19 Best Restaurants In Asheville From Locals (2024)

From locals, dine at the best restaurants in Asheville, including tourist hot spots, favorite local haunts, cafes, wine bars, and more. Enjoy James Beard-awarding restaurants alongside budget-friendly, casual eats perfect for the family or Fido.

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Best Asheville Restaurants You Won’t Forget

Living in Asheville for almost 5 years, we eat out multiple times a week, including takeout and delivery. We are foodie pros – think hundreds of Western North Carolina restaurants – and are also a half-Celiac household. We’ve eaten at all of these restaurants, and update this guide multiple times a year. Be sure to read all of our articles for where to eat in Asheville, NC, broken down by cuisine, neighborhood, and more.

Plant

Plant is our top choice for special occasions and date nights, renowned as one of the best vegan restaurants in Asheville. Their menu features seasonal and organic options like beets, ramen, ravioli, veggie lasagna, Brussels, curries, and nachos. We love sitting on the outside patio with a fresh cocktail and endless small plates. We live for their cheese plate. Discover even more dairy-free spots across Asheville.

Thai Pearl

A favorite of Tom’s, Thai Pearl serves up the best Thai food in Asheville. Located between two popular West Asheville restaurants, Nine Mile and Jargon, select from curries, rice dishes, stir-fries, soups, Thai salads, and fresh oysters. We love Chef May’s Thai onion rings, ginger soup, green papaya salad, Pad Thai, and Thai Basil dishes. Chef May, who trained at The Royal Palace in Bangkok and alongside a Michelin Star Chef in Australia, brings a unique touch to the cuisine.

ELDR

One of the best Asheville restaurants across from the Grove Park Inn, ELDR promises a fairy-tale dining experience with indoor and outdoor seating and a small bar. Enjoy breakfast, weekend brunch, lunch, and dinner, featuring marinated olives, charcuterie, burgers, pasta, sandwiches, and more. Dinner includes hearty pasta dishes, duck, pork chops, and fish.

Leo’s House Of Thirst

A fantastic wine bar serving up some of the best food in Asheville, Leo’s House of Thirst is our go-to for casual date nights, especially to satiate our tapas cravings. Peruse an impressive wine selection by the glass, half carafe, or bottle, including unique orange and pink wines. The food menu features handhelds, pasta, beets, fish, olives, vegan soups, and charcuterie. Sit outside on the garden patio with your dog or enjoy their charming indoor bar and tables.

RosaBees

RosaBees, a unique dining choice nestled in the River Arts District, is one of the best places to eat in Asheville if you crave poke and Polynesian cuisine. This Hawaiian gem features delicious fish, rice, noodle dishes, and Indonesian and Filipino-inspired specials. Devour octopus and spicy seafood entrees, complemented by tropical desserts and cocktails. Afterward, be sure to explore the vibrant arts scene and visit one of the most unique Asheville-area wineries, pleb urban winery.

Bone & Broth

North Asheville houses some of the best restaurants like Bone & Broth. This classy tavern is for meat lovers, sourcing from local butchery, The Chop Shop. It’s one of my favorite soup spots for bone broth. Choose from casual handhelds like burgers and grilled chicken sandwiches or go all out with pork belly, steaks, glazed salmon, and roasted chicken. Walk off your meal in the gorgeous historic Chestnut Street area with loads of Little Free Libraries.

Gypsy Queen Cuisine

One of the best restaurants in Asheville that rarely makes others’ lists, Gypsy Queen Cuisine (GQC) is the city’s best-kept secret for delicious Mediterranean & Lebanese street food. Find mezze options, including grape leaves, hummus, and our favorite, fried Brussels sprouts and cauliflower. For entrees, savor rice bowls, gyros, platters, and wraps. GQC is perfect for lunch and takeout.

Edison (Grove Park Inn)

We frequent Edison at The Omni Grove Park Inn for its stunning sunset views over the Blue Ridge Mountains. This is a must-visit Asheville experience. It’s also one of our favorite rooftop restaurants. Opt for a delicious lunch with seasonal craft cocktails, local beers, and a menu featuring sandwiches, charcuterie, soups, wings, Thai lettuce wraps, and salads. For a high-end dining experience, try Sunset Terrace for delectable scallops and steak.

Nine Mile

We adore Nine Mile’s Montford location, a Caribbean-inspired Asheville restaurant. Find Cajun chicken, salmon over pasta, and coconut curry shrimp. I almost always order the Irie Ites, and Tom leans towards their Back-A-Yard Bowl. Nine Mile is also one of our favorite date-night restaurants around.

Posana Restaurant

Posana stands out as one of Asheville’s best restaurants for gluten-free diners, promising a dedicated gluten-free kitchen for Celiacs (Tom!) with a menu featuring local and contemporary American cuisine. Enjoy roasted beets, grilled chicken, octopus, gnocchi, pork loin, and steak. Menus change seasonally, and they even have one for your pooch, who is welcome on the outdoor patio overlooking Downtown’s Pack Square. Discover more delicious restaurants in Downtown Asheville.

Haywood Common

Haywood Common is one of the best places to eat in Asheville for families, pet-friendly dining, and casual meals, especially with that shared The Whale patio (beer!). We dine here more than anywhere else. Enjoy a healthy menu featuring poke bowls, salads, sandwiches, and the best cocktails in town. Don’t miss the fantastic weekend brunch with options like chicken biscuits, avocado toast, and breakfast hash.

