Famous restaurants and diners in the Charlotte

Charlotte Restaurants

Food energizes, replenishes, and revitalizes the mind, body, and soul.
Here, we provide a list of famous restaurants and diners in the Charlotte metro area. Use this guide to satisfy your taste buds when either visiting or living in Charlotte.

The Melting Pot
901 S Kings Dr
Charlotte, NC 28204
704-334-4400

Restaurant Description: One of the Queen City's most unusual dining experiences, Melting Pot's all-fondue theme makes it a sexy date spot as well as a fun and even slightly hedonistic destination for groups. Begin with a cheese fondue, with bread, vegetables and apple slices for dipping. Then choose your cooking style for the entree: Coq au vin, Mojo, Court Bouillion or Bourguignonne.

McIntosh's Steak and Seafood
1812 South Blvd
Charlotte, NC 28203
704-342-1088

Restaurant Description: 'Shallow Hal' brought McIntosh's instant screen fame, but locals love the place for its casual elegance and Zagat-praised delights. Smart-casual couples are at home amid dark wood and rich colors. Lobster rules here, in a starter with yellowtail tuna, in shared samplers with Mahi Mahi, or in its starring role as the king of shellfish. Carnivores go for prime steaks, from mammoth Porterhouse for two to cowboy rib eye. McIntosh's unique mixed grill might pair duck breast with rack of lamb and petite fillet.

Blue
214 N Tryon St
Charlotte, NC 28202
704-927-2583

Restaurant Description: Wade in the culinary waters of the Mediterranean, from Italy and Spain to Greece and Morocco. Named for the owner's favorite music, played live here along with jazz, Blue's decor echoes its name. Swirling blue stained glass and an intricate blue mosaic floor provide a sophisticated yet comfortable setting. A curving upper mezzanine adds a layered hug. Gallery art splashes the walls with vibrant color.

Zebra Restaurant & Wine Bar
4521 Sharon Rd
Charlotte, NC 28211
704-442-9525

Restaurant Description: Some restaurants catch on slowly, and some come on like a house afire. If you're still watching the flames from afar and waiting to get a dinner reservation at this SouthPark culinary destination, you know what we mean. Restaurateur Peter Pappas and longtime Myers Park Country Club chef Jim Alexander have teamed up to offer gorgeous food in a gorgeous atmosphere. Warm, inviting and tinged with glorious woodwork, Zebra highlights French cuisine with a nouveau American twist. You have to adore a place where foie gras makes an appearance at breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Thai Orchid
4223 Providence Rd
Charlotte, NC 28211
704-364-1134

Restaurant Description: Strawberry Hill is the small shopping center hidden in a cranny off of Providence, and Thai Orchid is the small 50-seater Thai restaurant hidden away within Strawberry Hill. A frequent winner of local media's Best Thai Food surveys, Thai Orchid is also beloved by diners who appreciate the venue's nonsmoking policy (smokers can light up on the small patio), which compliments the healthy options on the menu. Thai food is famously bright in color and a treat for the eye, but here the servers offer another visual perk: The owners and staff dress in colorful native Thai clothing.

Latorre's
118 W 5th St
Charlotte, NC 28202
704-377-4448

Restaurant Description: Urbane, exotic, and not too pricey, Latorre's is a sexy, Latin-flavored spot for dining, drinks and dancing in a Miami-style atmosphere. Chic wood decor with classy modern art is the setting; funky, adventurous Nuevo Latino cuisine is what's on the menu. Latorre's serves lunch and dinner, featuring traditional Latin cuisine reinterpreted with sophisticated European presentation and a trendy California twist. And it isn't just the food that's Latin at Latorre's: The venue's after-dinner dancing is pure South America.

Peaceful Dragon Tea House
12610 Steele Creek Rd
Charlotte, NC 28273
704-504-8866

Restaurant Description: When famed researcher Jane

Goodall was in town, she made a stop at the Peaceful Dragon. Word has it she was so entranced by her meal that she requested the restaurant's chef to come receive her personal thanks. Goodall knows the truth: You'd be hard-pressed to find a better vegetarian restaurant between Nashville and Atlanta. All dishes served here are organic and vegetarian, with an emphasis on vegan cuisine, so no more do you have to rely on tired bowls of pasta or limp salad greens to pass for a full meatless meal.

Cuisine Malaya
1411 Elizabeth Avenue
Charlotte, NC 28204
704-372-0766

Restaurant Description: Try a little 'food tourism' with a trip to Cuisine Malaya, one of North Carolina's few Malaysian restaurants. Charlotte holds a rare and exotic taste of Kuala Lumpur, tucked away in the Elizabeth neighborhood near CPCC and Presbyterian Hospital. If you've never tried Malaysian cuisine, imagine an exotic melange of Malay, Indian, Cantonese, Arab, Portuguese and Thai cuisine, offering piquant, spicy flavors in a unique mix.

Aquavina
435 S Tryon St
Charlotte, NC 28202
704-377-9911

Restaurant Description: Ratcliffe on the Green -- a tony 10-floor high-rise holding condos worth a cool $1.3 million -- is a fantasy escape for fine dining and a taste of the good life. Find that taste on the second floor of the Ratcliffe at Aquavina, an upscale seafood restaurant owned by Charlotte attorney Stefan Latorre, who also owns the chic Latin restaurant/dance spot bearing his name: Latorre's. His famed good taste scores again at Aquavina with original sea-themed art and sculpture including an abstract wall mural.

Gus' Sir Beef Restaurant
4101 Monroe Road
Charlotte, NC 28205
704-377-3210

Restaurant Description: One of Charlotte's most beloved inexpensive restaurants, Gus' has served cheap home-style cooking since 1968. Head to the corner of Monroe and Wendover, look for that famous sign lauding vegetables that are fresh from the owner's farm, and order yourself some fried chicken livers with a side of corn muffins and mashed potatoes. Along with Lupie's and Mert's, Gus' Sir Beef is exactly the kind of spot to take out-of-towners who haven't yet had the pleasure of the small-town Southern diner experience.

Other Great Restaurants

Original Pancake House
1300 South Blvd
Charlotte, NC 28203
704-372-7099

Fuddruckers
8205 University City Blvd.
Charlotte, NC 28213
704-597-3705

P.F. Chang's China Bistro
4711 Cameron Valley, Phillips Place Court
Charlotte, NC 28210
704-552-6644

Mert's Heart and Soul
214 N. College Street
Charlotte, NC 28202
704-342-4222

Souper Salad Restaurant
5117 South Blvd
Charlotte, NC 28217
704-525-2770

Frankie's Italian Grille
800 E. Morehead Street
Charlotte, NC 28202
704-358-8004

Johnny Burrito
301 S Tryon St
Charlotte, NC 28282
704-371-4448

Paluso's Pizzeria
10106 Johnston Rd.
Charlotte, NC 28210
704-889-5050

Captain Steve's Family Seafood Restaurant
8517 Monroe Rd
Charlotte, NC 28212
704-535-1400

Sullivan's Steak House
1928 South Boulevard
Charlotte, NC 28203
704-335-8228

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