Discover the Best New Restaurants in Charlotte

Locavore cuisine defines the best new restaurants in Charlotte, a contemporary trend centered around locally sourced ingredients. From Italian eateries in Uptown to downtown gastropubs and South End seafood spots, Charlotte's most innovative chefs take advantage of the incredible natural bounty of the region's mountains, plains, and waterways. The celebratory seasonal cuisine represents a new wave of culinary excellence across the Queen City. But where do the smartest, savviest foodies eat out in Charlotte when they want to go somewhere new? We studied data covering thousands of restaurants to discover the top spots according to OpenTable's most experienced diners. The following new names in Charlotte come highly recommended. Why not book a table and become one of the first to discover them?

The OpenTable Team

9 Restaurants

Updated October 23, 2019

Restaurants:	Peppervine, forchetta, The Dunavant…
Price Range:	$$$ - $$$
Cuisines:	American, Italian, Contemporary American…
Neighborhoods:	SouthPark, Uptown, Charlotte…

Peppervine

$$$$

American

SouthPark

4.8

1775 reviews

Produce-forward small plates showcasing impeccable locally sourced ingredients are the signature of Peppervine, a spacious new restaurant in SouthPark. Several full-sized entrees also feature on the frequently changing dinner menu created by award-winning chef Bill Green. Some standouts among the small plates include squid ink bucatini with Spanish octopus, bone marrow and kale, a Thai-flavored fried chicken with papaya and burnt lime, and N.C. shrimp with grits, maque choux and tomato jus. Diners with bigger appetites might opt for such large plates as snapper baked in banana leaf and the 48-hour short rib pastrami.

At the moment, there's no online availability within 2.5 hours of your request. Do you have another time in mind?

Experiences available

View Experiences

forchetta

$$$$

Italian

Uptown

4.3

427 reviews

For the lunch and dinner menus at his new Uptown restaurant forchetta, chef Luca Annunziata draws on the authentic cuisine of his hometown, Naples, as well as other regions of Italy. His enticing creations include an award-winning fagottini, a dish of lobster-stuffed crepes enveloped in vodka sauce, and elk meatballs in a saffron aurora sauce. Also expect perfected versions of Italian classics like veal osso buco and casarecce carbonara. Some more casual options include burgers and paninis. The sleek and modern yet warm space is attached to the Holiday Inn Charlotte City Center. Since forchetta’s summer 2019 opening it has proved a big hit among locals as well as hotel guests.

At the moment, there's no online availability within 2.5 hours of your request. Do you have another time in mind?

The Dunavant

$$$$

Contemporary American

Charlotte

3.7

596 reviews

With its early 2019 opening, The Dunavant brought a unique concept to Charlotte – a top-notch steak and bottomless fries dinner for a very reasonable fixed price. The focal point of chef-owner Travis Hearne’s dinner menu is a set meal of bread, soup du jour or an organic house salad, a 12-ounce black Angus culotte steak seared in butter, and unlimited truffle fries. A choice of sauce is included, either café de Paris, gorgonzola crema, zesty chipotle arrabbiata or chimicchuri, and a few other add-ons are available too. Ten or so small and not-so-small plates augment the menu, among them NC vegetable arancini, lobster mac and cheese and a daily vegetable dish.

At the moment, there's no online availability within 2.5 hours of your request. Do you have another time in mind?

Cantina 1511- Mooresville

$$$$

Mexican

Mooresville

4.3

140 reviews

Mooresville is home to the newest of three Cantina 1511 venues, Charlotte-area restaurants dedicated to top-notch Mexican cuisine. The new restaurant is smaller and more intimate than its sister properties, although it has room enough for patio dining and a full bar. Expect time-tested favorites including cast iron fajitas, burrito platters, enchiladas, quesadillas and specialties including barbacoa and carne asada. The lengthy menu also features Tex Mex and Southwestern selections, burgers, and tacos with 20 different fillings. Along with traditional Mexican tacos, some creative fusion-style options include Thai chili-glazed shrimp, Korean BBQ beef and grilled portobello mushrooms with masa-battered zucchinis straws.

At the moment, there's no online availability within 2.5 hours of your request. Do you have another time in mind?

