Bardo brings small plates and cocktails to the Gold District

After 10 years of friendship and six years of talking about opening a restaurant, Jayson Whiteside and Michael Noll have opened the restaurant on South Mint Street.

While they originally thought about creating a burger and beer sports bar, the two decided to shift focus to an open kitchen concept serving sharable dishes.

The menu currently consists of 13 small plates and three desserts, but everything is subject to change.

Michael, a Pittsburgh native, is head chef and taking care of things in the kitchen, while Jayson, originally from Asheville, manages the front of the house.

Behind the bar is the well-known and very talented Amanda Britton, who previously crafted cocktails for 204 North.

The team aims to help push Charlotte to be a “really good food city” with the addition of Bardo, which is basically a “simple concept with good food,” said Jayson.

And in case you were wondering, “bardo” refers to the “transformation from death to rebirth.”

Now, on to the food and drinks.

As Jayson puts it, they hope your experience at Bardo helps you leave in a different place than when you arrived (which it will: very happy and perfectly full).

Bardo is located at 1508 South Mint Street and is open Tuesday through Thursday, 5-10 p.m. and Friday-Sunday, 5 p.m.-1 a.m. Connect on Facebook and Instagram.