Best places to visit in Asheville!

White Duck Taco Shop on Biltmore Avenue in downtown Asheville serves creative tacos from all over the map, with fillings like Bangkok shrimp, crispy pork belly, jerk chicken, Thai peanut chicken, mole and black bean and cheese. The menu changes with the seasons, and there are plenty of vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free options.

Locals love the wacky, ever-changing taco combos and the big bench-style seating that makes it easy to eat with a crowd. Everyone orders a few and trades bites.

White Duck Taco Shop

French Broad Chocolate Lounge is downtown Asheville’s premier dessert destination, known for artisan chocolates, decadent cakes, rich brownies, cookies, housemade ice cream, and signature drinking chocolates. Set on Pack Square, this locally-owned, bean-to-bar shop creates every chocolate treat from scratch using ethically sourced cacao in their own Asheville factory. 

The Lounge’s elegant space offers plenty of vegan and gluten-free options, specialty espresso drinks, and wine pairings, all served with a sweet Asheville vibe.

Locals and visitors rave about the chocolate tasting flights, inventive desserts, and passionate, friendly staff. The Lounge is praised for its quality, creative flavors, and for being a favorite stop whether you’re celebrating, relaxing after dinner, or grabbing a gift box for home.

French Broad Chocolate Lounge

Nine Mile is a Caribbean-inspired restaurant and bar, open since 2008, with three Asheville locations: Montford, West Asheville on Haywood Road and South Asheville on Town Square Boulevard. The menu is built on pasta and rice dishes with bold island flavors, and nearly everything can be made vegan, vegetarian or gluten-free. It makes its own Nine Mile hot sauces too.

Locals love how easy it is to feed everyone here, from vegans to meat eaters. The portions are big, the flavors are bright, and each location feels like a neighborhood spot.

Nine Mile

Thirsty Monk South is the Biltmore Park taproom of Thirsty Monk, the Asheville brewery known for Belgian-rooted modern ales. The Town Square spot pours house-made craft beer, Holy Water Hard Seltzers, wine and craft cocktails.

Locals in South Asheville like having a real brewery taproom right in Biltmore Park, an easy stop while you're out at Town Square.

Thirsty Monk Brewery

Dobra Tea is a Downtown Asheville tea room at 78 N Lexington Avenue pouring more than 100 handpicked teas from around the world, from traditional loose-leaf to bubble tea. A vegetarian light-fare menu, gluten-free desserts and a back room with cushioned floor seating make it one of the most distinctive tea shops in Asheville NC. A second location serves West Asheville.

Locals love how the staff walks you through steeping times and flavors like tea sommeliers, so you learn something new with every pot. The back room with floor seating is a rare find for a long afternoon with friends.

Dobra Tea

The Hop Ice Cream has been an Asheville institution since 1978, with imaginative and locally-influenced flavors. Owners Ashley and Greg Garrison opened their first downtown location at S&W Market. The menu features homemade dairy and vegan ice creams, classic milkshakes, sundaes, desserts, and made-from-scratch waffle cones. The Hop’s flagship flavors (Salted Caramel, Vanilla Bean, and Chocolate) will be offered alongside a variety of staples and rotates flavors, often featuring local ingredients and collaborations with Asheville businesses.

Locals call The Hop their favorite ice cream shop in Buncombe County, for the homemade flavors, the friendly counter and how much it gives back to the community.

The Hop Ice Cream

Zambra is a tapas and wine bar at 85 West Walnut Street in downtown Asheville, serving Western Mediterranean small plates made with local ingredients and a list of Spanish wines. The dining room has an amber-lit ceiling and stone floors, and it bills itself as Asheville's original tapas kitchen.

Locals pick Zambra for a date night or a group dinner where everyone shares plates. The room feels festive, and it's a downtown classic.

Zambra

Sunny Point Cafe is a West Asheville breakfast and brunch spot on Haywood Road, serving upscale American comfort food daily from 8:30 AM to 2:30 PM. The signature is the huevos rancheros, with two eggs, black bean cakes, chorizo or tofu chorizo, feta, green salsa and home fries, and the cafe sells its own jams and hot sauce too.

Locals know Sunny Point as one of the busiest breakfast spots in Asheville, and the wait is part of the deal. Regulars say the huevos rancheros are worth it every time.

Sunny Point Café

Chai Pani is Asheville's award-winning Indian street food restaurant, opened in 2009 and now in a new home at 32 Banks Avenue in downtown Asheville. The menu is built around chaat, the crunchy, spicy, sweet and tangy snacks sold on Indian streets, plus thalis, the traditional family-style meals, and dishes like the kale fritter chaat.

Locals have been hooked on Chai Pani for years, and the new Banks Avenue space gives them more room to bring friends. It's fun, affordable and packed with flavor, so it works for a quick lunch or a big group dinner.

Chai Pani

Mountain Madre is the Scully family's Mexican kitchen and agave bar, with the original on Walnut Street downtown and a newer spot up on Merrimon Avenue in North Asheville. The kitchen leans on local farms like Hickory Nut Gap for tacos, enchiladas, bowls and nachos, and the margaritas run on house-made mixes.

The bar is the draw. They bill it as the biggest agave selection in Western North Carolina, and you can build your own tequila or mezcal flight by picking three, or go the margarita flight route. Vegans are covered too, with vegan queso, chicken and chorizo on the menu.

Downtown is open for lunch and dinner Tuesday through Sunday. The Merrimon location does dinner Tuesday through Saturday and opens at noon on Sundays. Both are closed Mondays.

Downtown regulars treat it as a go-to for tacos and a margarita on the patio, and the bartenders get a lot of love for knowing their tequila. North Asheville folks finally have one closer to home.

Mountain Madre

The Grey Eagle is a River Arts District music venue and Asheville's longest-running all-ages room, with something on the calendar almost every night: indie bands, bluegrass legends, punk and the occasional hip-hop set. It started in the 1990s in a garage and grew into a 550-capacity hall with a big stage, great sound, an open dance floor, a patio and an in-house taqueria pouring craft beer.

Locals call The Grey Eagle the real deal for Asheville music, from local bands to national tours. The crowd is welcoming and into it, and the venue often hosts benefit shows and community events.

Best places to visit in Asheville!

Thirsty Monk

Thirsty Monk's Recommendations for all things Asheville, NC!

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