Wolfgang’s Restaurant & Wine Bistro

Written By: Luke Osteen | Issue: 2015/04 - April | Photograph By: Marjorie Christiansen Photography

For 21 years, Wolfgang’s Restaurant & Wine Bistro has been a Highlands Main Street institution.

In fact, Southern Living named this bustling destination The Best Place for Dining in Highlands. Casting the net a little wider, Our State magazine selected Wolfgang’s as The Place You Must Eat in Macon County. That’s on top of being named OpenTable.com’s Diner’s Choice Winner for Fit for Foodies, Most Booked, Notable Wine List, and Romantic Special Occasion.

The lion’s share of those accolades should be laid at the feet of Chef Wolfgang Green. Before he arrived in Highlands, Wolfgang served as former Executive Chef for the Brennan Family of Commander’s Palace in New Orleans. He brought those exacting standards and his natural inclination for innovation to his signature restaurant and his kitchen has thrived.

As it name suggests, Wolfgang’s offers two menus – a tapas bistro menu loaded with small- plate savories and a full course selection that includes favorites like North Carolina Fresh Mountain Trout Oscar, a heady blending of locally-raised trout, shellfish mélange and béarnaise sauce with asparagus and roasted red bliss potatoes.

On our visit on a frigid March Friday, we sampled from both menus.

In short order we were served Shrimp and Lobster Bisque; an extremely seductive Escargot au Gratin; Wedge Salad; fresh-baked Naan; the Smoked Salmon Small Plate, Wiener Schnitzel that’s clearly a valentine to Chef Wolfgang’s native Bavaria; Crusted Shrimp with Orange Molasses Dipping Sauce with Scotch Bonnet, and the Stimulus Package, a no-holds-barred Half Pound Foot Long Pork Barrel Sausage on grilled flatbread.

(In case you’re keeping track, there were three of us at our table. If it were simply two, we’d have been rolled out in wheelbarrows.)

All of these were crafted with care and a reverence for tradition. It’s obvious that Wolfgang hovers over every corner of his kitchen.

When we placed our order, our server told us that the escargot would require 20 minutes cooking time. Here’s the thing – if you’re the least bit interested in authentic escargot, place that order! This was extraordinary.

As remarkable as that kitchen is, Wolfgang’s is able to match its dishes with an almost mind-boggling wine cellar. The list of over 1,000 labels ensures that there’s a generous choice to be made for every one of Wolfgang’s culinary creations.

Here’s the tricky part – if you choose something from the Full Course Menu, you’ll want to keep in mind that Wolfgang’s Restaurant and Wine Bistro offers an irresistible Dessert Menu as well. Do not, do not, allow yourself to fill up on your main course. We settled on Chef Wolfgang’s Family Recipe Apple Strudel (like no apple strudel you’ve ever had before), Bananas Foster and Bavarian Chocolate Mousse. Believe me, if you choose to skip these temptations, you’re almost certain to wake up in the wee hours before dawn with a plaintive “What was I thinking?!”

Earlier I mentioned how most of the satisfaction of this place is the marvelous bill of fare, yet there’s a lot to be said for the incredible ambience that informs Wolfgang’s. You can dine alfresco in the garden pavilion near the gentle waterfall or fireside in the dining room of the historic Gray Cottage. With the return of warm weather, there’s the sun-drenched patio or a bistro table with a languid view of Main Street.

Of course, the combination of an artful menu and a a series of private rooms that are at once airy and intimate makes Wolfgang’s the ideal spot for wine dinners, weddings, rehearsal dinners, joyful parties and special occasion dinners. Call manager Jacque Babac to arrange the details.

Wolfgang’s Restaurant & Wine Bistro is located at 474 Main Street in Highlands. For reservations (recommended) call (828) 526-3807.