The Frog and The Monkey

My husband and I stopped in here while vacationing in Beech Mountain just looking to grab some decent food and were pleasantly surprised that a local place existed this time of the year with such great reviews.
It’s a small place tucked away off the main street but quaint and charming. They are environmentally conscious and inform you in a way that is neither pretentious or obnoxious (just by way of a added menu card that told you the restaurant’s ideology). The food has a lot of vegetarian options but everything from their meat to the wine is comprised of locally grown, humanly developed ingredients. I don’t think that makes a great restaurant but it definitely gives them bonus points.
Our servers were all very nice and well informed on the menu. I was a bit unsettled when the first 2 bottles I ordered were out of stock but they let me sample a recommended white and the wine I did eventually order was delicious. I found their food to be tasty and well plated. I had the cheese and kale soup and the artichoke flatbread pizza, both of which were very good.
The bill was very modest and we left having a wonderful dinning experience for not too much money. If we should ever return to Beech Mountain, this restaurant would be worth a revisit.

This is a quirky little place and not a place you would expect in Banner Elk. Our waiter was super friendly and nice but a little scattered. The loud, weird really hard rock and roll music playing in the background did not make any sense but the food was gourmet and obviously prepared with thought and passion. Great place for lunch not so much for dinner.

we, group of 6, stopped by for dinner after skiing and was very happy that we did. The restaurant is on the small size, maybe fit 30 — 40 customers in the building. But the food was great and the environment was very well done. The waitress, Leslie, was very courteous and friendly. She knew the menu very well and made us some recommendations for us since we are first timers. She made it very easy for us to pick the right food and made it a very comfortable environment. There is parking for the restaurant right next to the restaurant that had a sign label post office parking, its for the restaurant also. I had the california burger and it was very good and it all of us enjoyed the place. Overall if we stop by at banner elk again, we would definitely come by here again. Happy that we can support another amazing local restaurant.

Wow — amazing food and atmosphere! We have been to banner elk for years and have never had good food. We read reviews and thought we would give it a shot and boy were we impressed. We took it to go the next day on our way home! The fish taco was delicious! This restaurant will be a staple on our trips!

Our lunch today was outstanding! Carrot and ginger soup and tempeh melt with a side of Kale salad was the perfect meal for a snowy day. My daughter had the crab cakes and they were really good. Had to get two chocolate frogs for dessert. We will definitely be back!

We wandered in after reading great reviews on Unilocal.The restaurant advertised themselves as local and green and the menu looked very interesting. It seemed to be a very cozy and nice place, we were one of two parties when we entered. Over the course of our meal, the restaurant filled up (about 8 groups) and the staff quickly became overwhelmed (more on that later).
But, from the beginning, our waiter was scatter-​brained at best and shoddy at worst. I asked for tea that didn’t arrive without a reminder. Then we ordered wine, a red for me and a white for my date. He brought out the white for both of us. My date said she didn’t want a refill of her distasteful peach green tea (i tasted it, it was disgusting) but he still poured her another glass (not very «green» if you ask me). As an aside, they started with a preachy introduction about how green and local they are, but i noticed they used paper napkins rather than cloth and lipton tea doesn’t seem too local to me.
Our food was not very good. The edamame was over saturated with salt and pepper. But at least that had flavor. The crab-​stuffed bellas were bland and dry; at best a poor medium for eating the tarter sauce. My burger was dry, flavorless, and overcooked. They included a tomato that was as large as the patty, which only served to make it physically impossible to eat my burger without looking, and feeling, like a mentally-​challenged barbarian. It didn’t help that the ciabatta bread was equally dry and terrible, as another reviewer mentioned. To be fair, the mac and cheese was delicious.
As we were sitting there letting the gravity of our mistake sink in, i was witnessing a complete meltdown on all fronts. They ran out of burgers and some sodas, not sure how that even happens, and the wait staff was seemingly unable to handle waiting more than 2 tables each. They were nice enough, but after waiting about 20 minutes, watching our waiter go back and forth to every table but ours in this very small restaurant, i had to go up to ask for our check. He finally brought it and proceeded to forget about us again. I had to ask the other waitress to process our check.
I’ve never had a dining experience so far from what was reported on Unilocal,but i cannot in any way recommend this restaurant. I would have left 0 stars but at least i had good company and good mac and cheese. 1 star.

