Background:
Peppervine opened last February in Piedmont Row shopping center to much fanfare, as owners Anita and Bill Greene were already loved by many Charlotteans for their Banner Elk restaurant Artisanal. Since we are trying to be more Kathleen Purvis in our review style, we waited until July to visit Peppervine to give them some time to get their service and menu sorted out, and we went in on two separate occasions to make sure we were getting an accurate representation to present to you fine folks.
Eat This:
Drink This:
The cocktail menu here is pretty tempting, but they also stock my favorite Espolon tequila, so you know I had to go with that, straight up. I also enjoyed my first-ever glass of Fernet at Peppervine, which, safe to say, is an experience I’ll never forget. It was terrible at first, then palatable, and then four or five sips in I downright enjoyed it. Not much of a shock, as I live for bitter flavors. Which is one of the traits I have in common with serial killers. Cool.
Dessert:
The dessert menu at Peppervine is just winning, winning, winning. Normally, we can’t choose just one dessert, so we get two or three. Here we couldn’t resist four on our first visit. Yes, we finished them all. And no, we didn’t regret a single bite. The creativity on each and every offering was just too irresistible to pass up.
Atmosphere:
Peppervine is massive, and if you ever visited the restaurant formerly in this spot, AZN Asian Cuisine, you know that the space boasts stunning tall ceilings and towering glass wine cellars. Peppervine is much brighter and lighter than AZN was, and they’ve added a lot of lovely artwork, like a paper chandelier hanging from the high ceiling and a giant wood installation.
The entire effect feels very earthy, and gives the restaurant an upscale farmhouse vibe. Plus, there is a window to the kitchen, which we always love (I can’t remember if that was there when AZN was open, but it’s a lovely touch either way).
SouthPark Hospitality:
We had white tablecloth service on both of our visits to Peppervine, and we didn’t experience a single snafu. Top notch.
Frankie’s Notes:
Your first taste of Fernet has more ups and downs than an episode of This is Us; Could someone loan Ollie and me a pitchfork to complete this classic lewk? We just want to say that AZN was underrated, but Peppervine is still an upgrade; Three glasses of Espolon = my sweet spot; I want to marry Peppervine’s pastry chef, whoever he or she may be; Trying to be more Purvis-like is a tough job, but we’re up to the challenge.