UNPRETENTIOUS REVIEW
Barrington’s Restaurant
4.5The Basics
- Neighborhood: South Charlotte
- Cuisine: New American
- Price range: $$$
- Good for: Easy parking | Local sourcing | Someone else is paying | Special occasions
- We dig: Consistency from the kitchen and wait staff
- Downers: The quiet dining room can feel low-energy
- Must order: The seasonal soup
- Beverage focus: A classic wine list
- People to know: Executive chef Bruce Moffett
- Superlatives: Unpretentious Picks: Restaurants for Wine Lovers
- Phone: (704) 364-5755
- Website: https://www.barringtonsrestaurant.com/
Last updated: December 6, 2023
In the Weeds
Bruce Moffett’s second restaurant, Good Food on Montford, may get more national attention, but it was his first effort, Barrington’s Restaurant, that helped turn the city’s culinary reputation around. Moffett knew that a memorable dining experience started with the ingredients, and fought to find local, fresh purveyors at a time when most seafood came in to town frozen. Chefs such as Tim Groody, one of the earliest supporters of the local food movement, guided him to farmers markets and producers, and Moffett began to teach diners the importance of better sourcing.
That was in 2000, and even as the city’s restaurant boom continues, Barrington’s continues to be among the best. Perhaps the strongest indicator of how good this place is — and I know, this sounds odd — is the soup.
Soup is easy to overlook as something you eat out of a can when you’re sick. At Barrington’s, it’s a course you shouldn’t skip. Moffett’s ability to layer flavors helps him create soups that are comforting yet complex, and don’t feel overly heavy. In every dish, Barrington’s is dependable; you can be certain that your meal will be cooked properly, with scallops that are tender between seared ends or a strip steak done as ordered. The menu encourages a traditional coursed meal, with shared or solo appetizers and pastas (house-made and indulgent) as well as entrees.
The intimate dining room is decorated with natural materials and seaside tones, and photographs of Rhode Island taken by Moffett’s wife, Katrina, hang on the walls. Named after the town he grow up in, Barrington’s evokes that feeling of a walking out of the chilly breeze into your regular bistro on a New England night, even when it’s a Southern hot and humid one.
Barrington’s has kept the reputation it earned when it first opened, that of a go-to spot for special occasions. That used to make sense; in 2000, it was one of the most expensive places in town. It’s time to revisit that reputation. The cost of an entrée is in the same range as you’ll find at Sea Level or Stoke, which aren’t grouped into the birthday-or-bust bracket. The perception that it’s at a high price point perpetuates a clientele that doesn’t mind spending more money, but Barrington’s, with local sourcing and a small dining room, should be on every local’s dining itinerary.
