The Fig Tree Restaurant — Restaurant in Charlotte

Wow. I have only felt compelled to review a restaurant one other time, because it was a completely atrocious meal and i felt honor bound as a food loving person to give a warning. But this meal at The Fig Tree was the complete opposite, and I am warning you not to miss an opportunity to dine here. From start to finish the food was artful and delicious. The service and atmosphere were both so charming and polished, though without being stuffy. The waiter did remove crumbs from the table, which is always such a lovely touch. The foccaccia with roasted garlic and olive oil was an auspicious start. We followed it with the burrata with strawberry salsa which was plated beautifully with thoughtfully graduated sized puddles of balsamic, balsamic pearls and toasted pistachios. I think the only real criticism i can make of this meal is that the portion of the burrata itself was on the small size. However it was refreshing and definitely whet our appetites. Our entrees included a side salad which was a nice touch. Both the garden and ceasar preparations were very nice- not too salty as ceasar can sometimes be. Our main courses were both perfection. I ordered the NC trout with roasted tomatoes, artichokes, capers and asparagus because I've never had trout before and I'm always interested to try locally sourced ingredients. The dish knocked my socks off! The trout was cooked perfectly with a delicate flavor accented with the sweet and savory tomatoes, meaty artichoke hearts, crispy pancetta and sharp tangy capers. Absolutely lovely summer dish. My husband ordered the elk chop with spaetzle and cabbage. The elk was cooked to perfection, and it was very lean but not at all tough as lean cuts of meat can sometimes be. Great flavor. The accompanying spaetzle was like the macaroni and cheese of my dreams with wonderfully textured morsels and a creamy herbaceous sauce. And the cabbage was absolutely delectable with a savory smokiness that together with the cheesy, herby, slightly mustardy sauce made me want to reach over and lick my husbands plate for him. I restrained myself and bided my time until desert. This was wise, and not just because we were in polite society. The blackberry chevre cheesecake we ordered was nothing short of heavenly and it would have been a mistake not to save room for it. The texture of the cheesecake itself was gorgeously smooth and slick with a subtle goaty tang. You could tell it was made with goat cheese but it was not at all overpowering. It was a generous square with a crunchy gf oat crust, (i endeavor to eat as little gluten as possible, and dishes like this make it easy not to miss it!) fresh blackberries, blood orange sauce, honey ice cream adorned with bits of honeycomb and almond brittle. It was very clear that much thought went into each texture and flavor- nothing on the plate was extraneous and everything was plated so artfully it was a joy to behold and to taste. My only regret is that we live in NJ and dont know when we'll get back down to try everything else...

Fig Tree comes highly reccommended in terms of dining in the Charlotte area. Since I was visiting, I knew this was a spot I had to visit with my GF. Unfortunatly, we were very disasppointed. This place is outragerouly overrated. I have no idea how this place gets booked out so far.

To start off with the good, we loved the atmosphere outside. It’s beautiful and perfect for a special date. Also, the service is incredible. I drink a lot of water and the waiters here made sure to keep it full, and keep out table clean. Service was fantastic and probably some of the best that I’ve had. Our waiter was also great and nice.

Now the reason why we didn’t like it is because of the food:

Starter bread: 7/10, not bad. I liked the bread. It wasn’t special though. I prefer bread that comes out warm. I did like the roasted garlic which added a nice taste to the bread.

Escargots: 7/10, this was actually quite decent. I liked the escargots, but have had better. The sauce here is very creamy and has an interesting taste. I enjoyed the bread inside and liked to dip the other bread in the sauce.

Mushroom soup (soup of the day): 1/10, I have no idea who thought this would be good to serve. It was disgusting. I mean I guess some might like it, but it tasted horrid.

Elk Chop: 3/10, Not sure how this dish is so hyped up… To start the chop itself was severly undercooked. I asked for med rare, but got rare (or less). I don’t mind though but some may. I also don’t like to send food back as then the eating dynamic is ruined. Also, the elk was just so bland and dry. There were no flavors. And the cake-like thing under is also was terrible. It tasted bland and was also just terrible.

Cesars salad: GF has this as an entree and she did not like it. She said she prefers Olive gardens

Overall, the food is not good and no where near worth the price. It is crazy overpriced for what it is. I don’t mind spening 100+ per person on dinner, but this is not worth it. But, the service is fantastic. If they had good food, this would be a great restaurant. I...

The Fig Tree is located in a lovely old house in south Charlotte. The staff was extremely nice and their service was impeccable the entire night. The restaurant itself was very clean and tastefully decorated. We ordered martinis, which were well made by someone who knew what they were doing at the bar in addition to the scallops and assorted cheese plate appetizers. The scallops were amazing and cooked to perfection (probably the best I’ve ever had) and the cheese assortment was delicious. The house made bread was wonderful, especially with the olive oil and puréed garlic spread, which was a bit strong for my taste. I ordered the nights special which was a New York strip with red potatoes, okra, and a gorgonzola cream sauce. The steak was cooked perfectly and the potato and vegetable medley was...okay. It needed seasoning and herbs as it was very one dimensional. My sister had the famed Elk Chop that I had a few bites of and to be honest although it was lean and perfectly cooked, it was nothing to rave about as it lacked depth of flavor. The horseradish spaetzle tasted like fried pasta that could’ve used some seasoning in the way of herbs to liven it up but the smoked bacon red cabbage was very good. My friend had the pappardelle which tasted delicious and was well cooked and seasoned. My mother had the filet mignon which was perfectly cooked, the spinach purée was okay and could’ve used some additional flavor like a cream. The rest of the dish was very good. For dessert we ordered the dark chocolate hazelnut torte, which tasted amazing but it was like a slice of fudge and was very solid for a torte. The texture was very smooth once it warmed and melted in your mouth while the hazelnuts at the bottom made the dish sing. One thing I would like to mention is the steak knives. Those things were practically butter knives. This ruins the texture of any meat you’re cutting as you’re having to saw through it. Please, please, invest in sharpened non-serrated...