Friday, May 3, 2024

12 Best Lunch Restaurants in Charlotte, North Carolina

great restaurants in charlotte nc

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.

Prime Fish

In his spot within the Mint Museum Uptown, Executive Chef Jonathan Moore plates dishes as pretty as the art on the walls nearby. The menu takes on dishes from across the globe, like Pulled Duck Arepas, Pork Belly Bulgogi lettuce wraps and a Gullah Paella from right here on the Carolina coast. There’s a walk-up window for those in a hurry and a little outdoor seating, but there’s usually no trouble finding a seat inside the Good Wurst. You can’t go wrong with a menu that stretches from bagels to Reubens to a deep pocket of “wursts” — dogs and brats.

12 Spots for an Exciting Lunch Break in Charlotte

Plus, you really can’t go wrong with a side of guacamole or choriqueso with fried corn tortilla chips. The Flanken is beef short ribs topped with horseradish gremolata at Supperland. Click on the restaurant names to learn more, with our own dives linked, where applicable. The next time you’re brewery-hopping in South End, shopping for art in NoDa, taking a walking tour of the historic homes in Dilworth, or hitting the museums in Uptown, use this guide to find all the best places to eat in Charlotte.

A Guide to Charlotte's Best Italian Restaurants: 2024

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.

great restaurants in charlotte nc

UPTOWN

Easy-going and family-friendly, this hot dog joint has a longstanding devotion to Sahlen’s smokehouse hot dogs and sausages, as well as to handcrafting its own pickles, onion rings and chili. Try the JJ’s No. 1 Red Hot with chile relish, diced onions, mustard, and a dill pickle spear (with the option to deviate with a turkey, veggie, or all-beef dog). Enter this lighthearted, hipster establishment when searching for a craft beer, bottle of wine, sandwich, or salad (there are plenty of snack-ish items like potato chips and kale chips to pair with either). The second location of its kind, Rhino Uptown is also known for its locally sourced goods (like kombuchas and coffees) and baked items (reach for a cookie).

great restaurants in charlotte nc

In the basement is a speakeasy-style bar with just 10 reservation-only seats. Since 1987, 300 East has called a refurbished Victorian house in the Dilworth neighborhood home. It’s an institution known for its French Onion soup, brunch offerings, and dessert menu, now spearheaded by Charlotte native Chef Ashley Boyd.

Dilworth Tasting Room

And the place is worth the trip alone for Botiwalla, a creation of Asheville's Meherwan Irani that offers Indian street food like vada pav and kale pakoras. Helmed by the esteemed 5th Street Group, La Belle Helene adds a bit of French class to Uptown Charlotte. The menu covers the Parisian classics—French onion soup, ratatouille, saffron mussels, duck a l'orange for two, beef Bourguignon and a honeycomb creme brûlée—and there’s also special menus mid-day and for brunch. The Economy Gastronomy special serves up a three-course menu for $59 per person and includes stars like a foie gras torchon and crispy duck confit. 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.

21 Best Restaurants in Charlotte, N.C. Condé Nast Traveler - Condé Nast Traveler

21 Best Restaurants in Charlotte, N.C. Condé Nast Traveler.

Posted: Thu, 05 Nov 2020 08:00:00 GMT [source]

The grab-and-go grocery and freezer sections are heavy on high-end snacks and a few cooking ingredients. There’s a parking deck right behind it, but it doesn’t validate parking (yet), so add $5 to your bill unless you live within walking distance. This snug ramen shop overlooking the Charlotte Rail Trail in South End features deep bowls of steaming ramen ranging from vegan to pork belly. Start with the shishito peppers and the crispy fried Brussels sprouts with light bonito flakes, and end with the soft serve ice cream of the day — miso ginger is the latest.

You’ll get brisket, chopped pork that tastes great doused in classic Eastern North Carolina vinegar BBQ sauce, and ribs, plus two sides (the best being the mac and cheese and meaty collard greens). When the weather’s nice, take your metal baking sheet to the patio’s picnic tables and enjoy your ribs in this quiet neighborhood. This Southern-inspired juke joint is a date-night favorite (for friend dates, too!). It’s a cozy place with less than a dozen two- and four-top tables lining the walls, and a short bar that’s the perfect place to share some fried turkey wings and talk about the drama in your knitting Facebook group. The Southern menu changes often, but there are a few staples that should be on your table.

Fin & Fino is a spot in Uptown that serves incredible stuff from the ocean. They label themselves as a “social seafood house,” which, unlike most marketing slogans, is actually pretty accurate. The space is large and has plenty of room for your entire extended family or your lawn bowling team. Plus, its sweet spot is shareable plates, like fish boards, plates of scallops, and Faroe Island salmon that comes with capers, lemon, and beurre blanc. They also have a great raw bar, which serves no fewer than 12 types of oysters at a time.

Specifically, a plate of blackened catfish with pickled field peas and rice grits piled in a shallow pool of smoked fish stew. The cocktail list is always in flux, too, and the bar uses the same seasonal ingredients as the kitchen to reduce waste. 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. If you want to experience Charlotte as the neighborhood city it really is, Letty’s will give you just that.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Where College Protesters Have Been Arrested or Detained The New York Times

Table Of Content Flying non-stop from Charlotte to North Carolina The 4 officers killed in North Carolina were tough but kind and loved thei...