Best Restaurants for Local Ingredients in Asheville

We had a delicious meal at Blackbird last night. They have a great variety of options including many vegan options. We are so fortunate to have this restaurant here in Asheville. They are consistently one of the best options for dining out here!

Excellent first experience at Luminosa. David was attentive and knew the menu inside and out. Only hiccup--and we didn't really care that much--was that the first course came out well before our first round of drinks arrived. But those bone marrow tots were piping hot and delicious, and we'd rather have tots hot and ready than lingering on the line... Lemon pizza second course was quite good--plenty for 4 to share. Entrees were really well prepared: the half chicken was as good as advertised by David, the coppa steaks were **outstanding**, and the skirt was perfectly cooked. We also had gnocchi, fusilli, polenta, kohlrabi and spinach--all plentiful to share and well executed. Everything was hot when it hit the table, which is vital for a great meal. The staff was on point, and there was good support on service. Desserts have to be next level to really stand out during a great meal, but the honeycomb concoction with the semi-freddo was inventive and delicious. This particular meal was one of just a handful I can recall here in Asheville where the $130/person/all-in was *really* worth it. But it was, and we'll be back.

Warm atmosphere, excellent food and our server was spot on with his timing, with drinks, food, everything. Food came out in a timely manner and was exceptional. Prices were competitive with other similar restaurants in the area.

Mela always hits just right! We had varying degrees of spice-tolerance in our group, so our server was able to guide our guests through ordering. We had the chicken korma with tender pieces of chicken and a delicious, rich cashew/peanut sauce; a lamb special with a similar sauce as the korma, but a tad more spice, an eggplant dish, and the chicken vindaloo, which our guests asked to be extra spicy. We all loved our dishes! We loved the vegetable somosas too. Our server was professional and attentive. This restaurant has been in Asheville as long as I have, and it never disappoints!

This restaurant has it all. Great service, wonderful atmosphere and the food is amazing!