Davidson cafe Milkbread is a spinoff of the pandemic project from Joe and Katy Kindred of acclaimed restaurant Kindred. To make takeout easy during COVID, Kindred offered items like fried chicken sandwiches, doughnuts, and salads — the idea was so popular that the owners decided to make it a permanent menu at Milkbread. Another location is already planned for Plaza Midwood.

Caviar, potato chips, and a killer natural wine list? What more do you need? Bar à Vins is the hip new NoDa wine bar from sommeliers Natalie Stewart and Jeff Kellogg with a little help from Katy Kindred (of Davidson’s Kindred) who designed the interiors. All the cool kids in Charlotte will be there.

Ever Andalo is pleasing palates with Italian comfort. Owners Jeff Tonidandel and Jamie Brown have spent extensive amounts of time in Italian and wanted to share those experiences with Charlotte. They import many of the ingredients to offer items like Calabrian chilie parpadelle, fresh focaccia, and fettuccine all’Amatriciana.

The Royal Tot is a two-story tropical oasis soaked in beach cocktails. Claiming the largest rum collection in Charlotte, the Royal Tot features over 100 different types of rum with almost two dozen lush creations on the drink menu. Food includes lomi lomi, coffee-rubbed pork shoulder with pineapple salsa, champagne ice cream, and more.

Located inside the Mint Museum, Mariposa offer mezze of international influences for lunch and dinner. Examples of menu items include lamb belly bulgogi lettuce wraps, ceviche aguachile, piri piri chicken, tomato and burrata tart, Gullah paella, and more.

Buzzy new restaurant Para sits in the South End neighborhood with a hip dining room and a small plate menu leaning heavily on seafood and Asian influences. Chef Alex Verica, formerly of Dot Dot Dot and the Stanley, says that he wanted the menu to incorporate as many local farmers as possible, while focusing on “a more global approach to the overall menu.” Items range from lobster toast with caviar to wagyu beef tartare with caviar to milk bread with foie gras, peanut butter, and jam. It’s an indulgent menu that’s sure to make a few rounds with the flashy Instagram crowds and folks looking to make it rain for a lobster shooter.

Yunta offers Nikkei cuisine in a hip, modern setting. Nikkei food is Peruvian ingredients — tropical fish, quinoa, aji amarillo peppers — molded by Japanese techniques. Multiple chefs cite the modern preparation for ceviche as particularly indicative of the Nikkei style. And Yunta offers plenty of ceviche, along with pisco sours, shrimp croquettes, tostones, and more.

The owners of Havana Carolina Restaurant & Bar in Concord have a new fine dining Cuba restaurant in Charlotte named El Puro. The space is fun and energetic with live music and plenty of neon lights. The menu has all the classics, from paella to ropa vieja to croquetas.