Story Produced with Tatum Gordon and Halle Stanley
With the year coming to an end and holidays coming, we wanted to talk about something we are passionate about – FOOD! More specifically, restaurants and food served in downtown Sylva.
Khao Soi, a cocounut curry dish from Dalaya. Photo by Halle Stanley. 
Crepes and yougurt bowl from City Lights Cafe. Photo by Halle Stanley. 
Balsam Falls exterior. Photo by Tatum Gordon. 
Charcuterie board from the Cut. Photo by Halle Stanley.. 
Sticky rice dessert from Dalaya. Photo by Halle Stanley. 
Foragers exterior. Photo by Tatum Gordon. 
Ilda’a resturant. Photo by Tatum Gordon. 
Ttiramisu from Ilda. Photo by Halle Stanley. 
Breakfast menu items from Lucy and the Rye. Photo by Halle Stanley. 
Pizza Platters from Meatballs Pizzeria. Photo by Halle Stanley.
Sylva has a variety of food options to choose from, from brunch to lunch, dinner, and after-hours favorites. Western Carolina Journalists decided it is time to shed light on the cuisine, locations, and favorites so that locals and tourists can decide, a question asked every day, what’s to eat!
To start the day off right, you need a balanced breakfast; thankfully Lucy in the Rye and City Lights Cafe have you covered all week, with a special appearance of Forager’s Canteen on Sunday morning.
City Lights Cafe has you covered for your classic coffee shop favorites with a little pizzazz, offering anything from bagels and breakfast burritos to even crepes. Lucy in the Rye offers some classic American favorites, including chicken and waffles and Southern fried chicken. Foragers will give you a great way to begin your Sunday, offering crowd favorites like their eggs Benedict to fish and chips.
As the sun starts to set in Sylva, the downtown food scene shifts gears. The local bars light up, drawing in patrons for good drinks and bar snack favorites, best enjoyed with an old friend or new acquaintance.
Breadheads Tiki Shack brings tropical flair to our mountain town, offering surf and turf island-inspired dishes like Greeki Tiki, which is a falafel with the option of shrimp or chicken, or a classic Dad’s Smash Burger. If you’re looking for some elevated comfort food, Mad Batter Kitchen provides a mix of pizza, house specialties, including but not limited to their red coconut curry, and Korean rice bowl. Balsam Falls Brewery Co. blends its beer favorites with wings, classic burgers, and chicken tenders, amongst a variety of other favorites
Dalaya, which sits just on the outskirts of Sylva in a red shack lit up with colorful lights, is a landmark that will catch your eye, bringing its customers authentic Thai cuisine, offering coconut curries all the way to mango sticky rice for their dessert option.
Along with the great food that can be found in downtown Sylva, there are also fun competitions where these restaurants can compete head-to-head in friendly competitions. One competition that was hosted in June was the fourth annual Sylva Art and Design Committee Sylva Sandwich contest. The winner of the 2025 competition was Breadheads Tiki Shack, with their Sir-Mex-Elote Grilled Chicken Sandwich.
The owner of Breadheads Tiki Shack, Shane Bennett, explained that this competition helped bring the community into town and allowed the restaurants to have fun experimenting with new flavors. He did explain that his food needed to be good because of the stout competition present in Sylva. Shane said, “It needs to be good. Everyone in Sylva, I mean, we have great restaurants here.”
Our editors give their personal reviews on where they love to eat in Sylva!
For those looking for an in-depth food review that goes beyond downtown Sylva, Halle Eats is a previous Western North Carolina food edition podcast that explores favorite dishes and restaurants throughout Sylva, Dillsboro, and Waynesville.
