Dining & Nightlife

316 Oyster Bar is a sit-down seafood grill at 316 Owen Drive, named for its street number, and one of the restaurants Fayetteville locals mention first when the conversation turns to fresh seafood. The long, brightly lit bar is the center of the room, where regulars order oyster shooters, and the kitchen sends out steamed and fried seafood plates. The Fayetteville Observer's 2020 review described a menu of seafood and steaks that includes snow crab and king crab legs, and Visit Fayetteville notes that the restaurant brings in seafood from the coast daily. It is an evening-only operation, open 5 to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday and 4:30 to 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, and closed Sunday and Monday. Weekend nights get busy, so arrive near opening for a seat at the bar. Takeout orders run through ChowNow on the restaurant's website, and the restaurant also books private parties. Its Google rating is 4.5 stars across nearly 1,900 reviews.

Fayetteville, NC

Anchor Allie's is a nautical-themed bistro on Bragg Boulevard that serves breakfast, lunch and dinner from one kitchen, and its menu advertises breakfast all day. Many of the dishes carry names that nod to the Army post up the road: Airborne Chicken & Biscuits, Frigate Shrimp & Grits, a Green Beret Burger and a Black Hawk Burger. Allie's Favorite French Toast and The Crew's Chicken & Waffles cover the sweeter side of the morning menu, while fish tacos, wings, a grilled mac and cheese sandwich, tater tots and milkshakes fill out lunch and dinner. The bar mixes cocktails, including Bloody Marys and margaritas, which makes it a weekend brunch option as well. Doors open at 8 a.m. every day. Closing is 9 p.m. on Sunday and Monday, 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday, and 10 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday. Because breakfast stays on the menu past the morning rush, it suits soldiers and hospital staff coming off overnight shifts. The restaurant sits between downtown and the Fort Bragg end of the boulevard.

Fayetteville, NC

Cozy, boutique Italian dining on Hay Street. Offers family recipes like Frutti Di Mare and chicken piccata in an energetic, family-style vibe.

Fayetteville, NC

Brooklyn Pizzeria has been making pies on Ramsey Street since 1989, which gives it more than 35 years in the Ramsey Commons Shopping Center on Fayetteville's north side. The style is Brooklyn: thin, wide slices that fold down the middle, the kind of pizza transplants from the Northeast tend to hunt for after they move to town. The menu also covers Italian favorites and chicken wings. The restaurant handles dine-in, carryout, catering and delivery, though delivery is limited to a set service area, and it asks callers to check their address at (910) 491-4585 before ordering. Catering has its own section on the restaurant's website. Hours are 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, extended to 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. The shopping center lot provides parking. Its north Ramsey Street address also makes it convenient for Methodist University students and for families in the Spring Lake direction. Google reviewers rate it 4.3 stars across more than 1,300 reviews.

Fayetteville, NC

Chris's Steak & Seafood House is the long-standing independent steakhouse on Raeford Road, set in the Highland Shopping Center. The restaurant says it was established more than 50 years ago, and owner Greg Kalevas now runs it. Hand-cut steaks are the core of the menu, joined by fresh-caught Atlantic seafood brought in daily, so it works for a table split between steak and fish. The bar opens at 5 p.m. with daily drink specials, cocktails, local beers on tap and a long wine list. A private dining area handles corporate dinners and special events, and the restaurant asks groups to call to plan them. It is dinner-only: 5 to 10 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and 5 to 9 p.m. on Sunday, with a Monday closure the restaurant describes as seasonal. Reservations are taken by phone at (910) 485-4242 or (910) 485-2948, and the restaurant also lists on OpenTable. Its clubby dining room and open-hearth steaks make it a common pick for anniversaries and other special dinners.

Fayetteville, NC

Standard-bearer for the farm-to-table movement in downtown. Features Southern classics with a modern twist using local ingredients. Sophisticated but approachable atmosphere.

Fayetteville, NC

A massive facility in Hope Mills featuring a taproom, outdoor playground, dog park, and sports field. Hosts a popular Sunday Farmers Market and features on-site restaurant Napkins.

Hope Mills, NC

Speakeasy-style bar in Hope Mills specializing in smoked cocktails, bourbon flights, and craft mixology. Shares space with Ashes Cigar Lounge.

Hope Mills, NC

A popular spot near the base serving authentic Korean comfort food. Unpretentious and affordable, it's a favorite for soldiers and locals alike.

