Albertine
Restaurant · Second Ward
525 S Tryon St #125, Charlotte, NC 28202
Highlights
Mediterranean-meets-Southern cuisine with wood-fired bites
Mediterranean-meets-Southern cuisine with wood-fired bites
"The Kindreds have done it again, but this time, it’s grander, smokier, and more seductive in the crux of Charlotte. Named after Queen Charlotte’s mother, Albertine, there’s a distinctly feminine, but regal and self-assured air gliding through this fine dining space. It can be felt from top — the sweeping ceilings and glass entrance — to bottom — the scalloped silver platters, the goblet-like cocktail glasses, and the lustrous granite tables. But it’s not just Katy Kindred’s luxe design that makes a mark, it’s chef Joe Kindred’s meticulously smoked, wood-fired, za’atar-ed, and pickle-brined bites. Dishes like the gamebird panzotti, the mixed grill, and even the crispy potatoes flex deep wood-fired flavors. At Albertine, the ingredients of the American south — South Carolina quail, North Carolina tuna, and pickled okra — are met with a Mediterranean flair, bringing labneh, herby chermoula, or a Moroccan eggplant spread to the table. And notably — the razor clams escabeche and tuna crudo will challenge any preconceived notions that Charlotte can’t nail seafood." - Kayleigh Ruller
"A new establishment by Kindred Studio with a vegetable-centric and seafood-forward menu, similar in concept to Rada." - Kayleigh Ruller
"A new Mediterranean restaurant from the team behind a celebrated prior concept, offering regionally inspired dishes in a recently opened Charlotte location." - ByKate Kassin
"Tucked inside a glass cube on the southeast edge of Uptown Charlotte, this new fine-dining room marries Old-World, clubby elegance with a South-meets-East-of-the-Mediterranean cuisine. The interior feels deliberately special and exclusive: an earth-toned bar flanked by two massive marble slabs (with faint snowy-mountain veining), bright front-room seating with wool-lined café chairs and banquettes, and a dim, intimate main dining room of scalloped-edge tables, plush semi-circle booths and a raised private space crowned by an antler-like light fixture reportedly also owned by Gwyneth Paltrow. Conceived by a chef-designer duo as their first full-service downtown fine-dining project, the menu centers on meze and shareable plates—Carolina conch pea hummus, green schug, zaalouk with warm pita—alongside starters like razor clams escabeche and showstoppers such as a crispy South Carolina quail (brined in pickle juice and buttermilk, seasoned with chermoula, bathed in Aleppo pepper oil, drizzled with hot honey and set on labneh) and a date stuffed with savory chorizo in peanut muhammara. Mains range from a $98 bone-in ribeye to a $54 gamebird mixed grill with merguez and potatoes and a $44 grilled short rib with peanut dukkah and fattoush; desserts include a grilled Nutella babka—ooey and gooey like sticky toffee pudding mixed with chocolate Krispy Kreme—and cocktails span the citrusy Bohemian to the smoky, bitters-forward Bourbon Renewal. The overall aim is to transport diners with an interpretation of Mediterranean flavors while remaining rooted in Southern sensibilities and the city’s downtown setting." - Shindy Chen
"A refined Uptown restaurant from Joe and Katy Kindred opening in September 2024 that blends Mediterranean cooking with Southern influences, expected to showcase chilled seafood, mezze, and spit-roasted meats in a sophisticated dining environment." - Erin Perkins
