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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.
13 Hottest Restaurants in Charlotte, April 2024
All-day breakfast is another defining factor of the eatery—omelets, breakfast burritos, eggs Benedict, and chicken and waffles are a solid start to any morning. A “best restaurant” label doesn’t necessarily mean sky-high prices; in fact, Brooks’ Sandwich House—where cash is the only accepted form of payment—serves $4 hot dogs and $8-a-pound beef chili. The nearly 50-year-old, family-run roadside stop recommends getting your cheeseburger made “all the way,” which includes mustard, onions, and the house made beef chili. Since 1998, Mert’s Heart and Soul has given Charlotteans the gift of soul food—and a national audience got a peek at the restaurant on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives in 2015. Menu standouts include the Soul Roll (egg roll wraps with black-eyed peas, rice, collard greens, and diced chicken), the mini loaves of cornbread, and the fresh salmon cakes.
Beef ’N Bottle Steakhouse
Fin & Fino, Jon Dressler’s creative seafood palace, has added lunch hours, a sure sign of a returning uptown office culture. The Treatment, the $65 multi-course dinner tasting menu, isn’t available, but you can go with appetizers, salads, sandwiches (including a worthy fried fish on brioche for $15), and entrees like poke bowls. Located in the eclectic NoDA neighborhood, Haberdish’s menu is packed with hearty Southern favorites like fried chicken, BBQ ribs, cornbread pudding and dumplings. While Haberdish’s decor is farmhouse-esque and casual, don’t be surprised to see people dressed up for a night out on the town, here in part for the craft cocktail menu. As an extra special touch, drinks often include an ice sphere full of edible flowers.
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Sign up for our email to enjoy your city without spending a thing (as well as some options when you’re feeling flush). From Southern staples to Ethiopian and sushi, there’s a little bit of everything in the Queen City.
NODA / NORTH OF CHARLOTTE
Calle Sol is as dependable as a 1998 Toyota Camry—it’s the restaurant we turn to whenever we want a guaranteed excellent lunch or dinner. For lunch, go with a Tampa- or Miami-style Cuban sandwich with a side of fried sweet plantains. 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. There’s no parlor — you’ll either get it to-go or sit at a picnic table — and the lines are already legendary. But Cheat’s gets the bread right (traditional Liscio’s Bakery rolls), and it slices the top-round steak in-house.
The tight menu includes chicken and vegetarian “steaks,” Italian hoagies, and a couple of breakfast sammies, including one with Taylor’s pork roll. Prices are a little higher than you’d pay at Philly’s Gino’s or Pat’s (a cheesesteak, fries, and soda runs $25 after taxes), but you do get free refills on the soda while you wait. A mix of modern and Southern styles, this quaint hotel restaurant brings approachable dishes like cast-iron biscuits with bacon jam, deviled eggs, a fried chicken sandwich, rice grits with seasonal vegetables, and more. Customshop has been serving farm-to-table dinners since 2007, which is around the same time that people across the country realized their food comes from farms. We’re only sort of joking, but this is one of those restaurants that celebrates North Carolina’s extremely good and varied produce. Come for dinner and definitely get a vegetable-focused small plate or two before moving to a seafood or pasta main.
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. There are lots of Italian restaurants offering fresh pasta, but not many make it the way Flour Shop does, which is right in the middle of the intimate dining room. Besides the pasta itself, the restaurant’s dishes include produce grown in the area and locally sourced meats.
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Every Charlotte area chef, restaurant ever nominated for a James Beard Award - Charlotte Observer
Every Charlotte area chef, restaurant ever nominated for a James Beard Award.
Posted: Thu, 25 Jan 2024 08:00:00 GMT [source]
Led by Chef Robin Anthony, who also holds the title of owner and Certified Sake Adviser, the Ballantyne destination serves up Edomae-style sushi. No matter what you order—be sure to try the black truffle salmon, though—the self-taught chef will ensure you enjoy a top-tier meal, often topped with his signature edible flowers, grown by a local farmer in Charlotte. 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. In a lot of ways, Charlotte is still a teenager trying to figure out who it’s going to be.
They’re made fresh, and include a sweeter and nuttier blue-corn variety that’s a perfect pairing with their excellent cochinita pibil. This Yucatán-style pork butt gets braised in citrus juices for 10 hours and comes topped with fried plantains, pickled red onions, guacamole, and salsa. Come for a quick, casual lunch on one of their outdoor picnic tables, but consider yourself warned if you have to go back to work afterwards, because you’ll probably want to try the margaritas. El Puro looks and feels straight out of pre-revolutionary Havana, with an atmosphere and a menu of Cuban classics to back it up. They have dependably great cocktails, served in tiki glasses and garnished with things like charred edible flowers, to drink in the glow of the neon sign hanging above the stage. New-kid-on-the-block Substrate is a neighborhood enoteca that adds stunning vermouths, amari, and natural wine to Optimist Park.
Try the Crispy Umami, with tempura shrimp, avocado, eel sauce, and shoestring sweet potatoes, and pair it with something off their list of 70 sakes. No matter where you are in Charlotte, you aren't far from a fantastic meal. The city's restaurant scene has spread, not just geographically, but gastronomically. The tried and true dishes every Southern city ought to have down by now are on offer—fried chicken and barbecue at Midwood that will leave you happily stuffed. But roving restaurants have ignited a food truck frenzy and quirky takes on the classics are all the rage at newer places that continue to pop up. The Queen City also has some truly innovative spots that have earned national recognition, like the ever-changing, multi-award-winning Kindred.
Coquette, a French buvette by the team behind neighboring Mariposa, is a quiet patisserie by day and a buzzy dinner service/wine bar by night. It’s convenient (minus Uptown parking) in its walkability to popular uptown Charlotte event spaces and offices, and in its open-all-day hours, with caneles and tea at the ready. The white negroni with Lillet Blanc or a classic French 75 sips well with the minerally Prince Edward Island oysters, and balances the richness of the duck fat fried chicken and coq au vin. Inside, it feels dressed up in blue, gold, and pink, fairytale-esque, and ornamented with marble tabletops. The menu can seem pricey, but it’s packed with local ingredients and it’s all meant to be shared, like a family dinner at a table loaded with deliciousness.
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