Carpe Diem

Really enjoyed this restaurant! Food was good and everyone in my party enjoyed their meal. The cocktails were very good and reasonably priced. This is one of my favorites in Charlotte. Mushroom Bolognese pasta was terrific.

I was on a business trip a few weeks ago and this restaurant was on my list of places to eat. The restaurant is located in the Elizabeth area; only about 6 – 8 miles from downtown. I showed up for my reservation on a Monday evening and got seated without a problem.
I gave this restaurant –2 stars because they unfortunately did not have the entrée I wanted to order. I was annoyed because I really wanted to try their «DUCK CONFIT». Server told me that a guest complained that it was too salty and that was the reason they stopped serving it for the day.
Of course I had to come back the next day because one of the workers was kind enough to GUARANTEE that they will be serving DUCK CONFIT. Duck confit is known as a famous French dish that uses the whole duck. The restaurant’s version is a «chicken and waffles» style. The dish consisted of a fried duck leg with kale and maple syrup on top of a pumpkin waffle. Overall, very rich and fancy. The food was really good and one of the best duck dishes I’ve had. If I’m ever back in Charlotte, I’d give this place another try.

Went here midweek with work mates to celebrate a successful first big meeting. I was hoping for a place with great food and a fun and modern ambiance. Unfortunately we found it to be a bit of a miss. When we walked in the restaurant décor seems dated, or perhaps just generic. The tables were oddly oriented in the room and despite there being space elsewhere in the restaurant we were seated directly in front of the swinging door to the kitchen. Then there was the food. The goat cheese salad was overdressed and somewhat soggy; the kale caesar and beet salad were marginally better. I had the venison as a main which was average and oversalted; others had the friend chicken which was not at all crispy and so was a big disappointment. We didn’t order dessert because we were disappointed in the meal and weren’t really up for another round.

Ordered a $ 52 bottle of wine which was on sale for half, got the warm goat cheese salad which was pure joy, ordered the pork tenderloin with the egg on top and it was awesome. Ordered the coconut pie for dessert, amazing. So the meal was so great I took several clients the next night. I made everyone get the warm goat cheese salad, which was a hit, I ordered the venison which was awesome but I got a side of mashed potatoes which filled me up, don’t think I would have got full without it! Lots of filet mignon was ordered. And someone got the fried chicken which was great I heard. I definitely recommend to bring parties here over the same old restaurants!

4.5 stars, rounded up for excellent service.
Lovely restaurant owned by two sisters for the last 20-​something years in the Elizabeth area. Their menu is what adrove me to bookmark this spot and eventually try it out today, finally! A short Über ride later, we arrived to an almost-​empty restaurant on a Tuesday evening, which eventually became more filled as the evening went on. The crowd seemed like the business crew, since I recognized all the finance and tech speak that was going around at all the tables.
Our server was extremely friendly, patient, and helpful. She always kept coming back to check on us — gotta love that Southern hospitality!
We started off with 3 appetizers:
— Grilled octopus — probably one of the smallest pieces of grilled octopus in the form of an appetizer I’ve ever seen. However, it was of a good texture and cooked fairly well, though it could have been slightly more tender.
— Beef carpaccio — I would not recommend this if you are not a mustard fan. It’s covered in a tangy, slightly spicy mustard. The beef itself is sliced so thin that you hardly taste anything except the mustard — probably the only downside of this dish.
— Mussels — the broth is flavorful and different from the typical white wine and garlic both and the crostini that came with it was amazing. However, I just wasn’t all that impressed by the mussels — they could have been infused with more flavor from the broth and the texture of the mussels were way softer than I am used to — they basically fell apart when I tried to take them out of the shell.
Overall, I’d have to say the apps were a 3 – 4 star quality in my personal opinion.
For my entrée, I chose the venison, cooked medium rare and loved it. Everything about this dish was good, from the well-​seasoned, perfectly cooked venison to the very flavorful kale and pancetta. This dish is quite a bit tangy what with the wine/​grape sauce, but I love tangy food so this was great for me.
We went a little wild on dessert and ordered three. The toasted coconut cake with ice cream was nothing short of amazing and was my favorite item of the desserts. It was a very moist cake with cream cheese frosting and not too sweet. It was also HUGE. It went very well with the spicy pineapple and cold ice cream. YUM. I would definitely go there and get just this again. The crème brûlée was pretty standard — it had a great vanilla bean flavor to it. Unfortunately, I didn’t try the shortbread cookie. The mexican hot chocolate cake was just too chocolately and rich for me, and thus I did not have much. Definitely, definitely go for the coconut cake when you’re there. 5 stars for this.
Great experience here — would recommend to business travelers and tourists to CLT!

