New restaurant Rada quietly opens in former Little Spoon space, with acclaimed NYC chef
Charlotte, get ready for snacks, skewers, and small plates. And a martini that doubles as a snack, too.
These bites are ready for you starting today, Jan. 3, at Rada, which opens its doors for the first time at 5 p.m.
Rada is a new, small contemporary American restaurant located on Selwyn Ave in what was once Little Spoon, which is owner Eloy Roy’s dream location. At its core, Rada is a neighborhood eatery with upscale-dining touches and a wine program that stands up to the food menu.
But Roy isn’t just stopping there: “This could be something beautiful to build a foundation for being known beyond Charlotte and beyond North Carolina,” he told CharlotteFive.
‘Charlotte’s been incredibly good to my family’
Despite being in his early 30s, Roy has a Charlotte-vetted hospitality background. “Charlotte’s been incredibly good to my family,” he said. His family opened and owned Oggi in South Charlotte. “That’s where I was coming of age. I had a decision to study or to help build Oggi. We decided to build Oggi.” He then went on to open The Lights Cafe, both now under different ownership.
At Rada, Roy brought on Chef Callan Buckles as Executive Chef. Hailing from New York City, Buckles worked at Claud, Momofuku, The Four Horsemen, and Lodi — an impressive lineup with recognition in New York Times, the Michelin Guide, Eater, Bon Appetit and more.
“I’ve worked at a wide range of styles of restaurants, so I pull a little bit from everything,” Buckles said. Asian influence from Momofuku, rustic, farmer-centric cuisine from Charter Oak in Napa, and French technique, like ladling Rada’s roast chicken in a can’t-miss jus, from Claud.
So, why in the world would he choose to leave a top culinary city and build in Charlotte? Well, love, of course. His love / life partner, as fate would have it, is Roy’s older sister. That’s how Eloy Roy and Buckles met in the first place.
If you want to eat like Buckles or Roy, here are the dishes that embody Rada’s ethos. All the plates on the menu are made to share. “I’m having a hard time choosing,” Buckles told me. “Can I give you three?”
Rada’s food and drink menu
Food highlights include:
Clams in a vin jaune and scallion broth ($19).
A simple dover sole with pickled shallot and green romesco ($77).
Veal tonne ($24).
Okay, and that simple roast chicken ($38) or beef tartare with crispy sunchokes ($18).
Drink highlights include:
Selwyn Spritz, with amaro, lemon and cava ($16).
San Sebastian martini with an olive and anchovy gilda ($19).
A limited, thoughtful wine menu with some interesting, possibly unfamiliar grapes like a hondarrabi zuri from Txakoli, mencia from Bierzo, or savignin (note: not the same as Sauvignon) from Arbois. Wines range from $11 to $18.
Ambience highlights:
Proximity to the street and walkability to Myers Park staples.
Sun-drenched windows and archways.
Snug 50 seat layout and an 8-seater full-service bar.
Candles on each table and dim lit globe lights hanging from the ceiling.
The menu leans local in the sense that Buckles and Roy are tapping into local knowledge.
Buckles credited his brief summer stint at now-closed Haymaker and chef Chris Coleman for connecting him to the local farmer networks and nearby purveyors. Roy shouted out Bill Ryan from Clean Catch, a neighboring fish market on Selwyn, for letting him know that when Dover fish is in the case, it sells quickly in the Myers Park neighborhood.
Thanks to that insider knowledge and a clear gut instinct, Roy thinks Myers Park and Charlotte as a whole are ready for Rada, even if it feels relatively experimental or more expensive than what’s standard.
“It’s going to be somewhat new in that we are asking you to have 2 to 4 dishes per person. We are asking you to share,” Roy said. “That has arrived in Charlotte, but it’s not in everyone’s understanding of dining.”
But, the two want Charlotte to trust them.
‘I think the town is ready for us’
Right now, Rada is open from 5-10 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. Eventually, Roy hopes to be open 7 days a week to stick to that neighborhood-spot identity.
Back in 2010, the move to Charlotte was a decision “out of necessity” for Roy and his family. But now, Roy is staying in Charlotte by choice and Buckles is too. Together, they’re building a modern bar-restaurant-vinoteca as a fresh addition to Charlotte’s dining scene.
“I think the town is ready for us,” Buckles said “We’re very excited to be here … I believe that it’ll be worth it.”
Rada Charlotte
Location: 2820 Selwyn Ave Ste 180, Charlotte, NC 28209
Instagram: @rada.clt
This story was originally published January 3, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
