9. Zebra Restaurant & Wine Bar

We had a reservation for dinner. Arrived on time. We were treated like dirt from the moment we entered. We were greeted by a haughty maitre d' who acted as though we were imposing on him. We were seated at a tiny table in a high traffic area under a light so bright, it could have been used for interrogation purposes. When we asked if we could be moved, we were informed in an incredibly hostile manner that a tables were reserved and if we had wanted a different table, we should have requested it when we made our reservation. We asked if the light over our table could be dimmed, and were told it would be. We had to ask three more times over a 20 minute period to get that done. We considered leaving, but I was curious about how good the food had to be to override treatment like this. The food was terrific, no doubt about. However, I will never go back to Zebra, as there are plenty of equally good restaurants in Charlotte that are not nearly as expensive, and are actually happy to have you as guests, and treat you as such.