Charlotte Restaurant Review: Kindred (Davidson, NC)

Before we begin, yes, I know that Kindred is in Davidson, not Charlotte - but it's within the Charlotte Metro area (I mean, 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.

After moving to Charlotte, I always knew I’d eventually make it to Kindred, the darling restaurant on Main Street in downtown Davidson that frequently tops “best restaurant” lists. However, I didn’t anticipate it would take me quite this long to book a seat at the table and explore the charming town of Davidson. Regardless of how long it took and trying my very best not to think about the occurrences of the past few years that caused my delay, I made it, folks.

The restaurant’s origin story has been extensively covered in various publications, but I’m here to share what it’s like to visit Kindred today. Stepping inside, I was immediately struck by the inviting, light-filled atmosphere and the friendly, attentive staff.

The menu is a delightful blend of staple items and seasonal creations and I savored every bite of my meal; however, it’s worth noting that the offerings change based on what’s in season, and what I enjoyed may not be available when you visit.

But I’m getting way, way ahead of myself.

Let’s back up a few days because you’re going to want a reservation.

This post is not produced in partnership with the restaurant and I purchased my meal myself. If you'd like to support my work in covering the Queen City, you can always share this article with a friend, shop through any commissionable links, or buy me a coffee.

Surprisingly, there were plenty of reservations available a few days before my visit – even though it was commencement weekend at Davidson College, which is essentially located across the street from the restaurant. But most of the reservations available were for the courtyard and front patio, which both sounded lovely if Michael and I weren’t visiting on a day with a forecast in the 90s. So we settled for a 5 o’clock reservation in the dining room and adjusted the rest of the day’s meals accordingly.

We arrived right 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 – although 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 the restaurant website if you’re curious) and upstairs.

We barely had a moment to take in the light, airy, and somewhat 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 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, brothy sauce rather than a clingy one – but he made the most of it by swiping an end of the milk bread through it.

For both dishes, I felt 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 embraced), 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.

KINDRED DRESS CODE

Alyssa sits at a table in Kindred — wearing: dress | short necklace | long necklace | chain earrings | stud earrings

Kindred doesn’t have a posted dress code online, so I doubt you’d be turned away for wearing shorts or trainers. However, I’d recommend dressing up at least a little – tossing on a dress or swapping ripped denim for dark denim or trousers. I spent the day exploring Davidson in a simple but chic black wool dress and strappy sandals and felt perfectly at home among the neighboring tables full of graduates.

KINDRED PRICING + FINAL THOUGHTS

*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.

It’s a splurge, sure (and certainly more than I pay for many of my plane tickets!), but a visit to Kindred should be on every Charlottean’s bucket list.

Hungry for more? You may enjoy these other posts:

Have you ever tried milk bread?

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2 Comments on “Charlotte Restaurant Review: Kindred (Davidson, NC)”

Ryan Biddulph says:

June 3, 2022 at 5:24 pm

Nice review Alyssa. My wife and I spent 10 days in Charlotte back in January. We loved the city.

1. Alyssa says:
  
  June 9, 2022 at 9:36 am
  
  Thanks for reading along! I’m glad you enjoyed your visit – it’s such an underrated destination.