Wine Spectator Award-Winning Restaurants in Charlotte

Charlotte's Wine Spectator Restaurant Award holders are gathered here in a list of 14 restaurants, including Barcelona Wine Bar Charlotte, Counter- and Supperland. Several are in Uptown or SouthPark. The restaurant awards come from Wine Spectator. We choose venues by weighing recognition from independent critics, guides and awards.

Browse the entries in alphabetical order. Each shows the venue's town or city, a short description and awards from independent sources.

How this list is chosen: Every restaurant here holds a Wine Spectator Restaurant Award. When more qualify than the list can hold, En Primeur Club chooses among them by weighing recognition from independent critics, guides and awards. Entries appear in alphabetical order.

Barcelona Wine Bar Charlotte
Charlotte, United States
Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence
Barcelona Wine Bar in Charlotte's Dilworth neighborhood occupies a specific position in the city's wine bar category: a Spanish-inflected format with Star Wine List White Star recognition, where the wine program carries as much editorial weight as the food. It sits comfortably in a tier of bars and restaurants where the glass matters as much as what arrives on the plate.
Also recognized by Star Wine List
Chima Steakhouse
Charlotte, United States
Wine Spectator Award of Excellence
Chima Steakhouse on South Tryon Street brings the Brazilian churrascaria tradition to Charlotte's Uptown dining corridor, where continuous tableside service and a format built around communal abundance set it apart from the city's conventional steakhouse tier. The rodízio model — rotating cuts carved directly at the table — remains one of the more distinctive dining formats operating in the American South.
Counter-
Charlotte, United States
Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence
Counter- occupies a converted space on West Morehead Street in Charlotte's Biddleville corridor, operating at the upper tier of the city's New American dining scene. A 2025 Michelin Plate recipient and Opinionated About Dining North America honoree, it runs a dinner-only format with a wine program spanning roughly 1,540 selections and a Star Wine List #1 ranking in 2024. The $66+ price point places it among Charlotte's most serious independent tables.
Also recognized by Opinionated About Dining, Star Wine List
Gallery Restaurant
Charlotte, United States
Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence
Inside The Ballantyne hotel on Charlotte's southern edge, Gallery Restaurant pairs updated Southern American cooking with a rotating exhibition of works from Shain Gallery. Dark wood paneling, oversized tufted banquettes, and 18 curated paintings set the room apart from the hotel-dining mainstream. The menu draws on local ingredients to reframe Southern classics, from deviled hen eggs to braised short rib with local grits.
Also recognized by Forbes
Juniper Grill - Ballantyne
Charlotte, United States
Wine Spectator Award of Excellence
Juniper Grill in Ballantyne brings a polished American grill format to Charlotte's southern suburbs, where the dining scene has grown into a genuine destination for residents and visitors alike. The address at 15235 John J Delaney Drive places it within one of the city's most developed outer corridors, competing in a tier where service coordination and menu cohesion matter as much as the kitchen itself.
L'Ostrica
Charlotte, United States
Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence
L'Ostrica occupies a Park Road address in Charlotte's SouthPark corridor, positioning itself within a city that has developed serious ambitions in upscale dining over the past decade. The name signals an oyster-forward or coastal Italian lean, placing it in a niche tier where concept specificity tends to do more work than broad-appeal menus. Booking ahead is advisable for evening sittings.
Little Mama's
Charlotte, United States
Wine Spectator Award of Excellence
Little Mama's on Sharon Road holds a 2025 Michelin Plate, signaling that Charlotte's Italian-American dining scene has moved well beyond red-sauce convention. Priced at the mid-range $$ tier, it sits in a growing cohort of Michelin-recognized casual concepts that reward neighborhood regulars and visiting diners alike. For a city building serious culinary credentials, it represents a data point worth tracking.
Mama Ricotta's
Charlotte, United States
Wine Spectator Award of Excellence
Mama Ricotta's on South Kings Drive has anchored Charlotte's Italian-American dining scene long enough to outlast several dining trends. The kitchen draws on familiar southern Italian frameworks while the room maintains the kind of comfortable energy that keeps regulars cycling back. For Charlotte diners weighing the city's Italian options, it occupies a mid-to-upper tier that sits above casual red-sauce dining without reaching fine-dining formality.
Mico Restaurant
Charlotte, United States
Wine Spectator Award of Excellence
Mico Restaurant occupies a prominent address at 201 W Trade St in uptown Charlotte, placing it inside the city's most concentrated block of ambitious dining. The kitchen works within a broader Charlotte shift toward ingredient-led cooking, where sourcing decisions carry as much weight as technique. For visitors moving through the uptown corridor, it represents a considered stop in a dining scene that has grown considerably more sophisticated over the past decade.
MOA Korean BBQ & Bar
Charlotte, United States
Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence
On South Tryon Street in uptown Charlotte, MOA Korean BBQ & Bar brings tabletop grilling and Korean-inflected drinks to the centre of the city's most walkable dining corridor. The format suits both solo diners settling in at the bar and larger groups anchored around the grill. It occupies a distinct niche among Charlotte's downtown options, where Korean BBQ at this address-level is still relatively uncommon.
Omakase Experience by PrimeFish
Charlotte, United States
Wine Spectator Award of Excellence
Charlotte's Providence Road corridor has produced a Michelin Plate-recognised omakase counter that operates at the summit of the city's sushi tier. Omakase Experience by PrimeFish delivers a chef-driven tasting format in a residential neighbourhood context that sits well outside the downtown dining circuit, making it one of the more deliberate dining decisions in the Carolinas.
Peppervine
Charlotte, United States
Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence
Peppervine holds a 2-Star Accreditation from the World of Fine Wine & Dine Awards, placing it in a small tier of Charlotte restaurants recognised for both food and beverage programming at an refined standard. Located in SouthPark at 4620 Piedmont Row Drive, the restaurant draws comparison with Charlotte's broader contemporary dining scene while operating at a distinct level of wine and ingredient focus.
Also recognized by World's Best Wine Lists Awards
Reid's Fine Foods
Charlotte, United States
Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence
Reid's Fine Foods pairs an American Gourmet Deli & Market format with steakburgers, wine, cocktails, beer, and a 2026 Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence.
Supperland
Charlotte, United States
Wine Spectator Award of Excellence
The wine program runs to 305 selections and 1,650 bottles, with California, France, and Italy as the core pillars. Dinner is served nightly in a format that balances Southern cooking traditions with the weight and ritual of a serious steakhouse.
Also recognized by Esquire, James Beard Award

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