McNinch House Restaurant

My husband and I went here for a special occasion. It was our first time dining here which we told our server. Note that the menu is not à la carte but rather served in courses and it is very pricey. The restaurant was empty when we arrived as we were the first reservation of the night. Service began to slow down as more people arrived, but the restaurant was not full by any means even by the end of the night. After we finished our appetizers, we waited a whole hour until entrées arrived. I did complain about the wait and they said they were shortstaffed and their dishwasher was causing issues. The staff did try to make up for it by discounting our bill and giving us a bottle of wine to take home. Overall, the food was mediocre so even if the service was better, I don't think it's worth the price point.

Copied from my other account that I am closing out to consolidate all here. A truly wonder place for upscale special intimate dining in NC's Queen City. "A rather pricey experience but wonderful for romantic special occasion / dinning / date / celebrating. Two 4 course meals with wine came to $550. -- In home built by the Vanderbilts. Residence of Charlotte Mayor McNinch back in 1890s. His ancestors renovated the house and with it did it historically correct. Original glass in the windows, warbly. Authentic touches. Routinely rated amongst America's best restaurants. The kind of sweat one's. They remedied with Martini's much better matching our desire. Appetizers and palate cleansing treats in between. Some most food was stellar and some just good have had better. The Fillet was good but not especially seasoned or tender so have had better experience elsewhere. But for the price it should be best in class. Everything else was stellar especially the service. The sommelier was pleasant, explained much with enthusiasm and professionalism. Wines were perfectly paired. I would definitely consider returning to celebrate something special."

What an amazing place! We went for my hubby's birthday. Food was delicious and light. Presentation was pleasing and a manager / server was very knowledgeable and told us a lot about the history of this place. It's a perfect place for a special occasion or a very romantic place.

This place is very pricey but worth every penny . It was our 47 year anniversary. The food was fantastic, the staff was beyond perfect . Friendly attentive and very knowledgeable about food and wine. Definitely a must to do if you're dining in Charlotte.

Superb.Went for a celebration dinner with family and we were not disappointed!I have been wanting to go here for years but just never found the time. Finally got it off my restaurant bucket list and it did not disappoint.This is a Queen City institution of culinary wonders! The sommelier is one of the most knowledgeable I have come across in a long time, I learned a few new things about wines historically.The service is impeccable and most importantly unobtrusive so that we never felt interrupted during our meal. Timing is everything and the staff have it down to a science.Also, we had the whole room to ourselves as there was a corporate party in the adjacent room but with the doors closed, it felt as if we were eating out at a friends house!Between the 3 of us we picked the rack of lamb (2), scallops, crab cakes, foix gras, she crab soup, and pork belly. Sorbet was a nice touch between courses and espresso was a perfect finale to give us the energy to rollout of the restaurant.

What an experience! Three of us went for an amazing dinner, selecting the four course meal with wine pairings. So we could try a bit of everything, we all chose different options for each course. People think soups are easy to make, but true culinary talent can shine with a good soup and all three here were so complex, rich and beautiful. It's actually hard to develop these flavors, my favorite being the lobster bisque. The lamb was my choice for the entree and it was above average but didn't stand up to the rest of the meal. The vegetables were slightly undercooked for my taste and I thought the lamb could have had a harder sear. Overall, it could have been seasoned a little more aggressively but the dish was still delicious. My favorite dessert was the crème brûlée. It's was Godiva white chocolate which sounds dense and rich but it was light, creamy and not overly sweet. I found it to be a perfect balance with the perfect proportion of brûlée to custard. The wine pairings for each course were expertly chosen and Wesley is extremely knowledgeable about wines from all over the world. They are also generous with the pours so the price is very affordable. The service is over the top phenomenal; professional, friendly, knowledgeable and attentive (but not overly so). Add in the elegant decor, they are checking off all the boxes for a top rated establishment in any large city.

Fantastic place. The inside is perfectly decorated. The 4-course + wine tasting - came off pretty good. The server kept pouring more wine, really loved it. Just an awesome and memorable experience.

After 10+ years in Charlotte, my husband and I finally made it to McNinch House. We had a 6:30 reservation on a Friday and were promptly greeted and seated upon arrival. Service was first class and very enjoyable, but you could sense their stress from being short staffed that evening. We were out on our first date night in a while and not in any rush. We reiterated that to the servers as we were enjoying our time and wanted them to know we understood. We were made aware that a new chef had just joined the restaurant about a week prior. Truth be told, you could tell that the chef needed a little more time to get acclimated with the menu and to perfect certain dishes. My husband and I both had the duck. The 'risotto' was not actually risotto and was crunchy. It actually had some grit on it and left you crunching after eating it. My duck was overcooked for my liking and the portions were very different sized across both plates. Overall, the duck left a lot to be desired. However, don't sleep on the She Crab soup! SO good!We will absolutely be back. There is no question that this is a quality restaurant and we look forward to experiencing the full 5 star experience that we have heard rave reviews about. Cheers to the chef getting more comfortable in their new role and we look forward to seeing the awesome staff again!

I live in 4th ward, so I've been wanting to try this place out for a while, but I needed a reason to go. I decided that my 3 yr anniversary would be the best time to go. We decided to go with the 4 course package for $150. Before I go in to the food, I will say the server we had was amazing. She was very attentive and joy to talk to. However, it did take us a long time to progress through each course. After each course it took about 30-45 minutes for the next course. We arrived at 7:30 and didn't leave until after 10pm, without drinking. For our first courses we both got the shea crab soup and the crab cake. We both enjoyed the first courses. Although, the crab cake was sitting on a date cabbage mixture that really took away from the crab cake, so we ate around it. For our main course I got the NY Strip and she got the salmon. My NY strip was really good. It comes with a black pepper sauce that really complimented the steak. My wife's salmon tasted very bland, but she enjoyed the mashed potatoes. For our last course we both got the bread pudding. The bread pudding was both our favorite course of the night. It was cooked perfectly. It also had a rum sauce that really set the dish off! Overall, the food was good, but for that price point I was expecting to be amazed. I walked away thinking that was not worth $375.

This place is amazing from the Victorian home all the way to the staff. They left no stone unturned for my birthday dinner with my wife. She surprised me! The staff go above and beyond and are wonderful people. The food was out of this world! Words don't even begin to describe it. There is such love and thought put into it all. Thank you again for making my birthday one that I will never forget! Till next time!