The Gamekeeper

Restaurant reached out to me and my husband to give them a second chance. We were going to go this weekend, but snow is altering our plans. I applaud any business who «rights a wrong,» and I look forward to updating my review once we return.
***Update*** (2÷1÷16):
My husband and I returned to Gamekeeper after having to cut our first visit short. Our second visit was wonderful! The ambiance of Gamekeeper is really something. I love the old lodge feel to it, with roaring fire in the stone fireplace, and I especially enjoyed sitting next to the window and watching the sunset over the Blue Ridge.
After the kitchen sent us a complimentary (and delicious!) amuse-​bouche of cured salmon, watercress, and wasabi cracker, my husband ordered the full cured salmon salad. He was extremely pleased and ate the entire plate. I ordered the beet salad which was also quite good.
It’s also important to mention (a second time) just how much we love Gamekeeper’s wine list. It’s an extensive and playful collection of very good wine. Wine enthusiasts will not be disappointed with the offerings.
For dinner, my husband ordered the grilled duck breast and was thrilled to learn Gamekeeper is «exchange friendly» when it comes to swapping sides. My husband doesn’t like sweet potatoes, and the kitchen had no qualms enhancing the sweet potatoes for roasted rosemary potatoes. The duck was perfectly cooked with tender meat and crispy skin. It had a lovely sweet and savory smoke flavor. I ordered the elk filet with green peppercorn jus. It’s rare to find a restaurant that cooks its meat true to order, but I can say my filet was promised to be medium-​rare and it was! (It’s always a shame when other restaurants over-​cook their steaks.) The filet was juicy, tender, and well-​seasoned. Next time, I might ask for the sauce on the side because I like to go really light on sauce. I also loved the roasted root vegetable medley that accompanied the meat: parsnips, carrots, and collards in a delicious (and not overwhelming) balsamic reduction. I could have eaten an entire plate of those veggies!
For dessert, we ordered the special tiramisu and pound cake. Personally, I enjoyed the pound cake, which had a sugary crispness to the edges and soft inside. It was drizzled with a yummy caramel sauce and topped with a dollop of cold vanilla ice cream. It wasn’t sickeningly sweet like some desserts can be, and was a great ending to a extensive and delicious meal.
I’d be remiss to forget to say how attentive the service was. Taylor was regularly checking in with us – as did the manager – without hovering or making us feel rushed. In fact, if you dine at Gamekeeper, make sure you plan accordingly. This isn’t a restaurant that wants to turn tables as quickly as possible. Diners at Gamekeeper can expect the meal to be an event where guests can sit, relax, and indulge themselves in good conversation and good food. I wouldn’t recommend coming here if you have a strict timetable to attend to, but if you’re going to spend $ 30+ on an entrée, why would you want to rush it? Sit, exhale, relax, enjoy.
Thank you to Gamekeeper who made our second visit possible. We will definitely be back and will recommend the restaurant to friends and family both in-​town and out-​of-​town.

Firstly, the food was very good, even the emu (which apparently is not an Aussie endangered species) and the service as good as any. The place does have some oddities. It’s a smaller place and they run out of things. The manner in which the trout shortage was handled was excellent.

Looked up restaurants before I came into town for a training meeting. Being from Texas I appreciate local game and well prepared meat, and decided on a whim to try this place out. First off the drive to get there is stunning. Check out the Blue Ridge Parkway route in daylight or at sunset.
Service was great, we were seated in the bar area since we did not have a table reserved.
I ordered the Elk steak with blue cheese macaroni and it was delicious. Only wished there was more of that shiitake mushroom sauce on the plate.
Friend had the venison osso bucco and it fell off the bone, also delicious. Tried the venison sausage and was not a fan but loved the pheasant and emu on the tasting plate.
Capped it off with coffee and some bread pudding.
If I did not live a thousand miles away I would eat here regularly to try new game and flavors. Love the use of local ingredients and game meat. Hat’s off!

Our second trip and it was as great as the first. The wait staff was attentive without being intrusive. The mixed grill appetizer is a must. Every entrée we’ve had has been well planned and expertly executed. Whenever we’re in the high country we dine here. This won’t be changing anytime soon.

This was our second meal at this restaurant. This is a restaurant that really and truly cares about the food and experience they are putting forth. We hit them on an off night a few months ago and we were so impressed with our follow up discussions with the owner that we wanted to come back. Boy, are we glad we did. The passion they have for food comes through. My new potato soup was delicious, and the pheasant pot pie equally as delicious. My husband had the trout which was one of the best trout dishes he has ever had. Extensive wine list. Our only regret was that we had a very late unexpected lunch before arriving — wish we would have had our full appetite! And the view… did I mention the view? Give it a try!

Excellent service. Amazing variety. Superbly executed dishes. Even my children enjoyed every bite.

Place is awesome. Ever changing menu, friendlfy knoweldgable staff and bartenders. Great mountain ambience. We always go when in the high country. You should too!

Words can not describe this hidden gem. All the awards they have won are for a good reason! A must dining experience.

Fabulous views & wonderful unique cuisine. We enjoyed our evening there with friends!

Food and atmosphere are both unique in a good way. We sampled the braised ostrich and grilled elk chop. While the ostrich was good, it was not quite how I envisioned it, however the elk was delicious and perfectly prepared. All in all a very different menu than most, surrounded by the beauty of the Blue Ridge mountains.

This place boasts Amazing food and Great service!!! They don’t over book themselves so you are seated fast! When reserving I told them it was our anniversary so we were greeted with happy anniversary! Great place to celebrate something or just have a nice relaxing meal!

