51 Grill

****permanently closing in two weeks***
Heard a lot about this gas station grill and so happy we stopped in to try it finally. A hotel will go up in its place soon so if you are opting between Wendy’s or 51 grill, do yourself a solid and try a little piece of what makes Asheville Asheville! It’s good greasy fried fast food with great draft beers (half off) You’re paying either $ 1 and some change for their small or $ 2 and change for the larger one. Their mozzarella sticks were delicious and they have some damn good fries too. One of the few places open late, 51 grill I miss you already.

If you ate at 51 grill you probably don’t remember it, not because this isn’t a memorable experience, but most likely because you were black out drunk.
This is most unfortunate.
Not that you drank so much that you permanently wiped an evening of your life from existence, (bad news, just because you don’t remember, it still happened), but because you filled up on delicious comfort food that was prepared to order by friendly people who don’t care that you’re speaking like you’ve been gargling novacane and are trying to light the wrong end of a cigarette in their dinning room, because they want to make sure you have the best experience possible and your only take away is that you woke up with a catsup stain you can’t account for.
This is not a spot to take a first date (but if you do and they stay with you, you better put a ring on that), this is a place you should go if your idea of a night cap is a 2 pound cheesesteak with a pound of fries.
Did I mention they’ve had a 101 health score for forever? Ask any Lovecraftian horror, forever is a long time.
Pro tip: scratch tickets make for great appetizers.

Ok AVL folks this is decent place to hit up LATE night if you are in need of some decent greasy food to help you out.
I was a little disappointed in the burger. First I believe this was a frozen patty and not fresh ground. The burger was dry but the veggies were nice and fresh
The crinkle cut fries were great nice and crispy where it needs to be.
I have had their filly cheese steak sandwich before which is a MUCH better option than their burgers. The grilled veggies and steak were nicely cooked, great flavor, and just enough grease to make you realize just what you are eating and at what time!!!
The service was great very friendly customer service. They also sell a small selection of beer in case you need a refill.
Overall not a bad place depending on what time you are looking to eat.

Went here post bar, ordered and then received the wrong order. I informed them that it was not what I ordered and they took it away and I was told they would correct it. they never corrected it. after my friends were done eating I politely told them I never received my meal and to expect my charge to be disputed. to which they told me that they were told I gave my meal away (which I did not, I was very hungry). in my mind why would you tell me you are going to correct an issue to later tell me you aren’t? No one that worked there seemed to care that things were amiss. I know this is a beloved spot and was to me as well until now. will never return.

Quick and great! From the great diner/​bar/​American food to the great service, I have zero compliants. It is located attached to a gas station. Cheap soft drinks to cheap beer, it’s a winner in my books!

This place was horrible. And rude.
A joke of a place, we waited 40 minutes for our food as others we were ahead of got their food. When we asked about our order they didn’t check where our ticket was just said it was busy.
After 50 minutes we just asked for our money back, they gave us no apology, nothing just here’s your money. It’s obvious they don’t care about their customers. So if you guy just be aware you may never see your food or an apology.

Worst service ever. Stand in line for 20 minutes then sit at your table an wait 45 minutes for French fries

I love this place. If you are looking for the most amazing food in Asheville… go elsewhere. This is greasy, good, DINER food. Phillies, gyros, and italians are all good options. plus they have good tots and fries. Staff is friendly.
As a person who is from Georgia, this is one of my favorite spots in Asheville that looks, tastes, and feels like it should be packed at 3AM in downtown Atlanta. But don’t get me wrong, the food tastes just as good during lunch… and I craved it all throughout my pregnancy.
Yummmm.

A while back, they changed from crinkle, to regular fries for their cheese fries; a small detail that had a huge (negative) influence!
I am ecstatic to report that they have returned to the original formulation, and it’s better than ever!
Viva la Crinkle!

This is straight up diner food – and after a long night out drinking and dancing, that’s usually just what I want. I had the grilled cheese, and my husband had a burger. We both liked our food just fine. It was quick and reasonably priced (not cheap, but not crazy). The staff was friendly and the place seemed «diner» clean – I wouldn’t eat off the floor, but the tables all seemed to have been given a wipe-​down. No complaints at all!

I’ve been driving by this place for years, finally got bored of the «usual» lunch spots on Merriman so I decided to give 51 Grill a go. I sure wish I had stopped by earlier!
I had the Reuben — excellent flavors. She had the Wild Chick — equally as good. Beer was ice cold. Excellent lunch spot — we will be back!

Late-​night burgers that can’t be beat! The guys behind the counter are not the friendliest, but when you consider they’re dealing with drunk idiots all night I think they deserve a pass!

