101 Melody Lane
Winston Salem, NC 27105
Forsyth County
Phone: (336) 661-1109
Fax: unknownWebsite: no website on fileEmail: no email on fileHours: unknown
Friendly Tavern - About Us
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by Dean Schaadt on Being local, I was stoked to learn about this venue in the Hotel Nikko. Yes, their lineup tends to draw an "old fogey" crowd.... I guess that I now qualify as one of them... but the acts are pretty impressive (Cleo Laine, Keiko Matsui, Jennifer Holliday (original Dreamgirls), etc.). It's an intimate setting that seats an audience of 200. On a recent Saturday, we came here to catch The New Stylistics, led by the original lead singer Russell Thompkins Jr. I purchased the tickets online and that you are seated according to their guest list... very OLD school. Because the room is relatively small, there isn't a bad seat in the house. The two drink minimum is also very OLD school. The room opens ninety minutes before each show and seating is done on a first-come, first serve basis; so, if you want a stage side table, get there early. They also serve food in case you prefer to get better seating. We came relatively late and were seated in the back counter area, near the serving entrance. The view was okay, but there was a funny chemical smell that dropped this review a star for me. The host told me courteously that flash photography is not allowed after I snapped a group photo. I will come back if the performer(s) fit my taste.
by Terrance Ganoe on Update 10/17/09 - 2 stars for ambiance, host service and B&T crowd. 4 stars for food and waitress service. We waited about 45 minutes for our table when we had a reservation and we got the worst table in the restaurant, rickety shaky 6 top right near the kitchen and busing station. No thanks. They ended up seating us in another 10 minutes at another table but the host with accent (NZ?) was trying to be nice but came off as a prick. They didn't offer anything to us other than a few insincere apologies. The food was great and the waitress was awesome. Very spot on recommendations. The steak tataki appetizer was excellent and ceaser salad was presented beautifully with great dressing and anchovies. It's too bad that the crowd here is B&T and waiting about an hour for a table seems to be normal as there were tons of people complaining. I'd love to come back for the food but don't need to deal with this type of atmosphere and courtesy when there are tons of other restaurants with much better service and great food in this town. Odd that there were so many bad recent reviews with regards to service and waiting. We experienced excellent attentive service, almost over the top where servers were filling my water glass even when it was 3/4 full. The space has been transformed from its days as Shelter and Privilege. It's a very nice space inside with old world antique chairs, tables, goblets and an open kitchen. This is quite a stark departure from Michael Mina but the food is similar. I didn't see any of the famous trios on the menu. Two options - order normally like you would off the menu or order a bunch of small plates. Each plate is about 3 to 5 bites per person. 8 courses for $58 seemed like a good deal and a nice way to try a bunch of things. The Good 1. Scallop with tempura crunchies, edamame and almonds was fantastic. The scallop was not overcooked and tempura was great contrast in texture. I loved this dish. 2. Halibut was perfectly and I mean perfectly cooked and seasoned. Succulent, crispy - the perfect 3 bites of fish. Add in some bacons and morels and it was heaven. 3. The tai snapper was crusted and it seemed like deep fried but it wasn't. Another great seafood preparation and well cooked. 4. Dark chocolate cake with coconut sorbet and crunchy peanut butter things was a wonderful combination of flavors and textures. I like dark chocolate better than milk chocolate. That was the theme of the night. Anything from the ocean was great. The Bad 1. Duck breast was cooked well but the sauce ruined it for me. The pineapple sauce didn't match and overpowered the dish. The foie gras was too fatty and not cooked well IMO. 2. Filet mignon and short rib tortellini was the biggest disappointment of the night. We all had high hopes for this but it didn't taste right. Something was missing, maybe salt.
by Andrew O. on I really like this place. The decor is great...think old school french decor with really dark lighting. It's a sweet place for drinks with friends and I rarely remember my nights there past 1am. I can't really tell you which nights are good here, but recently i went on a friday and a saturday and both were good (but really, what's not good on a friday or saturday?) There isn't really a dance floor so this probably isn't the spot you want to go if you're looking for the cast of So You Think You Can Dance. I would categorize it more as a high end lounge with dance music
