What does a city’s dining scene look like when the go-to spots range from a hot chicken counter with picnic tables to a dinner room overlooking a wooded stream? In Winston-Salem, the answer also includes Neapolitan pizza from a wood-burning oven, whole fried flounder, and a dessert case that has been tempting customers since 1987.
North Carolina comfort food has plenty of room on this list, from shrimp and grits to banana pudding, but the menus don’t stop there. Lobster ravioli, Chilean sea bass, and all-day breakfast plates also make an appearance, giving very different appetites something to look forward to.
Choosing gets easier when you match the restaurant to the kind of meal you want rather than chasing the longest menu. A quiet dinner, a counter-service lunch, or a slow afternoon on a covered patio each points toward a different address on this list.
1. Mozelle’s, Winston-Salem, NC
Southern comfort food gets a little dressed up here, but shrimp and grits still hold their place at the table. Mozelle’s pairs refined Southern cooking with a bright, airy dining space and a covered patio.
You can build your meal around modern meatloaf, tomato pie, or tomato bisque without leaving the restaurant’s Southern focus. The menu also includes Southern spring rolls, giving you another direction when you want something beyond a familiar main dish.
Vegetarian and vegan menus make this a useful choice when your group brings different eating needs to dinner. Ask about a specific dish before ordering, especially when an ingredient or preparation matters to you.
Lunch, dinner, and brunch give you several ways to fit a visit into your plans around Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Reservations are recommended for those meals, so booking ahead makes more sense than leaving your table to chance.
The covered patio offers an outdoor option, and dogs are allowed outside rather than throughout the dining room. Curbside pickup and takeout also let you enjoy the menu without planning a full restaurant evening.
Choose the setting that suits your day, then let your appetite handle the harder decision. Tomato pie or shrimp and grits sounds like a pleasant debate.
Address: 878 W 4th St, Winston-Salem, NC 27101
2. Ryan’s Restaurant, Winston-Salem, NC
A stream view is a pretty good argument for putting your phone away during dinner. Ryan’s Restaurant offers an upscale Continental menu in a wooded setting overlooking the water.
Steaks, lamb chops, and salmon give you several clear starting points when choosing your main course. Seafood options also include Chilean sea bass, while shrimp and grits bring a Southern choice into the mix.
For an opening course, consider French onion soup or ahi tuna tartare rather than rushing straight to your entree. You can keep the meal focused or add another course, depending on how much time you want to spend.
Dessert deserves a look before you make your final dinner decision, especially if chocolate tends to win your attention. Ryan’s triple chocolate cake and vanilla bean crème brulee offer two quite different finishes.
This is a dinner destination, with service Monday through Saturday and no Sunday opening listed. Reservations are required, so make your table part of the plan before heading toward Coliseum Drive.
A fireplace and private dining room give the restaurant options for different occasions and group arrangements. Free parking adds a practical convenience, while the wooded setting supplies the reason to slow down and enjoy your evening meal together.
Address: 719 Coliseum Dr NW, Winston-Salem, NC 27106
3. Mama Zoe Michael’s, Winston-Salem, NC
Family recipes collected over more than four decades shape the menu at this Reynolda Road restaurant. Mama Zoe Michael’s serves Southern-style home cooking from early morning into the evening, with breakfast available all day.
Meatloaf, chicken pot pie, and marinated beef tips cover the classic comfort side of the menu. A gyro platter and lasagna show that the kitchen doesn’t stick to a single tradition.
Seafood fans can look at fried flounder or a grouper sandwich, while fried chicken steak with sausage gravy delivers a heartier plate. Sides such as mashed potatoes, cornbread, and sweet potato fries round things out.
Breakfast lovers aren’t left out after the morning rush, since eggs Benedict and other breakfast plates stay on the menu throughout the day.
Key lime pie gives the meal a bright, tangy finish, so leave a little room before the plates are cleared.
Vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free options help when your table has different needs. Service starts at 7 a.m. daily, with Sunday wrapping up in the early afternoon.
