18 Best Restaurants in Charlotte, North Carolina

Table Of Content

• North Carolina has 60 districts with slow internet - here are the 10 slowest
• #27. McCormick & Schmick's Seafood & Steaks
• Pizza Baby
• Highest-rated football recruits from North Carolina over the last 20 years
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• Counties with the most motor vehicle accident fatalities in North Carolina
• Dilworth Tasting Room

The entire South is obviously obsessed with meat and animal products, so Sanctuary Bistro, with a rotating all-vegan, gluten-free, and organic menu, is a really welcome addition to the restaurant scene. This is a place where stuff like soy, tofu, and mushrooms mimic the textures, richness, and meatiness of meat and cheese. In other words, you won’t have to sell dishes like jackfruit bourguignon or crispy tofu au poivre too hard to your cousin who only eats chicken tenders. We like Sanctuary best for a weeknight dinner, where we can post up in the dining room at the bar. And since it’s located in a shopping center, there’s always a parking spot. Shopping centers are usually filled with chain restaurants serving 2-for-$20 meals that taste fresh out of the microwave, but every once in a while, you find a gem like Prime Fish.

North Carolina has 60 districts with slow internet - here are the 10 slowest

The soul roll egg rolls kick with black-eyed peas, rice, and collard greens. Locals reading the list will surely see some favorite eateries and classic go-to restaurants. With the advent of Big Data, it's now easier than ever to quantify what people like around the globe. American dining brands have a long and storied history, and whether they're fast food, fast-casual, high-end, or super cheap, U.S. restaurants offer something for almost everyone.

#27. McCormick & Schmick's Seafood & Steaks

Head on up to the counter and order the currywurst frites with a fried egg to share and a really great reuben, which comes with homemade sweet-and-spicy pickles on the side. Check out the original location on Central Avenue, because the plywood walls, laminate floors, folding tables, dartboard, and midcentury-modern light fixtures make it feel like your coolest high school friend's basement hangout. Drop in for a hot cup of coffee or a bite to eat at this whimsical space (counter service makes it snappy). Light meals include salads, sandwiches and soups (the signature soup with spinach, asparagus and leek is heaven), and a must-have pastry item is one of those cute macarons in the bakery case.

Pizza Baby

Farm-fresh, seasonal fare extends to items like squash soup and foraged mushroom toast, while large plates range from herb dumplings to roasted pork shoulder. Charlotte clearly hasn’t had enough of these giant food halls, so much so that Monarch Market just opened with 12 food vendors and three bars in the center of Uptown. Its clean-cut and unblemished aesthetic draws post-work professionals in, especially into the higher-brow Aster Cocktail Bar and casual Lanai Terrace. Standout vendors include beloved Curry Gate, Korean street food vendor Seoul Good, and franchise Dock Local, which promises tried-and-true Connecticut and Maine lobster rolls (hot and cold, respectively). Chef Hector Gonzales-Mora fans are thrilled for him to have a new home after departing Resident Culture. Gonzales-Mora’s Noche Bruta is a new Camp North End gem, taking over Hex’s sweeping space Thursday through Saturday evenings for a slightly fancier sit-down service.

Highest-rated football recruits from North Carolina over the last 20 years

Living Kitchen reminds us of an upscale New York apartment with its natural lighting, glowing exposed lamp fixtures and brick walls. Living Kitchen is also completely vegan and organic, with a menu full of delicious and healthy dishes and desserts. To publish, simply grab the HTML code or text to the left and paste intoyour CMS.

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And even though you might have other responsibilities, you should still pair it with an off-menu spicy margarita that uses muddled rocoto chili peppers. This spot sits on a corner in one of Charlotte’s most walkable neighborhoods, which means it’s always buzzing, and you should definitely make a reservation. Andrew Schools and Larry Suggs have infused their veteran bartending expertise into a new moody bar in Villa Heights.

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13 best new restaurants in Charlotte, right now - Axios

13 best new restaurants in Charlotte, right now.

Posted: Wed, 20 Dec 2023 08:00:00 GMT [source]

You know that last day of a bachelorette party, when everyone’s a smidge hungover? You’re going to need a solid breakfast, but you also gotta get those last cute pics before you crawl back to reality. This uptown restaurant is just swanky enough, with black leather seats and faux cherry blossom branches hanging from the ceiling.

