14 Hottest Restaurants in Charlotte, February 2025

"When customers walk by this bar on South Tryon in South End, they very well may think it’s an actual plant shop with its very greenery-heavy branding inside and out. The experience begins with a host in a garden shed-esque entryway welcoming patrons and then leading them through a door to a table, bar stools, or plush couches in the dimly lit lounge. The focal point is the bar with two striking archways set into the back wall. Bob Peters’s cocktail menu is a sleek leather-bound book with perennial classics and seasonal cocktails too. The Melon Smoke Show, with mezcal and ripe melon juice, is a stunner. There’s a true bounty to choose from drink-wise, and then a more limited selection of hors d’oeuvres, like a striped bass crudo and a simple cheese and bread plate. It’s a more mature, more posh, and more Miami-cocktail-lounge leaning bar compared to the surrounding breweries and bars in South End." - Kayleigh Ruller