everyday but because we were on vacation it was okay to splurge a little bit. If we were in the area again we would definitely consider Native...

The only way I could recommend this place is if you are getting take out. The food was pretty decent. However, the service was horrible. When we arrived, another party of 3 was ahead of us. They were sat outside, and the Manager came back and asked if we wanted to sit outside as well otherwise the wait would be awhile even though the place did not seem that busy. We said sure and sat outside right near the previous party. The previous party was served by a different server than we were. After a few minutes of sitting, they placed their orders and received their drinks. Finally, our server Samantha came out to ask for our drinks. It's a little slow but not horrible. The other party received their orders a little while later. After about 20 minutes, our server came and refilled our drinks and left again. Another 15 minutes later, she came back out again, looked at us, and asked if we hadn't received our food yet. She came back out and said it would be a few more minutes and that she almost couldn't remember if she had placed our order or not. 20 more minutes passed, and everyone around us had received their orders and were done eating! Finally, she came back out and saw we still had not received our food yet and went back inside. A few minutes later, a different server came out and handed us our plates and walked away as if he were feeding inmates at a prison. He said nothing about the food, just set it down and left. Our server came out to check on us, and we stated we had an issue with waiting for an hour before receiving our food. No apologies, nothing. All she said was that it was closer to 40 minutes, not an hour, and walked away. We asked another of the staff to get the manager for us so we could let them know what happened. The manager came out and apologized, saying that this is a problem and he just fired 3 other people for not being professional. He then thanked us for coming and asked for us to come back again, saying it would be better. That's it. Needless to say, we will not be coming back, and I would advise anybody from going there and giving them your hard earned money if they are not willing to work...

My husband and I visited a little less than a week ago, while on vacation. Native Brews is a great place to eat, although their prices aren't entirely consistent with what you actually get (mainly in the area of appetizers). We started with a couple sweet teas, the Colossal Pretzel and fried pickles. The pickles are fry-shaped and very crunchy, which was a pleasant surprise. The Colossal Pretzel is, in my personal opinion, hyped up a bit too much. It was deliciously soft and buttery, the beer cheese was great, as was the stone-ground honey mustard... but not as big as some photos might show and in hindsight, probably not worth the $17 we spent on it. I would feel more comfortable spending about $13 max. Glancing at the menu, there are a couple appetizers that seem way over-priced and then there are others that are decently-priced and what you would expect to pay at a similar restaurant. As far as entrees go, absolutely no complaints. Everything was phenomenal. My husband got the Warrior Burger and I got the Brewhaus Cobb. Both were priced right on target for what we got and exactly what you'd expect to pay. The flavors are creative and mouth-watering. Service was a bit slow for 4pm on a Thursday, but our waitress was friendly and we understand that busy times can often fluctuate, especially in a tourist town. Bathrooms were clean and well-stocked. Parking was adequate. Overall, it was a great place to eat and if we have the opportunity to return (& we hope to!), we will probably just skip the expensive pretzel and go straight to...