Lovely dining with a great couple that own it. She cooks he runs the front. Food very fresh and all locally purchased ! Bison burger with sautéed onions& mushrooms with fabulous sweet potatoes fries are to die for! also cream brûlée

Good food. All local ingredients. My burger was good but the bun was just ok. The bun makes the burger IMHO so that was too bad. Cute little place though. Great service.

Great food. The chicken sandwich with Brie is unique and well worth the money. I’m not giving it five stars because the temperature was uncomfortably warm.

Great vibe… great food and great service!

Stopped in for lunch while on vacation over Memorial Day weekend. Had the Jalepeno Burger with Sweet Potato Fries. It was money!!! The sweet potato fries are amazing!

We arrived in Banner Elk after surviving a reenactment of The Mist earlier in the day. We decided to explore the area that same evening and were happy to come across The Frog and The Monkey on Fish Friday. Its challenging enough to practice lent in familiar territory, but on vacation its an entirely different beast.
F & M had a great eclectic atmosphere and was very mellow. We sat ourselves and noticed what we thought was a slow night. It was around 7:30 when we arrived and only two other tables we occupied. We were eventually greeted and brought our drink orders. I tried the peach green tea and was very refreshed. I also ordered a beer in the spirit of the restaurant and enjoyed Left Hand’s 400 lb Monkey, a 6.8% English IPA both potent and creative.
For dinner I went with the waitress’ advice and ordered the house veggie burger (rather than the mushroom burger) with mac and cheese. The veggie burger was sent out with some flare, the chef invested some artistic presentation to liven up the burger, decorating the slice of tomato with thick diced red onion to make it look like a crowned achievement. The veggie burger consisted of a thick patty of chick peas and other goodness. It was hearty and filling. The mac and cheese was fresh to order and awesome. It came in its own ramekin, baked but with al dente noodles with a nice crusted top and gooey insides. The girlfriend ordered the fish taco and damn, that’s a mountain fish taco! Their sweet potato fries are thick cut and an order is fit for two. By the time we paid our tab and set to leave, people started piling in, so it looks like it was perfect timing on our part.
I’d love to go back to try one of their burgers. I enjoyed their style, menu and wholesome ingredients compared to the other restaurants in the area. I would have eaten every evening at The Frog and The Monkey if the girlfriend allowed.

For the area this place is a 5 star in my book. I was so happy to find a place that serves vegetarian and vegan options. Even my husband who’s a carnival liked the place, and that says a lot. Everything was really good, especially their tomato soup! Amazing! This place has a very casual and comfortable feel the prices are low and the service was very nice as well. The only thing is, that it’s a little hard to find it at first since it’s off a side street.

Great find for vegetarians, vegans and «meatatarians», like our kids. No kid specific menu, but great options for kids. Excellent service. Carrot ginger soup is great! Loved the mushroom/​walnut burger!!!”

