Vida Cantina in Charlotte

Sunday we had had enough of Greensboro and decided to head south for a little shopping and lunch. That lunch was at Vida, Charlottes newest tequila bar and taqueria. I was especially excited since I haven’t seen a decent selection of vitamin T since moving here and they had tequila in spades, including quite a few that weren’t on the menu. Both their drink and food menus were creative and modern with little twists here and there. Its definitely an upscale joint and as you’ll see, worth checking out.

After perusing the drink menu we settled on a round of palomas to start. A nice side note about their cocktails, no crappy sweet and sour. Only agave nectar and lime juice here…I’m sold. The Paloma had lime juice, grapefruit soda and 1800 tequila. It was slightly different than my recipe mainly being the soda used but it was still a damn refreshing cocktail, which went hand in hand with the beautiful weather out on their patio.

For lunch I couldn’t resist the green chile brisket taco’s with a side of grilled corn with queso fresca. In stark contrast to our ever increasing portion sizes the plates had just enough food although looking a bit sparse. “Eyes are bigger than your stomach” I remember my mom saying. The juicy meat was wrapped with a grilled corn tortilla and topped with caramelized onions and fresh pico. The taco’s were fantastic, although just a tad more filling would be nice and the side was almost as good with the exception of the grilled corn having a but rubbery feel to it. I’m curious if they made a pot of this and used it throughout the weekend.

I finished the meal off with some dessert…and none other than one of my favorite juices, Casa Noble Repo. While they normally serve blanco’s and repo’s in shot glasses they had no problem serving the CNR ( 1 day shy or being and Anejo) in a snifter that’s normally reserved for anejo’s. I’ve written a good bit about this juice in that its easily in my top 5 tequila’s…ever. The tequila prices are a bit on the high side but North Carolina doesn’t offer very many choices for tequila lovers. Being that the states liquor is controlled it’s the only place you can get some of these bottlings.

So here’s the deal. If you like your Mexican food on the modern side, in an upscale establishment with a healthy drink menu complete with good line-up of tequila, your going to love Vida. The menu is interesting and at time, playful. The interior design is eclectic while having a minimalist take on Mexican culture and a serious dose of posh modernism. The drinks are all freshly made with some killer ingredients and all 100% agave tequila’s and of course a selection of them that’ll make any aficionado proud. 4 outta 5

Vida at EpiCentre

210 East Trade Street
Suite 104A
Charlotte, NC 28202

704.971.8432 – main
704.971.8435 – fax

Hours of Operation

Monday – Thursday    11am – 11pm
Friday – Saturday    11am – 12am
Sunday    11am – 10pm