So good everything was amazing!
Must get the fried chicken, it come with yummy mashed potatoes and spinach which was ok tasted better mixed with the chicken!
Pork tenderloins were good to! The egg on top made it all come together!
For dessert mexican cake and coffee ice cream!
I will be coming back!

It didn’t blow my mind but it was good food. Nothing memorable to make me want to come back to try another dish, which is why it’s downgraded to a four-​star.
Fancy interior and cuisine!

Wow what a fun night! We had the scallops and duck confit and both were unbelievable. It was pricy but we went all out with a bottle of wine, carpaccio, main course, coconut cake, and after dinner espressos with baileys. Great ambiance and amazing food. Go here!

We were visiting charlotte for a few days and had dinner here with some friends. We started with the ahi tuna appetizer which was perfectly cooked. I had the salmon with asparagus dinner and my husband had the fried chicken with mashed potatoes. Both were delicious. We ended the evening with the chocolate torte which was amazing. Normally I would take a bite or two, but I could have eaten the entire dessert.

Came here for dinner and were overall impressed with both the food and service. Started with the cheese plate which was great, and the wine list was decent as well. We ordered a variety of entrees, and the only memorable issue was the fried chicken came out a little colder than expected. Will be coming back here again.

I recently had a Christmas company luncheon and to my surprise Carpe Diem catered. I’ve always wanted to try Carpe Diem but never got the chance and was a little afraid to have a catered service as my first experience. To my surprise, the food and the serving staff were brilliant! I loved the chicken that was served, it had a great spinach alfredo stuffing. The pasta shells and meatballs were also delicious. The sides consisted of garlic bread and assorted steamed veggies, the veggies could have been seasoned better. The side salad was tossed well with a good amount of dressing and had a great crunch. All in all, they rocked the savory dishes. The dessert consisted of lemon curd bars and blueberry crumble squares, they were a little sweet for my taste.
But, the servers that came with the catered service made the experience ten times better! I was so impressed with how nice and attentive they were for a small catered luncheon. Thanks for the great experience, this will definitely bring me in for a regular sit down service.

«Outstanding!» As my husband said during a birthday dinner we had. The food was worth every penny. We started out with the seared tuna as an appetizer. Our entrees were the buttermilk fried chicken and filet of beef, both were amazing. The sautéed kale with the filet was exceptional. For dessert we ordered the fruit cobbler, which for that time of the year it was blackberry and very delicious. None of the food was too heavy, so you don’t feel overbearingly stuffed when you leave but just right!

I’m not familiar with that part of town, so was a little disoriented upon arrival about where I could park (once I left the restaurant though, I noticed the huge lot across the street). Suggest perhaps you mention that on your website as I tried to do a little investigation before I left and didn’t see anything.
Otherwise it was an amazing experience.
From a perfectly made cocktail to start with, to great service and great food, I enjoyed it all.
The atmosphere was beautiful and warm.
I admittedly am a little sensitive to having servers try to whisk my plate away when I lay my fork down. I am dining, and take a break occasionally to enjoy the company I am with and savor my meal. But, it was a minor distraction.
I look forward to returning and trying more menu items.

Three words; get the chicken. Insanely good, and worth every penny. Our server told us that there have been Facebook groups in tribute to this chicken. A true five star experience from start to finish. I cannot wait to go back!

I’ve heard a great deal of hype about Carpe Diem, and I confess, it is warranted. Great family-​owned restaurant and great experience all around.
It is clear that this restaurant does well, and has many regulars who attend. The food and service was top notch. You never have to worry about having an empty water glass, or even bread bowl. They will refill your bread bowl infinite times (huge plus). I thought the bread was decent — could have been seasoned more (I say this despite the fact I ate 3 pieces).
They have an extensive cocktail list — all between $ 10 and $ 12. They don’t offer a huge selection of wines by the glass; probably 4 – 5 glass options of red and white. You’re better off ordering a bottle.
I came in set on ordering the fried chicken because that is what people rave about and it’s been on their menu for 20+ years. I was mentally prepared to not even look at other options. However, I then glanced at the menu and saw the duck confit option over pumpkin waffles that couldn’t be ignored — so we were set on that. And then, I was just craving some scallops.
The crispy fried duck confit leg should be your go to choice. It comes over two triangle pumpkin waffles with maple butter, atop crispy kale. I don’t know how, but somehow the kale works in this dish, and works well. The crispy duck is amazing fall off the bone. It was so tender and flavorful. I had to just take a few bites off the duck confit itself to savor the flavor. I don’t mean to undermine the scallops in this review. They were still very delicious — atop a medium sized crunchy piece of pancetta, a handful of brussel sprouts and parsnip purée. SO GOOD! But the duck confit wins in originality, creativity and all around awesomeness.
we didn’t get dessert this time — maybe next time. I’ll be back, Carpe Diem!

