Elevation Tavern and Grill

Food was fine, not exceptional. Service was exemplary from the moment we walked in: attentive, professional, pleasant and timely. I had read some bad reviews about service and was apprehensive, but our experience was perfect.

Very nice! Perfect for a leisurely lunch or dinner with a high class feel. More of an adult environment but even the kids felt welcomed.

The food was mediocre for the price. The music came on overhead and we could hardly hear eachother talk. The waitress was in a hurry to take my plate before i was finished. This is the 2nd time this season but we will not ba back for dinner

One of our absolute favorite places to dine in the High Country

Food well prepared but not that special and service was sub par

Fantastic. Low Key and enjoyable!!!

We’ve eaten here many times and have previously had great experiences. We were excited to have another great restaurant in the area, however the last two time we have waited over an hour to an hour and a half for our meals. The first time we ended up having to leave, but this time we waited. The food was good, but they seem very unapologetic about the long wait times.

Our orders got confused and not to much concern over it. From the staff. Also got overcharged.
Food was great.

The first thing we see walking up to and in the restaurant was signs saying they were not accepting walk-ins. Luckily we had reservations. Well, the restaurant wasn’t full, wasn’t the whole tome we were there. Let me say we are reasonable people and always tip 20%. However, this experience was awful. From having to stop and ask someone for more water but never got anymore, never being asked if we wanted more wine, never asked if we wanted dessert, appetizer coming with the meal (excuse was they were so busy), meal was cold, burnt and not edible, took 20 mins to find waitress to get the bill, we were there for 1 1/2 hrs. The waitress decided she would offer water “to go” if we wanted it. We said we would have appreciated water with the meal and better service. Worst experience ever. Terrible meal. Awful customer service. Don’t waste your time or money at this restaurant. Try Joy Bistro or Vidalia in Boone, or any of the other restaurants in the area.

While the food was good, we were very disappointed in the management for preparing/training our waitress. She was very friendly and on top of trying to take care of us. However, she never told us any specials that were not on the menu - learned after the meal there were two apps and two entree options, she did not know what “draft” beer was, my husband ordered a specific bourbon pour that he knew was at the bar and she asked about it and was told by the OWNER they didn’t have that bourbon, complimentary bread was served at all tables around us shortly after being seated and we finally had to ask for some when our entree arrived, she didn’t not seem to have a basic knowledge of the menu because we had to point to each thing we ordered so she could write it down, plus a few other small things. We also walked by what appeared to be an office on the way to the bathroom. The door was standing wide open in the middle of the walkway and there was a dog in there - right beside the kitchen. This door remained open for our entire dining experience. Just before we left the dog was carried out of the restaurant THROUGH THE KITCHEN. As I mentioned before, our sweet waitress seemed to do well with what she had to work with, but was severely undertrained for this type of restaurant and price point. This goes back to reflect on MANAGEMENT, not her.

The food was excellent, the tables were not right on top of each other, the live music 🎶 was enjoyable and not so loud that though you could hear it well, you could still have a conversation at your table. We had a lovely evening.

Excellent restaurant, vibrant bar and really good food.

Busy time. Owner waited on us. 50 mins later we flagged waiter down who checked and said food was 3 mins out.

10 mins later I convinced my wife to finally leave. I believe we could have sat there for afternoon without any interaction from staff.

0 stars

Perfect place for our anniversary dinner.

We had a terrible experience here and would not recommend it. We waited over 45 minutes for our meal. People who came in after us were served before us. I ordered the beet salad with chicken. The greens were rotting and the bite if chicken I tried was so salty I needed to drink an entire glass of water to wash the taste away. My husband ordered the pork chop which was very thin but we were told it took a long time to cook so that's why our food took so long. His asparagus had the woody stem still on it. The waiter we had should probably try another career because his customer service is non-existent. Overpriced and bad service.

Great food and service!

We were in a bit of a hurry and our wait person was obviously new so the entire experience was just OK. We had to wait for drinks, wait to order, and then wait a long time for food. The food was OK but nothing special. Will not try again.

We came here on vacation, the food was AMAZING! The 18 ounce ribeye was sooo tender. The price is a little expensive. This is more of a special occasion type of place. One of the better diners in Banner Elk. Some of the others we’ve tried, we weren’t impressed.

This is our go-to spot for consistently good food and value.

This is a relatively newer restaurant in Banner Elk. This is our second visit and second visit better than first and the first was positive! The food was outstanding and they had a duo on piano and guitar that were absolutely great! We met the owners in both occasions..love they make rounds to each table to introduce themselves. It was a terrific experience and we will be back!

Menus limited but a good mix. Presentation was excellent and taste was ok. Bar had a excellent stock of hard to find bourbons. Young man that served us was very friendly and helpful but apparently very new to job. Menus let on table long after order, plates form earlier first round not collected before main course served. Dirty Silverware taken away but not replaced till I requested. I am sure he will very quickly get a better handle on service. We definitely will go back as the restaurant is a good one overall.

Fabulous. Great food. Music n wonderful atmosphere. Eddie u hVe done a super job. Love the restaurant..

