New Favorite Spot: Georges Brasserie

I decided to take a break from the wedding stuff to write about our experience at a new restaurant here in Charlotte, Georges Brasserie.  B and I finally went there Friday and it was divine!  Anyone who knows me well knows I love to eat out and living in New York made me a bit of a restaurant snob.  If I could change one thing about Charlotte it would be the general lack of good restaurants; things have definitely improved in recently years, but still...this is a steakhouse town and the steakhouses aren't even that great.  Georges is fresh, different and a welcome addition to the Charlotte scene!

We got to the restaurant about 7:30 and by then the main dining area was packed with no availability until about 9pm, so we chose to sit at a table in the bar area. The full menu is still available but its just a little more casual. The inside of the restaurant is definitely french bistro inspired, but not over done or cheesy to the point that you feel like you're in a themed restaurant. It was sophisticated yet understated - actually, it would be a great rehearsal dinner spot for us if it weren't so far from downtown (farther than we'd like).

And the food?  Did NOT disappoint, our meal was great!  We started with drinks:  I had a carafe of rose (great deal - $17 for 3 glasses of wine?  hell yes!) and B got a vodka soda.  The restaurant offers amazing happy hour appetizer specials on the bar side, every day after 3pm, so we took advantage and ordered a half dozen cushy oysters + truffle fries.  I was a very happy girl!  For dinner I went with salmon, served over English peas with creme fraiche and a beet vinaigrette.  Oh my god, I am salivating just writing about it.  B tried the bouillabaisse which was good, but mine was definitely better!  Homemade eclairs were an indulgent but worth-every-calorie way to end the meal.  YUM.

If you live in Charlotte, this is a must-try!  SO good!

Here are some more pics, courtesy of the Georges website: