WOW. We did not have reservations and although it was a Monday night, the place was packed with no reserved table available. We sat upstairs at the open seating overlooking the kitchen and could not have been more perfectly situated. We had a superb view of the works of art coming out of the kitchen and of all the entire second floor dining area. It was perfect for us, as I was there with one of my best girlfriends, catching up while she visited NC for a conference. We ordered the Cheese, meats and olive tray that the waiter offered to put together for us, and he did flawlessly. It contained fabulous pickled cauliflower and out of this world mustard and bread to pair with the items- it was wonderful! For dinner, I had the Hanger Steak and she had the scallops; we paired with sides of spinach and OUT OF THIS WORLD MAC and CHEESE! I'm not exaggerating- this mac and cheese was literally the best I've ever had in my life. To die for! The wait staff, hostess, runners, bussers and kitchen staff were all friendly and engaging- we enjoyed how busy the hum of the restaurant was but it never affected our service and we will return when in Charlotte downtown. Fabulous!