A tasting-menu-only restaurant is coming to Charlotte next year. Chef Sam Hart and Erin Skaryak, who will oversee the restaurant’s wine program and front-of-house, are hoping to open Anomaly by next summer in Dilworth. In the meantime, they’ll give previews of the restaurant as pop-up dinner experiences, starting in December.

Hart and Skaryak, who worked together at Foxcroft Wine Co., are both Charlotte-area natives and have spent time in bigger cities working in the hospitality industry. Skaryak came back home after living in San Francisco, Chicago, Portland, and Brooklyn.

“When I moved back down to Charlotte about four years ago, I was a little disappointed in the food scene and the fact that they’re some great restaurants but nothing really inspiring for me, especially the wine scene,” she says.

Hart worked most recently in Chicago in the kitchens at some of the city’s Michelin-starred restaurants, including Alinea, Grant Achatz’s modern tasting menu-only concept. Hart hopes to bring what he learned to Anomaly, named for the different kind of experience they hope to offer guests in Charlotte.

“What has yet to take place [in Charlotte] is a restaurant that curates an entire experience for the individual guest,” he says. “And that is what we want to do — everything from the way that the space is designed to the lighting of the space, the individual plates, the wine. We’re even going to have a set soundtrack for every single tasting, so even the music is curated for every individual plate. Everything is going to be coming together to make this the best possible experience for the individual guest.”

The tasting menu can be ordered as either 10 or 15 courses, with wine pairings available in three price levels. The kitchen will be enclosed with a U-shaped bar, and guests will be served directly from one of the three chefs working. The dishes are meant to be interactive; the chefs will be close enough to have conversations with their guests throughout the meal.

“There’s a wall constantly up with that in the food and beverage industry and we’d like to bring that wall down,” Skaryak says of the concept.

When Anomaly opens, the restaurant will offer only one seating time for 15 guests and a lower price point of $95 for the 10-course tasting menu. After they’ve gotten used to service, they’ll switch to two seating times, an earlier 10-course dinner for $120 and a later 15-course option ($175). Wine pairings will change daily and range from $30 for the lower tier of pairings to $100 for a reserve pairing. Skaryak says not to expect a wine list; instead, if you prefer to order a bottle, she’ll select one from the cellar for you based on your preferences.

Until the restaurant opens, pop-ups will be held at locations disclosed leading up to the event. The first pop-up will take place on Dec. 12 at 7 p.m., and costs $115. Wine pairings are an additional $35. (Editor’s note: the first night sold out, so a second has been added on Dec. 10). We checked out a preview dinner (editor’s disclosure: we were invited as guests), and had a lot of fun with Hart’s whimsical menu and thought Skaryak’s pairings were unexpected yet nearly flawless. The experience will certainly be a new one for Charlotte — and a welcome addition. Planning on checking out the pop-up? The first ten UP subscribers to purchase a ticket using the code MIXTAPE will get $20 off tickets. —Kristen Wile

 

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