Before we begin, yes, I know that Kindred is in Davidson, not Charlotte - but it's within the Charlotte Metro area (it took us less time to get there than it takes to get to some other parts of the Queen City!), so I've categorized it as a Charlotte restaurant here.
I knew we’d eventually make it to Kindred, the darling restaurant on Main Street in downtown Davidson that has made many a “best restaurants” list.
I just didn’t know it would take us quite this long to get there – or to the town of Davidson itself, for that matter.
The restaurant’s origin story has been told time and time again in numerous publications, but I’m here to talk about what it’s like to visit Kindred today.
(Or well, recently – although the menu features a few staple items, others rotate based on what’s in season. So what you see here today may not be available during your visit).
But let’s back up a few days because you’re going to want a reservation.
Surprisingly there were plenty of reservations available a few days before our visit – even though it was commencement weekend at Davidson College, which is essentially located across the street from Kindred. But most of the reservations available were for the courtyard and front patio, which both sounded lovely if we weren’t visiting on a day with a forecast in the 90s. So we settled for a 5 p.m. reservation in the dining room and adjusted the rest of our meals that day accordingly.
We arrived at 5 o’clock on the dot and found ourselves in a line waiting to get in. The experience caught me off-guard a bit. Not at being forced to wait (I always say Charlotteans love nothing more than waiting in line for food – yet we also heard a lot of entitled grumblings about having to wait), but because it felt a bit theatrical. One by one, groups were seated by a line of hosts and servers waiting at the door, almost like a choreographed dance.
We were matched with a young server, who briskly led us past the iconic bar (which was already full and not primed for photographing – but it’s pictured on their website if you’re curious) and upstairs.
We barely had a moment to take in the light, airy, and surprisingly IKEA-filled atmosphere before a heavenly display of gluten was suddenly set before us. An enamel tin of warm, clover-shaped milk bread and its salted butter companion was a wonderful welcome. It was a true feat, to take this photo – all of my instincts were screaming to eat the bread.
And my instincts were right because Kindred’s milk bread is pillowy, salty perfection – it’s everything I want in a dinner roll and more. Michael and I looked at each other and agreed the meal could have ended with that, and we would have been satisfied.
But of course, there was more than just bread. We needed to sort out drinks and our menu items for the evening.
Having previously escaped the heat by cooling off at Davidson Wine Co. around the corner, I felt it was probably best to stick to something with a lower ABV and passed over the carefully crafted cocktail list in favor of a local beer. (This proved beneficial for the wallet as well – if memory serves me correctly, cocktails were around $16 and my beer was $7. Looking for booze on a budget? You can order the champagne of beers for just $1).
And since we were simply in Saturday-night-out mode, and not celebration mode, we skipped ordering an appetizer and planned to order dessert instead (and thanks to the milk bread, we didn’t really feel like we needed anything else before our meal). I was a little surprised to find we both were craving pasta, and I ultimately was torn between the tagliolini, which had a description that immediately brought to mind carbonara, and the squid ink conchiglie. Michael, on the other hand, had his heart set on the rigatoni. In the end, the promise of morels in the tagliolini swayed me.
While the milk bread arrived at our table almost instantly, our entrees took their time – which I am always grateful for. I always like to remind my family that slow service can be good service, and that spending time together over a meal is kind of the whole point. But when they made it to our table, they were a sight to behold.
(well, at least mine was)
The additional egg yolk turned my dish from somewhat sticky to creamy, and hiding under the greens was a mountain of morels. The pasta was perfectly cooked, but it paled in comparison to the rest of the dish – it almost just served as a vessel for the delicious sauce and delicate mushrooms. The peas weren’t listed on the menu, but they were a sweet textural addition to the dish. The only thing I would change about this dish is the pancetta – it really needed more of it, because on the whole, it was under-salted.
As for Michael’s pasta, what it lacked in looks it more than made up for in flavor (though it’s still a far cry from the version they shared on Instagram). The lamb merguez was perfectly earthy, spicy, and savory, and the tomato sauce had just enough acid to cut through. Strangely, it was quite a watery, soupy sauce – but he made the most of it by swiping an end of the milk bread through it.
For both dishes, the portion sizes were just right. We both were grateful to have skipped over an appetizer, but it left us wanting more for dessert. Although there weren’t many options, we had a heated debate over which to choose. In the end, we landed on the milk bread cinnamon roll, because, well, how could we not?
It arrived in all of its soft, swirly gloriousness, topped with a cloud of cream cheese. Judging by the size of it, I honestly thought we were going to take half of it home. But after the first bite, I couldn’t stop eating (and neither could Michael); before we knew it, the plate was clean.
The menu is incredibly carb-heavy (which we obviously leaned into), and we tumbled out of the restaurant in a bready haze. But not without a souvenir: diners can take home a four-piece milk bread for $5.
*whispers* Do you want to know how much it cost?
I always like to talk about money when I talk about restaurants because I think it helps to destigmatize the conversation and it gives you an opportunity to plan how much you’ll spend on your meal.
Our meal (which included one drink, two entrees, one dessert, a milk bread to go, tax, and tip) totaled $91.94. To save more, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to skip over any drinks and go with the sorbetto for dessert ($4, versus the $12 cinnamon roll). But you can actually plan your meal ahead of time by peeking at Kindred’s online ordering system.
Enjoyed this restaurant review? You may enjoy these other Charlotte restaurant posts:
- Bardo Review
- Supperland Review
- A Review of Greenway Restaurant at CPCC
- The Sweetest Spots in the Queen City: A Guide to Charlotte’s Best Bakeries
- A Review of Every Charlotte Brewery
- 10 Great Meals in Charlotte for Under $10
- 10 More Great Meals in Charlotte for Under $10
- Some of the Best Texas Barbecue is in This Tiny North Carolina Town
- Five North Carolina Bakeries to Add to Your Travel Itinerary
Have you ever tried milk bread?
Nice review Alyssa. My wife and I spent 10 days in Charlotte back in January. We loved the city.
Thanks for reading along! I’m glad you enjoyed your visit – it’s such an underrated destination.