Our second visit to Elevations, this time with guests. Had talked the place up based on our visit a few weeks ago, and we were not disappointed. Service and food were both terrific again. Appetizers, salads, entrees all were prepared perfectly and had great taste. The owner stopped by and checked on us, a very nice touch. Good wine list at great prices. If you are in the Boone or Banner Elk area, you should give it a try.

We always have a great experience however when we were in there on Friday night two of the items on the menu we ordered were not available, the barbecue chicken in the bread pudding. My suggestion would be please make sure anything that is not available server shares with the patrons before they begin to look over the menu so they won’t be disappointed as well as they can order what is available.

We had the Brie appetizer and the calamari appetizer which I would recommend both. Calamari is strips and fork tender accompanied by two nice sauces. The Brie is melted and came with apples, figs and crackers. Again both very good and p the two plenty to split between four people. We had the trout which was very good as well. Could have been warmer but it was not cold or anything. Our friends had the lamb which they enjoyed. My only issue was it looked more baked than grilled and I tend to like some grill marks on mine. Finally we ordered the banana’s foster. It was good but not great. To be honest though this is one of my favorite deserts that I would regularly order in a French restaurant so my expectations may be high. We ordered a bottle of wine that I thought was very good and at a good price. You may find some prices very fair and some a bit higher. Atmosphere was great. Service was great. The owners were very friendly and made a point to speak with us. I will definitely go back and would recommend this restaurant.

Great jazz brunch!

The first big holiday weekend and the service was a clown show - we waited... then finally ordered drinks... and waited to finally order apps. AND WAITED. So long, in fact, that we finally orders desert and passed on dinner. The fish taco app was good. The banana's foster prepared tableside was a highlight.
Def worth giving it another shot - on a quieter night.

I believe this is a newer restaurant but I may be wrong...so my review is based on it being newer. Upon entering we were greeted by one of the owners and later the other owner came to our table. Nice touch. The food was quite good. They had a musician playing but honestly it was too geriatric for us and we are in our 50’s. Felt like elevator music..needs a bit more pep. Our biggest issue was with Kaylee..very nice girl who didn’t have a clue. She was definitely not ready to be on the floor serving..she needs more training for sure. I think this restaurant has a nice future..just needs some tweaking!

We went on a Friday and were surprised to find live music, which was great. The food was outstanding. One of us could not eat garlic and ginger and we had no trouble finding something to eat. They were very accommodating.

Our family really enjoyed this restaurant. The menu and specials were great. The owner was so nice to us and our small children. This is a great restaurant for a nice evening with adults, but also great for children. We will definitely come back.

I ordered the duck leg special. It was TWO duck legs on an incredible array of delicious mashed potatoes, a blueberry sauce and side fresh vegetables medley. Yum! It reminded me of a favorite restaurant in Vail, Colorado where we go for good game.
Also had the beet salad with smoked red beets and golden beets. It was the best beet salad ever! We all loved our food.

Great experience. Good wine list at very reasonable prices. The apps, salads, and entrees were all excellent. Our first trip here but will not be our last.

Mother’s day lunch. Excellent food. We liked the fact that we could order off the regular menu as so many restaurants only offer a brunch menu on holidays.

Was very impressed with the menu and calamari appetizer was good. Wife and I ordered the French Onion Burger and knowing that the bulk of their burgers was bison, I ordered mine rare. Even discussed with server that I wanted pink center. When it came out, it was overcooked to almost well done. Server indicated, after conversation about pink center, that they cook to temp and not appearance since it was bison but would discuss with the manager. Wife had same at medium and was fine. Never heard back from server/bartender nor manager. Left other half of burger on plate. Appetizer and 2 burgers @ $46 pretty hefty for lunch, so I paid bill and moved on. Lesson learned. May try again but doubtful.

Great server, excellent lunch fare; we sat outside on deck which was very relaxing until the maintenance crew came by to trim the bushes! Overall, great experience, will be back!

Our second experience was as good as the first.

Our server, Tyler B was great. The owner, Ed greeted us along with the general manager, Bert and couldn’t have been nicer. We look forward to a return visit.

Walked in trying a new restaurant for the first time for lunch and were pleasantly surprised . Wait staff was warm and welcoming and happy to See us. Food was wonderful will return next time in area would recommend this restaurant to anyone for any occasion

Delicious food, thoughtfully prepared. Kudos to Chef Andreas for consistently exceeding expectations! We look forward to our next visit!

We had an awesome and much needed night out at Elevation Tavern. When the restaurant, under different ownership, was first opened many years ago, it was a really nice establishment to eat good food and relax in front of the fire. Apparently the space was left vacant for a period of time . The restaurant has been restored to it's current ambiance with good design and exceptional food. We were very pleasantly surprised. Our waiter, Bruce, was so friendly and very accommodating which created an even more enjoyable place for dining. We think we may have found our "go to" tavern on this side of the county. Oops, you are in Avery County but minutes away from Watauga in Foscoe. Thanks for a great experience. Kudos to all!