15 Best Restaurants In West Asheville, NC
Eat at the best restaurants in West Asheville, NC. As locals, see which West Asheville restaurants are musts for breakfast, brunch, lunch, and dinner.
One of the coolest Asheville neighborhoods, West Asheville is filled with breweries, donut and coffee shops, and the most vibrant murals.
Both brunch and lunch in West Asheville are fabulous and famous too.
And, where else can you have a quirky dinner with scrabble-tiled bathroom walls and pass by Dolly smiling at RuPaul on the street? You might have heard of names like Jargon and Nine Mile.
Like the bars, the West Asheville food options are plentiful, fun, and diverse. How do you choose?
In fact, this West Asheville restaurant list might receive some eye rolls from locals because it is filled with so many – maybe even too many – delicious spots.
It’s hard to name just a few amazing West Asheville restaurants. Sorry, guys!
You really cannot go wrong eating in West AVL.
With that said, who makes the best pizza in West Asheville? We love Grata Pizzeria at UpCountry Brewing. They even have a gluten-free crust.
What about the best sushi and Thai food in West Asheville? Run to Green Tea Sushi and Thai Pearl.
Plus, everyone knows Biscuit Head and Sunny Point Cafe for brunch in West Asheville. For lunch, Haywood Common and The Whale are perfect for cocktail and beer lovers.
Gypsy Queen Cuisine has loads of Mediterranean vegan options, and Leo’s House of Thirst whips up a delicious charcuterie with wine.
Do we have you convinced to eat in West Asheville? As locals, keep reading for the most delicious restaurants in West Asheville, NC. Let’s get started!
Read more about the top things to see, do, drink, buy, and eat in West Asheville.
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Table of Contents
15 Best Restaurants In West Asheville
1. Gypsy Queen Cuisine (GQC)
One of the best West Asheville restaurants for vegan options (and GF items), Gypsy Queen Cuisine (GCQ) makes mouthwatering Mediterranean meals.
GQC is famous for its Lebanese street food. Order Brussels sprouts, falafels, gyros, and grape leaves. The portions are huge, and we cannot rave enough about their food.
Gypsy Queen Cuisine also has a small shelf filled with Mediterranean treats for purchase including olives and tahini.
Unlike many of the other restaurants in West Asheville on this list, please note that GQC is not in the immediate downtown area.
Off-the-beaten path, you will drive slightly out of the walkable areas. Or, catch their rotating food truck at an Asheville festival.
Gypsy Queen Cuisine | 807 Patton Ave
2. Sunny Point Cafe
One of the best spots for breakfast and brunch in West Asheville, Sunny Point Cafe is also our readers’ choice restaurant.
You can enjoy “Southern comfort food from dawn to dark.” Most days of the week, Sunny Point Cafe serves up breakfast, lunch, and dinner (but not all; check hours).
A family-owned West Asheville restaurant, you’ll love their classic entrees like shrimp and grits and chicken and waffles. For breakfast, choose from breakfast burritos, omelets, avocado toast, and hotcakes.
Sunny Point Cafe has vegan and gluten-free options, including gluten-free bread.
Be forewarned that you cannot make reservations. On weekends as well as during peak lunch hours, you’ll find a crowd here.
End your meal with pound cake, shortcake, and pies. They serve up local craft beer, mimosas, and cocktails, too.
P.S. Many of the West Asheville restaurants make for great stops before or after Biltmore Estate as they are 10-15 minutes away by car.
Sunny Point Cafe | 626 Haywood Rd
3. Taco Billy
For some of the best tacos across AVL, don’t miss Taco Billy. This West Asheville Mexican restaurant is all about those fresh and local ingredients.
You’ll recognize TacoBilly by its vibrantly blue building with the red billy goat on the side.
Build your own taco, and find veggie tacos for lunch. And, similar to one of our favorite North AVL restaurants, Taco Temple, Taco Billy features breakfast tacos.
Nearby, be sure to check out one of Asheville’s top cideries, Urban Orchard West, as well as one of the best donut spots in town, Hole Doughnuts. Archetype West is right there, too.
Taco Billy | 201 Haywood Rd, Asheville, NC 28806
4. Thai Pearl
Where can you find the best Thai food in West Asheville? Thai Pearl! This comes as no surprise, though, since Chef May worked for The Royal Palace in Bangkok.
One of the newer downtown West Asheville restaurants, be sure to order those Thai fried onion rings. The noodles, rice, and Thai salads are delicious. It’s hard to choose what to order.