51 Grill was the spot after a concert– not much open in this part of Asheville at 11:30pm. We did carryout and had a Gobbler, a Gyro, and a Chicken Parm sub. Everything was good– the Gyro owner wished for a bit more meat, but enjoyed the feta cheese. The Gobbler owner next time will ask for remoulade instead of plain mayo. The Chicken Parm was consumed without desire for changes.
Nice and friendly service, good sammies. Next time, I’ll try one of their deep fried sides.

Friendly service, but a pretty plain sandwich that probably costs a bit more than it’s worth.
I’ve been intrigued by this place for a long time, as we drive past it every time we go up Merrimon, so we decided to finally stop in on a trip to nearby Staples. The menu has lots of delicious looking things on it, but they all strike you as a little expensive. I paid $ 7.50 for a pork sandwich that was mostly lettuce and some plain potato chips. My wife got a Philly Cheesesteak that she said was absolutely delicious, but I’m the one writing the reviews here. She also got really sick later, but who knows why that was.
This was for lunch. I recognize their role in being a late night spot that you can depend on, but for a sober lunch, it just didn’t do it for me, I’m afraid.

Nothings better than a burger and fries at 2am after drinking! Good food!

51 Grill is one of those places that I’ve never been in the daytime. Luckily, it is probably the best place open late off of Merrimon. Nothing exquisite here, just good hoagies that aren’t available anywhere else late.

I was just looking through my friend (and enthusiastic Unilocaler) Kipper’s reviews and noticed his review on 51 Grill. And I realized that I could have very well written it myself.
So why re-​invent the wheel? This is literally, Exactly how I feel about 51 Grill. Oh, but I will point out to you out there that you may be surprised at the prices at 51 Grill and find them too expensive. But I disagree, I think that they are quite reasonable actually. The food is not superb, but its better than McDs or what have you, and I think their prices reflect that fairly. So without further ado, here is my review, which came out of Kipper’s mouth first:
«What? I haven’t reviewed this place?
51 grill was one of the first establishments I ever ate in Asheville. It provides a very valuable service to the town.
What service you ask?
Late night, post bar, greasy spoon, deep fried loveliness.
It’s not great or good [NOTE here: I do think the food qualifies as «good» I think it is quite tasty actually] by any means. But the fact is it’s a service they’re providing. It’s within walking distance of most of the bars downtown so you can get your burger, or your fries, or in my case your Cuban sandwich, have a few more laughs with some friends, and then stumble home… belly filled with glistening grease and regret it all the next morning.
The best thing about 51 grill is that when you’re in the right mindset to decide to go there, you’re going to think it’s the best choice you’ve ever made. And it is my friend… it is! «
Thanks Kip. :)

What? I haven’t reviewed this place?
51 grill was one of the first establishments I ever ate in Asheville. It provides a very valuable service to the town.
What service you ask?
Late night, post bar, greasy spoon, deep fried loveliness.
It’s not great or good by any means. But the fact is it’s a service they’re providing. It’s within walking distance of most of the bars downtown so you can get your burger, or your fries, or in my case your Cuban sandwich, have a few more laughs with some friends, and then stumble home… belly filled with glistening grease and regret it all the next morning.
The best thing about 51 grill is that when you’re in the right mindset to decide to go there, you’re going to think it’s the best choice you’ve ever made. And it is my friend… it is!

So if you want to eat a late night meal and don’t feel like driving to Taco Bell, WaHo or eating vegan food at Rosettas, 51 Grill is your only other option. Here is a quick breakdown:
Plus: It’s open until 4AM, the food is decent meaning that it is cooked to order and somewhat fresh, outdoor seating in the summer (smoking is ok), good location on Merrimon right beside downtown, did I mention it’s open until 4AM
Minus: the food is expensive for the quality you’re getting (I think the cheapest thing on the menu is $ 7), the sketchiest of sketchballs make this their late night hangout so be prepared to see and/​or get in a fight, and your stomach will mostly likely not like you the next morning.
Summed up: Until a real late night restaurant opens up in Asheville, 51 grill will have to do.

The food is terrible and overpriced but it’s open really late and you can get a PBR for a dollar.
This is a little diner type place that’s built into a gas station. I paid about 20 bucks for a couple sandwiches that came with fries, and they were pretty bad — we both got the roast pork «po boy.» It contained probably 2 ounces of pork and 6 ounces of thousand island dressing. I like thousand island dressing but this was extreme, nevermind the fact that the sandwich wasn’t a po boy at all.
Still, PBRs for a dollar.