Catalina Kitchen + Bar

Catalina Kitchen + Bar opened on 12 September 2023 at 1942 E 7th Street in the Elizabeth on Seventh development, and its lineage is unexpected for Charlotte: it is the first North Carolina restaurant from the Ditka Restaurant Group, the Chicago company that opened its original Ditka's in 1997 and named itself for its partner Mike Ditka, the Hall of Fame player and Bears head coach. The Charlotte room runs to 5,800 square feet with booths, high-tops, bar seating and a patio, next door to Rosemont and across from Puerta, with free parking in the Elizabeth on 7th garage — genuinely useful in that part of town. The cooking is coastal comfort food at upper-casual prices: a half-pound Ditka Burger with aged cheddar at $18, seafood tagliatelle with bay scallops, lump crab and shrimp at $26, a Sonoma chicken salad at $21 for dinner and $15 at lunch, and a 40-day wet-aged ribeye. Happy hour runs weekdays from 3pm to 6pm with fresh-shucked oysters at $2.50 each.

The zero-proof drinks have their own printed heading and are priced flat at $11, and two of the four are built on Lyre's rather than juice. Almost Rita uses Lyre's non-alcoholic blanco with cold-pressed lime and agave — a straight margarita build with the tequila swapped rather than a sweetened substitute. No-Jito pairs Lyre's non-alcoholic white cane with mint and cold-pressed lime. The other two are made from scratch ingredients: a Hibiscus Rose Fizz of hibiscus-infused water, rose and ginger beer, and a Lavender Lemonade combining lemonade with a lavender-infused syrup, cold-pressed lemon and fizzy water. Both of those carry a printed option to add rum or vodka for $4, which is a small but genuinely thoughtful piece of menu design: it means a mixed table can order the same drink and only some of them take the spirit. Best Day Brewing's non-alcoholic Kölsch is $6. There is no non-alcoholic wine on the list.