Photo tour: How to eat and drink your way through the Ritz in 24 hours
Whether you’re visiting the Queen City or just need an epic staycation, the Ritz is the place to be if you want a luxurious, food-filled weekend.
I recently burst out of my typical Charlotte bubble to spend a night at the Ritz-Carlton in Uptown and experience their culinary and beverage offerings. I did it all in roughly 20 hours.
From breakfast to cocktails to excellent steak dinners, you’ll find everything you need (or want) without stepping outside. While I highly recommend an overnight stay, you can enjoy many food and drink options without being a guest.
Here’s a look around.
Honor Bar
Having never been inside a room at the Ritz, I was blown away by its beauty.The rooms were recently renovated and include visions by Alexander Julian, who designed the original Charlotte Hornets uniforms.
The re-imagined Honor Bar is the first thing you see when you walk through the door, and it was definitely built to impress.
On its shelves, you’ll find locally-sourced spirits (including an exclusive bottle of Great Wagon Road Distilling Company’s signature Rua whiskey), classic liquors, bottled mixed drinks, and local snacks.
After stopping to admire the magical in-room bar, we stumbled across a few goodies including a little snack plate, macarons, and a custom sugar cookie. Our food-filled weekend was off to an excellent start.
K Lounge
At 5:30pm, we made our way downstairs to the K Lounge (the Ritz’s lobby bar) for drinks and snacks.
Dimly lit and plushly decorated, this section of the hotel is a popular destination for both walk-in guests and overnight visitors.
The cocktail menu is comprised of creative drinks including “flask cocktails” which are served in hand-blown glass flasks for one or two.
The K Flask – Maker’s Mark, fresh cranberry, ginger syrup, Hellfire bitters ($16, flask for one)
K Lounge is also home to an Enomatic wine machine, which allows them to preserve and offer exclusive wines by the glass that other bars may not serve.
Although dinner was creeping up on us, we had to try a few bites, so we went with both fried vegetable options.
Portions were pretty solid so if you felt like posting up for the evening, you could easily make meal out of your visit.
Tempura Mushroom – pumpkin seed aioli, arugula ($12)
Pro tip: K Lounge offers a Bloody Mary bar Saturdays and Sundays from 10 AM -2 PM.
BLT Steak
I’ve visited BLT Steak on a few occasions and have always left completely happy and unbelievably full. Our dinner was no exception.
The meal started with BLT’s signature popovers and an amuse-bouche of chicken liver paté and, spoiler alert, ended with another complementary item (this time a fabulous brownie bite).
BLT’s signature popovers with gruyere cheese, served with salt and butter
Tuna Tartare – avocado, soy-lime dressing ($17)
Steak lovers can choose between perfectly cooked hanger, filet, rib eye, NY strip, short ribs, wagyu skirt, or porterhouse.
Ribeye (14 oz.) – $54
Non-beef eaters have their fair share of options, too – rosemary chicken, rack of lamb, and several seafood dishes, including the highly recommended Sautéed Dover Sole for $56.
Sides are served family style at $11 each with the exception of a baked potato with truffle oil for $12 and Hen of the Woods mushrooms for $14 (we got these and they’re delicious).
Brussels Sprouts with bacon ($11)
Don’t forget your drinks. Try something from the CBD oil cocktail menu (bravo to BLT Steak for hopping on the trend).
VIA CHARLOTTE AGENDA
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