Fin & Fino

$$$$

Seafood

Uptown

4.7

2295 reviews

Fin & Fino, which opened in Uptown in 2018, is committed to serving only the freshest sustainably sourced local fish and seafood, which it brings in daily. At least a dozen oysters feature on the raw bar menu every day, making Fin & Fino one of the best new restaurants in Charlotte for oyster aficionados. Tiki drinks are another signature, some served inside pineapples for a tropical touch. Highlights of the lunch and dinner menus include the "dish of fish" comprising six oysters, six NC shrimp, blue crab, mussels and a lobster tail, and the squid duo of squid ink shells and squid Bolognese. Diners tempted to try a bite of everything should opt for “The Treatment.” It’s an ever-changing tasting menu that includes a series of on- and off-menu items for a fixed price, $5 of which goes to a select charity.

At the moment, there's no online availability within 2.5 hours of your request. Do you have another time in mind?

Experiences available

View Experiences

YUME Ramen, Sushi and Bar

$$$$

Sushi

Southend

4.7

476 reviews

The new South End restaurant YUME specializes in sushi, ramen and Japanese-inspired craft cocktails. Rice bowls, Japanese curries, ample appetizers and cooked entrees fill out the lengthy lunch and dinner menus as well. Ramen is available in 11 versions, all customizable with extra toppings. Tonkotsu ramen is a signature, while less traditional options including a Korean kimchi ramen and vegan Thai coconut curry ramen. The signature YUME sushi roll features wagyu, madai, scallop and crab. Lunchtime diners can consider the set lunch special with a choice of appetizer and entrée plus soup, salad, rice and dessert.

At the moment, there's no online availability within 2.5 hours of your request. Do you have another time in mind?

Angeline's

$$$$

Italian

Uptown

4.6

1224 reviews

Angeline’s, an upscale casual restaurant inside the Kimpton Tryon Park Hotel, specializes in contemporary Northern Italian cuisine prepared with seasonal, locally sourced ingredients. The menus focus on wood-fired pizzas and house-made pastas, plus a range of handhelds at lunchtime and hearty entrees for dinner. Some dishes are traditional and straightforward, such as the Margherita and funghi pizzas, pappardelle Bolognese and a whipped ricotta and sourdough appetizer. Others are more complex creations like the cavoletti pizza topped with white sauce, pancetta, Brussels sprout leaves, Calabrian chiles and mozzarella, and the braised oxtail baguette sandwich. Angeline’s hosts a popular brunch on weekends.

At the moment, there's no online availability within 2.5 hours of your request. Do you have another time in mind?

Flour Shop

$$$$

American

Myers Park

4.5

940 reviews

Farm-to-table fare cooked over live fire is the signature of Flour Shop, certainly one of the best new restaurants in Charlotte. Chef-owner Trey Wilson uses produce from his own garden as well as top-quality seasonal ingredients from local farms. He turns to minimalist preparations to best showcase such ingredients. An exhibition kitchen is the centerpiece of the intimate, dinner-only restaurant. Diners can watch the chefs make fresh pasta by hand for some of Flour Shop’s most popular menu items, among them a bucatini with salami and zucchini, and lemon ricotta ravioli with sage, parmesan and almond. Other popular choices are the wood-fired Lady Edison pork chop and the grilled UGF mushroom appetizer.

At the moment, there's no online availability within 2.5 hours of your request. Do you have another time in mind?

Haymaker

$$$$

American

Uptown

4.3

1657 reviews

Haymaker, the brainchild of chef-owner William Dissen, is a celebration of heirloom produce, sustainable meats and seafoods, and the traditional culinary techniques of the Piedmont and Appalachia. Both dinner and brunch menus focus on farm-to-table fare packed with bold and complex flavors. Dissen’s signature dish, NC shrimp a la plancha with grits, manchego and pickled chiles, is available for dinner and brunch. The small plate shares space on the dinner menu with artisan cheese and charcuterie plates, heirloom cornmeal hushpuppies, and toast topped with charred peaches, lemon ricotta and crispy ham. Brunch diners go crazy for the bacon fat beignets and Billy D’s fried chicken sandwich.

At the moment, there's no online availability within 2.5 hours of your request. Do you have another time in mind?

Takeout available

View Takeout Menu

Explore OpenTable

Charlotte