Temperatures are up this summer, and we’re hiding in restaurants and bars to cool off with refreshing cocktails, soothing soundtracks, and fresh takes on sports bar fare, Indian cuisine, and Southern produce.
Trend 1: Fine Dining Indian
Indian restaurants across the South are flexing the diversity of the country’s rich food traditions and serving it up with fine-dining touchstones, from impeccable hospitality to jaw-dropping decor.
- When Tamasha premiered in Raleigh, owners Mike Kathrani and Tina Vora wanted to create “North Carolina’s most elevated Indian restaurant,” and while that distinction is difficult to quantify, they certainly created an elegant environment to enjoy fine-tuned fare from chef Bhavin Chhatwani. Now, patrons can enjoy dum ki nalli gosht, lamb shank slow-roasted for 8 hours, salted palm jaggery, and Cointreau gelato.
- Atlanta newcomer Ikara presents flavors from across India in a stunning dining room decked out with ornate lighting fixtures, lush wallpaper, and rich fabrics. Chef Yugal Sharma, from the ITC Grand Bharat resort in New Delhi, puts out menu items like Ikara dal, a Punjabi recipe of slow-roasted lentils, and gucchi subz-e-zar, a Kashmiri dish of morels filled with clotted cream and herbs.
- Zamindar’s Club House aims to bring old-world Indian elegance to the Charlotte scene. Chef Vamshi Adi’s refined cuisine includes mango lobster curry, Hyderabadi chicken dum biryani, and charbroiled butter chicken wings with mint chutney.
Trend 2: Produce-Forward Cocktails
Social media distributes cocktail trends at a speedy pace, so a drink made popular in New York or the Italian Alps (Hugo spritz, anyone?) can make its way to the American South by the time a bartender can order the ingredients. How can these bars distinguish themselves? Local produce. No one does summer fruits and vegetables like the South.
- Seahorse, the sister bar to Charleston’s popular seafood spot Chubby Fish, serves cocktails in a nautical-themed space. Bar manager Chris Carron makes a Tomato Collins with Sun Gold tomato water mixed with sugar and citric and tartaric acids, fino sherry, and a basil-oil-washed gin. The tomatoes are at peak summer perfection, adding a sweet, vegetal note to the drink.
- Nashville cocktail bar Love’s Alibi offers serious cocktails in irreverent ways. For example, the Blackberry Cobbler, with Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Blackberry (whiskey blended with blackberry liqueur), lemon, and Genepy (an herbal liquor), is served in a Twisted Tea can.
- Bar director Gabe Ford describes the Golden Hour martini at Austin’s Modern Bar as a “love letter to Texas peaches and the beautiful sunsets of the Hill Country.” The cocktail is made with olive oil fat-washed gin, lacto-fermented peach, fig leaf, an aperitivo blend, and Texas apricot brandy. Ford says, “It lands silky, golden, restrained, and made for that first slow sip of the evening.”
Trend 3: Sports Bars Where Food Isn’t an Afterthought
Yes, wings and mozzarella sticks are delicious, but who says a sports bar can’t deviate from the norm? New establishments featuring the latest games on big screens are branching out to offer more options.
- Jolene, Jolene is billed as Atlanta’s “first bar for women’s sports.” The menu offers decidedly non-sports-bar cuisine like hot honey whipped feta, a cobb salad, and Girl Dinner, a combination of “meats, cheeses, snacks, treats, goodies, random things, stuff from the fridge, etc.”
- E.O.’s Athletic Club welcomes sports lovers of any kind in Durham. Everyone is encouraged to visit—football fans, women’s basketball fans, even Olympic curling fans. On the menu, you’ll find “fancy” onion dip, chicken parm sandwiches, and loaded baked potatoes.
- Asheville’s Easy Tiger is a sports bar offering fun takes on pub fare, like laap tater tots with fish sauce and cilantro, falafel pitas, and a chicken Caesar sandwich with Calabrian chilies.
Trend 4: Listening Bars
Music is the main event at these listening bars, but food and drinks are a complimentary addition. Vinyl is key, and the genres are plentiful.
- Acclaimed chef Sean Brock created the menu at High Dive in Birmingham to reflect the Japanese origins of listening rooms. The lounge is open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, with options like a pork katsu milk bread sandwich, salmon and shiso handrolls, and black sesame bread pudding.
- The menu at Groceries Etc. in Nashville is snack-y with carbs from Mama Bread, cheeses, olives, and cured meats. The cocktails and vinyl are the focus, though, so go for a coffee negroni or classic martini with a soundtrack of Daft Punk or Nas.
- Potential New Boyfriend combines wine, gourmet ice cream, and a killer soundtrack to create a unique hangout spot in Asheville. Owner Disco created a welcoming third space on Haywood Road—full of plush couches, funky paintings, and a top-of-the-line audio system.
Trend 5: Summer Granita
It’s hot, and the easiest way to cool down is a big bite of icy granita. Restaurants are tapping into the traditional Sicilian dessert for sweet and savory interpretations on their menus, from a sorrel granita on oysters at Bacchanalia in Atlanta to a melon granita with mint and jalapeño at Charleston’s Weltons Tiny Bakeshop.
At Charleston neighborhood restaurant Vern’s, you’ll spot the seasonal granita dessert on almost every table—it’s a must-order. The flavors change, but the strawberry version is the most popular. The shaved ice is layered over vanilla ice cream, strawberry jam, and crème fraîche. Vern’s makes all the components in-house, but for home cooks, store-bought will be a suitable substitute.
recipe 
yields
4 quarts
91oz Strawberry Puree
5 cups Water
1 2/3 cups Sugar
4oz Champagne Vinegar
1 tablespoon Citric Acid
ingredients
steps
- Top, wash, puree, and strain strawberries. Weigh the puree. Add 45% water. Find combined weight of puree and water. Based on this weight, add: 9% sugar, 3% champagne vinegar, and 3% citric acid
- Combine strawberry puree and water.
- Add vinegar and stir to combine.
- Combine the sugar and citric acid slowly add to the juice mixture while whisking. Whisk or stick blend until all sugar dissolved.
example:
-2590g strawberry puree.
-1165g water (45%)
-113g champagne vinegar (3% of combined strawberry and water weight)
-338g sugar (9% of combined strawberry and water weight) -11g citric acid (0.3% of combined strawberry and water weight)
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