The Cotton Room at Belfast Mill

9 Standout Bars in Charlotte, North Carolina

"The Cotton Room in Uptown was once a space for farmers to store and dry their cotton before bringing it downstairs, where vendors set up stalls along the street in a makeshift market. The pubs that line the street now bring a different, boisterous, and pleasure-seeking crowd, which is why the Cotton Room — whose entrance can be easily missed in the chaos — is such a welcome respite; it has a quiet, speakeasy vibe, without requiring a password, reservation or secret handshake. Much of the Cotton Room’s interior is as it was during Charlotte’s textile heyday — the floors, and exposed brick walls are all original — but the diverse crowd it draws is very much modern. The drink menu features tried and true classic cocktails (Bee’s Knees, anyone?), often with modern twists: the Campfire Old Fashioned, a delight for the social media crowd, is a standard Old Fashioned that switches out Angostura for mole bitters and features an Insta-worthy marshmallow set aflame." - Timothy DePeugh, Nikki Miller-Ka