This past weekend, my wife and I went on an excursion and made our way to Blowing Rock. It's a small mountain town with a a good vibe. Lots of tourists packed the sidewalks of the main drag. Unfortunately, this also meant that every restaurant was packed for lunch time.
And since this trip was unplanned, we took our time in the morning. We slept-in, had a relaxing coffee, and read the paper by the fire place. This meant that when we arrived we were starving, it was lunch time, and we had to wait for ANY meal we could find.
So, when we walked by the first restaurant we saw (Six Pence Pub) we put our names on the waiting list. We hit a couple of other restaurants, but they all had a waiting time. So, we walked down to the end of the shopping district, bought some warm hats (we were unprepared for a high of 40 degrees), and then made our way back to Six Pence. After a few more minutes huddled together in the sun (did I mention we were TOTALLY unprepared for the cold?), we were finally given a table.
Total waiting time 30-ish minutes.
We were seated by the bar of this packed small restaurant. As you could probably tell by the name, Six Pence is a British style pub. They offer a full array of pub food, along with some UK favorites; Welsh rabbit, Shepard's Pie, Bangers & Mash, and, of course, some decent beers!
We were just so happy to be warm inside the bar, almost everything sounded good -- even the Shepard's Pie! (For the record, after a couple of months in England, I swore I'd never have another Shepard's Pie...) Eventually we picked our meals. I wanted a bacon cheeseburger on an onion roll with fries, while my wife chose the half corned beef sandwich with a cup of broccoli cheddar soup.
The drinks arrived first. I had a Guinness. They actually took their time pouring it, which surprised me. The bar was packed, and I expected a rushed pour with an overly frothy head. But they did it right, so they get a bonus. :)
After about 15 minutes, our meals arrived. My wife's sandwich looked good,but small. However, she was pleased with it. The broccoli cheddar soup was good, but it was slightly runny, and overly salted. Normally this would be a huge no-no. But since we were still warming up, it was rapidly gobbled up.
My bacon cheese burger was quite good. The tomato, onion, and lettuce seemed fresh, and not heated by extra time under the warming lamps. The burger was at least 1/3 lb. if not bigger. And the burger wasn't over cooked either. It had good flavor, and the bacon, cheese, and onion roll, just added to the flavor.
At the end of the meal, we decided to split a slice of homemade apple pie. It seemed home-made. It was a little messy, and the filling sorta fell outside of the crust, making it somewhat flat. However the pie was good, and the creamy cinnamon topping made it even better.
Re-energized and warmed by our meal, we went back out into the cold, and window-shopped and explored the downtown area, and a small portion of the Blue Ridge Parkway. It's a shame we were only there for the day. But additional exploration will bring us back to the area soon.
Score:
Atmosphere: 3/3
Food: 3.5/5
Service: 3.5/5
Total: 10/15
Price: $$$ (drinks, dessert, entree and tip brings it to just over $20/person)
Kid Friendly: Yes. High chairs, kids menu, etc. are available.
Conclusion: Six Pence was small and packed, yet it had a great vibe and wasn't too loud. The food and service were slightly above average for this type of establishment. And thought the prices were slightly higher than expected, I didn't feel fleeced. I'll recommend this place to friends going up to the Blowing Rock area.
Restaurant Info:
Six Pence Pub
1121 Main Street
Blowing Rock, NC 28605
p)828-295-3155
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