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Downtown Asheville is a food-lover’s paradise filled with some of the best restaurants in the region. Choose from award-winning Asheville restaurants with James Beard Award-nominated chefs, MICHELIN Guide recommended restaurants, or more casual dining options, including classic American cuisine, global bites, Southern comfort food, and more, with vegan and gluten-free options. Asheville is known for its wealth of independent restaurants, serving up fresh, seasonal, scratch-made fare with top-notch hospitality. Feature image: Strada Italiano
Photo: Fitz and the Wolfe focuses on shareable plates, satisfying comfort food, and creative cocktails showasing local distilleries and ingredients.
Come hungry and arrive early to get a good seat! Better yet, call ahead to see if you can make a reservation. Downtown Asheville's a great place to walk around, with many things to do. See our Downtown Asheville Top 30 for ideas. Start the day right with a delicious breakfast and a mimosa at one of our diners and restaurants. See our top picks for Breakfast & Brunch. Want a quick start to the day? Grab some freshly brewed coffee and a bagel from a variety of coffee shops and bakeries in town. See our Coffee & Tea guide to find that perfect espresso or earl grey.
Our “foodie destination” status creates quite the competition in town and deciding on what eatery to try for lunch or dinner can be tough. From international cuisine to old school Southern fare with grits and fried green tomatoes, downtown Asheville restaurants really have it all. Indulge in a wide variety of international delights like Spanish tapas, Indian street food and hot curries, wood fired pizza and more. If a burger and beer is more your style, see our Best Burgers guide or check out Asheville’s lively food truck scene. See our Top 10 Food Trucks in Asheville.
End the day with a nightcap and watch the sun go down from a rooftop bar patio or savor a sweet bite from a local confectioner, bakery, or coffee shop.
Top Downtown Asheville Restaurants
Hemingway's Cuba, Asheville
You can't beat the view at this restaurant and bar in downtown Asheville, pairing Cuban cuisine with Asheville flair. Menu favorites include Empanadas, Tostones Board, Ropa Vieja, and Vaca… More Information
Social Lounge
This premiere craft cocktail bar is a great place to eat, drink, and be social. Find original cocktails, fine wines, local brews, and creative food with local ingredients in a contemporary space… More Information
Strada Italiano
This favorite downtown Italian restaurant has the aromas of house-baked artisan bread and mouth-watering cuisine. Focuses on fresh ingredients, biodynamic and organically-produced wine selections… More Information
The Market Place
A world-class favorite located on charming Wall Street. Chef William Dissen's inventive menu features seasonal and organic ingredients from area farms, plus an extensive wine list. Recommended by… More Information
Pack’s Tavern
Established as a go-to spot downtown for good beer, delicious food, and a great view overlooking Pack Square Park in a beautifully restored 1900s building. Offering multiple dining spaces:… More Information
The Market Place
Asheville's original farm-to-table restaurant since 1979 features Chef William Dissen's seasonally-driven menu with organic ingredients from local farms. Two-time James Beard nominee for… More Information
Jack of the Wood
Since opening in 1996, this has been one of Asheville’s favorite places to relax, listen to music, and enjoy fresh, locally sourced pub fare. The original home of Green Man Brewing, the pub… More Information
Twisted Laurel Downtown
Award-winning Executive Chef Tom LaFauci specializes in handmade pasta and smoked meats putting his Italian-American touch on a wide range of crowd-pleasing entrees. The full bar… More Information
Bear's Smokehouse Asheville
This smokehouse in Asheville’s South Slope offers award-winning K.C. Style BBQ with signature items like brisket burnt ends, smoked sausage, loaded baked potatoes, and more. They also offer vegan… More Information
Jerusalem Garden Cafe
Transport your senses to faraway lands without leaving downtown Asheville! At Jerusalem Garden Cafe, you'll enjoy authentic Middle Eastern and Mediterranean dishes from slow braised lamb shanks to… More Information
Tupelo Honey Cafe
Longtime favorite for both locals and visitors! This is where Tupelo began in 2000 as a destination for scratch-made Southern food rooted in the Carolina Mountains. Breakfast, lunch and dinner… More Information
Chai Pani Asheville
Taste and sample Indian street food like you’ve never had before at this critically acclaimed Asheville restaurant, where James Beard Award-winning Chef and Owner Meherwan Irani crafts delectable… More Information
Limones
Modern Californian and Mexican cooking plus creative cocktails served in a quaint, homey setting. Dinner specialties include entrees such as grilled au natural rib-eye steak with hazelnut-ancho… More Information
Early Girl Eatery, Farm-to-Table Southern Comfort Food
With its original location at 8 Wall Street in the heart of downtown Asheville since 2001, Early Girl Eatery offers an inviting dining room highlighting local character and community spirit.
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Posana
This contemporary, farm-to-table restaurant in the heart of downtown Asheville’s historic Pack Square serves local, seasonal, and sustainable cuisine that is 100% gluten-free. Try one of their… More Information
Parking in Downtown Asheville
Parking Garages
The easiest solution to parking is using one of the five city & county parking decks. It's free for the first hour, then $1.50/hour. Get real time updates on spaces available in each deck!
- Civic Center Parking Deck is entered from Haywood or Rankin (550 spaces)
- Rankin Avenue Parking Deck is entered from Walnut or Rankin (262 spaces)
- Wall Street Parking Deck (adjacent to Grove Arcade) is entered from Otis Street near Patton Avenue (232 spaces) - usually the busiest
- Biltmore Public Parking Deck is at 51 Biltmore Avenue (412 spaces)
- Buncombe County Parking Deck at 164 College Street across from Pack Square Park (650 spaces)
- Sears Alley Public Parking Deck at 40 Coxe Avenue with 664 spots- great for after 5 PM M-F and all weekend (near South Slope). Enter from Sears Alley.
There are a couple of privately owned parking garages in Asheville downtown that are usually more expensive, but very convenient.
On-Street Parking - Free after 6 PM & Sundays
There are more than 700 on-street, metered spaces in downtown Asheville. All meters are for short term parking (two hours or less, as marked) at a cost of $1.50 per hour. All meters accept coins only or pay via the Passport Parking App. The metered spaces are enforced from 8 AM to 6 PM, Monday through Saturday. Parking is FREE each Sunday and city holidays: New Year's Day, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Good Friday, Memorial Day, Fourth of July, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, Friday after Thanksgiving and Christmas (3 days). So don't "feed the meters" on these days.
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