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Reviews

Water Oak

Tucked into a cabin-inspired, upscale shopping center a couple of miles from downtown Rutherfordton, The Water Oak Restaurant is a fresh breeze of seafoam-green walls, white linens, and blond pine floors.

The Swag

The Swag’s restaurant and inn must be discussed in the same breath, because an evening meal here is an intimate occasion shared with guests.

Crippen’s

Every town has that indomitable restaurant where you know the cuisine will always impress, and you’re bound to run into a friend at the bar.

West First Pizza

The earthy aromas of burning white oak and baking bread scent the air of West First Wood-Fired Pizza in Hendersonville. A pair of chefs slide savory pies from the oven on wood paddles.

Restaurant 553

Owner and Chef Ross Lorenz, a Sapphire native and graduate of Johnson & Wales University in Charleston, can be seen hustling large trays of entrées to an upstairs dining room one of eight in the former home.

Sora

Any time a new restaurant opens in a small town, it’s bound to create a buzz, especially when that restaurant is Sora, Brevard’s first sushi spot.

M2

If the only thing you know about Spindale is that the town is home to WNCW 88.7 FM, which broadcasts the eclectic music program World Café, it’s time to head to Rutherford County for another type of international experience.

Rio Tapas Café

Octopus. Flan. Paella. They’re not dishes you usually find on menus in Sparta, but this is Rio Tapas Café, a culinary oasis.

The Village Café

That’s because owners Annie and Andy Whatley happily highlight the most important meal of the day until close at 2:30 p.m.