12 Hottest Restaurants in Charlotte, January 2024

"Although 1957 Hospitality Group is dominating the corner of 7th and Pecan with Rosemont and Crunkleton, Puerta fills a new niche as both an evening restaurant and nighttime lounge. A modern Central American influence is palpable not only through the menu, with lamb birria empanadas, lightly spiced mole negro chicken, and dippable churros, but through the geometric tiled arches, handwoven chairs, and whitewashed brick. The cocktails — some biting (a pineapple and chile liqueur mezcal drink) and some boozy (tequila old fashioned with mole bitters) — are all created with agave spirits and can be sipped during dinner or late night hours, DJ and lounge chairs included." - Kayleigh Ruller