cúrate

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 theamazingmeal!!! 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

blown away. i don't write a lot of reviews although my fiance and i eat at a lot of the local restaurants. if something is really bad or really good than i will usually add my two cents. i had eaten at curate when it first opened and before it got to be "the best restaurant in asheville" and all of the other accolades that it has incurred. my fiance and i had a reservation at the admiral on friday 09/05 but saw an opening for curate and changed quickly to give it another shot. we eat at the admiral frequently and live fairly close so we decided downtown was a nice change of pace. it was our anniversary and we put that on opentable.com although i don't know if half the restaurants acknowledge this or care. we were seated promptly and our waiter was very knowledgeable although a little robotic. we ordered the specialty cocktails and six different tapas to share. the first five were some of the best things we have eaten and my fiance kept raving about how awesome this experience was. we ordered the jamon iberico, the rosemary eggplant and honey tapa, the meatballs made from the same jamon iberico pigs, a chorizo and potato puree tapa, and spanish goat cheese stuffed piquillo peppers. these were all incredible and my fiance was raving about them again last night. the end of the meal is what made me want to write this review because after we paid our bill, our waiter told us to wait patiently because the kitchen prepared something special for our anniversary. he brought out a reallyamazingchocolate dessert which was made with thin layers of dark chocolate, hazelnuts, and some other ingredient i can't remember. when a restaurant goes out of it's way to do something like that, they have a return customer for life. thanks curate!!

patrick and ariel

christmas 2012. we ate here last december on a holiday trip to asheville/biltmore. the food was outstanding and worth the price for a nice dinner out. we had the tomato bread, mushrooms, lamb skewers, calamari sandwich, the trio of cured hams, and someamazinggarlic shrimp. all amazing, but i didn't care for the chicken fritters.

very unimpressed. don't believe the hype.. with all the hype around this restaurant in a town brimming with incredible, unique dining options, i was expecting really great food. i have been to curate twice now due to social situations. i was not impressed at all the first time but gave it another chance and had a really bad experience the second time. out of the 8 or so dishes we tried, we loved the cheese plate and everything else was mediocre at best. top this off with bland/verging on rude service + a $200 bill and i will never ever support this restaurant again. with all theamazingchoices in asheville, don't waste your time and money.

i created an urban spoon account just to write a review about this food. now i'm at a loss for words. amazing, simplyamazingfood. and our waiter was knowledgable and directed us to some of the most unique and satisfying cuisine i've ever experienced.

like being back in spain. my husband and i, while visiting asheville popped into curate for lunch on a friday afternoon. we were greeted by a friendly hostess and promptly seated at the bar. one look at the menu and i knew it was going to be a difficult decision; so many lovely tapas from many regions of spain.

we started with 2 glasses of sherry; a manzanilla that was floral and dry and anamazingunfiltered fino, not listed on the menu. we also enjoyed a lovely plate of jamon de bellota. perfect in its meatyness and fat. no one does ham like the spanish (sorry to the italians.)

next, we enjoyed pimientos de piquillo and the house tortilla. the peppers were stuffed with a light goat cheese that blended nicely with the picante of the peppers. the tortilla was somewhat disappointing for me. it was not solid in the middle (not sure if that was a mistake or just a choice by the chef,) but mostly tasted of the onion with little traditional tortilla flavor. we also enjoyed the rabo de toro; oxtail over a potato mousse. perfect comfort food for a chilly day.

we definitely enjoyed our afternoon at the bar and look forward to our next visit.

simply amazing. by far the best spanish tapas we have had in the states. for a moment we thought we were back in spain...
high quality ingredients,amazingflavor, great atmosphere, efficient service. we will be returning to asheville just to eat here again.

amazing. we had anamazinglunch here new years eve. the eggplant with honey plate was awesome. the pimento peppers stuffed with spanish cheese were surprisingly great. their version of paella was very good. great atmosphere, great service, great food.

best in asheville. i've lived in asheville for 16 years and eat out way too often. last night's meal at curate was my first time there and likely the best i've had anywhere. attentive service,amazingfood - every plate incredibly delicious. our favorite celebration in 15 years for the birthday grrrls (2 on 12/25, 1 on 12/24 and 1 on 12/28) can't wait to return with our significant others. kudos to katie and her fantastic colleagues on this remarkable endeavor!!

food adventure awaits at curate.. another shotgun style storefront on biltmore avenue that you may just walk right past. instead, turn in for an astonishing,amazingtapas dining experience.

couldn't wait to try the jamon iberico fermin - cured ham from black footed iberico pigs of spain.amazingsalty and mild flavor. continuous nibbling, we made that dish go as long as possible.

seared scallops - the best part of a tremendous meal. indeed, i didn't know how scallops could taste - curate sets a new standard!

gambas al ajillo --amazinggarlic shrimp.

canelones de carne - interesting meat roll-ups. not a favorite, but good filler!

croquetas de pollo - fritters around shredded creamy chicken mixture.

dessert! -- esumpa de chocolate, a tremendous chocolate mouse accompanied by bitter apple and salty praline.

beautiful open kitchen and first class service. even on a weekday, they had a great crowd.

the meanest thing i could say about the place? they could use a bigger sign out front.

this place was amazing. i saw that it had recently opened and thought it would great. the sparkling cava sangria was a great start to anamazingexperience with great service and people who truly want to satisfy high expectations.