Here is the Triangle’s Restaurant of the Year for 2020. And the winner is ...
It’s tempting to say that this year’s Restaurant of the Year award is not just to honor M Tempura, but for owner/chef Michael Lee’s entire body of work.
I’ve been an avid fan of chef Lee for more than a decade, dating back to the days when he was sushi chef at Mura in North Hills, and then Sono in downtown Raleigh.
Since setting out on his own to open M Sushi in Durham in 2016, Lee’s collection of restaurants has grown to include M Kokko (a tiny, casual spot specializing in Korean and Japanese chicken dishes), M Tempura, and most recently M Pocha (Asian street food-inspired small plates). All are first-rate, and M Sushi in particular raised the bar for Japanese restaurants so high that I seriously considered naming it Restaurant of the Year for 2017.
M Tempura, recognized by Bon Appetit last year as one of the country’s 50 best new restaurants, doesn’t just raise the bar. Its omakase-style presentation — one delicate chef’s choice morsel at a time, delivered straight from the fryer to your plate — is an entirely different experience from the tempura served at most Japanese restaurants. In fact, if you haven’t been to Japan or one of the handful of omakase-style tempura restaurants in the States (two in New York, at last count, and one in California), you haven’t had tempura at its best.
M Tempura offers three omakase options, ranging from the Basic (nine courses plus steamed rice with a runny tempura egg and miso soup) all the way up to the M Omakase. That lavish 17-course tempura feast will set you back $72 a person and is available only if everyone in your party orders it. To say that it’s worth the splurge is an understatement, as a few highlights from my M Omakase experience will attest.
An Argentine pink prawn, served in two pieces, both eminently edible: briny-sweet body, and head, crunchy as a potato chip. An exquisite tempura scallop topped with a generous dollop of paddlefish caviar. A nugget of A5 wagyu beef, its melt-in-your-mouth texture playing yin to the crunchy yang of tempura. A silky scallop mousse and truffle-stuffed potato.
Even the ordinary tempura courses — asparagus, shiitake mushroom and the like — would be the highlight at most Japanese restaurants.
Several non-tempura courses are interspersed among these ethereal fried delicacies, from appetite-whetting sea trout sashimi to palate-cleansing honeydew sorbet to umami-laden clams with squid ink pasta.
Now that I’ve got your mouth watering, a couple of pro tips are in order. First, tempura is offered only on the dinner menu. At lunchtime, the focus is on sando (Japanese sandwiches) and katsu — an altogether different (but also worthwhile) experience.
The restaurant has only 40 seats at a handful of tables and an L-shaped bar, so reservations are strongly recommended in the evening. For a front row view of chef Lee (or his equally capable chef de cuisine, Savannah Miller) in action, sit at the bar.
And get ready for one of the most memorable meals of your life.
Restaurant of the Year
M Tempura
111 Orange St., Durham
919-748-3874 or m-restaurants.com/m-tempura
Cuisine: Japanese
Previous Restaurant of the Year Winners
2007: Bonne Soirée, Chapel Hill
2008: Fins, Raleigh
2009: Lantern, Chapel Hill
2010: Herons, Cary
2011: Bella Mia, Cary
2012: Magnolia Grill, Durham
2013: Oakleaf, Pittsboro (now Carrboro) and Yamazushi, Durham
2014: One, Chapel Hill
2015: Gocciolina, Durham
2016: Death & Taxes, Raleigh
2017: The Durham, Durham
2018: Crawford and Son, Raleigh
2019: Herons, Cary
Gold Medal
Crawford and Son
618 N. Person St., Raleigh
919-307-4647 or crawfordandsonrestaurant.com
Cuisine: contemporary
The Durham
