ContestsEvents

LISTEN LIVE

This Is The Best Restaurant Near Bank Of America Stadium

Football season is basically here! And it’s by far my favorite part of fall. Attending games is one of my favorite things to do, but it can get costly, and…

CHARLOTTE, NC - SEPTEMBER 14: A general view of Bank of America Stadium, home of the NFL's Carolina Panthers, on September 14, 2015 in Charlotte, North Carolina.
(Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)

Football season is basically here! And it's by far my favorite part of fall. Attending games is one of my favorite things to do, but it can get costly, and quick. Especially NFL games. Eating at the game can cost you a pretty penny for some average-at-best food. Though, while I don't support the team, I have to give a shout-out to Atlanta's Mercedes Benz Stadium for the best stadium food prices I've ever seen! Seriously, if you ever get the chance go to a game or event there. It puts Bank of America Stadium to shame in every way! Sorry, not sorry. So if you're like me and want to eat before the Panthers game, where should you go? Tailgating is always a good idea, but sometimes just isn't possible due to a variety of reasons. In that case, you may be interested in the best restaurant near Bank of America Stadium.

Rotowire created a list of the most iconic restaurants near each NFL Stadium in the US. And their pick for Charlotte? Noble Smoke. BBQ fits perfectly with fall and football. What could be more American? And Noble Smoke is incredible! I'd personally recommend ordering a variety of meats and sides for the table. My personal favorites? The brisket and the turkey (an underrated delicacy for sure). They also have an incredible beer and cocktail selection, delicious southern sides, and desserts.

Noble Smoke isn't quite walking distance from the stadium though. Which is the downside. It's located on Freedom Drive about a mile and a half from the home of the Carolina Panthers. But if you're on your way into town from I-85 it's right on the way!

Would you say Noble Smoke is the best restaurant near Bank of America Stadium? If not what would be your choice? View the full menu for Noble Smoke here. See which other beloved restaurants Rotowire highlighted in other cities here.

If there is one thing you can say about North Carolinians it's that we LOVE our BBQ. There are different styles, different meats of choice, and different sauces. But we do it all well. And no the term barbecue should never refer to the outdoor cooking of hamburgers and hotdogs- that's a cookout for your northerners. There are so many incredible barbeque restaurants in North Carolina, it's hard to say what the best is. And that's honestly a personal preference. Your choice may be different than mine which may be different from your coworker's. But while we can't objectively tell you the best barbecue restaurants in North Carolina, we can tell you the most popular.

Did you know that May is National BBQ Month? It is and in celebration, our friends at BetCarolina used Google Trends to determine the most popular barbecue restaurants in North Carolina. The data used in this analysis is from May 1, 2022-September 6, 2022. And there is a dominant winner that's right here in the Queen City. It's one that many celebrities choose to dine at when visiting Charlotte. And funny enough, when we told you about the best Charlotte BBQ Restaurants (per TripAdvisor) last year, it was also the winner. So even with different methods, it's still coming out on top.

Keep reading to see which that is, you'll also find the best Charlotte BBQ Restaurants list at the end of this one. You can read BetCarolina's full study and analysis here.

5. Buxton Hall BBQ (Asheville)

Location: 32 Banks Ave, Asheville, NC 28801

Search Volume: 2%

4. Skylight Inn BBQ (Ayden)

Location: 4618 Lee St, Ayden, NC 28513

Search Volume: 3%

3. Switzerland Cafe (Little Switzerland)

Location: 9440 NC-226A, Marion, NC 28752

Search Volume: 4%

2. Red Bridges BBQ (Shelby)

Location: 2000 E Dixon Blvd, Shelby, NC 28150

Search Volume: 8%

1. Midwood Smokehouse (Charlotte & Raleigh)

Location: View all Carolina locations here

Search Volume: 83%

The 15 Best Charlotte North Carolina BBQ Restaurants

Here in North Carolina, we love our barbeque. And we do it well if I may so so myself. There is no shortage of fantastic restaurants across the state and the Queen City is no exception to that. But if you only can eat at one which should you choose? While I have my favorite (and it didn't make this list near the top), I decided to turn to the public for their thoughts on the matter. A quick search on TripAdvisor led me to a list of 30 Charlotte BBQ restaurants. It included chains, multiple locations of some, the heavy hitters, and some I hadn't heard of before. For this list, I took the top 15 restaurants (combining anywhere that had multiple locations).

Trip Advisor compiles these rankings based on average rating and number of reviews. Therefore you will see a couple of places that are ranked higher with a slightly lower rating. This means they probably had a higher number of higher-rated reviews. I have to say for the most part I do agree with this list the top 3 didn't surprise me at all and I feel could have been ranked in any order. What's your favorite of the many Charlotte BBQ restaurants?

15. Let's Meat Kbbq

Address: 1400 S Church St, Charlotte, NC 28203-4114

Rating: 4.5 Stars

Reviews: 31

14. Sweet Lew's BBQ

Address: 923 Belmont Ave, Charlotte, NC 28205-2712

Rating: 4

Reviews: 17

13. Bubba's Barbecue

Address: 4400 Sunset Rd, Charlotte, NC 28216-2354

Rating: 3.5

Reviews: 76

12. Smithfield's Chicken 'N Bar-B-Q

Address: 5121 Trojan Drive, Charlotte

Rating: 4.5

Reviews: 20

11. Bill Spoon's Barbecue

Address: 5524 South Blvd, Charlotte

Rating: 3.5

Reviews: 88

10. Bobbee O's BBQ

Address: 9401 Statesville Rd, Charlotte

Rating: 4

Reviews: 8.2

9. The Q Shack

Address: 10822 Providence Rd

Rating: 4.5

Reviews: 46

8. City Barbeque

Address: 8948 J.M. Keynes Dr., Charlotte; 1514 Galleria Blvd., Charlotte; 11212 Providence Rd W, Charlotte

Rating: 4

Reviews: 70

7. Noble Smoke

Address: 2216 Freedom Dr, Charlotte and Optimist Hall

Rating: 4

Reviews: 89

6. Bar-b-q King

Address: 2900 Wilkinson Blvd, Charlotte

Rating: 4.5

Reviews: 114

5. Jim 'N Nick's Bar-B-Q

Address: 13840 Steele Creek Rd, Charlotte

Rating: 4

Reviews: 240

4. Sauceman's

Address: Relocating To Sugar Creek Brewing

Rating: 4.5

Reviews: 229

3. Mac's Speed Shop

Address: 2511 South Blvd, Charlotte; 2414 Sandy Porter Road, Charlotte

Rating: 4.5

Reviews: 1,464

2. McKoy's Smokehouse and Saloon

Address: 4630 Old Pineville Rd

Rating: 4.5

Reviews: 588

1. Midwood Smokehouse

Address: 1401 Central Ave, Charlotte; 12410 Johnston Rd, Charlotte; 540-C Brandywine Rd, Charlotte

Rating: 4.5

Reviews: 2,028

Melanie Day is a graduate of North Carolina State University. She has worked for Beasley since 2012 in a variety of behind-the-scenes roles in both digital and promotions. Melanie writes about a diverse range of topics some of her favorites include travel, restaurants, Taylor Swift, and college athletics. When not at work you'll find her at a country concert or NC State sporting event.