Many dishes are gluten-free – with labels on the menu – and Chef May can work around food intolerances.
You’ll love the trendy but cozy atmosphere. Chef May is also incredibly supportive of the community both in Asheville as well as across the world.
Thai Pearl | 747 Haywood Rd
5. Pupuseria Patty
For delicious food in Asheville, head to Pupuseria Patty. This is a Salvadoran, Honduran, and Mexican restaurant in a rather congested area of Patton Ave; it’s worth it, though.
These special places – hiding in unassuming gas stations – are what make the Asheville foodie scene so unique.
While this ultra-casual restaurant might not be for everyone, find delicious food with terrific and friendly service.
From breakfast through dinner, select from heaping plates of rice and beans paired with eggs, chicken, sausages, and fried plantains. Of course, they serve pupusas, too.
Plus, Pupuseria Patty is budget-friendly and a great takeout option.
Pupuseria Patty | 1563 Patton Ave
6. Haywood Common
One of the most fun things to do for lunch in West Asheville includes grabbing food from Haywood Common and pairing it with a beer from The Whale on a covered or uncovered picnic table.
Plus, they also serve weekend brunch with fantastic coffee and brunch cocktails.
Haywood Common features your traditional and healthy handhelds, bowls, burgers, and salads. We love snacking on their boiled peanuts with beer.
Most notably, for gluten-free diners, Haywood Common has a dedicated gluten-free fryer and gf bread.
Haywood Common shares space with The Whale, which is an extensive West Asheville beer collective with an ever-changing plethora of imported and local beer bottled and on tap.
For parking, we usually use the Park Mobile app and park at the church next door.
If you are looking for more popular spots for lunch in West Asheville, find the Asheville Sandwich Company and Early Girl Eatery.
And, for more great Asheville bars like The Whale, try West Asheville’s Odditorium, Fleetwoods, or The Golden Pineapple.
Haywood Common | 507 Haywood Rd
7. Biscuit Head
Biscuit Head is one of those West Asheville restaurants for breakfast and lunch that lands on all of the best of Asheville foodie lists. “Put some South in your mouth.”
We’ll give you one guess as to what Biscuit Head is famous for… biscuits and gravy! They also have a vegan and gluten-free biscuit and gravy option.
You can choose from biscuit sandwiches with eggs, ham, pulled pork, or fried chicken. Biscuit Head has South Asheville and Biltmore Ave. locations, too.
Biscuit Head | 733 Haywood Road
8. Green Tea Sushi & Japenese Restaurant
One of the best restaurants in West Asheville, head to Green Tea Sushi for rolls and cocktails. They are also one of the top local sushi spots in the city. We also love The Madness AVL.
Weather-permitting, sit outside on Green Tea Sushi’s patio while enjoying delicious sushi rolls, specials, and sashimi. They are a family-friendly restaurant and are also close to Gypsy Queen Cuisine.
Green Tea Sushi fills up with locals, but because this West Asheville restaurant is not situated downtown, you should be able to find parking and a table.
Green Tea Sushi | 2 Regent Park Blvd
9. Nine Mile West
For stellar Caribbean-inspired cuisine, Nine Mile is truly one of the best restaurants in West Asheville. Nine Mile has multiple locations, though, and we tend to frequent Nine Mile in Historic Montford.
Nine Mile does not accept reservations, and you will find lines down the block for dinner. You’ll see why.
Nine Mile extensively labels its delicious pasta, meat, and seafood dishes for allergies and food preferences as well as intolerances. They run on the spicier side, but as travel writers with GI issues, we can always find something to eat.
Nine Mile West | 751 Haywood Rd
10. Jargon
For a fancy dinner in West Asheville, Jargon is moderately upscale, romantic, and full of character. Jargon also gives their locals love.
They make delicious and fun cocktails, and you’ll find modern American cuisine. The bathroom walls are covered in Scrabble tiles, and you’ll chuckle at the lava lamps above the walls.
We recommend making dinner reservations. Look for side street parking. Close to Nine Mile and Thai Pearl, we park around the West Village Market & Deli area.
Read more about Asheville’s best date night restaurants.
Jargon | 715 Haywood Road
The Admiral and Isis Music Hall are also popular West Asheville restaurants.
11. Grata Pizzeria
For pizza in West Asheville, Upcountry Brewing and Grata Pizzeria are musts.
