Storm Rhum Bar and Bistro Restaurant Review - Asheville, North Carolina

Storm Rhum Bar and Bistro is in the space formally occupied by Vigne, near the Orange Peel.  It offers seating in doors, out doors or at the bar so you get your choice of atmospheres as well.  I really liked the uptown feel previously with Vigne and Storm has not let me down with the remodeled design.  Same restaurant, different feel, still good.

Storm offers a distinctive old world, old timey charm and decor.  The wood tables and unique lighting fixtures along with candles around the dining room and on each table allows an element of romance and comfort.  The service is relaxed, but efficient and professional.  While our server was not proficient with the wines on the small wine list; he did present a confident and friendly tone with which we felt very comfortable.

Storm Rhum Bar exterior

Each plate from the kitchen, for our table and those that we could see around us, imparted great flavors and relaxed presentations using fresh colorful food.  I was intrigued with the Sweet Onion Soup which is similar to French Onion but contains no sherry.  It also included turnip greens which were a great addition even though it may not sound like it would be.  One of the best soups that I've enjoyed in a while.

My wife ordered the small size Grilled Hanger Steak with chimichurri sauce, pommes frittes and arugula salad topped with a sherry vinaigrette.  Each aspect was very flavorful and decidedly a perfect match for what we were looking for at dinner.  The small size steak is about 5 ounces while the large size is about 10 ounces.

I also ordered fish tacos that arrived on soft tortillas accompanied with Napa cabbage slaw, fresh daily fish of the day and highlighted with pineapple pico de gallo and fresh guacamole on the side.  They looked delicious and tasted even better.  The small order held two tacos and the large order would have been three tacos.

We decided to live big and order dessert.  My wife ordered the vanilla flan with rum caramel sauce topped with sugared lime zest.  This was a nice combination with the sweet lime zest giving the flan and caramel a fresh twist to the flavors.

Storm Rhum Bar dining room

I wanted the Cobbler with macerated berries topped with vanilla ice cream and was delighted that the Chef did not disappoint again.  Served warm so the ice cream began to melt as I ate it.  I would have licked the bowl if I had been at home - wonderful.

Storm menu

Along with dessert we ordered decaf coffee which was offered in a french press so we had a beautiful deep flavored cup of coffee. I'm very glad that coffee is not an after thought and also that they use one of our locals. The coffee is from Dynamite Roasting Company out of Black Mountain.


More Storm menu

The server was very friendly and met all of our needs. It was odd that the soup was brought to the table at the same time as the entrée but overall a great experience. The server described the menu, especially the small plate offerings, as similar to a tapas style menu. I love having the option of ordering the full menu item or a smaller version so I can try more or choose not to stuff myself for once - that doesn't usually happen though.

Contact information

828-505-8560

125 S. Lexington Avenue

Asheville, NC 28801

http://www.stormrhumbar.com/