Cocktails, wine bars and dives: drinking in Asheville for grown-ups.
Cocktail bars, wine bars, dive bars and gastropubs: drinking in Asheville for grown-ups.
Sovereign Remedies on North Market Street is the multilevel apothecary-themed cocktail bar in a historic downtown building. Bar opened 2014, kitchen runs.
Signature drink: Apothecary-inspired seasonal cocktails
Food: Bone marrow, seasonal small plates, pastas
Tip: Reserve a table on Resy. The downstairs bar takes walk-ins for the cocktail menu. Closed Tuesdays.
Antidote at Chemist Spirits on Coxe Avenue runs three floors of 1920s apothecary-styled cocktail bar above the Chemist gin and rum distillery.
Signature drink: Chemist Crimson Moon gin cocktails
Food: Snack menu, charcuterie
Tip: Top-floor bar takes the views. Tours of the distillery downstairs run weekends; book ahead.
The Crow and Quill on North Lexington Avenue is the hidden Asheville speakeasy with 800 whiskeys and 1,000 spirits behind an unmarked door. Edgar Allan Poe.
Signature drink: 800+ whiskeys, classic cocktails
Food: Snacks only
Tip: Look for the 106 and the lanterns; the door is unmarked. Membership-style with a small cover for non-members.
Burial Beer's South Slope taproom on Collier Avenue is the defining Asheville craft beer hangout, opened 2013. Saisons, IPAs, sours; Good Hot Fish counter.
Signature drink: Saisons, IPAs, mixed-fermentation
Food: Good Hot Fish counter upstairs
Tip: Outdoor courtyard takes the overflow. The Forestry Camp on Shelburne Road is the sister destination for the barrel program.
The Times Bar inside the historic S and W Cafeteria (now the S and W Market food hall) on Patton Avenue runs as a coffee shop by day and craft cocktail bar.
Signature drink: Classic Manhattan, seasonal sazerac
Food: S and W Market food hall around it
Tip: Coffee until 16:00, cocktails after. Food from the surrounding S and W Market counters (Buxton Chicken, Hi-Wire, Highland).
Wicked Weed's downtown Brewpub on Biltmore Avenue opened in 2012. Hop-forward IPAs and lagers, full-service restaurant, large patio. The original Wicked Weed.
Signature drink: Hop-forward IPAs, Pernicious
Food: Full-service restaurant
Tip: The downstairs cellar offers private booths. The Funkatorium on Coxe Avenue runs the sour beer program.
DSSOLVR on North Lexington Avenue in the historic Tyler Building runs beer alongside cider, mead, wine and non-alcoholic options. Art-leaning labels.
Signature drink: Sours, fruited ales, lagers
Food: Snacks only, food trucks rotate
Tip: Upstairs lounge takes the late crowd. Open until midnight Sat, 22:00 Sun-Thu.
The Social Lounge above Strada Italiano on Broadway Street is Asheville's original rooftop cocktail bar, with a covered rooftop patio and Italian-leaning.
Signature drink: Aperol spritz, Italian-leaning cocktails
Food: Italian small plates from Strada kitchen
Tip: Walk-up. Rooftop seats fill first on warm evenings; covered patio works in rain or shoulder season.