The Dining Room

5 Reviews on “The Dining Room”

• Russell

  Awesome!. Recently did a quick overnight trip to Biltmore estate with family for a pre-Christmas tour of the house. We made reservations for supper at the Dining Room. I was a bit worried that the fare might be tinged with typical touristy items & quality, but boy was I wrong. This was probably one of the best dining experiences I’ve ever enjoyed. Absolutely everything on the menu we tried was excellent. Nothing disappointed. You get to choose from a 3, 5 or 7 course meal, with prices increasing accordingly. The 5 & 7 course meals, when merely perusing the menu, seem to be too much food, but the portion sizes are small, so you can actually enjoy it all. We did the 3 course, which was fine, but if your appetite is healthy, you can easily handle the 5 or 7. Extensive wine collection. Do NOT order Biltmore Estate wines. Shame to waste on such a great meal. The wait staff was great, just the right amount of hovering and availability. We requested a table near the fireplace, and were accommodated. An absolute treat that I will always remember!

  March 28, 2015, 7:12 pm

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• Lan Sluder

  Elegant Atmosphere, Not as Expensive As You’d Think. We were spending a night at the Inn at Biltmore Estate (at the incredible 12-month passholder Jan.-Feb. weekday rate of $109) and decided to spend our lodging savings at the Inn’s Dining Room.We started with drinks at the bar in the lobby. There’s a small bar, an outdoor open air hall with tables and chairs (and heaters for this time of year). You can also have your drinks in the Library area of the lobby, which also serves a limited menu of food. This is what we did — we sat by the big fireplace (gas, however) and enjoyed a glass of Biltmore Merlot ($8) and a cocktail ($13).After drinks, we went downstairs to the Dining Room (you can either walk down a flight of stairs or take the elevator). The Dining Room itself is very attractive, done with understated elegance. It has a large fireplace on the wall in the center of the room, and the room is lit by a number of chandeliers. It’s all very tasteful and romantic. We were seated somewhat away from the fireplace but at a window table.It was a table for two, but unlike so many such tables, this was large enough so that you didn’t feel crowded. Service was excellent. Our waiter was obviously quite experienced and provided just the right amount of contact, not too little, not too much. The only very minor complaint we had with service was the we were given a choice of only one of three types of bread, and each was very small. We did ask for more bread later, but I would have preferred having a small basket of the three kinds of bread.My wife had a frisee and endive salad ($13), very good, and I started with split pea soup ($12), which was nicely presented, with the cream soup poured at the table over small pieces of ham. For an entree, I had a 6 oz. beef filet, with whipped Yukon Gold potatoes, caramelized brussels sprouts and a brown sauce ($39). The filet was excellent, very tend with good flavor, but the serving of brussels sprouts and potatoes was very small. My wife had the short rib ($30), which to me tasted like chuck roast beef.With two glasses of Biltmore wine (Merlot and Syrah, each $8 and a nice large pour), and an after-dinner espresso (which came with complimentary cookies, as we didn’t order desserts), the meal came $131, including taxes and my usual general tip. That price included a 15% discount for 12-month passholders, which our waiter kindly reminded us that we were entitled to. Even with the drinks upstairs, the evening cost less than I expected, and certainly less than you’d spend at a top steakhouse such as Ruth’s Chris, albeit the portions were smaller.The Dining Room is certainly one of the most elegant dining places in Asheville, without being stuffy. I wore a blazer and tie, but many there were in shirtsleeves or sweaters (the room was about one-half full, on a January Sunday night). The food, like the hotel, isn’t trendy or particularly creative, but it is well prepared, and I would put the kitchen among the top 10 or 12 in Asheville, and the best of the Asheville hotel dining rooms.One note: To dine here you are supposed to either be staying at the Inn, have a paid admission to the Estate or be a 12-month passholder, though possibly exceptions may be made. A representative of the restaurant did call to confirm if we were staying at the Inn or what, as we had made reservations through Open Table.

  April 27, 2014, 7:49 pm

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• Eat.Drink.RVA

  Phenomenal meal and service. We decided to live like the Vanderbilts and eat at the Inn on Biltmore Estate. The meal was suburb. Prior to the meal we spent time in front of the fire with some drinks in the lounge area, which was very cozy and romantic. We walked down stairs to the dining room and were warmly greeted and promptly shown to a our seats. The china, silverware, and crystal were very pretty. The server greeted us by name and was very friendly and attentive. The whole place was crawling with attentive staff and I felt very well taken care of during my meal. We were severed various breads with a slab of butter at the perfect temperature. We were then served an amuse buche from the chef which was absolutely fantastic–a shot of warm, creamy, pumpkin soup. It was a nice taste of what was to come with our meal. We each got the special appetizer, which was quail and polenta–very flavorful and a good portion. My entree was extremely flavorful and well done. I had the filet mignon and added on the lobster. Both were very tender and tasty. We were stuffed and were unable to order dessert. However, the chef surprised us again with a dessert amuse buche of little chocolates that tasted like P&J. This was one of the best meals I’ve had in a very long time and well worth the price.An added plus, if you bring wine from the the Biltmore winery, you are not charged a corkage fee. Since your ticket already allowed you access to both, I highly recommend getting a bottle or more at the winery beforehand since it’s conveniently located just below the Inn. Since there was no corkcage, this easily saved us $40 on our bill. eatdrinkrva.blogspot.com

  February 5, 2013, 1:35 am

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• Rob J. Caskey

  Very Impressed. My wife and I both had the 5-course tasting menu and quite enjoyed ourselves. Service was very attentive without being intrusive, atmosphere was great, and the tasting menu included the things from the menu that I really couldn’t decide between. A superb bread basket and two amuse-bouche had us quite full but not gorged by the end of our 3 hours there. We had 6:15 reservations on a Thursday night in the off-peak and it was almost empty at that time but filled by 7. I’d suggest the earlier time so you can enjoy the tasting menu and have an opportunity to grab one of the few window tables as the mountain view is great. There was also live music upstairs in the Library that ended at 9:30 so we were glad we had half an hour to enjoy it. I’m still not sure if you need a ticket to get into the gates to eat there or if a reservation time is sufficient, you sure don’t need to stay in the inn though. I’ve heard you can extend your ticket to a second day for an extra $10 and we planned to visit the house the next day, so I didn’t much worry about it. I just rolled down my window and told him my reservation time and he waved us through although that may have been a favor since we were a bit tight on time.Do not skip desert. You have been warned.

  September 16, 2012, 9:03 pm

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• Carole

  Elegant. We have been here many times for events packages – summer concert series and holidays – each time, the food has been really good but primarily the overall experience is awesome – beautiful views and relaxing dinners – also sitting on the veranda outside the bar with wine and an appetizer is wonderfully pleasant!

  December 14, 2009, 10:09 pm

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