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. 👏👏“

“Amazing lunch. Swordfish sandwich. Incredible“

“Excellent Food, Service and Athmophere!“

“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!“

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

“Excellent job on the new lunch“

“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.“

“Best fast food burger I ever remember having“

“Friendly atmosphere, good food.“

“We had a delicious dinner for our girls night. Kate was very sweet and pleasant.“

“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!🥳“

“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!“

“Recently visited Zeke’s and had the braised short ribs on a bed on risotto with carrots, celery and a side of garlic spinach and yellow squash. The dish was fresh and delicious. Although I believe short ribs are supposed to be served on the bone. The dish was still very good. Very tender meat and excellent presentation. The spinach and garlic was outstanding and would have made a great meal all on its own. Highly highly recommended! Their Prime Rib on Friday along with their fried pickles are amazing!!“

“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!“

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

“This is our fourth trip to Hickory traveling and everyone gets progressively better. The service is good and our servers Gracen and Kelly did a great job of taking care of us. We will be back again and again and we really enjoy the atmosphere.“

“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.“

“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“

“I am so grateful that we have such a cozy, unique theater in our area. It is the only place around that you can see such a variety of diverse independent films. Our support of these films is vital to their continued existence. Plus, you are always greeted by Bryan B’s smiling face offering you delicious food and drink before you enter the charming little theater space. What’s not to like?“

“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 !“

“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 ?“

“Great sandwiches friendly staff.“

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

“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 �“

“The collard greens were the best I've ever had ... as was the Salted Caramel Banana Pudding! The venue and all of the amazing FLOWERS outdoors were breathtaking! Do NOT miss this place!“

“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!😄“

“Excellent all around! Great food and service.“

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

“Great atmosphere and fun unique experience for all of us“

“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 stumbled upon this place in my way back from Ashville. Let me tell you the baked goods…. Forget about it! As I stood at the counter I could see the food that was coming out and everything looked freshly prepared. I only had eyes for their apple butter bars. And they did not disappoint. I definitely will return for breakfast or lunch. They also have a nice covered outdoor space that was very quaint and relaxing.“

“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.“

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

“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.“

“First of all this is extremely small and crowded for a First Watch, we had a busser walking in our space, was uncomfortable. Asked for coffee and milk with the coffee, by the time it says was reminded she finally brought out the milk, only to have my coffee be a slight cooler than luke warm. Upon food arrival, portions of the food was cooler than other, like it was sitting waiting to be picked up. Lemon Ricotta Pancakes, had very little ricotta for pancakes. Million dollar potatoes where but cooked all the way, several where hard to chew. The staff died not work well together, I asked a server waking but to grab my plate, she was so upset. We won't be back ❗“