50 Best American Restaurants near Mills River

“We heard about the Mills River Restaurant, 4467 Boylston Hwy, Mills River (Henderson County) from a friend and we finally gave it a try. Went there for lunch today.

The restaurant is quite large with plenty of easy parking. We told our waitress extraordinaire, Ashley that this was our first visit. Ashley offered a number of menu suggestions. She was very polite, super friendly and helpful. Ashley didn’t rush us, was very informative and attentive. When we were paying our bill, we praised Ashley to a man whom we believe was the owner or the manager.

Be prepared, Mils River Restaurant has a huge menu! With this being our first visit, we went with Ashley’s suggestion of the “All Time Favorites” that had a choice of the one trip to the salad bar, a side vegetable OR 3 dailyvegetables. The entrees came with warm, slices of fresh bread with plenty of butter or a margarine type spread.

The Salad Bar I forgot to take a picture of. A large variety of salad toppings such as pickled beets, 3-bean salad, cottage cheese, chick peas, shredded cheese, olives, eggs, chopped ham and other endless choices. Their Salad Bar was so excellent!

I had to try their fried chicken breast and my husband ordered their grilled marinated chicken breast. The fried chicken were TWO 7-oz chicken breasts, with a nice, super crunchy breading. Not overly breaded, it was just right. My husband ordered the TWO 7-oz marinated chicken breast was amazing…great marinade, juicy and grilled to perfection. Both plates were $16.99 each.

Another nice thing was none of the food items were overly salted nor overly seasoned, which was a huge plus. The fried okra was lightly battered and fried just right. I asked for butter with my mashed potatoes, no gravy for me….well, this time anyway. The mash were made from scratch and were so tasty. Both chicken entrees were very flavorful and delicious. The chicken breast portions were quite generous. Since we had the Salad Bar, we ended up bringing home most of our chicken plates, which will be another meal.

Fabulous food, reasonably priced, great service, nice spotless atmosphere… can’t get any better than that! Highly recommend Mills River Restaurant!

Open Tues- Sunday 7am-9pm. Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner! They also serve appetizers, steaks, chops, seafood, burgers, sandwiches, salads, ribs, Italian and Greek dishes and so much more. This restaurant runs like a well oiled machine, smoothly and perfect…they do it right. As I said, Holy Moly they have an extensive menu! Walked away extremely pleased with this restaurant. 😋

We will be back!“

“Amazing barbecue! Coming from a champion barbecue family we take our barbecue super serious. It’s so nice to go to a restaurant that outshines what we can do at home.“

“Had lunch with you yesterday. very impressed great service delicious food. Glad I found you will return. 👏👏“

“Excellent Food, Service and Athmophere!“

“Amazing lunch. Swordfish sandwich. Incredible“

“We had breakfast the food service and prices were great“

“Never once had a bad experience / it’s not just dinner / it’s an experience!“

“Excellent job on the new lunch“

“Best fast food burger I ever remember having“

“Great place for food and drinks, with a hard working friendly staff. I enjoyed performing there the other night and look forward to it again.“

“Food, service, and atmosphere were all great! Recommend!“

“Friendly atmosphere, good food.“

“New Years Eve Dinner A perfectly orchestrated evening.....Beginning with a skillful and dramatic Sabrage! and first pour of the Champagne Toast. Followed by 4 courses each specifically paired with great wines. Not rushed, great crowd fantastically prepared food, a great evening was had.“

“An amazing dining experience, highly recommend! Bonus you can walk to a waterfall behind the restaurant.“

“BBQ Oysters ...Oh my sooooo good, we had to order a second plate of them! And our server was amazing.“

“We LOVE Mike's. They literally helped us set up an impromptu wedding after our plans kicked the bucket. The staff is always super nice, helpful, easy to talk to. Love that they're doggo friendly on their front patio area. Menu is tasty and reasonably priced, sundaes are legitimately the best ever (real fruit, yay!). Favorite diner for life!“

“My sweet friend and neighbor took me to Tooley’s for lunch for my birthday today. We were greeted at the door with a smile and had a very pleasant waitress. The sandwiches we ordered were delicious. The homemade desserts were even better! Will definitely be back! Thanks for a lovely birthday lunch!🥳“

