Best Bars and Taprooms in Asheville
Asheville, North Carolina — updated August 22, 2026
Eight Asheville bars, taprooms and late-serving pastry counters, ordered by how much evidence sits behind each rating.
Listings verified
Asheville's drinking scene splits along geography: the South Slope brewery district, the compact downtown grid around Patton and Broadway, and the strip out Tunnel Road toward East Asheville. The list below is ordered by how settled each rating is, so the places with thousands of reviews come before the ones still building a record. Note that several of these run as day cafes before they run as bars, which changes when you should show up.
1. La Rumba Restaurant Latino
The strongest combination of score and volume on this list: 4.8 across more than 1,500 reviews, which is a rating that has been tested rather than one that got lucky with an early crowd. It sits at 105 River Hills Rd, Ste C, out east of downtown rather than in the walkable core, so plan on driving. Listed as a restaurant first, which means the bar side comes attached to a full kitchen. If you want the highest-confidence pick in Asheville and are willing to leave the downtown grid to get it, start here.
2. Burial Beer Co. South Slope Taproom
The anchor of the South Slope brewery walk, holding 4.7 across more than 2,100 reviews. That volume matters: a taproom that busy sees a lot of first-time visitors, and a 4.7 that survives them is a real number rather than a soft one. The address is 40 Collier Ave, within stumbling distance of the rest of the South Slope, which makes it the logical first or last stop on a crawl. Expect it to be busiest on weekend evenings when the district fills up. Check the taproom page before a special-release trip.
3. Cúrate Bar de Tapas
A dedicated tapas bar at 13 Biltmore Ave, rated 4.7 from more than 1,100 reviews, which puts it among the best-documented bar rooms downtown. The bar de tapas format means the counter is the point, not an afterthought to a dining room, so solo drinkers and pairs do better here than large groups. It is central enough to be a walk from most downtown hotels. Given the review volume and the location, weekend evenings are the hardest slot to walk into; go earlier or on a weeknight if you want the bar itself.
4. The Times Bar & Coffee Shop
Rated 4.8 from 579 reviews, the highest score downtown among the smaller-sample places here. The dual format is the appeal: coffee shop during the day, bar later, at 56 Patton Ave in the middle of the downtown grid. That makes it useful as both a morning stop and an evening one without changing neighborhoods. The sample is a fraction of Burial's, so treat the 4.8 as promising rather than proven, but 579 reviews is well past the point where a handful of friendly ratings could be propping it up.
5. Luminosa
Also 4.8, from 520 reviews, on the ground floor at 20 Battery Park Ave. Battery Park puts it a block off the busiest downtown stretch, which tends to mean an easier door on a Friday than the Biltmore Avenue rooms get. The rating is essentially tied with The Times, and the sample is similar in size: strong, consistent, but not yet in the thousand-review tier where a score stops moving. Worth booking ahead or arriving early if a specific evening matters, since the room is a single floor.
6. Filo Pastries & Post 70 Indulgence Bar
The clearest schedule on this list, and the reason to plan around it. Filo runs as a bakery and coffee counter Monday and Tuesday from 7 AM to 4 PM, Wednesday through Friday from 7 AM to 9 PM, Saturday from 8 AM to 9 PM, and Sunday from 9 AM to 3 PM. The Post 70 bar side operates Wednesday through Saturday, 5 to 9 PM, serving savory small plates, flatbreads and craft cocktails alongside beer and wine. Rated 4.7 from 889 reviews. It is out at 1155 Tunnel Rd in East Asheville. Sunday and Monday nights are not options.
7. Hi-Wire Brewing - Biltmore Village
The Biltmore Village outpost, at 2A Huntsman Pl, rated 4.7 from 407 reviews. That is the thinnest record here, so the score is encouraging rather than settled, but 4.7 holding across 400-plus visits is a reasonable bet. The value of this one is location: Biltmore Village sits south of downtown near the Biltmore Estate entrance, which makes it the convenient taproom for anyone spending the day there rather than on the South Slope. Independent of the downtown crawl, so it stays calmer when the city center is full.
8. Old Europe Pastries
The most reviewed place on this list, 4.7 from more than 2,400 reviews, but it earns those on pastry and coffee more than on drinks. It has been a European patisserie and coffee shop in downtown Asheville since 1994, at 18 Broadway St, with breakfast pastries, quiche and blueberry muffins on the menu. Include it if your evening involves dessert and a late coffee rather than a full bar program. The phone is (828) 255-5999, and the daily menu is posted online, which is the fastest way to see what is available before you walk over.