Practicing Lent is no joke, so my boyfriend and I’s food options were limited to seafood or vegetarian. Luckily, this place showed up on my Unilocal app! It’s not viewable from the main road or on Google Maps, but it is off a side street.
The storefront has a color palette of green and red paint, with a yellow, round sign (which unfortunately features the cringe-​worthy Curlz font) and sparkly Christmas lights. The cobblestone patio is fenced in with cute, red, metal café tables. Once you cross the patio and push open both the screened and regular doors, you enter a place out of the 70’s. Strange noises and off-​tuned music rambled in the background as we sat ourselves by the left-​most corner booth, by the window. The room has two walls lined with purple-​brown, velvety booths, parallel to individual tables with fabric-​lined, vintage seats. Each table has a tiny wildflower bouquets. Above the booths, the wall is wood-​paneled with four «framed» mirrors and centered, hanging artwork by locals. Between each mirror are small candle-​style lights, with lampshades that offer a soft glow. In addition, there are four gallery-​style spotlights on each side of the ceiling, which offer more direct, brighter light. Unfortunately, one happened to be angled right at my face — argh! In the center of the room, there are two white columns and two four-​seater tables. Above, four fans swish across the ceiling, circulating cool air — I was surprised it wasn’t chilly inside! The floor sports a dark-​grey plaid patterned carpet — an odd choice.
After a couple minutes, the host came out of the kitchen and gave us menus. For drinks, my boyfriend ordered a peach green tea and a Left Hand 500lb Monkey beer, while I ordered a cup of hot coffee. His tea and my water were served in glass Mason jars, which is a big plus in my book! We sat with our drinks for five minutes, while we waited for our official waitress to come by and take our food orders. I was a bit disheartened that she didn’t come by sooner, since we watched her revisit a family, who had already finished their meal, to offer them dessert — and we had been offered no food yet.
Once the waitress came over and took our orders, I was in a better mood. Our food took about fifteen minutes, which wasn’t bad at all! The Puffy Fish Taco featured the most flavorful, moist fish I’ve ever had! The blackened cod filet had a crispy spiced crust, and it was so tender it melted in my mouth with each bite. I really enjoyed how puffy and fluffy the pita shell was, since they are usually tough. The sauce consisted of Greek yogurt mixed with basil and lime juice — lightly bitter. This, paired along with the pico de gallo and shredded cabbage gave the taco a tangy taste and pleasant crunch, which paired nicely with the savory fish. My sweet potato fries were such a HUGE portion — enough for two people! My boyfriend’s Mac & Cheese was good, but I found it to be way too thick. It tasted like a block of processed cheese and it stuck to the roof of my mouth. It was in desperate need of some cream/​milk to smooth it out.
All and all, the service was great, the host/​waitress/​chef were very friendly, and the food was health-​conscious and tasty! My only complaint is that I wasn’t served a spoon with my coffee. Prices were very reasonable for a date outing. Appetizers ranged from $ 2.50 to $ 8.50, meals were $ 8.50 to $ 11.50, sides were $ 2.50, and extras were $ 0.50 to $ 7.50. This is the most affordable, vegetarian/​vegan-​friendly restaurant I’ve been to – not to mention eclectic! Next time, I’m trying the cottage pie and bison burger!

Had an early dinner here today. The weather was gorgeous and I sat outside. Had the Bison burger which was really good, on gluten free bread. And a side of kale salad, the salad was a bit too salty for my taste but I ate it with the burger and it evened itself out. And for dessert, I had crème brûlée with a very thick crust, yummy. Very reasonably priced, really friendly staff (Brad was my server), cute atmosphere.

The food was excellent! Very casual But delicious especially the vegetarian items! All the food is very healthy and fresh! Definitely recommend this restaurant for lunch or dinner!

This place has vegetarian and carnivore options, and they focus on healthy, organic, local ingredients when possible. I’m sure the grass fed beef would be great, but we chose hummus, a salad, mushroom walnut veggie burgers, and carrot cake cupcakes. Everything was homemade, including the veggie patties which were fabulous. The «wild mushroom salad» was made with (I believe) cremini /​baby bellas, which I would not have considered wild. But it was yummy with the red wine poppyseed dressing nonetheless. The server was knowledgeable and friendly, the atmosphere relaxed, and the food delicious. I only wish this place were local to my area.

What a great little find! Very fun décor, very attentive host, and the food… well… DAYUM! First of all, the butternut squash soup my husband had was delish. I had the carrot ginger soup, which was also good, but not as good as that squash soup. We then had the hummus duo. The garlic hummus was SO good. And the red pepper hummus was even better! For dinner, my husband had the crab cake sandwich. Real lump crab, very lightly fried — done to perfection. I had the walnut mushroom burger and my everything-​a-​tarian husband had to have two bites it was so good. I’ll be honest, I don’t think I’ve ever had a better vegetarian burger EVER!
I’ll be honest, this restaurant is reason enough to come to Banner Elk. The food is creative and delicious. And the host and chef were über-​friendly and on-​the-​ball. My husband says don’t try the muffins (more for him). :)
This place is great for vegetarians and meat-​a-​tarians alike. Highly recommended!

GREAT! Cute new restaurant! Good healthy options on the menu! The service was wonderful! Very unique, must stop by for lunch or dinner!