It’s only Wednesday but I’ve already hit up two new Charlotte restaurants this week. Before I share my experiences with these restaurants let me give you my take on the Charlotte restaurant scene as a whole…I do not love it. We have a ton of restaurants in Charlotte and while I feel grateful for the selection, many of them underwhelm me. I get really excited about eating out in cities like Charleston and Asheville. The food is so fresh, local, creative, well-thought out, etc.

I rarely get excited about restaurants here in Charlotte. That said, I grew up in a small Georgia town and it’s absolutely wonderful to have access to as many restaurants as we have in Charlotte. Especially when it comes to ethnic spots. We’ve got some good sushi, Indian, Thai, Greek, pizza (that doesn’t even count as ethnic anymore but whatever), Vietnamese and more. But those restaurants where everything you take a bite of makes you open your eyes wide and say “this is so good” are few and far between. I’ll write a post soon about my favorite Charlotte spots.

This week I visited two recently opened spots, Fahrenheit and littleSpoon.

Fahrenheit actually opened earlier this year but it was my first time there so it’s new to me! It’s located on the 21st floor of the Skye Condominiums building and has become quite the hot spot here in Charlotte. I visited on a Monday night so things were relatively calm but apparently it’s quite the place to be seen on the weekends.

I claim to know nothing about “places to be seen” in Charlotte and this is about as dressed up for dinner as it gets for me! 🙂 The #1 thing that Fahrenheit has going for it is the incredible view and outdoor area.

We requested a table by the windows which I 100% recommend doing if you visit Fahrenheit. It makes the crazy expensive price tag a little more worthwhile. After browsing the wine menu we decided on The Big Easy which is a big, bold, delicious red blend. I will say that the wines were expensive and I saw a few bottles that I know I can buy myself for $14 going for upwards of $50. I know there is a markup on wine but that’s a little much.

We split this salad to start and it was plenty big enough to share. It was arugula dressed in a lemony vinaigrette with a big ball of fried goat cheese, pistachio brittle, prosciutto and cherry tapenade.

I had the 8-ounce filet for my entree but with substitutions. It was served with a shallot-caper relish over garlic mashed potatoes. I asked for the cauliflower mash instead with a different sauce since capers are one of the only foods on earth that I cannot get on board with. The steak was cooked perfectly. The BBQ roasted carrots that accompanied it were not really roasted at all and still quite crunchy but the steak made up for that.

Fahrenheit was opened by celebrity chef Rocco Whalen. I thought the food was really good but not outstanding and very, very expensive. You’re definitely paying for the view here but I would return for the view, small plates and drinks in the future.

The next day I met a friend for breakfast at littleSpoon. It’s a new breakfast/lunch spot that just opened in the same building as the gym so it’s super convenient for me. First impression walking in is that I love the space. It’s warm and cozy and I love the coffee bar. They also have ample outdoor seating. littleSpoon’s mission is to “educate and encourage eating local, urban farming and sustainability through example. with the passion and support of our local farmers we are thrilled to offer a continually changing menu that highlights the delicate flavors only found in locally-grown produce and protein.”

The menu is limited but has some really great options including homemade pop tarts and hot pockets, eggs and egg sandwiches, quinoa oatmeal and more.

I had two soft boiled eggs with flakey sea salt and toast points, black coffee and a side of cinnamon toast. The coffee is served in giant bowl-shaped cups with no handles so picking it up and drinking it is an experience.

The cinnamon toast was the star of the show! So buttery and delicious. I enjoyed my breakfast at littleSpoon but it was pricey. The egg dish was $7, toast was $3 and coffee was $3…and when I got home I made a green smoothie because I was still hungry! I would return to littleSpoon again though. It’s a great spot to hang out solo or catch up with a friend…and I want to try their lunch.

So there’s my take on two new Charlotte spots. Local readers, let me know if you’ve tried either of these spots and what you thought.