Light Rail at Optimist Hall is a bar in South End, Charlotte.
Light Rail is the upstairs craft cocktail bar at Optimist Hall, with a small list of seasonal drinks and a perch above the food hall in Charlotte's South End.
Must order: A seasonal cocktail off the rotating menu.
Food program: Food-hall pairings
Tip: Order from any food-hall vendor and bring the food upstairs to the bar tables.
Address: 1115 N Brevard St 2nd Floor, Charlotte, NC 28206
Selwyn Avenue Pub in Myers Park has poured pints and run a burger menu across Selwyn Avenue for over thirty years, with a back patio and a long beer list.
Signature drink: Local craft beer
Food: Burgers and pub plates
Order: A pub burger and a cold pour from a local Charlotte brewery.
Tip: Patio is the seat in spring and autumn. Dog-friendly.
The Bar at Leluia Hall in Dilworth is the walk-in cocktail and small-plates lounge below the main dining room, with a separate menu inside the 1915 Cleveland.
Signature drink: Classic American cocktails
Food: Steakhouse small plates
Order: A classic cocktail and a small plate off the bar menu.
Tip: Walk-in only. Open Tuesday-Wednesday 17:00-23:00, later on weekends.
Snug Harbor in Plaza Midwood is the nautical-themed live music dive opened by talent booker Scott McCannell in 2007, with two stages, karaoke nights and a back patio.
Signature drink: Cold beer and well cocktails
Food: Bar snacks and hot dogs
Order: A cold PBR or a Moscow Mule while a local band plays the front room.
Tip: Closed Mon-Tue. Doors at 20:00, shows at 21:00 most nights; Sunday karaoke is the neighbourhood ritual.
The Workman's Friend on Central Avenue is the Plaza Midwood Irish pub with a working fireplace, an open-air patio and scratch pub fare including fish and chips and shepherd's.
Signature drink: Guinness and Irish whiskey flights
Food: Scratch-made Irish pub fare
Order: Fish and chips with a pint of Guinness. The shepherd's pie is the cold-weather pick.
Tip: Open until 02:00 nightly. Brunch from 10:00 Saturday and Sunday with a full Irish breakfast.
Common Market Plaza Midwood on Commonwealth Avenue has been the neighbourhood's all-in-one bar, deli and bottle shop since 2003, with a sprawling beer fridge and a front.
Signature drink: Local craft beer by the bottle
Food: Deli sandwiches with vegan and vegetarian options
Order: A bottle off the beer wall and a deli sandwich on Golden Grains bread, taken to the patio.
Tip: Daily 08:00-24:00; deli closes 16:00. Patio out front fills first; alley tables behind the bar are the backup.
Dot Dot Dot is the members-only speakeasy behind a brown door at Park Road Shopping Center in Charlotte, with a reservation-led cocktail programme.
Signature drink: Classic cocktails
Food: Snacks
Order: A classic cocktail done correctly. The list rotates by season.
Tip: Members-only with affordable annual fee. Reservations are two-hour slots; arrive on time.
