Great Restaurants in Asheville, North Carolina: Where the Locals Eat

When visiting Asheville, North Carolina you will probably be looking for some good food to chow down on during your vacation. There are a few places that are reasonably priced and they're where the locals eat. So if you're looking to break out of the tourist image and pretend like you've lived there you're whole life, you need to check these places out.

The Mediterranean Restaurant
Located at 57 College St., in the heart of downtown, this place could be easily overlooked if you weren't careful. I'm sure you've heard the saying "hole-in-the-wall" but this place literally fits the bill. And like most hole-in-the-wall restaurants, this place has the best Greek food for the best price that you will ever find.

The Med, as it's affectionately known, has been open for longer than I have been alive. They have a sign out front that says they've been in business for twenty-five years, but I think it's long past time to get a new sign. The sign has been hanging there for as long as I can remember. I'm not sure exactly how long they've been in business, but I'm under the impression they've been there since the 60's.

The Med serves breakfast and lunch. They tend to cater to people who work downtown, especially business people, hence the limited hours. They close in the afternoon, so don't bother trying to go there for dinner. They are also closed on Sundays. The people who own it are from Greece and are super nice. It really adds to the experience to eat there and listen to them speak to each other in Greek. The service is fantastic and the waitresses always remember us.

Barley's Taproom
Located at 42 Biltmore Ave. this eating establishment is not far from the Vance Memorial. They serve some of the best pizza that you can come by in the south. The building that Barley's is in was an appliance store in the 1920's and the ceiling is awesome. It's one of those painted vintage tin ceiling with a really cool pattern.

There is a stage downstairs where they have free live music a few nights a week. There is also a billiards room upstairs where you can rent the tables by the hour. Basically, Barley's is a great place to eat not only because their pizza is so good, but the overall atmosphere of the place really makes the experience fantastic.

Asheville Pizza and Brewing Company
Located at 675 Merrimon Avenue, this place isn't really a restaurant but I thought it was worth mentioning anyway. It's also not downtown, but instead a short drive away on the north side of town. It's really a movie theater that's been converted into a bar/movie theater. It's a really cool place to go. Once there were two screens but the second theater has been converted into a game room. The one screen that still shows movies show ones that have been out a while. The admission to see a movie is only two dollars.

They have a wide variety of pizza to choose from along with beer which is served right in the theater. The pizza is really good and my favorite kind of pizza to get when I go there is barbecue chicken pizza. Speaking of choice, you can choose a variety of seating arrangements. There are couches up front with coffee tables, restaurant style tables behind those, and the back part of the screening room has bar-like seats with counters in front of them. And the cool thing is, they also have seating outside of the screening room, so you can go there and eat without seeing a movie.

Asiana Grand Buffet
Located at 153 Smoky Park Highway, this place is further from downtown than any of the others, but it is absolutely my favorite place to eat. It's about a ten minute drive west of the city center. They serve all kinds of Asian food, including Chinese, Japanese and Thai. They are also cheap, considering that you can eat as much as you want. Dinner is more expensive than lunch though.

They also have really good sushi and it's all you can eat on that as well. There is also a grill station where you can have them cook up personal dishes any way you like it. A lot of people go here on their lunch breaks, and on Sunday there are church goers, and so it may be a good idea if you try to avoid the height of the lunch rush, especially if you dislike crowded restaurants. Asiana is absolutely packed to the gills at lunch because they are so good.

And there you have it; these are the best places to eat in Asheville. So next time you're up in the Great Smokey Mountains visiting Asheville, check these places out. You won't be disappointed.