131 MAIN is a Blakeney dinner option for steaks, seafood and American dishes cooked over a hickory wood fire. The covered porch and fire pit give you another way to enjoy the evening. Dining-room reservations are available through Resy; the bar and patio take guests first come, first served. The restaurant is cashless, so bring a credit or debit card.
300 East has been serving East Boulevard in Dilworth for more than 35 years, in the Street Car Station Shops. The kitchen works seasonally with an emphasis on seafood and local sourcing. It runs weekend brunch from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. There is patio seating, weather permitting, and patio tables cannot be reserved. Guy Fieri filmed it for the Indulgent Dishes episode of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.
Abugida is a family-run Ethiopian room on Central Avenue that describes itself simply as a 'Family owned authentic Ethiopian restaurant'. The food is eaten the traditional way, scooped with injera rather than cutlery, and the kitchen keeps a wide range of vegan, vegetarian and gluten free dishes on the board because Ethiopian fasting cooking is built that way. The cafe also serves a full coffee ceremony, poured at the table with frankincense burning alongside it.
Alexander Michael's has been a Fourth Ward neighborhood tavern since 1983, inside the brick Crowell-Berryhill Store that opened in 1897. The room kept pieces of Charlotte with it: the bar and back bar were made from solid oak doors taken from the old Independence Building, and the beer cooler came from a Charlotte grocery store around 1920. Come for a burger, a beer and a building that survived when much of the neighborhood did not.
BellyUp! Charlotte / Over 50
Good places to eat and drink in Charlotte, minus the nightclubs. When a spot gets loud later or draws a lot of kids, the card tells you.
12 spots
Brewers at 4001 Yancey is a shared brewing house in Lower South End, in an industrial brick building. It pours more than 40 taps, including beer it brews itself under the CLT Brew'd name plus beer and cider from Bold Rock, Sixpoint, Southern Tier and Victory. It has three outdoor patios and runs live music and beer-paired dinners.
Live music some nights. Go before the band starts if you want to talk.
A Spanish-leaning tapas and cocktail bar on Roxborough Road, just off the SouthPark core. Its own site pairs small plates and late bites with a cocktail programme, and it keeps an indoor and outdoor space it rents for private events.
Craft Tasting Room & Growler Shop opened in 2014 on South Church Street in South End's Gold District, founded by the husband and wife team Alyson and Dan Davis. It pours local craft beer and draft cocktails next to regional cheeses, charcuterie, pizzas and flatbread sandwiches. It runs outdoor movie nights on Thursdays and hosts private parties.
Merchant + Trade is a rooftop bar on the 19th floor at 303 Church Street in Uptown, with an indoor bar, an outdoor terrace, a private terrace and a lawn. It calls itself Charlotte's premier skyline destination and it runs its own rooftop kitchen. Seating is first come, first served and the room is 21 and over.
Go early. It turns into a late-night spot later in the evening.
Optimist Hall fills the 1892 Highland Park Gingham Mill on North Brevard Street between Optimist Park and NoDa. The long brick mill and its 1895 smokestack now hold more than 25 food stalls, dine-in restaurants, a full-service bar, a brewery and shops. It is the kind of place where a group can split up for tacos, dumplings, barbecue, pizza or Ethiopian food and still eat at the same table.
QC Pour House is a beer bar and kitchen on West Tremont Avenue in South End. It hosts events and keeps its schedule on social media rather than on the site.
Sugar Creek Brewing sits on Southside Drive off South Boulevard, and it is the Charlotte brewery that went all in on one style. Its own line is that it is 'dedicated to crafting Belgian-inspired ales for the Carolinas and beyond', with a philosophy that 'combines the watchful eye of a Trappist Monk with the technical precision of a nuclear engineer'. Co-founders Joe Vogelbacher and Eric Flanigan are named on the site.
The Goodyear House is a restaurant inside a restored 1920s mill home on North Davidson Street, and the name comes from how the house grew. Its own site explains that when folks had a good year, they would add onto their homes, so each section could carry a different colour or style. Behind the house is a tree-covered garden and patio built for gathering. The kitchen serves lunch and dinner through the week, plus brunch on Saturday and Sunday.
Tipsy Pickle is the pickleball house at Camp North End, with professional-sized courts, golf simulators and cornhole, though its own site puts the food and drink first. The kitchen runs what it calls 'approachable Tex-mex with Margaritas, Cold beer & much more', and the bar keeps local beer, picklebacks and fried pickles. It opens at seven in the morning every day, earlier than anything else on the site.
Town Brewing sits on Grandin Road in FreeMoreWest, a block off West Morehead, and runs a full kitchen alongside the beer. The taproom keeps a standing weekly calendar: open mic every Monday, trivia, a run club, trail talk meetups and a kids-eat-free night. Indoor and outdoor seating both run to a decent size.
Live music some nights. Go before the band starts if you want to talk.
Triple C Brewing sits on Griffith Street in South End, directly across from Suffolk Punch. Its three Cs are Craft, Community and Charlotte. The taproom shares the building with Izzy's, a wood-fired kitchen, and with The Barrel Room, an event space. It runs live music and mahjong nights.
Live music some nights. Go before the band starts if you want to talk.
Tyber Creek Pub is an Irish pub on South Mint Street in Wilmore, at the edge of South End. It pours Guinness and craft beer next to fish and chips and burgers, and it is open until 2 a.m. seven days a week. There is an outdoor patio and a private party space.
Go early. It turns into a late-night spot later in the evening.
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