cúrate

located in one of america's finest mountain towns of asheville, north caolina, cúrate is not a prototypical southern restaurant. while it offers pork, it is of the jamón serrano variety, dissimilar to the whole hog fare seen at local (delicious) carolina barbecue shacks. diners at cúrate are taken on a tour, not through dixie or a plantation, but through exotic spanish locales such as galicia and catalonia. it's not cheap, especially for middle class asheville, yet it was completely packed at 9:30 pm on a thursday night. we barely snagged a seat at the bar. intrigued? we sure were...

i had been wanting to try this restaurant for years after reading a review in a magazine. it has such a fantastic view when you're sitting at the bar top in front of the cooks to get right in the action! the food was delicious. however, we ordered the prawns and we knew they were going to have the heads and shells on but they were split on their back and the veins were still intact. i would say more restaurants than not choose to devein their shrimp before serving to a customer and i do not believe i have ever been served one that was not. if the shell had not been split open i might have understood.

five stars all around! we (paul dunlop) flew from ny to charlotte, then drove all the way to asheville just to have dinner here. we can't say enough about the preparation and presentation of the tapas style dishes. the flavors were absolutely perfect. there is a creative cocktail and wine menu mapped to spain. don't be put off by fully booked reservations. the friendly and accommodating waitstaff will get you in. you must try the mushrooms paired with the skirt steak. resist ordering it twice because the octopus and then later, the sugar snap pea salad over salted yogurt will be a flavor explosion in your mouth. finally, the chocolate mousse not only has perfectly paired tastes, but multiple textures as well. do whatever you have to, to have dinner at this wonderful restaurant. you'll be glad you did.

hola!. we were there last week and had the chilled garlic soup and smoked mussels. they were very good and it seems like they are adding spring/summer dishes. my wife likes the sangria and i like their cocktails

surprised by the negative reviews. i have eaten at curate about eight time and it has never disappointed. one of my top five places in asheville and the same is true of the friends i have asked. good value but the tab runs up quickly with spendy drinks.

very busy and hard to get a table but cool place. loved the ibierco ham plate and the lamb skewers! fried eggplant was different but good, little sweet so a good substitute for a dessert if you aren't into sweet desserts. little pricey though so may be a one time visit.

curate is a well-known authentic spanish tapas restaurant led by chef katie button in asheville, north carolina. cúrate is a celebration of authentic spanish cuisine. for those who have visited spain, the cúrate menu will bring back memories of the country's best jamón ibérico, vermuterías, and lively tapas culture. in recognition of the restaurant’s all-spanish wine list, cúrate was listed as one of america’s 100 best wine restaurants by wine enthusiast magazine in 2018. cúrate means ‘cure yourself’ in spanish, reflecting the belief held by chef katie button and her family that there are curative effects in sharing good food and wine with family and friends. experience the essence of spain in downtown asheville… one plate at a time.

cocktails were fantastic and the tapas were beyond delicious. could have ate there all night. definitely will return and it’s a 5 hour drive.

while visiting my girlfriend in asheville for her birthday she picked this place after many positive referrals. i was starving as i hadn't eaten since breakfast so this was exciting. 

we were promptly seated upon arrival, the decor was unique and cute and on the alternate side of the full bar there is an open kitchen which is really neat. our waitress, whitney, was lovely, patient, well versed in the menu and committed to ensuring we had a fabulous meal and experience, which we did! thanks so much for making the night splendid! 

we had quite a lot of wine so apologies for not remembering the name of them. we selected some great wines from their extensive list: lovey rosé, alberiño, and a fascinating...yes i said fascinating...red wine...along with some patrón shots. the most expensive patrón i've ever purchased but i guess a top shelf brand at this restaurant is quite expensive. this is the only negative comment i have about the restaurant is the pricing of the patrón. 

so on to the amazing meal!!! we enjoyed the following menu items(all excepts from the menu are listed within "": 

the beginning:
we began with the "pan de cristal con tomato toasted crispy bread with fresh tomato, garlic and olive oil" make sure you add manchego cheese ... finely sliced delicate pieces of heaven. so perfect and delish.

birthday girl's favorite "patatas bravas (lf, tnf)
crispy fried potatoes topped with a slightly spicy tomato and garlic sauce (v: no all i oli)"...we almost needed a second order. 

