Discover the Best New Restaurants in Charlotte

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.