Beautiful decor, especially during the holidays. We come here at least for the lobster bisque and wedge salad - two of their iconic selections - but we’ve had many fantastic meals here over the years. The bar is well stocked with quality liquors and the bartenders are skilled at their craft.

My first time experiencing this place though it’s been on my list of restaurants to try for a while. Glad I finally got around to it. A good experience. Maybe it was serendipitous timing since it was my birthday but my original intent was to go to Houston’s but once I learned of the extreme wait times, I called Blue Ridge which was just around the corner and they booked my reservation right away. Upon arrival, the valet guy was nice as was the hostess. So far, so good. Where things kind-of derailed a bit was with the waitress (don’t know her name but she was a young black lady with braids who said she’d been there for a year). There was something off-putting about her. We asked her questions about the menu and she didn’t answer directly, she kept repeating an obvious (ie “that is the appetizer” when we asked her about the difference in proportion of the appetizer versus the entree). I couldn’t figure out if she was slow or trying to be sarcastic. And during the meal, she seemed to forget everything we asked her to bring to the point someone in my party stated “she’s doing that on purpose.” Everyone else in the party had the same impression of her that I did—snooty and nice-nasty (you know the type who wears a disingenuous smile while they’re speaking). It was clear we were first-timers but she didn’t give a warm-fuzzy welcome. Tip for servers: Whatever you think of your customers, YOU are there to serve them, not the other way around. Treating everyone with respect and deference regardless of your ignorant pre-judgements, goes a lot further than being pretentious and possibly losing potential repeat customers. Anyway, that aside, the food was good, maybe not spectacular but definitely good enough to warrant a repeat visit. The salmon—both the hot smoked appetizer and the entree (which had a little heat which was a nice surprise) and the beef ribs were tasty and well-received. Also the unique way they provide a sweetener liquid with the drinks was a nice surprise too. I will add that I was actually surprised at how reasonable the prices were. Based on the aesthetic, I was expecting much higher pricing. But it’s actually les expensive then Houston’s if you can believe it. Moving on, the ambience was another plus. You definitely feel the upscale culture from the valet service (lots of high-end vehicles) to the indoor decor which gives an upscale cabin aesthetic with lots of stone accents. Overall, a great way to spend my birthday. Very glad I got to finally eat here even if I left with a twinge of feeling judged when I left. Restaurant recommended though for anyone looking to spend an evening in a nice, ritzy environment.