“Great experience!! Our server Tara was super sweet and attentive! My boyfriend had the ribs with Mac and cheese. The ribs came smothered with the classic bbq sauce he reported they were tender and tasty the Mac was everything you want in a Mac and cheese, creamy and cheesy!! I ordered the salad bar which was full of variety and the potato salad they had is one of the best I’ve had in a while! The manager miss Mandy came and checked in on our table and was very personable! Can’t wait to come back soon!!“

“The burgers and our service were amazing“

“The Sierra Nevada brewery is awesome! First off the facility is absolutely fantastic. It’s large but the building and the entire campus are immaculately clean & well kept. It still looks brand new. The tour itself was excellent providing great historical content & insight into their state of the art current operations. Following up the tour with a visit to the Taproom restaurant is a must. The food is phenomenal & the service is top notch. Finally, it was so enjoyable to finish the day with a beer on the patio. I give the Sierra Nevada brewery tour & Taproom my highest recommendation. Can’t wait to take other friends for a visit.“

“5/5 recommend this spot! Jesse’s service is amazing and I can’t wait to go back. Thank you for being so amazing!“

“Rocky’s came Highly recommended from Emma, at the tasting room Eda Ryne. The very best food we have eaten in a LONG time!! The fried green tomatoes with pepper jelly and goat. Cheese were the Best Ever, along with the Medium fried chicken! I'll be telling everyone I know that visits the Biltmore, to stop here for lunch/ dinner!“

“I had a wonder experience. From ordering the food. It was delicious 😋 Then we had shakes , which were delicious as well. I would highly recommend CULVER'S 👌“

“The chefs are brilliant and inspired. The service is en pointe. There are bartender crafted cocktails which are absolutely delightful. The atmosphere is wonderful... these mountains frame this farm so perfectly. The menu is delectable in its options and seasonal variability. I'm a 50 year, born here local... this is my 8th time enjoying eating here at The Silo at Horse Shoe Farm. So, this is not a one off, or a hastily performed review. I've partaken all the James Beard Asheville chefs for a while now...as well as any and all "new best thing restaurant" that comes to be. Nothing...I repeat, nothing in WNC compares to The Silo. You will not be disappointed. And if...if you are and you communicate it- they will make it right. You will have one of the best meals of your life.“

“Had lunch with you yesterday. very impressed great service delicious food. Glad I found you will return. 👏👏“

“My mom and I stopped for lunch here on our way down to Savannah, GA and we had Lisa as our server. She was so lovely and very kind and it was such a pleasure to have her as our server! If I lived closer to Asheville I would come all the time just for her :)“

“It was really a wonderful night food was great I was hesitant to celebrate my birthday there cause the last time we were there the food wasn’t good. But this time everything was delicious my family loved all their foods“

“We recently hosted our daughter’s 16th birthday party at Flat Rock Bistro Cinema, and it was absolutely fantastic! Bryan made everything so easy and enjoyable. We brought a CD for a private movie showing, and the girls loved having the entire theater to themselves—it was such a fun and unique experience.

Before the movie started, we were able to play a PowerPoint slideshow on the big screen with photos and birthday messages for our daughter. It was such a special touch—it actually made her cry! That moment alone made the whole day unforgettable.

We were also able to bring in our own food, which gave us lots of flexibility. The cinema provided all the popcorn, snacks, and sodas the girls could want, and everything was fresh and delicious.

