Bittersweet

Raleigh, North Carolina

James Beard Award semifinalist for Outstanding Bar in 2024.

Bittersweet is a cocktail, dessert and coffee lounge on East Martin Street in downtown Raleigh, with a gin-heavy back bar, a menu that changes four times a year, espresso from Counter Culture and desserts baked in house from chef-owner Kim Hammer's recipes. It takes no reservations and turns 21 and over after eight, and the James Beard Foundation named it an Outstanding Bar semifinalist in 2024.