Gemelli Restaurant

Diners cannot go wrong at any of Chef Cerrato’s delicious restaurants in Asheville, including Gemelli, Strada, and Social Lounge. Gemelli’s menu caters to breakfast, brunch, lunch, and dinner, filled with Italian treats. I love the vegan risotto, calamari, and pasta, almost always ordering a London Fog latte. It’s the perfect place to meet up with friends over coffee and pastries. We shop at Earth Fare afterward.

Baby Bull

Owned by the famous Bull and Beggar and overlooking the Asheville silo, Baby Bull is a low-key, affordable burger joint in the River Arts District. Serving up the best burgers in Asheville, catch “Burger Monday” deals for a burger, fries, and a drink. Specials include lobster rolls, fried fish, pork cutlet, or pressed pork sandwich.

Jettie Rae’s Oyster House

For New England-style fish lovers in a renovated Gulf Gas Station, Jettie Rae’s is a must-visit among the best restaurants in Asheville for seafood. Find a menu filled with oysters, shrimp cocktail, mussels, and clams, complemented by a creative and spicy cocktail list. They boast a raw bar and find non-seafood options like burgers and salads.

The Bush Farmhouse (Black Mountain)

Explore Black Mountain’s delicious restaurants, just 25 minutes from Asheville, offering a quieter yet equally exceptional dining experience. The Bush Farmhouse has the most unique setting with farm animals, a fantastic South African wine list, and a diverse menu featuring oxtail soup, fish, spare ribs, sausage rolls, curries, and wings.

Chai Pani

We didn’t want to have a list of the best Asheville restaurants without naming a few of the big ones. They are also top Asheville tourist attractions.

It’s no secret that Chai Pani is one of the best Downtown Indian restaurants in Asheville, with Chef Meherwan Irani winning a James Beard Award. Featured in The New York Times, GQ Magazine, and New York Magazine, with a visit from Samantha Brown, Chai Pani offers an array of Indian snacks. Tom and I most enjoy their okra fries, chicken pakoras, rice, daal, bhel puri, and corn bhel.

12 Bones Smokehouse

North Carolina is famous for its BBQ, and we have multiple favorite BBQ restaurants in Asheville, including Luella’s Bar-B-Que and 12 Bones. 12 Bones River is famous because the Obamas dined here, and their South location houses their brewery with a gorgeous Anthony Bourdain mural painted by Gus Cutty. We always order 12 Bones pulled pork sandwiches, huge BBQ platters, and ribs. Their “just a taste” option is perfect for kids. Discover even more of the best breweries the city has to offer.

Cúrate

Dine at Cúrate, Asheville’s most famous restaurant where both Anthony Bourdain and Gordon Ramsay ate. Chef Katie Button and owner Felix Meana, former José Andrés associates, manage this spot. Enjoy decadent Spanish tapas and sherry. La Bodega, their wine bar, also offers a more casual and budget-friendly experience, if you can’t get into Cúrate.

Neng Jr.’s

For the best food in Asheville, Neng Jr.’s is making quite the splash. Head to the back alley for Filipinx cuisine with a Southern twist in this limited-seating West Asheville restaurant. Staff will explain the menu to you, and choose from sharables and larger entrees. With a frequently changing menu, we enjoy their salty oysters with quail eggs, duck simmering in a rich gravy, and veggies covered in peanut butter and coconut sauce. Discover more mouthwatering Asian restaurants across Asheville.

Our Top 5 Places To Eat As Locals

If we had to pick our top 5 places to eat in Asheville as locals, we’d start with:

More Famous Places To Eat In Asheville

Of course, you may have also heard these names…

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A few more notable restaurants in Asheville that everyone talks about include:

• Biscuit Head – Multiple locations across AVL – Everything Southern biscuits.
  
• Benne On Eagle – 35 Eagle St, Asheville, NC 28801 – Appalachian fare in Asheville’s historic neighborhood, The Block. Go for Sunday brunch.
  
• Sunny Point Cafe – 626 Haywood Rd, Asheville, NC 28806 – One of the top restaurants for breakfast in West Asheville (shrimp and grits) and casual eats through lunchtime.
  
• White Duck Taco – Multiple locations across AVL – Eclectic flavors and wildly popular tacos.
  
• French Broad Chocolates – Lounge Downtown & RAD Chocolate Factory – Delicious handcrafted bonbons, vegan hot chocolate, and chocolate tours at the factory.
  
• Early Girl Eatery – Multiple locations – Casual but busy cafe serving all-day breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
  
• Tupelo Honey Cafe – Multiple locations – One of the most touristy Downtown Asheville restaurants, come for the fried chicken and waffles, famous fried green tomatoes, and locally sourced ingredients.
  
• Corner Kitchen – 3 Boston Way, Asheville, NC 28803 – A popular Biltmore Village restaurant perfect for weekend brunch, lunch, or dinner, featuring farm-to-table American and Southern cuisine.
  
• Jerusalem Garden Cafe – 78 Patton Ave, Asheville, NC 28801 – Serene spot with a colorful ambiance and delicious Mediterranean/Middle Eastern cuisine.