The staff was friendly, accommodating, and made sure everything ran smoothly from start to finish. If you're looking for a unique and memorable place to host a party or event, I highly recommend Flat Rock Bistro Cinema. We’re so glad we chose it!“

“My daughter and I stopped in Mt pleasant location today for the first time ! It was yummy ! Can’t wait to go back ! The pork belly was off the chain !“

“Great burgers and beers. Chicken sandwich is also tasty“

“Great sandwiches friendly staff.“

“I am from Connecticut and you can not find good seafood out here until we found this place. We live an hour and a half away and it is well worth the trip. Awesome food ?“

“We visit Pops Diner yearly on our annual Fall Break vacation. The food is always great, and the portions are large. This year was not our best experience. We visited twice—once at breakfast and once at lunch. Both times our waitress seemed to be overly busy. Drinks sat unfilled and condiments were forgotten. The food also took an unusually long time to reach our table. Lunch was the most unexpected. Our table asked for A1 and our waitress stated that they only had the packs which would be $1 EACH after the first pack. I know everything is expensive, and believe me I get making a profit on food. However, $1 for each package of A1 seems excessive to me. Why not offer bottled A1 just like ketchup? We ended up trying a new diner in town after our less than expected experience.“

“Oh my goodness, if you haven't tried the shrimp & grits you are missing out. Theirs is most definitely among the best, if not the best, I've ever eaten. And being a seafood lover, I've eaten a lot!😄“

“So proud of the new owners! They have kept the same wonderful menu, but are cleaning up the place. New paint job, flooring, music, etc. We hear that the ceiling is next, wow! Blue Sky is AWESOME �“

“We went yesterday for the first time. Had really great appetizers. Our bartender was so nice and attentive. There was a musician playing guitar that was really good. We enjoyed it. Great place to watch a game! Clean and good customer service.“

“Awesome local family restaurant. Food is great . It’s my favorite place to go for breakfast.“

“We have always loved Hannah’s. I’ve noticed an influx of misguided reviews. The waitstaff has always been top notch, and I can’t brag enough on the service and the management“

“I just ate here for the first time on Saturday. Absolutely adorable place, fresh, yummy food & great shopping!! I look forward to coming back next time I’m in town!“

“The bakery part of this location is very small, but apparently very popular, and has well prepared & made fresh daily pastries, soups, sandwiches, and wood-fired oven pizzas. Most of this location is not a bakery, but a gift shop which has quite a large selection for such a small little village.“

“Burgers are delicious and fries are amazing. Can't wait to try some other items on the menu. Nice atmosphere great service.“

“My daughter and I enjoyed our dining experience. We had an issue and the staff immediately took care of it and went above and beyond. Our sever Sheldon was fantastic and made us feel welcome. We will be back.“

“My husband and I have been here several times for an event with a club. Today for the first time, we stopped by for lunch. We were not disappointed. The service was great. Our food was amazing. The entire experience was worth the drive out. If you haven't dined in, be sure you do. We will certainly be back.“

“Our usual go-to for breakfast when out of town. Each one is a different experience and we did find the expected friendly service and good food here.“

“Great service! Delicious treats!“

“This place is great! Great bartender, great bar and I just had a Philly cheesesteak with jalapeños that was off the chain!!! Spicy and delicious. Been all over and lived in Colorado for 35 plus years with great Mexican fare - this the best quesadilla I have ever had…..says the 61 year old man…washed down with $3 bottles of yuengling.“

“Wonderful experience today it was our baby’s first time getting to go out and eat her first meal at 6 months old today and the staff was amazing! They made her day and the food was absolutely delicious I had my server pick for me the 2 that I was in a toss up in and she picked me the perfect dish to eat with the florentine skillet we will be back again everyone was friendly, quick and courteous and it’s hard to find that these days in our economy these ladies deserve the world today“

“Our server, Kelan, was so helpful with our special requests! The cook and shift manager both came over to ask how we were doing. So awesome! My bowl and amped up grilled cheese were perfect. Mom's hashbrowns with a few add ins were exactly what she needed today! ❤️“

“I just had a hot dog from there and, at best, it was a "5". Bun was kind of hard. Cole Slaw was OK, but not what I expected. I prefer an all-beef hot dog, vs pork, which I don't think one is offered at French Fries. I prefer French Fries, as I live close by, but the drive to Hendersonville, and Hot Dog World, and an all-beef frank is a solid '10". French Fries, fries, are better when you get them fresh, but that doesn't always happen. I would recommend the ownership &/or management visit Hot World. Price at Hot Dog World is a nickel cheaper, too. They also offer a footlong, and a hot dog two to three times bigger than their conventional hot dog. Best of Luck.“