We came here on a Saturday evening for a dinner date. A bit dressy here so I’d recommend looking nice. The service is impeccable– the waiters were always checking in on us. The food was good– I had the mushroom bolognese with shrimp with a side of sautéed spinach. For dessert I had the Crème brûlée which was delicious. All in all, I recommend to try it out.

Really good experience here, but not going to be my newest food addiction. The house salad included strawberries, feta cheese, and pumpkin seeds, which I inhaled. They had enough salt/​pepper on the salad as well as balsamic dressing done right. I also had the shrimp & grits, which had pinto beans. That was unique, but flavored well and the shrimp were large and w/​out a tail. A vegetarian option that subbed mushroom for shrimp was available. My friend had the duck confit and was pleased. Their butter for the bread was a bit salty. Service was great, as the waitress had an impressive command over an expansive menu. Drinks were tasty, but weak. Overall, I see why this place is hyped. Everything was really flavorful and made from quality ingredients and the service is second to none.

Living in the Chantilly area, this is a family favorite. More often than not, we carry out, but we’ve also dined in a number of times.
Carpe Diem is located on the amazing strip in Elizabeth, along with Customshop, Passion 8, Viva Chicken and Earl’s grocery to name a few. The restaurant is quite large with a large bar area up front that is great to get a drink or have a more casual dinner. The dining room is nice and quite formal though you can easily get away with nice jeans and a collared shirt.
The menu is fantastic. We’ve never had anything we don’t like. A few favorites… fried chicken and scallops. In my opinion, this is the best fried chicken in Charlotte. Amazing crust, very tender and juicy. It is served with mashed potatoes and a pepper gravy. The scallops are my wife’s favorite. Tender, always great texture (important with scallops).

I had been wanting to try this place out since I first got to Charlotte so when I saw they were participating in restaurant week I made a reservation right away ($ 30 for a 3 courses). We came here last Saturday night with our friend Paul who had never been here before either.
While RW can sometimes take away from the experience certain restaurants would typically provide, it’s a great opportunity to see what the restaurant might be all about without walking out of there with a $ 200 tab. What it really comes down to at a place like Carpe Diem, $ 30 would typically get you just an entrée. So you can look at it however you would like, but pretty much just tell myself that I get a free appetizer and desert with my meal.
All 3 of us participated in the 3 for $ 30 — However, since they were offer their full menu as well, we started our meal by sharing the seared rare tuna as well as the steamed mussels. Both were VERY good.
I then had the potato soup. It had a little bit of truffle oil and what they call «duck bacon». Paul and I both agreed that there is only one type of bacon in this world and it comes from animal that goes «oink oink» haha. With that said, the soup was tasty and of course I inhaled the entire thing. I then had the pork chop — I would have to say this this was just average. However the mashed dumpling squash that came with it was very very good. It might have been the highlight of the entire entrée. I had a bite of the hanger steak as well as the fried chicken and those were both delicious. Of the 3 entrees that came out I would say the pork chop came in last place.
For dessert I had the coffee crème brulee. For my liking, the top was a little over cooked/​torched — I really had to press down to break it with my spoon — but I didn’t mind it. The custard was delicious so it kind of makes up for it.
Since meeting Paul, he’s been really teaching us a whole lot when it come to wine. There’s a reason why he’s the «wine guy». He’s picked up on the types that we like and brought a GREAT bottle of wine to dinner for all of us to enjoy (THANKS PAUL!!) Overall, I had a great evening and I got to enjoy CD with GREAT COMPANY.
I can’t wait to come back and try this place again!

Beautiful! Romantic! GREAT Service! Fantastic FOOD! Impress a Date or Client! Funny, I have Never taken a Date here yet! So it is a nice place to take a MaleFriend and have a quiet Dinner! Not as Pricey as you would think for the Total Experience!
Beef is usually what I want here and I have tasted many of the other dishes my Friends have ordered… Entrees are Meals (not a la carte) and a VALUE for the Quality! Potato (dish) many different ones, sometimes a Potato Pasta… One time we got here so early (5:00 PM) the Chef had not decided what he was going to do and let us decide… (Thin Cut Fries… YES!!!) this is a Funny place to order Fries I know and though they were good, I would rather the Chef use his Ideas, Imagination, Recipes or the internet over mine!
Salad Dressings are so good it is hard to choose! I have enjoyed them ALL!
Food here is Better than Del Frisco’s (I will NOT be reviewing Del Frisco’s) I have eaten at both in the Same Week! The Sauces here are better than «The Palm»! Value, Service and Desserts Here is better than Both!!!