These two North Carolina restaurants are among the best in the nation, Yelp says
North Carolina is home to two of the best restaurants in the country — so come with an empty stomach, new rankings show.
Machete in Greensboro and Harvest Grill in Dobson were named among the “Top 100 Places to Eat in 2022,” according to Yelp.
The business review website said it came up with the findings after gathering user favorites and curating the list. It determined “the top restaurants by ratings, number of reviews, and volume of submissions, with geographic representation based on equal share of submissions of top-rated restaurants nationally.”
Of the 100 restaurants named the best in the country by Yelp on Wednesday, Jan. 19, only two were in North Carolina.
Machete was closest to the top, ranking No. 18 nationwide. The business considers itself as more of a “home” than a restaurant and said it focuses on “approachable, modern, global plates that are both beautiful and delicious.”
“Simple perfection and casual professionalism are our objectives, and we aim to delight and arouse the senses without being pretentious,” the restaurant said on its website. “We source the best ingredients locally and from around the world to fulfill our vision of creating distinctive, delicious, beautiful comfort food and cocktails.”
On its Yelp page, some customers raved about the customer service and dishes ranging from roasted cauliflower to duck wings, helping Machete to earn 4.5 of 5 stars. The eatery said it started in 2018, stemming from an “underground dinner party by chefs Kevin Cottrell and Lydia Rae Greene.”
“We source the best ingredients locally and from around the world to fulfill our vision of creating distinctive, delicious, beautiful comfort food and cocktails,” the restaurant wrote on its website. “Our philosophy is that food should not only be delicious, it should also be creative, evoke memories, and be a communal experience to catch up with old friends and make new ones.”
Also earning a spot on the nationwide Yelp list was Harvest Grill, which landed at No. 79. The restaurant is on the grounds of Shelton Vineyards, about 45 miles northwest of Winston-Salem.
The restaurant on its website said it offers “upscale dining with a bistro style atmosphere” and features “a menu that our chef has deemed ‘sophisticated comfort food.’”
The restaurant also received a 4.5-star score after some Yelp users couldn’t get enough of the crab cakes, fresh bread — and of course, the wine. Charlie and Ed Shelton started the vineyard in 1999 as an effort to diversify the region’s agriculture.
“From our patio, guests enjoy overlooking the grapevines and kitchen garden that provides some of the fresh and local ingredients found in the restaurants delectable dishes,” the Harvest Grill said on its website.
North Carolina restaurants aren’t strangers to earning national recognition. Eateries in the state were recently been named among the best places in the country to eat brunch and get a hot dog, McClatchy News reported.
In the latest Yelp rankings, top honor in the nation went to Cocina Madrigal, a Mexican restaurant in Phoenix, Arizona.