The original Counter, with themed tasting menus focused on cutting-edge culinary inspirations, opened in commissary space the City Kitch on Charlotte’s Westside in 2020 and held on, pandemic-be-damned, through 2022. Hart took a short break and has reopened in an elegant space on West Morehead Street that’s tucked in next to Hart’s wine bar, Biblio. The experience isn’t cheap — $175 for 10-course menus and $235 for 14 courses (most courses have more than one item, pushing the number of creations to as high as 50 bits and bites), and wine pairings can add $100 to $300. But it’s regularly selling out, proving that Charlotte eaters are willing to go all in on an experience. Head to SouthPark Charlotte and check out Pepperdine, one of the most elegant restaurants on this list.

It’s the kind of thoughtful Mexican cuisine that’s taken a while to find a home in Charlotte. Yes, there are classic tacos, but there are short ribs in green tomatillo broth, tamarind-glazed fish, and mole, too. When Kindred first opened in Davidson in 2015, the cult-favorite dish was milk bread —  pans of golden rolls based on a Japanese baking technique. It was such a hit, it became the inspiration for the Kindreds’ breakfast and brunch cafe, Milkbread, first in Davidson and now at their stylish reimagining of the classic Central Avenue Dairy Queen in Plaza Midwood. Customers can sit down at the Davidson location, while the Plaza Midwood spot is a walk-up counter with limited outdoor seating.

Shareable items include zucchini cakes and shishito peppers, while the entree list features Mediterranean spice lamb rack with tomato confiture, bacon-wrapped rabbit saddle with carrot puree, and beyond. The most amazing aroma wafting along the North Tryon Street sidewalk by day or by night (it’s impossible to ignore after stepping out of a show at Blumenthal Performing Arts Center). This cash-only mobile restaurant serves hot food straight out of its walk-up window including chicken and lamb over rice with pita, falafel salad, Philly cheese steaks, and chicken gyros.

That means you can enjoy a drink with beet gastrique, carrot cordial, and Carolina gold rice orgeat and act like you were the key vote to pass climate legislation. New-kid-on-the-block Substrate is a neighborhood enoteca that adds stunning vermouths, amari, and natural wine to Optimist Park. While there’s no food menu, there is a whole shelf dedicated specifically to notorious hot girl foods —  tinned fish and cured meats —  to be perched atop saltines on the house. By day, the inside is lovely, with the sun casting flirty shadows on the oodles of natural wine bottles, but visitors will want to sip their amber and pink-hued drinks outside on the balcony or patio. Because it’s a small house with a front yard (and a parking lot), it really feels like someone’s yard party. By night, it’s moody with generous specials and a backdrop of something funky on aux, vinyl, or even live.

Alongside a small, specialty wine and beer list for sipping, there’s a classy Earl Grey take on an Old Fashioned, a banana-infused rum cocktail, and a salted, citrusy tequila drink, just to name a few. But if $300 for a 16-course tasting (or $150 for 10 courses at lunch) is a bit rich, consider Omakase’s little sister in Ballantyne. It’s small and classic, with a full offering of rolls, nigiri, and sashimi, plus a great list of sakes. As seen on Food Network’s Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives, the traditional soul food and Gullah-inspired dishes fall in step with the bright, jazzy hand-painted decor.

T Breakfast, which turns the table into a breakfast buffet of fried chicken, bacon, eggs, donuts, biscuits, and jams. The bread at this tiny order-at-the-window restaurant is so damn good, they named the whole restaurant after it. They use Japanese white bread dough to make puffy donuts and cinnamon rolls that people line up for, especially on weekend mornings. The restaurant has only a handful of outdoor tables, so be prepared to either wait for one or make your own seat on the curb. This gorgeous, fine dining space is housed within the Mint Museum Uptown. Anticipate artful, seasonally inspired dishes with ingredients often sourced from local farms and dairies.

Richly spiced stews, warm incense, and East African art make this Eastside spot feel like walking into a well-kempt home. Diners use their hands as well as rolls of the soft-as-lace flatbread injera to scoop and dip into dishes like crispy bits of beef tibs, or stewed chicken doro wat made with spiced butter, onion, and whole boiled eggs. An Ethiopian coffee ceremony perfumes the air as fresh coffee beans are roasted and poured tableside as an after-dinner treat. Charlotte’s roster of Italian eateries continues to expand, proving the city’s robust appetite for pizza and pasta isn’t going anywhere.

For something slightly lighter, the house salad with jicama and corn comes in a monstrous portion. Don’t skimp on the drinks — margarita and sangria pitchers are both available for sharing. Fondly called Al Mike’s by locals, this Charlotte staple that opened in 1983 offers a low-key tavern experience with unpretentious food. It’s impossible to go wrong with the quinoa black bean vegetable burger or the reuben on rye (get a basket of Cajun fries, too).