Located just on the eastern outskirts of Asheville’s downtown area, Woodfire Bar & Grill is a great place to go if you are on the hunt for a fresh, modern steakhouse. This restaurant is located within a contemporary hotel, but do not mistake it for your basic hotel restaurant chain as it is as unique as Asheville itself.
Woodfire Bar & Grill is located within Holiday Inn Asheville East, and it will be much easier to find the hotel than the restaurant as, from the street, you won’t see much in the way of signage for Woodfire Bar & Grill. Both lie along Tunnel Road, just off of I-40. You can park anywhere at no charge. There are no discounts for those guests already staying at the hotel.
The interior of Woodfire Bar & Grill is probably best summed as a mountain cabin cozy. The tables feature a unique marbled topping and are paired with comfortable and nicely contrasted blue chairs with wood frames. Wood plays a major role in most of the decor, from a wood-lined bar to a wooden ceiling over the bar and wooden shelving and wall decor throughout. Windows line one wall almost completely, looking out at a nicely landscaped hill and not traffic. All in all, this feels like a very comfortable and open dining space.
Service here is exceptional and dining guests can expect to feel like VIP customers throughout their dining experience.
Woodfire Bar & Grill is best known as a dining establishment. They are not open at all for lunch hours, but you can go early for breakfast during the weekdays and an early brunch on the weekends.
Breakfast favorites at Woodfire Bar & Grill include:
Malted Mini Waffles
This entree comes with four crispy mini-waffles that come topped with whipped cream and served with warm maple syrup (your choice of drizzled on top or on the side) and fresh fruit.
Innjoyable Breakfast
The menu lists this entree as featuring two scrambled eggs, but you can have them cooked to your preference. You will also have your choice of bacon, sausage, or Canadian bacon served alongside breakfast potatoes or fruit, and your choice of toast.
Overall, the prices for breakfast at Woodfire are very reasonable for the quality of the meal and the overall quality of the restaurant. There is also an available breakfast buffet.
Dinner menu items do run more expensive, prices compared to other upscale steakhouses. This expense, however, is largely due to their utilizing primarily locally-sourced grass-fed beef and pasture-raised pork. Thus, when you eat here, you can rest assured you are getting the finest cuts of local meat.
Popular dinner menu items at Woodfire Bar & Grill include:
Baby Back Ribs
This entree item is available as either a full rack or half rack, but both feel massive. The ribs come from a local farm and are cooked slow and low over a chef’s family recipe. They are finished atop the restaurant’s wood-fired grille and served slathered with an in-house barbecue sauce.
Local Mountain Trout
This is a must-try for seafood lovers and is certainly the house favorite. All trout come from a local farm that utilizes their own fresh mountain spring water and gets grilled on the restaurant’s wood fire grill so as to get just the right amount of crispy without impeding the natural flavors.
Woodfire Bar & Grill boasts a full bar with local beers on tap, a long wine list, and an exciting array of specialty cocktails. A few televisions are placed over the bar but are kept muted or quiet for those looking to catch a local sports game and drink at this hotel bar and restaurant.
Insider Tip:
If you’re staying at Holiday Inn Asheville East, you have the nice advantage of being able to get all of the menu items from Woodfire Bar & Grill delivered directly to your room at no added charge. So go ahead and enjoy sleeping in with that room service breakfast!