Twisted Pine

Twisted Pine is a locally owned restaurant on North Liberty Street in downtown Winston-Salem, NC, serving American cooking with a creative streak — smash burgers, birria tacos, hot maple fried chicken, and smoked brisket sandwiches, most of it built on ingredients grown at the owner’s own farm. It opened in 2022 as part of veteran restaurateur Adam Andrews’s growing group of Winston-Salem restaurants, with chef Daniel Zbiegien running the kitchen.

The name comes from Andrews’s catering company and nods to North Carolina’s state tree, the pine, with a “twist” — the same twist that runs through the menu. The room is bright and airy, with big windows, a large bar, and funky wall art including twisted skeleton paintings by local artist Joe Hurdle, and there’s a covered patio for outdoor dining.

Be sure to check out the pictures below to get a feel for Twisted Pine before you go — or to relive the visit after.

Adam Andrews and the Farm-to-Table Approach

Twisted Pine is one restaurant in a substantial local portfolio. Owner Adam Andrews got his start washing dishes at the Town and Country Grille in King, NC at 15, worked his way up to cook through high school, studied at the Pennsylvania Culinary Institute, and then moved to Winston-Salem when a chef position opened up at The Old Fourth Street Filling Station. While still working there, he teamed up with Jeffrey Bassett to open Jeffrey Adams on Fourth in 2012 — the first of a string of Winston-Salem establishments.

Today the Andrews Restaurants group includes Jeffrey Adams on Fourth, the Trophy Room bourbon bar, Dogwood Hops & Crops, Young Cardinal Café, Easy Tiger Beer Garden, Twisted Pine, and the Mercantile Chophouse in King. Several sit within a block or two of each other downtown, and Twisted Pine is described within the group as “the fun one that always gets you into trouble.”

The thread running through all of Andrews’s restaurants is the sourcing. Ingredients come from Andrews Farm, the owner’s own farm — according to Twisted Pine’s kitchen, all the peppers, tomatoes, zucchini, and squash used in the restaurant’s dishes are grown there. It’s a genuine farm-to-table operation rather than a marketing line, and it’s a big part of why the food across the Andrews group has the reputation it does.

The Food and Drink

The menu is built for range. The smash burgers are a signature, joined by birria tacos served with consommé, hot maple fried chicken, smoked brisket sandwiches, and creative salads — American comfort food given an inventive turn rather than reinvented past recognition. The farm sourcing shows up in the freshness, and the kitchen leans on it hard through the growing season.

On the drink side, eight rotating taps pour North Carolina beers — Red Oak and Wicked Weed among the regulars — alongside ciders and stouts, and a full bar handles craft cocktails. The room itself is bright and window-lined with a large, airy bar and the twisted skeleton paintings by local artist Joe Hurdle giving the walls some character, plus a spacious covered patio for outdoor seating.

Twisted Pine is ideal for casual lunch or dinner, and it handles catered events for larger parties through the Andrews group. It’s the kind of downtown spot that rewards making it part of a routine rather than a one-off visit.

Good to Know

Location: 527 North Liberty Street, Winston-Salem, NC 27101
Phone: 336-893-7069
Hours: Open for lunch and dinner Monday–Saturday, with later hours on weekends — check the Twisted Pine website for current hours
Opened: 2022
Owner: Adam Andrews, of the Andrews Restaurants group; chef Daniel Zbiegien runs the kitchen
The name: From Andrews’s catering company; a nod to North Carolina’s state tree with a “twist”
The sourcing: Ingredients from Andrews Farm — the peppers, tomatoes, zucchini, and squash are grown on the owner’s own farm
Signature dishes: Smash burgers, birria tacos with consommé, hot maple fried chicken, smoked brisket sandwiches, and creative salads
To drink: Eight rotating taps of NC beer (Red Oak, Wicked Weed), ciders, stouts, and a full bar for cocktails
The room: Bright and window-lined with a large bar, twisted skeleton paintings by local artist Joe Hurdle, and a covered patio
Also from Andrews Restaurants: Jeffrey Adams on Fourth, the Trophy Room, Dogwood Hops & Crops, Young Cardinal Café, Easy Tiger Beer Garden, and the Mercantile Chophouse in King
Best for: Casual lunch and dinner, farm-to-table eaters, craft beer and cocktail drinkers, groups, and downtown dining
Pair with: The full Winston-Salem food and beverage cluster; The Old Fourth Street Filling Station, where owner Adam Andrews got his Winston-Salem start; Camel City BBQ Factory nearby on North Liberty Street; or Small Batch Beer Co. and Broad Branch Distillery elsewhere downtown

A Winston-Salem Highlight

Adam Andrews has built one of the more substantial restaurant portfolios in Winston-Salem, and it started just up the street. He came to the city for a chef job at The Old Fourth Street Filling Station, opened Jeffrey Adams on Fourth in 2012, and has since grown the Andrews Restaurants group to include half a dozen downtown spots plus a steakhouse in King. Twisted Pine, which opened in 2022, is the group’s most freewheeling — American comfort food with an inventive turn.

The thing that separates it from a standard burgers-and-tacos spot is the farm. Andrews grows the peppers, tomatoes, zucchini, and squash for the kitchen at Andrews Farm, and that direct sourcing shows up on the plate. Order the smash burger or the birria tacos with consommé, and pull from the eight rotating North Carolina taps to go with it.

The room seals it — bright and airy, big windows, a large bar, twisted skeleton paintings by a local artist on the walls, and a covered patio for when the weather’s right. It’s a casual, well-run downtown restaurant with real cooking behind it, and it’s an easy one to fold into a Winston-Salem food day alongside the rest of the downtown scene.