12 Winston-Salem, North Carolina Hole-In-The-Wall Restaurants Only The Regulars Know About
The parking lot may be tiny. The sign might look older than your car.
None of that matters once lunch hits the table.
Winston-Salem has a whole category of restaurants that seem completely uninterested in impressing anyone from the sidewalk. They are busy doing something else: keeping regulars fed.
That usually means you notice the clues after you walk in.
A counter with familiar faces. A menu that has not been redesigned to death.
Someone ordering without looking because they already know exactly what they came for.
These North Carolina spots earn loyalty the old-fashioned way, one meal at a time.
You may find hot dogs with a local following, tortillas made by hand, or barbecue that smells like the decision has already been made for you.
Fancy lighting is optional. Knowing what to order is not. And if you walk into one of these places and immediately feel like everybody else has been coming there for twenty years, congratulations.
You probably found the right door.
12. P.B.’s Takeout
A smiling hot dog painted across the storefront tells you everything about the mood inside this little takeout counter. P.B.’s Takeout sits at 1412 S Hawthorne Rd, a small building that has served neighborhood lunches since the 1960s.
The dining space is snug, with counter seating that puts you close to the sizzle of the flat-top grill.
Warm weather opens up another option, since picnic tables outside give you room to spread out a tray of fries. The menu keeps things classic: all-beef hot dogs on toasted buns, cheese dogs, hamburgers, and buffalo wings.
Chili is the topping of choice, thick and savory over a snappy frank.
Sides run from crispy French fries to tater tots and chili cheese fries, all easy to share. Save room for a pie, warmed until the crust turns golden and the filling goes soft and sweet.
One practical note before you go: this spot takes cash only, so plan ahead. Prices stay friendly, which explains the steady stream of workers and families at midday.
11. Pulliam Hotdogs
Few restaurants can trace their beginnings back to 1910, yet this counter stop has fed the community since then. Vintage signs and decades of memorabilia cover the walls of the modest building, giving the room the feel of a time capsule.
You will find it at 4400 Old Walkertown Rd, where the parking area often doubles as the dining room.
Seating is delightfully informal. There are no booths or picnic tables, though a few tree stumps offer a place to sit while you unwrap lunch.
Many regulars simply eat in their cars, paper wrapper spread across the steering wheel.
The hot dogs are bright red franks, a signature of this corner of North Carolina, and most people order them all the way with chili and slaw on a butter-toasted bun. The result is tangy, sweet, and savory in one bite.
Barbecue sandwiches and chips round out the short menu, and the doors are open Tuesday through Saturday.
Over a century of practice shows in how quickly the orders come together at the window.
10. Kermit’s Hot Dog House
Breakfast is the quiet secret here, served long before the lunch crowd files in for hot dogs. Eggs, bacon, and country ham come off the grill each morning, filling the room with the smell of coffee and sizzling meat.
The address is 2220 Thomasville Rd, a plain roadside stop that has been part of the local food scene since the 1960s.
Midday brings the namesake hot dogs, dressed simply and served fast. Crinkle-cut fries arrive hot, their ridges built to hold onto ketchup or chili.
Nothing on the menu pretends to be clever, and nobody wants it to be. Space inside is limited, so arriving a bit before noon beats waiting in a line.
Dessert deserves its own mention. Homemade peach pie gets warmed right on the grill until the edges caramelize slightly and the fruit turns jammy, a small trick that makes an ordinary slice memorable.
Doors open Monday through Saturday for breakfast and lunch, which makes it an easy stop whether you are heading out early or breaking up a busy afternoon.
9. Slappy’s Chicken
Order the chicken Carolina dipped and you will understand why people drive across town for it. Each crisp piece gets lowered into a spicy-sweet sauce that balances vinegar, pepper, and just enough sugar, tasting like barbecue and hot sauce reached a friendly agreement.
You can ask for it fully dipped, double dipped, or with the sauce served on the side.
The shack itself is small and unfussy. Find it at 200 W Acadia Ave, where outdoor picnic tables serve as the dining room and the fryer does the talking.
Under the sauce, the crust stays crackly while the meat below stays juicy.
