Southern comfort food shines with old favorites from the former SouthPark location, plus lots of new menu items.
By Michael J. Solender
In a welcome revival, Dogwood Southern Table & Bar debuts as the showcase dining venue at the Westin Charlotte.
The contemporary southern-comfort-food restaurant serves lunch, dinner and “in-between and late-night” snacks seven days a week. It’s all part of a $25 million renovation at the uptown hotel.
Fans of the family-owned and -operated Rare Roots Hospitality Group (Dressler’s, Fin & Fino, Joan’s, The Porter’s House, Chapter 6, and Dressler’s Improv Kitchen) will be delighted at the return of Dogwood, a stalwart in SouthPark’s Sharon Square for almost a decade from 2014-2023.
“We’re ecstatic that Dogwood is coming out of retirement, and even more ecstatic with the grandeur that comes with it being a part of The Westin’s upfit,” says Rare Roots co-owner Jon Dressler.
Former Dogwood favorites reappear on the menu, which is designed to appeal to visitors and locals alike, including: Duck and Dumplings (confit duck, pickled mirepoix and house dumplings), their fabled Hushpuppies, Oysters (charbroiled or on the half shell) and Baked Pimento Cheese Bites with tomato jam.
New menu items range from a Pork Shank with roasted vegetables, winter spices and pork jus to a Crispy Carolina Catfish with maque choux and chow chow. Rare Roots Hospitality executive chef Scott Hollingsworth designed the menu, and Dogwood executive chef Westley Treme and his culinary team will bring it to life.
On the snack menu available between lunch and dinner, guests can sample Dogwood’s Bacon Jam, the pimento bites, wings, salads and a Hot Roast Beef Sandwich.
Light, open and airy, the large dining room is lined with cozy booths and conversational seating areas. Floor-to-ceiling windows deliver unobstructed views of College Street and Brooklyn Village Avenue. A grand horseshoe-shaped bar is central to the action and certain to attract the after-work crowd. The specialty craft cocktail list was put together by Charlotte cocktail savant, Brittany “BK” Kellum. SP
Photos courtesy The Plaid Penguin
