Asheville is known for its eclectic + delicious food scene, and the AVLtoday team is known to love and rep our city, so naturally we combined the two to bring you the ultimate Asheville menu. Featuring dishes named for regional or local landmarks and more, this is the list you’ll want to reference when you want to put some local on your plate.
🍛 Blue Dream Curry House, 81 Patton Ave. I Patton Ave. Naan Taco
Leave it to the folks behind this perennially popular eatery — which showcases curries from around the world — to create a taco made with South Asian naan bread, curried proteins, pickled veggies, and spiced yogurt. Trust us: it’s even better than it sounds.
🥪 Corner Kitchen, 3 Boston Way I Biltmore Avenue Reuben
This charming spot, housed in a Tudor-style cottage in Biltmore Village, is known for giving beloved New American dishes a fresh flair, and its Biltmore Avenue Reuben is no exception. Featuring house cooked corned beef, melty Swiss cheese, homemade 1000 island dressing, and sauerkraut braised with apple juice, apple cider vinegar, brown sugar + bay leaves on griddled toasted rye bread, it might be the best sandwich in town.
🍽️ Green Sage Cafe, multiple locations I Appalachian Trail Plate
Whether you want to trek the iconic trail’s nearly 2200 miles or just do a section at a time, you’ll need some fuel for the journey. Turn to this aptly-named all-day breakfast item, which features eggs, Hickory Nut Gap bacon or sausage, turkey bacon or tempeh bacon sausage, root vegetable hash, and toast, and you’ll be able to make the trip.
🍣 Green Tea Sushi, 2 Regent Park Blvd. I Asheville Roll
To put it simply, this roll rocks. One of Asheville’s favorite sushi spots, Green Tea Sushi is known for its unique creations. The Asheville roll, made with salmon tempura and cream cheese and topped with buttery avocado + smoked salmon, is reliably delicious.
🍕 Manicomio Pizza & Food, 27 Biltmore Ave. I The Ashevillian
For a pizza as unique — some of us would say weird — as our city, head to Manicomio (located in the former Hannah Flanagan’s Irish Pub for us OG AVL folks) and order the Ashevillian pie. With pepperoni, tangy banana peppers, and creamy ranch dressing, it’s the food equivalent of a downtown drum circle in your mouth.
🍗 Montford Rooftop Bar, 199 Haywood St. I The Asheville Cuban
With braised Hickory Nut Gap pork shoulder, shaved ham, Swiss cheese, pickles, BBQ chips, and Dijonaise on Cuban bread from Annie’s Bakery, this toasty handheld hits all the taste + texture high notes. Plus, it somehow manages to taste even better while taking in views from the bar’s outdoor terrace.
🍲 Rosetta’s Kitchen, 116 N. Lexington Ave. I The Mountain
Even carnivores love the fare at this vegetarian spot, and it’s because of dishes like The Mountain, which show plant-based eats can be as flavorful + filling as their meaty companions. With brown rice, sautéed kale, fried Smiling Hara Hempeh, and a topping of zingy tahini-based Korean BBQ sauce, its tastiness is as vast as its mountainous namesake.
🌯 Salsa’s, 6 Patton Ave. I The Asheville Burrito
Looking for spectacular Latin fare? Look no further than this Asheville institution, which has been slinging fajitas, enchiladas, empanadas + more since 1994. Their fresh and hefty burritos are always great, but you can’t go wrong with the Asheville iteration. Made with steak, steak, cheese, beans, avocado + chipotle aioli, it’s one you’ll be dreaming of again and again.