Address: 2859 Reynolda Rd, Winston-Salem, NC 27106
4. River Birch Lodge, Winston-Salem, NC
Wooden rafters and stone fireplaces give your comfort-food dinner a lodge-style backdrop without requiring a mountain road trip. River Birch Lodge serves American dishes on Robinhood Road, with lunch, dinner, and brunch among its dining options.
The menu lets you move between familiar sandwiches and larger entrees according to your appetite. A French dip panini, filet mignon, and blackened salmon each point toward a different kind of meal.
Blackened North Carolina catfish adds a regional choice, while chicken and waffles offers another comfort-food route. You can also consider a lodge garden salad or wildberry brie platter when a lighter opening sounds better.
Banana pudding belongs on your radar before the main course arrives, not just after you finish it. Leaving room is your responsibility, and the restaurant cannot negotiate that decision with your appetite.
Sunday opens earlier than the rest of the week, which makes it useful for brunch planning. Reservations are recommended for brunch and dinner, especially when you want your meal to anchor the day’s schedule.
A children’s menu, outdoor seating, and a private dining room support several different kinds of outings. Curbside pickup offers another option, but dining inside lets the rafters and fireplaces become part of your meal as well.
Address: 3324 Robinhood Rd, Winston-Salem, NC 27106
5. Forsyth Seafood Market & Cafe, Winston-Salem, NC
Fried fish plates get the spotlight here, and counter service keeps the meal straightforward. Forsyth Seafood Market & Cafe gives you a casual seafood option on North Martin Luther King Jr Drive.
Whole fried North Carolina flounder, popcorn shrimp, and a catfish fillet sandwich provide several ways to approach lunch. The menu also includes seafood gumbo, crab leg steamers, and charbroiled oysters when you want to change direction.
Hush puppies and fried okra bring familiar sides into the picture without turning the meal into a formal occasion. Choose your seafood first, then decide which accompaniments fit the plate you actually want.
You order at the counter rather than relying on table service, so plan for that style of dining. Reservations aren’t accepted, making this a different outing from a restaurant built around booked dinner tables.
The cafe serves lunch and dinner Monday through Saturday, with Sunday listed as closed. Takeout, curbside pickup, and delivery offer options when you want seafood but don’t need a seat inside.
A children’s menu and high chairs make family meal planning easier, while outdoor seating provides another place to eat. For a North Carolina seafood stop, the attraction is clear: pick a fish, choose your sides, and enjoy the meal.
Address: 108 N Martin Luther King Jr Dr, Winston-Salem, NC 27101
6. Slappy’s Chicken, Winston-Salem, NC
Fried chicken, barbecue-style sides, and picnic tables keep the assignment refreshingly clear at Slappy’s. The no-frills kitchen on West Acadia Avenue centers its menu on chicken rather than a long parade of unrelated dishes.
A spicy-sweet homemade sauce gives the North Carolina-style hot chicken its particular personality, so consider your heat tolerance before ordering. Tangy collard greens and coleslaw provide side choices that keep the meal rooted in familiar comfort food.
The quarter-chicken plate offers a straightforward starting point when you want to understand what the kitchen does. You don’t need an elaborate ordering strategy here, just a decision about chicken and the sides that suit you.
Counter service and outdoor picnic tables make this a casual stop rather than a reservation-led evening. Indoor dining and takeout are also available, so you can choose the format that works for your day.
Timing matters because Monday through Wednesday service ends in the afternoon, while Thursday through Saturday extends into the evening. Sunday is closed, which means a Sunday chicken craving needs a different plan.
Free parking helps with the practical side, and the restaurant doesn’t accept reservations. Keep your expectations focused on its specialty, then let a chicken plate and a seat at a picnic table carry the occasion.
Address: 200 W Acadia Ave, Winston-Salem, NC 27127
7. Di Lisio’s Italian Restaurant, Winston-Salem, NC
Red-sauce pasta makes choosing dinner feel easy until lobster ravioli enters the conversation. Di Lisio’s Italian Restaurant serves a broad traditional Italian menu on Brookstown Avenue, with pasta and other entrees sharing the spotlight.
You can consider lasagna, baked ziti, or gnocchi when your evening calls for a familiar pasta dish. Eggplant parmigiana gives you another established Italian choice, while chicken saltimbocca moves the meal in a different direction.
