Long waits but empty tables. What is going on at Pack’s Tavern? Asheville is home to great amazing restaurants but this shocked us.
Where is this, what is parking like, other travel considerations
Pack’s Tavern is located in Downtown Asheville. This is found near near the county court house and near by Pack Square Park. Driving around this part of downtown was very scenic and had more tall buildings than I expect from the rest of Asheville. The French Broad River Chocolate Company has a location in this area too.
Parking in this area is a bit of a treat. You will find a public parking lot just to the south of the building that is free to park (or at least it still was when we came). If you have read my other posts about the downtown Asheville area you will know parking typically costs. I think this may have been the first free parking arrangement I was able to find.If you need to find other place to park, there are plenty of options but nearly all of them cost.
Ambiance
Pack’s Tavern was ironically very packed when we came. I forgave the situation initially because we were coming on a Saturday night. What was very interesting, however was the fact that the waiting area was massive, which means they probably have excessive wait times normally. We actually observed an very frustrated party nearly leave when they were asked to sit at two separate tables after having waited for double the original time. Kaitlyn were here alone but we still waited for nearly 50 minutes.
The entire place has a rustic bare bones vibe. Mostly aged dark wood and brick. Some assorted memorabilia and mis matching decorations complete the massive space. There is a very large bar that was swamped by all the people waiting for tables. Oddly enough there is a second bar that was closed. We only saw a few rooms in this monster of a restaurant. as you might expect, they are also very well known for their events/weddings/venue options (or at least so said their TV that I watched on loop).
The authentic and fully viewable pizza oven in the back where we sat was really neat though you do not get may good opportunities to see it. As we walked back into this area, we saw quite a few open tables. This made us realize that they must be understaffed to the point that they are not filling all their tables.
Food/Drinks
Food is straight forward. nothing terribly complex but nothing that really justified the prices to me. Again, not sure if this was due to the day/time we came but, we only saw our server twice. Once to take our orders when we sat down and once to give us the check. Other servers brought everything else. Thank goodness we ordered everything at once, otherwise we may have been there for much longer.
The pretzel looked like it was straight from the big box stores but it tasted fine. Our meals were fine but lacked much flavor to me. Kaitlyn got a frozen drink and it was acceptable.
Servers Wanted?
Understaffed, crowded day or just bad service, I do not know. But I do know that this place needs help. I really hope they are able to make some staffing improvements so that the restaurant can actually shine. Our experience was overshadowed by issue and it made it hard to enjoy the meal.
Overall
Pack’s Tavern is busy and a lack luster. At least for us. In a town full of amazing food and drinks and unique service, having even below average service is not an option. Kaitlyn and I did not hesitate to leave and we unfortunately will not be going back.
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