Pull Up a Patio Chair!
Some restaurants are worth visiting for the food. Others earn a spot on the calendar because of where you'll enjoy it. Across North Carolina, rooftop terraces, garden patios and courtyard dining make late summer an ideal time to eat outdoors.
From Raleigh Rooftops to Asheville Gardens
In Raleigh, patio dining comes with two very different views of the capital city. Taverna Agora brings a Mediterranean mood to downtown with its rooftop patio, where greenery, blue-and-white details and Greek cooking create a setting that feels removed from the traffic below. A few minutes away, Wye Hill Kitchen & Brewing sits atop Boylan Bridge, pairing its outdoor patio with a clear look at the Raleigh skyline. Small-batch beer, cocktails and chef-driven bar food make it an easy choice when the evening calls for scenery without formality.
Farther west, Asheville has long understood that breakfast deserves fresh air, too. Sunny Point Cafe has built a loyal following around breakfast and lunch, with a covered patio that keeps outdoor dining practical even when mountain weather gets indecisive. Its on-site production garden supplies ingredients for the kitchen, making the outdoor space feel connected to the meal rather than added as an afterthought.
That connection matters in late summer. Patio season gives North Carolinians a chance to notice where they are, whether that means watching downtown lights flicker on, eating beside a working garden or catching a breeze that finally suggests August may be losing its argument.
A Coastal Courtyard and Charlotte Polish
Near Wrightsville Beach, Brasserie du Soleil serves French fare in Wilmington’s Lumina Station, a landscaped shopping village along Eastwood Road. The restaurant’s courtyard seating, water feature and red umbrellas offer a slower alternative to the beach-day scramble. Lunch might mean quiche or a composed salad, while dinner brings escargot, steak pomme frites and selections from the raw bar.
Charlotte takes the rooftop idea in a more polished direction. RH operates garden-inspired restaurants in select galleries, and the RH Rooftop Restaurant at RH Charlotte occupies the third floor of its Phillips Place design gallery. The year-round, skylit setting serves brunch, lunch and dinner among fountains, greenery and chandeliers, proving that al fresco spirit does not always require direct exposure to North Carolina’s late-August humidity.
From rooftop views in Raleigh and Charlotte to garden breakfasts in Asheville and a tucked-away courtyard near Wrightsville Beach, these outdoor dining destinations prove that sometimes the setting is every bit as memorable as the meal.
For more places to eat across the state, explore the Guide to North Carolina Directory at https://www.guidetonc.com/food-drink.