Sides lean Southern and generous: Cheez-It mac and cheese, baked beans, collard greens, potato salad, and cool coleslaw. Soft rolls help catch every last drop of sauce.
Dessert pies appear from time to time, including a pineapple refrigerator pie that tastes like something from a family reunion table.
Bring napkins, plenty of them, because dipped chicken is not a tidy meal. Sauce on the side keeps the crust crunchier, a trick worth knowing on a first visit.
8. Real Q
The guiding line here is simple: if it ain’t over wood, it ain’t as good, and the woodpile behind the building backs it up. Pork shoulders cook slowly overnight over wood fires, which is why every serving arrives fresh and dripping with juice.
The address is 4885 Country Club Rd, and the dining room stays plain on purpose.
Walls covered in Winston-Salem memorabilia give the space a hometown feel. Lexington-style traditions shape the menu, with chopped, coarse chopped, and sliced plates alongside chopped and coarse chopped sandwiches.
The pork comes smothered in a secret sauce built for tang.
Sides matter just as much in this style of North Carolina barbecue: red slaw with its peppery bite, creamy cole slaw, hush puppies, French fries, baked beans, and green beans. Burgers, hot dogs, and marinated chicken salad fill out the board for anyone not craving pork.
Show up on a Wednesday and ribs join the lineup.
Smoke drifts across the parking lot long before you reach the door, which is the best advertisement a barbecue joint can have.
7. Grecian Corner
Avgolemono soup makes a fine opening act, its lemony broth thickened with chicken and rice until it coats the spoon. Greek plates share space with Italian favorites and American sandwiches, all coming from a kitchen inside a compact storefront.
Look for it at 101 Eden Terrace St, where the lunch crowd turns over quickly.
Chicken souvlaki arrives charred at the edges, the meat still tender inside. Gyro slices are cut thin and dressed simply, while spanakopita brings flaky layers around a soft spinach filling.
Salads, pasta dishes, and sandwiches such as smoked turkey with Swiss or a classic Reuben widen the options considerably.
Homemade zucchini patties make a side worth adding, crisp outside and tender in the middle. Dessert leans indulgent, with a hot fudge brownie under a melting scoop of ice cream.
Readers of the Winston-Salem Journal have named the restaurant a best Greek and Mediterranean spot and a best lunch stop, honors that suit a kitchen this consistent.
Portions run large enough that half a gyro often travels home in a box for later.
6. O’Brien’s Deli
Some sandwich shops earn their following one lunch order at a time. This one, at 4001 Country Club Rd, builds a Reuben O’Brien with lean corned beef brisket, sauerkraut, Swiss cheese, spicy brown mustard, and Russian dressing on marble rye.
The Cuban is another standby, pressed until the edges turn crisp.
Turkey melts, French dips, steak Philly, chicken Philly, and a vegetable panini fill out the board. You can also build your own combination, choosing bread, meat, and toppings as you like.
The side cooler is where things get interesting. Potato salad, German potato salad, coleslaw, broccoli salad, cucumber salad, roasted vegetables, macaroni salad, spicy sesame noodles, and Mediterranean pasta salad rotate through.
Green salads offer a lighter route on a warm afternoon.
Dessert is uncomplicated: a chocolate chip cookie or a wedge of New York cheesecake. Take-home dinners and catering make the shop useful on busy weeknights, which is one reason the regulars keep it in steady rotation.
Order early during the noon rush and you will be back at your desk before the hour ends.
5. TJ’s Deli & Grill
The Cham has a name locals say like an inside joke. Deep-fried chicken breast, ham, and provolone stack onto a hamburger bun with lettuce, tomato, and mayonnaise, and the Super Cham does the same on a bigger scale.
Head to 5017 Country Club Rd if you want to see what the fuss is about.
Burgers start with freshly ground chuck cooked to medium-well, which keeps the patties juicy without falling apart. Deli choices include smoked turkey, chicken salad, and a Reuben on rye.
Hot dogs, hoagies, and wraps give the menu extra range.
Appetizers deserve attention here. Fresh-cut onion rings come in a buttermilk batter, and thin-sliced fried potatoes stand in as house chips.
