Between the Great Smoky Mountains and the Blue Ridge Mountains, lies the town of Waynesville, NC.
This gem of a town is known for its epic views, scaling mountain ridges, and endless sky, as yet untouched by the onslaught of viral development of our beloved Asheville.
Like Asheville, Waynesville is a destination to visit for its character and charm, delivering that “mountain town” feel. Right on the edge of town sits Bogart’s, as authentic a mountain town restaurant as you’ll find anywhere. Named for the original owner’s dog, not the actor, it opened 37 years ago and it’s still going strong.
We drove into town about 4 p.m. on a Friday to walk around and have dinner – driving past the restaurant we saw the parking lot was full. We shopped Main St and returned for dinner, to a full house. And we noted later, as we were leaving, the line was out the door. Welcome to Bogart’s, where the locals eat, where everyone eats.
Bogart’s is the local steak house and family restaurant. It’s a large cabin, built for that warm and comfy experience. The main dining area and bar are on the first floor with lots of extra seating upstairs in the wrap around loft, providing a view of half a dozen large stuffed bears lying on upper beams, and the action below (no worries, the bears aren’t real). We sat up in the loft and were served by Judy, an employee of 23 years. Although the restaurant was full, the service was steady and the place was amazingly quiet.
We did have a few minutes before we were seated so we sat at the bar, which has about 15 seats, and overlooks the flaming grill. Bogart’s has six taps and about 35 bottled beers. We had Asheville’s local Greenman IPA on tap and a CK Mondavi Merlot. The wine selection is all CK Mondavi, a good American wine maker, and they do a very generous pour.
The menu is succulent and wide with many choices in steaks, chicken, seafood, burgers, sandwiches, wraps, soups and salads.
Dinner entrees start with a warm basket of fresh baked home-style brown bread with whipped butter. We ordered the house signature dish, Angus filet mignon, wrapped in bacon, flame kissed and medium rare. As expected the filet was cooked as requested and as tender as any filet. The bacon wrap was an accent and did not over power the beef.
We also ordered the lightly breaded and fried shrimp, a generous portion and blessedly not greasy! Cooked ‘just right,’ the shrimp tasted fresh and tender.
Entrees come with a side salad, Caesar or house, and a nice selection of sides, including flame-roasted apples, sweet or regular potatoes, veggies, rice pilaf, and more. We chose sweet potato fries and the roasted apples with cinnamon sugar, perfect for those fall food cravings.
For vegetarian choices, Bogart’s has a Chipotle Black Bean Burger, a Grilled Portobello Mushroom burger, and a Veggie Philly. For the meat lovers they have a nice selection of 1/3 lb. burgers, cooked to order, with an assortment of toppings to please. Glancing at the other diners, we saw that a popular choice was a Bogart’s ‘Favorite,’ the Prolific Sweet Potato, served as an appetizer or a meal; it’s stuffed with pulled pork BBQ, bacon, jack and cheddar cheese, creamy chipotle sauce and chives. People were digging it!
Judy offered us a choice of desserts, and we wanted to pick a house-made one. We split the blackberry cobbler with vanilla ice cream. The cobbler was more blackberries than crust, nice! It was also not too sweet, and large enough to split easily. But it was a tough choice, since they also had homemade bread pudding.
Bogart’s has a warm and happy vibe, a real destination spot, where we felt we were one of the family, even though we were out-of-towners. I think they’re proud of that, they can welcome everyone and anyone to have a great meal and a lovely visit, whether they’re passing through town, or will come back again and again.
Bogart’s Restaurant and Tavern
303 South Main St., Waynesville, NC 28786
(828) 452-1313
Sunday-Thursday, 11 a.m. – 9 p.m.
Friday-Saturday, 11 a.m. – 10 p.m.