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North Carolina

North Carolina is a place where one good meal could vary completely depending on the town you’re in. Whether it’s slow-smoked pork and hush puppies, seafood by the coast, upscale dishes in a developing downtown area, or the unassuming neighborhood restaurant that keeps bringing back the locals for years, this guide by the cities will give you a better idea of where to eat based on your destination, appetite, purpose, and atmosphere.

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Charlotte, North Carolina

The reason why Charlotte’s dining experience is a success is that there is no need for people to…

Find Great Places to Eat Across the State

Finding the best restaurants in North Carolina becomes simpler if you limit your options to a specific location. Charlotte is a place where you can find anything from fine dining establishments to international restaurants and casual eateries. Restaurants in Raleigh and Durham combine Southern cuisine with unique menus, various influences, barbecues, baking shops, and innovative concepts. Asheville has its own flavor, while Wilmington combines coastal flavors with its vibrant downtown area.

However, smaller locations also have something interesting to offer. Greensboro, Winston-Salem, Boone, Chapel Hill, Hickory, New Bern, and other Outer Banks communities have their own flavor. Rather than consider North Carolina as one big dining destination, our local guides will help you concentrate on what suits you best for the upcoming trip, weekend, or family vacation.

From Carolina Barbecue to Coastal Seafood

Barbecue is the strongest culinary signature of this region, yet even this cuisine varies depending on your location. In the eastern part of North Carolina, you will most likely be offered a whole hog barbecue, seasoned with a vinegar and pepper sauce. The Lexington or Piedmont style, on the contrary, implies that pork shoulder and a tomato-sauced dip will be the main ingredients of the dish.

Traveling towards the coast will add another layer to your gastronomical journey. The platters in the Calabash style, oysters, shrimp, local fish, crab, and other fresh catches will be found in almost every town and beach resort. Some popular destinations for such foods include Wilmington, Morehead City, Emerald Isle, Southport, Nags Head, and other coastal locations.

But there is much more to this state than traditional Southern cuisine. Mexican, Italian, Japanese, Chinese, Mediterranean, Indian, Latin American, and many other types of international dishes will attract people in larger cities and college towns. Besides, it will be possible to try farm-to-table cuisine, steak restaurants, breakfast places, family restaurants, vegetarian-friendly menus, bakeries, food halls, and fancy dining.

Explore Dining by City and Region

When you’re looking across a state, things can get a little bit crazy. Your choice should really depend on your location. A person who’s looking for Charlotte restaurants may be interested in something totally different than a person looking for food while vacationing in Boone or the Outer Banks. It is also the case for a fast lunch in Raleigh, seafood in Wilmington, a dinner in Asheville, or Mexican cuisine in Durham.

Our city guides are structured in such a way that your choice becomes much easier. You can browse a destination of interest and then follow the local guide and learn about interesting restaurants, local dining spots, culinary styles, and even meals for certain occasions. Such structuring will help you choose when planning a trip across several locations.

What Makes a Place Worth the Stop?

An amazing dining experience is not solely determined by its high profile. Location, menu orientation, consistency, services, atmosphere, price-quality ratio, and compatibility of the venue with the local community play significant roles as well. Even a humble counter-style BBQ restaurant may offer an amazing dining experience if it fulfills the diner’s expectations in full measure.

This is why we don’t confine ourselves to just one type of cuisine. While some readers would like to try out world-renowned restaurants and MICHELIN dining experiences, others would prefer an affordable brunch, a family-style dinner, an off-the-beaten-path establishment, or a restaurant with a view, or a casual place to have some food after their outdoor activities. The best recommendations will differ from case to case.

We also consider such practical questions that people might be asking themselves when searching for the perfect place to have their meal. Does it accommodate groups? Is it fit for any kind of celebration? Does it offer seafood, barbecue, brunch, steak, or cuisine from a certain country? Does it appeal to tourists or locals? Having city-level information helps to find the answers and to exclude the irrelevant statewide long list of options.

Plan Your Next Meal in North Carolina

No matter whether it is a big metro area, a mountain city, the Research Triangle, or even a coastal community, there will be one more table to find. Use our North Carolina restaurants guide as the starting point; select the city of your interest and find out what kind of eating venues there are in it. Whether it is an old-established venue or something new, we want you to waste as little time as possible on finding places to have a meal.