UpCountry is also a fantastic Asheville brewery.
Find yourself sitting in what feels like someone’s backyard while sipping beer and eating pizza. Grata Pizzeria also has gluten-free pizza crust and vegan cheese options.
UpCountry Brewing With Grata Pizzeria | 1042 Haywood Rd
12. The Madness AVL
Where can you find magnificent cocktails, mouthwatering burgers, and sushi in West Asheville? The Madness AVL has it all.
One of the newer West Asheville restaurants (December 2020), this sleek establishment will not disappoint. Just be sure to ignore the congested strip mall.
The Madness is both hipster and casual delicious. Order specialty and sushi rolls along with beautiful appetizers served like art.
If you have non-sushi lovers with you, their burgers are fantastic. And talk about those fries.
Full disclosure, though, that The Madness’s service is hit or miss.
The Madness Asheville | West Asheville 275 Smokey Park Hwy Ste 251 | North Asheville 1020 Merrimon Ave Suite 104, Asheville, NC 28804
P.S. For coffee in West Asheville, don’t skip Bean Werks or Izzy’s.
13. Leo’s House Of Thirst
One of our favorite Asheville wine bars, Leo’s House Of Thirst is fabulous for a late lunch in West Asheville, tapas, midday Sunday brunch, or dinner.
While Leo’s doesn’t offer flights, you can choose from half pours, carafes, bottles, and glasses.
Leo’s has a beautiful outdoor wine garden with heaters, picnic tables, and hanging lights.
Sit under the trees while enjoying desserts, cheese, olives, and some of the best Asheville charcuterie. You might catch the smoker in use, too.
Their parking lot is located immediately behind the building. The Odditorium is nearby if you are looking for more great bars with fun cocktails.
Or, discover Asheville’s great pubs and taverns.
Leo’s House Of Thirst | 1055 Haywood Rd, Asheville, NC 28806
14. Neng Jr.’s
One of the best restaurants in West Asheville, Neng Jr.’s opened in 2022.
A cozy Filipinx restaurant with Southern-inspired flavors, you’ll want to make reservations for this culinary experience.
Enjoy a menu with smaller sharables and larger entrees, which the staff will explain to you. The first time we visited, we ordered half of the menu.
With a seasonal veggie, meat, and seafood menu, we enjoy their peanut-sauce veggies, duck simmering in gravy, and BBQ mushrooms.
The quail egg oyster promises a unique and salty treat, and our friends devoured the olive oil ice cream with cheddar cheese.
Plus, you’ll love the hipster wine list and spicy drinks.
Much of Neng Jr.’s menu is already gluten-free with plenty of veggies for vegan, vegetarian, and dairy-free diners.
Neng Jr.’s | 701 Haywood Rd Ste 102, Asheville, NC 28806 (Entrance in the back alley)
15. Itto Ramen Bar & Tapas
If you love Asian cuisine, Itto Ramen Bar is perfect for both tapas and piping hot ramen. This isn’t solely a West Asheville restaurant, though. You’ll find Itto in South AVL and Downtown too.
A little pricier than some of its neighbors, you can’t go wrong with Itto for Japanese-inspired cocktails and shareable plates. For lunch in West Asheville, this is another go-to spot.
Personally, we love their mango shrimp skewers and beef yakitori. Of course, you have to try Itto’s famous ramen. Think black garlic oil broth with pork, a hard-boiled egg, and bamboo shoots.
If you love poke, Itto’s got it, and we appreciate that they label gluten-free, vegan, and vegetarian items.
It’s easy to over-order at Itto Ramen Bar, but you will never catch us complaining about leftovers.
Itto Ramen Bar & Tapas | West Asheville – 630 Haywood Rd, Asheville, NC 28806; Downtown – 3 Biltmore Ave, Ashville, NC 28801; South – 335 Airport Road, Suite 300, Arden, NC 28704
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Christine Frascarelli
Christine (pronouns: she/her) is the owner and lead writer of Uncorked Asheville. After falling in love with those gorgeous Blue Ridge Mountains, Christine and her husband Tom decided to call Asheville, North Carolina home. When her pointy Italian nose isn’t stuck in a book, Christine is adopting all of the kitties, getting lost in the forest, and drinking an ESB. She has a BA in English and History from Smith College, her MLIS from USF-Tampa, and is a former U.S. Fulbright Scholar - Indonesia. Christine also owns The Uncorked Librarian LLC with books and movies to inspire travel.