Fayetteville, NC

Fuller's Old Fashion BBQ is a Lumbee family business that Fuller and Delora Locklear started near Lumberton in 1986, according to the Southern Foodways Alliance's oral history of the restaurant. Their son Eric now runs the operation, which has grown to three locations: the original in Pembroke and two in Fayetteville. This one, on North Eastern Boulevard at I-95 Exit 49, is the easiest stop for travelers coming off the interstate. The pork is cooked in the eastern North Carolina tradition, served chopped or sliced with a thin vinegar sauce. The buffet is the main event. Fuller's describes it as covering vegetables, barbecue, steak, chicken, seafood and a salad bar, with homemade desserts at the end, and the line also carries Lumbee home cooking such as collards, cornbread and chicken and pastry. Hours lean toward lunch and early dinner: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday, Tuesday and Sunday, stretching to 6 p.m. Wednesday, 7 p.m. Thursday and 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday. The second Fayetteville branch is at 7735 Raeford Road in west Fayetteville.

Fayetteville, NC

Gangnam Korean BBQ + Hotpot is the Skibo Road choice for an all-you-can-eat Korean barbecue night. Diners cook meat themselves at tables fitted with grills, and the same restaurant offers hot pot, so part of a group can grill while others cook vegetables, noodles and meat in a pot of broth. The format suits groups and celebrations, and Gangnam is one of the best-reviewed restaurants on the Skibo corridor, holding a 4.7-star average across more than 1,400 Google reviews. Suite 300 sits in the shopping strip at 1800 Skibo Road, near Cross Creek Mall, with a shared surface lot. The kitchen keeps long hours: 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday, until 10:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, and noon to 10 p.m. on Sunday. Larger parties should call ahead on weekend evenings.

Fayetteville, NC

Downtown brewpub offering a relaxed, friendly vibe. Serves house-brewed beers and a menu of burgers and comfort food.

Fayetteville, NC

Authentic Vietnamese restaurant offering deep, complex flavors. Signature dishes include Bun Thit Nuong (vermicelli with grilled pork) and Ga Xao Sa Ot (lemongrass chili chicken).

Fayetteville, NC

Gusto Napoletano is a compact Italian restaurant and pizzeria in a Raeford Road shopping center, run by chef-owner Nadia Minniti, who grew up in Naples. She is a certified pizzaiola with the Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana, the body that sets the rules for traditional Neapolitan pies, and PMQ Pizza Magazine included her among ten women pizza industry leaders in its March 2024 issue. She opened the restaurant in 2019. The pizzas follow the Naples model: soft, blistered crusts meant to be eaten at the table rather than after a long drive home. Pasta gets equal attention, with ravioli and other dishes made in-house. The schedule is short and worth checking before you set out. Tuesday and Wednesday are dinner-only from 4 to 8 p.m. Thursday and Friday add a lunch service from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., then reopen for dinner at 5. Saturday runs noon to 3 p.m. and 5 to 8:30 p.m. Sunday and Monday are closed. Suite 112 shares the strip's surface lot.

Fayetteville, NC

La Perla Cuisine of Nayarit brings the seafood cooking of Nayarit, a Pacific-coast Mexican state, to Glensford Drive in west Fayetteville. It took over the former El Burrito space near The Fresh Market, and the menu reads very differently from the city's many Tex-Mex dining rooms. Shrimp ceviche and the 7 Seas Stew, a tomato-broth soup loaded with mixed seafood, drew particular praise in CityView magazine's review. The menu leans on shrimp and mixed seafood throughout. Not everyone at the table has to want shellfish, though; ribeye, fajitas, burritos and enchiladas are all available, and there is a children's menu and a cocktail list. The restaurant takes reservations, which is uncommon among Fayetteville's Mexican restaurants and useful for larger groups on weekend nights. It opens at 11 a.m. every day and closes at 9 p.m., staying open until 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. Online ordering for pickup and delivery is available through its website.

Fayetteville, NC

Latitude 35 Bar & Grill is a neighborhood bar and restaurant on upper Hay Street in Haymount, the hilltop district just west of downtown. The menu is classic American bar-and-grill food backed by a cocktail list. In warmer months the outdoor patio fills up, and the bar has hosted live music and music bingo nights. Weekend brunch is one of its best-known draws, and local brunch roundups regularly include it. On Saturday and Sunday the doors open at 9 a.m. for that crowd. Weekday service starts at 11:30 a.m. Closing is 9 p.m. on Tuesday and Sunday, 10 p.m. on Wednesday and Thursday, and midnight on Friday and Saturday, when it shifts into more of a bar. It is closed on Monday. The restaurant's old website no longer works, so the phone line at (910) 485-4777 is the best way to check event nights and holiday hours. It sits among the Haymount shops and restaurants along this stretch of Hay Street.

