GREENSBORO | NORTH CAROLINA
From Duck Wings to Shawarma:
The Best Restaurants in Greensboro Right Now
By Eric Barton | Sept. 5, 2025
Lucky 32
In Asheville where I live, entire conversations revolve around which chef is smoking which vegetable this week. People here like to believe we’ve cornered the market on small Southern cities with ambitious kitchens. And yet, every time I head east to Greensboro, I end up pretty jealous.
The city’s restaurants don’t just live up to big-city places—they’ve carved out their own thing, from duck wings that never leave the menu to shawarma that outpaces any kebab spot in the state.
It’s a reminder that even in a place obsessed with barbecue and biscuits, Greensboro has managed to build a dining scene that feels distinct, and sometimes, if I’m honest, enviable.
Here then are the best restaurants right now in Greensboro, a city very much having a culinary moment.
AUTHOR BIO: Eric Barton is editor of The Adventurist and a freelance journalist who has reviewed restaurants for more than two decades. Email him here.
1618 West Seafood Grill
$$$$$ | MAP | WEBSITE | INSTAGRAM
This is the spot Greensboro quietly loses its composure over—that place where you order seared Ahi tuna plated with wasabi-mashed potatoes, feta, sesame cabbage, almonds, balsamic glaze, and chipotle oil, and actually feel virtuous about it. They also do a Blackened Grouper over enchiladas and a Seafood Trio that roasts scallops, bass, and coconut-crusted shrimp into formal perfection. It’s polished, inventive, and never showy.
Best for: Elevated seafood at a pace that feels like a special night out
Dame’s Chicken & Waffles
$$$$$ | MAP | WEBSITE | INSTAGRAM
Dame’s takes the fried chicken and waffle formula and spins it into a choose-your-own ritual: waffles from gingerbread to sweet potato, flavored shmears, drizzles, and your pick of chicken. The Red Crested Rosecomb—fried legs with a classic waffle and strawberry shmear—shows why this place earned its following. It’s comfort food with just enough invention to keep it interesting.
Best for: Chicken and waffles that feel personal
Green Valley Grill
$$$$$ | MAP | WEBSITE | INSTAGRAM
Chef Jeff Barton builds a menu that leans into Old-World flavors while giving them the polish of a modern hotel kitchen. The wood-fired grill anchors dishes like panko-crusted ahi tuna with caponata and pomegranate glaze, or scallops brightened with sumac over Greek lemon rice. Add a Wine Spectator “Best of Award of Excellence” list and the O.Henry Hotel address, and you’ve got one of Greensboro’s most reliable fine-dining standbys.
Best for: European-inspired plates with a serious wine list
Inka Grill Peruvian Cuisine
$$$$$ | MAP | WEBSITE | INSTAGRAM
You don’t go to Inka expecting hybrid trends—this is straight-up Peruvian flavors in downtown Greensboro. They bring ceviche, lomo saltado, frijol con seco, seafood-paella riffs, and those savory chaufa bowls—essentially Peruvian versions of fried rice. Portion sizes are generous, the space is bright and vibrant, and it’s the kind of spot you bring a friend to show off downtown dining with some cultural depth
Best for: fresh, bold Peruvian dishes that reward sharing
Jerusalem Market on Elm
$$$$$ | MAP | WEBSITE | INSTAGRAM
Jerusalem Market has been family-run for decades, first as a grocery and now as a downtown café serving Middle Eastern staples. Shawarma, falafel, and hummus platters come out fast, and the lamb gyro is one of the city’s quiet classics. It’s casual, affordable, and still manages to feel like one of the more distinctive lunches you can have in Greensboro.
Best for: quick, flavorful Middle Eastern plates that beat the usual lunch grind
Lindley Park Filling Station
$$$$$ | MAP | WEBSITE | INSTAGRAM
A gas station in the 1950s, now a sandwich shop that feels like the heartbeat of its neighborhood. The menu riffs on deli standards with Greensboro street names—Holden, Madison, Walker—each stacked with meats, cheeses, and sauces that hit the comfort zone. It’s the kind of place where regulars know their sandwich by name and out-of-towners get gently converted.
Best for: big, unfussy sandwiches in a neighborhood setting
Lucky 32 Southern Kitchen
$$$$$ | MAP | WEBSITE | INSTAGRAM
Lucky 32 makes Southern cooking feel both rooted and modern, serving collard greens, cornbread, and pimento cheese alongside black bean cakes and pecan-crusted trout. Executive Chef Jay Pierce keeps the menu seasonal and pulls from local farms, which means fried green tomatoes in summer and sweet potatoes in fall. It’s the kind of place where you can bring family from out of town and feel like you’ve actually shown them Greensboro.
Best for: Southern staples made with seasonal precision
Machete
$$$$$ | MAP | WEBSITE | INSTAGRAM
Executive Chef Kevin Cottrell leads this Fisher Park kitchen with an insistence on refined, playful dishes that still feel welcoming. Think small plates rooted in Southern tradition but seasoned with global flair—everything is crafted around “simple perfection.” Their duck wings stick around menu after menu, because they’re too good to let go. In 2022, Machete earned a James Beard semifinalist nod for Best New Restaurant, and in 2024, Wine Enthusiast named it one of America’s Top 50 Wine Restaurants.
Best for: elevated, conversation-starting small plates, especially duck wings
Noor Indian Kitchen & Cocktails
$$$$$ | MAP | WEBSITE | INSTAGRAM
Noor brings big, bold Indian flavors plus inventive cocktails to downtown Greensboro in a sleek, vibrant space. The menu runs from dahi puri to butter chicken and salmon tikka masala, all served in generous portions. Add a bar that actually belongs in the name, and you’ve got a spot that’s as much for the drinks as it is for the curry.
Best for: Indian flavors matched with cocktails worth a second round
Print Works Bistro
$$$$$ | MAP | WEBSITE | INSTAGRAM
Print Works sits inside the Proximity Hotel, the first LEED Platinum-certified hotel in America, and the restaurant plays to that same sense of polish. Chef Jeff Barton—who also oversees Green Valley Grill—leads a French-leaning menu that covers mussels marinière, steak frites, and trout amandine, all matched with a wine list that’s earned national notice. The glass-wrapped dining room looks onto gardens and a stream, making it one of the most elegant settings in town.
Best for: French bistro classics in a setting that feels quietly grand
Undercurrent Restaurant
$$$$$ | MAP | WEBSITE | INSTAGRAM
Undercurrent has been Greensboro’s fine-dining stalwart since 1998, known for polished service and a steady focus on local sourcing. Run by brother Chris and Wes Wheeler, Undercurrent’s menu leans seafood, with seared scallops, crab cakes, and salmon showing up as reliable standouts, alongside rotating seasonal plates. With white tablecloths, an understated dining room, and a wine list that rewards exploring, it’s the place locals book when they want dinner to feel like an occasion.
Best for: seafood-driven fine dining with classic polish
Bandito Bodega
$$$$$ | MAP | WEBSITE | INSTAGRAM
What started as a Greensboro food truck now runs as a brick-and-mortar kitchen blending Asian and Latin flavors. The menu moves from Korean barbecue beef tacos to rice bowls with pork belly and kimchi, plus a fried chicken sandwich that locals treat like a secret handshake. It’s casual, fast, and far more interesting than the average takeout joint.
Best for: Fusion dishes that actually deliver flavor instead of gimmicks
