5 Places to Taste the Best Food in Asheville

Asheville, North Carolina, is a standout among its sibling cities—like Austin, Texas, Santa Fe, New Mexico and Portland, Oregon—for its booming arts scene and ever-changing culinary landscape. Increasingly a playground for foodies, Asheville offers essential North Carolina barbecue alongside experimental brewpubs and acclaimed global eateries bringing tastes of Spain, Cuba and beyond to the South. Prepare for a culinary adventure in this Blue Ridge Mountain city with five of our top places to find the best food in Asheville.

Teleport to Spain

In a repurposed 1920s bus depot in the heart of downtown Asheville, Curate dishes up small-plate tapas fare to a loyal following of locals who grab a stool at the bar or settle in for group dinners on velvet banquettes in the narrow dining room. Essential orders include the delicately spiced patatas bravas (crispy potatoes) and jamon iberico (cured ham), plus the whole grilled trout and shareable suckling pig. Pastry chef Carmen Vaquera gets creative with desserts, serving a merengue de “gin & tonic” (gin-soaked berries with torched meringue and tonic snow) and a flan de huevo (orange-saffron flan served with caramel and sherry-poached raisins). The flavors found at Curate make this some of the best food in Asheville and transport diners effortlessly from North Carolina to the streets of Spain.

Try Cuban flavors with an Asheville twist

Try the El Cubano at Hemingway’s Cuba. Photo Credit: Hemingway’s Cuba

It’s a long way from Havana to Asheville, but you can get a taste of the Caribbean isle at Hemingway’s Cuba, located on the fourth floor of the Cambria Hotel Downtown Asheville. On this level, spectacular views of the Blue Ridge Mountains come standard. Restaurant founder Tony Fraga is no stranger to classic Cuban cuisine, having grown up enjoying meals with his father at acclaimed Havana eatery, El Floridita. Ernest Hemingway was a regular and reportedly dubbed the house daiquiri the very best in the world. Today, Fraga’s restaurant is certainly home to some of the best food in Asheville. It channels Cuban favorites through a local lens, with empanadas and ceviche featured next to a roasted pork with pickles and a barbecue veggie burger.

Have a beer with that

Asheville brew masters White Labs made the leap from yeasts to feasts in October 2017 with the launch of their first restaurant and cocktail bar, White Labs Kitchen & Tap. Located inside their cavernous Charlotte Street labs and research facility, the dining room is a clean, industrial modern space that lets some of the best food in Asheville take center stage. Bar snacks these are not. Think oven-roasted root vegetables, a Brussels sprouts and bacon pizza with hot honey, and bread made with White Labs yeast and served with house-cultured butter. Naturally, everything has a beer pairing, whether you’re a longtime IPA fan or white beer newbie. In the summer, the small outdoor patio is the place to snag a seat for long lunches and boozy dinners.

Sip coffee among flowers

Flora, one of the city’s most popular florists, is also home to some of the best food in Asheville at the small coffee and pastry bar inside its West Asheville boutique. Flowers, plants and handmade pots surround the collection of cafe tables and chairs in the space known as Forage, lending a peaceful vibe to the botanically themed menu. Your morning order could be a honey oat cortado with local honey and cinnamon, or a matcha latte decorated with a leaf motif. Pastries come courtesy of Rhu Bakery and include an espresso donut and apple pies. A good spot for souvenir shopping, too, there are bags of Dynamite Roasting Company coffee for sale, as well as branded totes, carry-on-size air plants and floral prints.

Dine in at the butcher

When the weather is nice, dine al fresco in Asheville.

Continuing the restaurant-and-shop theme, Asheville’s favorite meat experts, Foothills, opened a small eatery in their West Asheville store at the end of 2017. A 10-minute drive from downtown, the casual dine-in or carryout restaurant is a complement to the company’s award-winning CSA program and sustainable, whole-animal approach to butchery. Expect deli meats and homemade hot dogs, plus seasonal sides and double-patty burgers. There’s also a small bar serving classic cocktails, beer, cider and wine.

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