Fayetteville, NC

Lindy's Restaurant is a breakfast-and-lunch diner on Raeford Road that has outlasted most of the corridor around it. Anna and Pete Karteris, who emigrated from Greece, opened it on Aug. 12, 1968, and Anna kept it going on her own after Pete died about a decade later. CityView magazine describes it as a Greek-owned diner a stone's throw from Zorba's, with hotcakes, French toast and omelets among the morning staples and hamburger steak a lunch favorite. Daily specials rotate through the week. The diner opens at 6 a.m. every day, which makes it one of the earliest sit-down breakfasts in west Fayetteville, and it closes at 3 p.m., or 2 p.m. on Sunday. There is no dinner service. Lindy's has no website; the phone line is the best way to check holiday hours. Google reviewers rate it 4.6 stars from more than 900 reviews.

Fayetteville, NC

A Fayetteville institution since 1982, bridging the gap between Italian trattoria and high-end steakhouse. Features an extensive wine list and a patio with fire pits.

Fayetteville, NC

Mi Casita is the Mexican chain Fayetteville grew itself. The first restaurant opened in the Tallywood Shopping Center on Raeford Road in 1990, and the company now lists 18 locations across Cumberland County and nearby towns. When the lease on that original space ran out, the family built a new restaurant of roughly 5,000 square feet next door, with a central bar and a pickup window for online orders, and this is that flagship. The menu runs through the familiar Tex-Mex range of tacos, burritos, enchiladas, fajitas and margaritas, along with steak and seafood plates. A few house items set it apart from other chains in town: the burritos fundidos, a chilaquile burrito, tropical shrimp tacos and a shrimp soup. Weekday hours start at 11 a.m. and run to 9:30 p.m., or 10:30 p.m. on Friday. On weekends the doors open at 11:30 a.m. and close at 10 p.m. Saturday and 9 p.m. Sunday. Its spot on the busy Raeford Road corridor, west of Highland Shopping Center, includes its own parking.

Fayetteville, NC

Miyabi Jr. Express on North McPherson Church Road is a counter-service Japanese restaurant built around hibachi and teriyaki plates, with a sushi bar for rolls. There is no tableside chef show: you order at the register and eat in the dining room or carry the food out, which keeps a lunch visit quick. The store sits on the McPherson Church Road corridor, a short drive from Cross Creek Mall. The brand runs three Express counters in the city; the other two are on Ramsey Street on the north side and on Cliffdale Road in the west. This location has the largest review base of the three on Google, with more than 1,000 reviews averaging 4.4 stars. Doors open at 11:30 a.m. Monday through Saturday and at noon on Sunday. Closing is 8:30 p.m. on weeknights, 9 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, and 8 p.m. on Sunday. Online orders are taken through a Toast link on the Miyabi Jr. website.

Fayetteville, NC

Neo Sushi Express is the all-you-can-eat sushi option inside Cross Creek Mall. Its main draw is a rotating belt that carries freshly made rolls past each table, so diners grab plates as they pass rather than ordering one roll at a time. Hibachi dishes are on the same all-you-can-eat menu for anyone in the group who would rather skip raw fish. The restaurant splits weekdays into two services: lunch from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and dinner from 5 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., with the dining room closed in between. On Saturday and Sunday it serves the dinner menu straight through from 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m., and holidays are dinner-only as well. Suite 150 sits within the mall complex, and the mall's large free lots handle parking. The location pairs naturally with a shopping trip at the mall. Google reviewers rate it 4.3 stars across roughly 550 reviews.

Fayetteville, NC

Authentic Irish pub founded by an Irish Army veteran. Famous for live music, pipe and drum bands, and walls covered in military memorabilia.

Fayetteville, NC

Family-owned Egyptian restaurant in Hope Mills serving massive portions of koshari, falafel, and kabobs. Known for having some of the best hummus in the region.

Fayetteville, NC

Pierro's Italian Bistro has held its spot at 217 Hay Street in downtown Fayetteville since 2002. It is family owned and operated by Michael Laurenceau and Daniel Fair, and the dining room keeps the bones of the old storefront: exposed brick walls and a travertine floor, with an outdoor patio for warmer evenings. The menu covers classic Italian-American plates, pasta and pizza, and the restaurant's own reviews page singles out the lobster ravioli. A separate lounge suits groups where some people want a full dinner and others only want a drink and a small plate. Weekly promotions give the bar a reason to fill up early in the week: Martini Mondays, Tapas Tuesdays and Wine Wednesdays. Unlike several downtown dinner spots, Pierro's serves lunch every day. It opens at 11 a.m. Monday through Saturday and at noon on Sunday, closing at 9 p.m. most nights and at 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. Its location a block from the Market House puts it within walking distance of the Cameo, the Arts Council and Fourth Friday events.

Fayetteville, NC