This place is incredible. I got the boar chop and I feel I’ll never be satisfied by pork chops again. Ambiance was really nice, too!

So so so good a bit pricey but so worth it. I’ve eaten a lot of different stuff there all was great.

My star rating means as follows; 5 stars= would go back in a heartbeat and highly recommend. 4 stars mean same as 5 but there is something lacking and they could do a little better. 3 star rating means I will not go back but would recommend. 2 stars would mean its not good so don’t go unless you are starving. 1 stars mean I would not go even if they paid me and would not recommend.
My husband and I went because of the great reviews on Unilocal and it was near where we were staying. The restaurant is set on side of mountain and is beautiful. But ambiance will not get me to come back if food is not good. The food was good but not exceptional. I would give it 4 stars but my husband will not go back. The price is too high. We have been to fine dining restaurants in the bigger cities such as San Francisco, NYC, Chicago, Seattle, and smaller ones just like Boone in nearby Asheville. The lowest entrée price was $ 29 for a vegetarian meal. There were at least two entrees at high $ 50s. I had scallop appetizer (just two large size scallops and I have had larger ones than these) on purée parsnip, cost $ 16…for just 2? They were tasty but not exceptional. For entrée I had trout. Yes, I know, its a game restaurant. But every entrée should be great shouldn’t it? If you like all variety of meats, then go. This place is where you will get choice of Ostrich, Bison, Elk, Rabbit, Duck, Wild Boar. The portion is generous for the entrée.

We have been going here for Thanksgiving Dinner for the past 4 or 5 years now. Make a reservation. Thanksgiving is a special dinner menu. A bit pricey for the area, but worth it. Food is always beyond excellent.

Went to the gamekeeper for the first time this evening… And it was absolutely amazing! I was so worried that I was going to be disappointed because it was so hard to believe that everyone who’s been there had an amazing experience… But it really is true! We started with the fried oysters and got the elk medallions and wildboar chop for our entrées… Dessert was equally good with a cheesecake that tasted like an éclair… And a bourbon bread pudg! It is pricey… But you get what you pay for and then some! We are so happy to have this restaurant in our backyard since we just got a place here in Yonahlossee.

I have dined here frequently over the past few years and always been very pleased.
This time the quality seemed to have slipped a tad. Perhaps it was my choice of entrée which was fried chicken. I figured if they did bison, ostrich, etc so well, their chicken would be awesome. It was mediocre to say the least. My favorite has always been ostrich which having been missing for awhile is now back on the menu but at $ 41 a little too pricey for me. I will be back based on wonderful meals there in the past.

Very delightful experience for my anniversary. We heard from many locals that this was the spot to go and the reservation book echoed similar. The atmosphere is fantastic, very rustic interior and a great mountain setting. The food was delicious, well prepared and the proteins well high lighted. The service was mediocre… I’m actually writing this review while waiting for our waitress to clear out entrée plates so we can order the much talked about bread pudding.
My wife gave this ⁴⁄₅ stars… I’m a ³⁄₅ guy, myself.

Second visit here and this visit was very consistent with the first. There were some highs and some OKs. The concept is interesting and the setting beautiful, but for the price the OKs bring the rating down a star.
Highs on this second visit were huckleberry fritters with lamb. Delicious, party in the mouth combination of flavors. The escarole salad with shaved venison was very tasty, almost a play on a wedge salad.
My wife had the mule-​hoof pork chop. It was by FAAAARRRR the best pork chop I had ever tasted. I wished I had gotten it instead of the bison, which was OK but came out a bit cold.
Last, the bread pudding was much better this time around.
We were told that the restaurant had to close for several months to dig a new well and that the staff (including in the kitchen) had turned over nearly 100%. That made the consistency in the cooking more impressive and the glitches in service (e.g., a long delay in getting our wine out) more understandable.

How this could be anything but a 5-​Star is beyond me.
The setting, the smells, the layout, the menu, and the staff. It was an all-​around wonderful experience. We frequent the mountains and for some reason I had never been. I will be hard pressed not to go back each visit now.
Kate was our waitress for the evening and was superb. Friendly, knowledgable of the menu and very helpful. We will certainly request her again when we return and would urge you to do the same.
I started with the Pork Belly appetizer (root beer braised and charred pork belly with korean black barbecue sauce, local scuppernong grape syrup and fried shallots). My wife starrted with the Buttermilk Blue Salad (crumbled buttermilk blue cheese, and organic baby romaine lettuce with brandied granny smith apple vinaigrette, red onion confit, dried cranberries and spiced pecans). Both were fantastic. I love Pork Belly anyhow so I was immedately in love. My wifes salad was also fantastic. The red onion confit made it for me. The flavor combined with the bluecheese and pecans was perfect.
I had the Duck for my entrée (long island duck breast, grilled medium-​rare, with blackberry barbeque sauce and sweet potatoes mashed with local honey) and my wife had the Ostrich (spice rubbed ostrich fan filet from hilltop farms in forsyth county, grilled medium-​rare, with roasted garlic risotto and sun-​dried). I already knew what I wanted when I sat down. I’m a huge fan of duck at restaurants like this because I know they’ll prepare it perfectly. My wifes ostrich was also wonderful with a great crisp outer ring with wonderful flavors from the rub.
We paired it all with a Saintsbury Pinor Nior and finished with a blueberry cobbler and some spiked coffees.
Our experience couldn’t have been better and again, it was from all criteria a perfect dining evening.