"spicy chorizo wrapped in potato chips", the perfect snack and so yummy! 

the middle:
the following two weren't our favorite although they were both good and we finished them. the "lomo ibérico con queso (tnf)" is a sandwich with "fermín ibérico pork loin and smoked ibérico belly, manchego cheese, crispy shallot, tomato bread". good quality ingredients but wasn't blown away by it. and the "albondigas (tnf,lf)
meatballs with cured ibérico ham in a tomato sauce that makes felix's mother proud"....the sauce would not make my mother proud but the meatballs are delish. the tomato sauce was more like paste, lackluster in flavor. 

the grand finale: 

the "cochinillo (lf,gf,tnf), a tradition from segovia, a quarter of a roasted suckling pig raised by sebastian bayon" is a lot of food! way too much for two people! we left uncomfortably full but no regrets! also, we mistakenly ordered this but enjoyed anyways! 

the "cerdo iberico a las finas hierbas grilled 100% fermin pure ibérico pork, "skirt steak" with fresh rosemary and thyme (lf,gf,tnf)" was delicious and delightful! 

the cherry on top: they gave the birthday girl a lovely magnificent popsicle wrapped in dark chocolate with cherry sorbet inside! so delectable, fresh and just right! palette cleansing! 

enjoy as i know you will! 
signed with love and calories, 
the original charlestonian
#lewreviews
#theoriginalcharlestonian

my biggest complaint of our experience here is that we wouldn't have waited 45 min to get seated if they had told us that we would still be sitting on bar stools when it was finally our time. we would have selected another restaurant. but they were gracious enough to get us tall chairs with backs. the food also, however, was not great. we had the patatas bravas and the lamb skewers. both were only okay. the lamb was not very tender and a bit hard to chew. we had higher expectations, but maybe we just caught them on an off night.

wow! flavor explosion! fantastic. if i put what we ordered, i would write the menu! so good. i sat at the bar and just ordered what looked yummy! well oiled machine in the kitchen. can't wait to come back

a group of 7 of us were at the restaurant to celebrate the birthday of a friend. we placed ourselves in the hands of our server as far as what dishes to eat, and after he determined what our eating preferences were, he proceeded to bring out some of the best food i've had in quite a while. highlights included grilled octopus, a salad whose name escapes me but had radishes and cream, potatoes with brava sauce, and simply divine grilled eggplant with rosemary ice cream as a finisher. we also had the table side sangria, which i found to be good, but probably wouldn't get again. highly recommend it and i would definitely go back again if i had the chance (and was able to save up the money).

curate is my new favorite asheville restaurant. i have read about it in magazines and decided to treat myself for my birthday. reservations were not so easy to get, but i snagged a 4:30 at a private table. we were informed that if we wanted to come later, there is also a communal table. i'm not sure why we had to come so early for a private table as when we left a little after 6, most of the tables were still empty.
our waiter was not the most personable waiter i've encountered, but he did a great job making sure we understood the menu, made suggestions and was attentive in refilling drinks etc.
the food was spectacular. the trout was one of the best things i've ever put in my mouth. the food was all very fresh and the bread was delicious. since everything is served tapas style, it could easily get very expensive to try lots of different things. the shrimp and garlic is listed on the menu as ashevilles most popular tapas, but once again i'm going to have to give it to the trout (but the shrimp is delicious!). i will definitely return next time i'm in town.

my daughter and i ate here for a late lunch and were blown away by the flavors of all the dishes. we started off with the aged ham which was very good but not quite as good as some of the best prosciutto i've had. also had the bread with tomatoes and manchego which was fantastic. next came the chicken fritters which were extremely tasty. we really enjoyed the shrimp and garlic dish which came with more bread to dip in the sauce. lastly we had the roasted potatoes and the grilled pork. the grilled pork (cerdo ibérico a las finas hierba) was one of the best things i've ever had the pleasure of eating! it was so good that we ordered another serving. the waiter suggested pairing it with the roasted mushrooms which really complimented it much better than the potatoes. all in all it was a wonderful meal and we will definitely be returning for the pork again and again.

loved it here. nice lively setting where you can actually watch them prepare the food, with an occasional burst of flames from behind the bar. but most importantly the food was delicious and i must say i've never had chilled asparagus.