Scratch-made soups rotate as well, with Italian chicken vegetable and cream of chicken and wild rice among them.
Casual and unhurried, it is the sort of counter in North Carolina where lunch stretches longer than planned. Hours were updated in June 2026, so a quick check before heading over saves a wasted trip.
4. 66 Diner
Plain booths, quick coffee refills, and a grill that starts early set the tone at this northeast-side standby. Breakfast anchors the morning, built around eggs, toast, and hot plates delivered without ceremony.
The address is 1133 Old Hollow Rd, an easy pull-off for anyone traveling that stretch of road.
Later in the day, the kitchen leans into Greek-American comfort food, a pairing found in family-run diners all across the region. Nothing about the room tries to look fashionable, and that is exactly the appeal.
Paper menus, steady service, and portions meant to fill you up carry the experience.
Regulars know the routine, sliding into the same seat week after week. Sit near a window, listen to the clatter of plates, and order something simple.
Prices tend to be gentler than downtown, which matters when you are feeding a family.
Still actively serving in 2026, the diner remains a dependable choice for a hearty start to the day or an unhurried midday meal. Weekday mornings move fastest, and a seat usually opens within minutes.
3. Taco Riendo 3
Sharing a parking lot with a gas station and car wash only sharpens the character of this spot. Set at 3619 Reynolda Rd, the kitchen has been feeding the Triad since 2004.
Handmade corn tortillas arrive soft and faintly sweet, and they change everything about the tacos.
Fillings range from roasted beef and chicken to seasoned pork and fried pork, with tacos de tripas waiting for adventurous eaters. Burritos come stuffed and heavy, the carne asada version especially popular.
Gorditas, quesadillas, flautas, and tortas widen the choices for anyone who wants something beyond tacos. Caldo de mariscos is the move on a cool day, a broth full of shrimp and fish that warms you from the inside.
Salsas arrive on the side, so you control how much heat lands on your plate.
Dine-in seating stays cozy rather than polished, with a handful of tables and the smell of griddled meat in the air. Daily hours for 2026 are posted, which makes a spur-of-the-moment stop easy after errands.
Two tacos rarely feel like enough once you taste those tortillas.
2. Papa Lee’s Grill @ Winston Lake
Near the walking paths and ball fields around Winston Lake, a modest grill turns out lunch without fanfare. Hot dogs come loaded with a chili the kitchen calls a secret recipe, thick enough to cling to the bun.
You will find the window at 3535 Winston Lake Rd, an easy stop before or after time outdoors.
Cheeseburgers arrive juicy, with melted cheese slipping over the edges of the patty. Sandwich combos cover beef patties, barbecue, chicken sandwiches, and turkey burgers, so groups rarely argue about where to eat.
Sides are the familiar Southern lineup: fries, fried okra, onion rings, and slaw with a cool crunch. Order a barbecue sandwich with slaw piled right on top for the full effect.
Sweet tea belongs alongside it.
Current hours were confirmed in June 2026, and the low-key setup makes it a comfortable choice when you want good food quickly in this corner of North Carolina. Takeout travels well, so a picnic table near the lake can double as your dining room on a bright afternoon.
1. Muddy Creek Cafe & Listening Room
Brick walkways and restored colonial buildings surround this small cafe in the historic district. It fills the lower level of T.
Bagge Merchant, where cool floors and low ceilings carry a real sense of age. The entrance sits at 626 S Main St, right in the heart of Old Salem.
Specialty sandwiches and hot grilled panini lead the menu, pressed until the bread crackles. The pimento cheese panini earns its following, gooey and slightly tangy against toasted bread.
A TBLT, a hummus wrap, grilled pimento cheese, potato salad, and macaroni and cheese round out the choices.
Soups and fresh salads suit lighter appetites, and the chicken salad croissant makes an easy lunch. Iced chocolate is worth ordering on a warm afternoon, cold and gently sweet.
Desserts change, so glance at the counter before you order.
Indoor seats stay cozy while the patio lets you take in the slow rhythm of Old Salem. Folk and traditional musicians perform in the listening room, so a simple sandwich can turn into an evening of music.
