Leo's House of Thirst

Asheville, North Carolina

Leo's House of Thirst is West Asheville's neighborhood wine bar, in a nine-hundred-square-foot cinderblock building that sits behind a giant tree on Haywood Road. It comes from Drew Wallace, who founded The Admiral and The Bull and Beggar, and the building spent two years being peeled back to its bones and rebuilt, keeping its quirks and letting the light pour in. Leo's calls itself a supernatural wine bar, choosing bottles from farmers and producers who care about place. Chef Austin Inselmann's seasonal menu suits anything from a sunny glass with a few bites to a long dinner with friends, with espresso and brunch earlier in the day. Guests spread across a front patio, a courtyard and a back porch.