What to do in Asheville if you’re not in the mood for craft beer

In the past few years, Asheville has witnessed its craft beverage scene grow from being all about beer to launching several cideries, distilleries, kombucha breweries and cider-centric restaurants that are now thriving.

The city also has some incredible new rooftop bars, wine bars and several restaurants that focus on wine pairings with their menus. So, Charlotteans can easily drive the quick two-hour trip to Asheville and see for themselves that while craft beer might still be king, its popularity has paved the way for other types of craft drinks to flourish, too.

Stay

One of Asheville’s newest downtown hotels — Hilton Garden Inn Asheville Downtown — has an indoor heated pool and sits just a few blocks from downtown’s central park, Pack Square.

The best part? Their rooftop bar, Pillar, showcases one of downtown’s best sunset views of the Blue Ridge Mountains. It pairs well with their carefully curated signature cocktail list. Try a spicy strawberry cream margarita or raspberry cucumber fizz and nosh on small plates, burgers, or flatbreads. They serve breakfast and lunch, too.

Other options to stay include:

Aloft (51 Biltmore Ave.)

AC Hotel (10 Broadway St.)

The Inn on Biltmore Estate (1 Lodge St.)

The Omni Grove Park Inn (290 Macon Ave.)

Eat

Breakfast

For breakfast, Sunny Point Cafe has crazy-long waits on the weekends, so instead go on a Friday (or another weekday) if you can to chow down on their monster portions. Think four-egg omelettes, French toast stuffed with sausage, cream cheese and cheddar, and Bibimbap. Can’t make it during breakfast hours? Don’t worry, they serve it up all day long.

Simple, a cute little cafe and juice bar, has energy-boosting fresh-pressed juices, smoothies and wellness shots served alongside avocado toast, acai bowls and breakfast staples with a healthier spin. Breakfast here will help set you up for a great day of nibbling and sipping your way through West Asheville, a residential neighborhood booming with breweries, new restaurants and awesome shops and such.

Mayfel’s is one of the few brunch spots with a build-your-own Bloody Mary bar. Mayfel’s dishes out Cajun-inspired goodies like a variety of benedicts, shrimp and grits, and crawfish omelettes.

Lunch

If you’re a fan of kombucha, you can’t miss Rosetta Kitchen’s Buchi Bar, where they offer flights of six locally-made Buchi kombucha. You can order the full Rosetta’s menu from upstairs in this cozy little indoor garden, where plants cascade down the brick walls and the large front windows are usually wide-open. The food pairs fabulously with their kombucha cocktails like Dirty Roots made with bourbon, Buchi Eart, and angostura bitters.

Tour of West Asheville’s food scene with lunch at BimBeriBon. The menu at this cider-centric eatery is filled with healthy options like power-packed bowls, broths, salads and wraps. On draft, you’ll find five ciders, with several more in cans. Plus, there’s super-fresh cocktails like Beet Citrus Fizz made with rum, beet, lemon, mint and soda.

Yes, Bhramari Brewing Company is a brewery, but it also features a guest kombucha on tap. It has a killer outdoor patio and great food — and since they are just a hair off the beaten path, you don’t often have to wait like at so many other Asheville restaurants. Plus, they have fun items like Patatas Machismo (made with drunken carnitas), pork rangoons and an insane grilled beet salad.

Dinner

Urban Orchard Cider Co.’s West Asheville location is the only cidery in town with a kitchen. Try their amazing array of dips with seven options at three for $14 — favorites are the olive tapenade, bruschetta mix and Sunburst Farms trout dip. You’ll find nine ciders on tap here, or head to their downtown location for nearly 20 ciders on tap.

At District Wine Bar, keep things simple and share some heavy appetizers like a Ploughman (meat and cheese board), dip and breads. Sip on heavy pours of 50+ available wines by the glass, all sourced from small batch producers with an emphasis on seeking out wines from organic vineyards and female winemakers. Want a little more substance? Head next door to The Bull & Beggar, arguably one of the best chef-driven restaurants in town, with an emphasis on seafood and quality steaks.

You’ll find one of the coolest courtyards in town — think broken-down, open-air mechanic shop reclaimed by nature — at Ben’s Tune Up. It serves counter-order Asian dishes like duck bahn mi and potstickers of the day. Be sure to get a flight of their housemade sake, as they’re one of the few sakeries in America.

Other options for eating include:

Capella on 9 (10 Broadway St)

Chestnut (48 Biltmore Ave)

Curate (13 Biltmore Ave)

Little Jumbo (241 Broadway St.)

The Montford Rooftop Bar (199 Haywood St.)

The Wine and Oyster (3 Biltmore Ave.)

Drink

In between your meals, hit up local cideries. Daidala Ciders has only daytime hours from noon-7 p.m. and is located inside a combination art gallery/taproom in the River Arts District. There’s just a few bar stools and picnic tables for a cozy, hands-on tasting experience. Their focus is on unconventional cider flavors and processes made in small batches.

A few miles away, Noble Cider’s taproom sits inside their production facility, with a few rooms sectioned off for darts and lounging and a small bar area. They have at least a dozen ciders on tap, with some large bottles and hard cider spritzers available in cans, too. They sometimes host live music and game nights.

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As the only cider-focused bar in Asheville, TreeRock Social Cider House, has a lounge vibe perfect for getting comfortable and trying a few rounds of flights with friends. Start with a domestic cider flight, then upgrade to a premium/import cider flight for round two and finish off your tasting with a mead flight. The team prides themselves on sourcing quality mead from all over the world, so go ahead and geek out with your bartender.

Other options for a drink include:

Adam Dalton Distillery (251 Biltmore Ave.)

Battery Park Book Exchange (1 Page Ave. #101)

H&H Distillery (204 Charlotte Hwy)

Rustic Grape Wine Bar (14 Aston St.)

Sante Wine Bar and Tap Room (1 Page Ave.)

Sovereign Remedies (29 N. Market St.)

The Chemist (151 Coxe Ave.)

The Odditorium (1045 Haywood Rd.)

Top of the Monk (92 Patton Ave.)

5 Walnut Bar (5 Walnut St.)

Do

Bold Rock selected 72 School House Rd., in the booming Mills River area, as part of its expansion efforts out of Virginia near Sierra Nevada’s East Coast home. Tours run at 1, 3 and 5 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays, and they have reserves and other releases you won’t find in stores. Plus, there’s a food truck serving BBQ delights, and there’s often live music or other entertainment happening on the large parcel of farm-surrounded land.

Other options for things to do include:

Asheville Rooftop Bar Tour (Location varies)

Axeville (99 New Leicester Hwy)

Biltmore Estate (1 Lodge St.)

Hendersonville wineries (Locations vary)

This story was originally published June 18, 2019 at 10:03 PM.