Bruschetta and fried calamari offer starting points before you commit to a main course. The dessert list deserves a glance early on, rather than being treated as an afterthought once the pasta is gone.
The restaurant’s vegetarian menu helps you plan beyond meat-based entrees when that’s important to your table. Ask about specific preparations instead of assuming a dish suits a dietary need because its name sounds promising.
Evening service runs Tuesday through Saturday, with Monday and Sunday listed as closed. Reservations aren’t accepted, so don’t build your plans around a table booked well ahead of time.
Outdoor seating and takeout give you alternatives to dining inside, while a children’s menu supports family dinners. Pick the pasta that fits your mood, save a little attention for dessert, and let dinner be pleasantly uncomplicated for a change.
Address: 301 Brookstown Ave, Winston-Salem, NC 27101
8. Mission Pizza Napoletana, Winston-Salem, NC
A wood-burning oven gives pizza night a clear center of attention at Mission Pizza Napoletana. The Trade Street restaurant focuses on Neapolitan-style pies while also offering Italian dishes beyond pizza.
You can explore pasta and small plates if your table wants more than a lineup of pies. An arugula salad supplies another menu option when you want something green alongside the main event.
Vegetarian and vegan menus make it easier to include diners whose pizza choices need a different approach. Discuss specific ingredients when ordering, rather than assuming a particular pie will match your needs.
The casual setting lets you plan around the food without turning dinner into a formal production. Table service and counter seating offer different ways to settle into the meal, depending on the available arrangement.
The dining room is small, so a reservation makes sense when this dinner is the main reason for your outing. Service focuses on evenings and runs only part of the week, so check the current schedule before heading over.
Takeout is available, but dining on-site lets the oven and the meal share the same setting. For a North Carolina pizza stop with a focused identity, choose your courses deliberately and give dinner room in your schedule to be more than a quick errand.
Address: 707 Trade St NW, Winston-Salem, NC 27101
9. The Old Fourth Street Filling Station, Winston-Salem, NC
A covered terrace can turn the choice of restaurant into a choice of where to spend your afternoon. The Old Fourth Street Filling Station pairs that outdoor option with an indoor fireplace and a New American menu.
Shrimp and grits, seafood pasta, and jambalaya give you several seafood-centered routes through the menu. A steak sandwich or flank steak offers another direction when your appetite isn’t pointing toward fish or shellfish.
Calamari can start the meal, while the Filling Station salad offers a different opening or lighter choice. The menu includes a lunch portion of shrimp and grits, which helps distinguish a midday order from evening plans.
Reservations are accepted and recommended for dinner and brunch, so make arrangements when the meal has a firm place in your schedule. Sunday service ends in midafternoon rather than extending through dinner.
Outdoor tables allow dogs, making the terrace relevant when your outing includes a canine companion. A children’s menu and high chairs add useful options for families dining together.
Takeout is available when you need the food without the full sit-down occasion. Otherwise, choose between the terrace and the fireplace-warmed dining room, then give that seafood pasta or steak sandwich your undivided attention.
Address: 871 W 4th St, Winston-Salem, NC 27101
10. Midtown Cafe & Dessertery, Winston-Salem, NC
A dessert case can make a convincing argument for skipping straight to the end of the meal. Midtown Cafe & Dessertery started in 1987 as a small dessert shop and has since grown into a full cafe in Stratford Village.
More than 30 desserts, including homemade cakes, remain the headline attraction. Picking your slice before ordering the main course is a perfectly reasonable strategy here.
Breakfast is served all day, with scratch-made pancakes among the reasons to visit before noon or well after it.
Sandwiches, salads, and soups cover lunch, while comfort dinners and seasonal entrees take over later in the day.
The family-owned cafe has been voted the Triad’s best for both breakfast and desserts, a combination that suits a lazy weekend morning or a casual dinner with dessert in mind.
An outdoor patio adds another seating choice, and takeout works when you’d rather enjoy that cake at home.
Address: 151 S Stratford Rd, Winston-Salem, NC 27104