315 E. Chapel Hill St., in The Durham Hotel, Durham
919-768-8830 or thedurham.com/dining
Cuisine: American
Fearrington House
2000 Fearrington Village Center, Pittsboro
919-542-2121 or fearringtonhouse.com
Cuisine: contemporary
Herons
100 Woodland Pond Drive, in the Umstead Hotel & Spa, Cary
919-447-4000 or theumstead.com
Cuisine: contemporary
Lantern
423 W. Franklin St., Chapel Hill
919-969-8846 or lanternrestaurant.com
Cuisine: Asian
Mateo Bar de Tapas
109 W. Chapel Hill St., Durham
919-530-8700 or mateotapas.com
Cuisine: Tapas (Spanish-Southern fusion)
Panciuto
110 S. Churton St., Hillsborough
919-732-6261 or panciuto.com
Cuisine: contemporary Italian
Poole’s Diner
426 S. McDowell St., Raleigh
919-832-4477 or ac-restaurants.com/pooles
Cuisine: American bistro
Saint James
806 W. Main St., Durham
984-219-7900 or saintjamesseafood.com
Cuisine: seafood
Yamazushi
4711 Hope Valley Road, Suite 6-A, Durham
919-493-7748 or yamazushirestaurant.com
Cuisine: Japanese
Silver Medal
Bida Manda
222 S. Blount St., Raleigh
919-829-9999 or bidamanda.com
Cuisine: Laotian
Bin 54
1201-M Raleigh Road, Chapel Hill
919-969-1155 or bin54restaurant.com
Cuisine: Steakhouse
Brewery Bhavana
218 S. Blount St., Raleigh
919-829-9998 or brewerybhavana.com
Cuisine: Chinese and brewery
The Cortez
413 Glenwood Ave., Raleigh
919-342-8227 or cortezraleigh.com
Cuisine: seafood (contemporary)
Crook’s Corner
610 W. Franklin St., Chapel Hill
919-929-7643 or crookscorner.com
Cuisine: Southern
Cucciolo Osteria
601 W. Main St., Suite C, Durham
984-243-8744 or cucciolodurham.com
Cuisine: Italian
Death & Taxes
105 W. Hargett St., Raleigh
984-242-0218 or ac-restaurants.com/death-taxes
Cuisine: contemporary grill
Elements
2110 Environ Way, Chapel Hill
919-537-8780 or elementsofchapelhill.com
Cuisine: contemporary, Asian
G.58 Cuisine
10958 Chapel Hill Road, Morrisville
919-466-8858 or g58cuisine.com
Cuisine: Chinese
Glenwood Grill
2603 Glenwood Ave., Suite 151, Raleigh
919-782-3102 or glenwoodgrill.com
Cuisine: American
Gocciolina
3314 Guess Road, Durham
919-973-4089 or gocciolina.com
Cuisine: Italian
Il Palio
1505 E. Franklin St., in the Siena Hotel, Chapel Hill
919-929-2545 or ilpalio.com
Cuisine: Italian
J. Betski’s
10 W. Franklin St., Suite 120, Raleigh
919-833-7999 or jbetskis.com
Cuisine: German, Polish
Mandolin
2519 Fairview Road, Raleigh
919-322-0365 or mandolinraleigh.com
Cuisine: contemporary Southern
Mothers & Sons Trattoria
107 W. Chapel Hill St., Durham
919-294-8247 or mothersandsonsnc.com
Cuisine: Italian
Parizade
2200 W. Main St., Durham
919-286-9712 or parizadedurham.com
Cuisine: Mediterranean
Saint Jacques
6112 Falls of Neuse Road, Raleigh
919-862-2770 or saintjacquesfrenchcuisine.com
Cuisine: French
St. Roch Fine Oysters & Bar
223 S. Wilmington St., Raleigh
919-322-0359 or strochraleigh.com
Cuisine: seafood, Cajun/Creole
Second Empire Restaurant and Tavern
330 Hillsborough St., Raleigh
919-829-3663 or second-empire.com
Cuisine: contemporary
Stanbury
938 N. Blount St., Raleigh
919-977-4321 or stanburyraleigh.com
Cuisine: contemporary
Bronze Medal
Angus Barn
9401 Glenwood Ave., Raleigh
919-781-2444 or angusbarn.com
Cuisine: steakhouse
Bloomsbury Bistro
509 W. Whitaker Mill Road, Suite 101, Raleigh
919-834-9011 or bloomsburybistro.com
Cuisine: contemporary
COPA
107 W. Main St., Durham
919-973-0111 or copadurham.com
Cuisine: Cuban
Coquette Brasserie
4351 The Circle at North Hills, Raleigh
919-789-0606 or coquetteraleigh.com
Cuisine: French
Fairview Dining Room
3001 Cameron Blvd., in the Washington Duke Inn, Durham
919-493-6699 or washingtondukeinn.com
Cuisine: contemporary
Garland
14 W. Martin St., Raleigh
919-833-6886 or garlandraleigh.com
Cuisine: global
Guglhupf
2706 Durham-Chapel Hill Blvd., Durham
919-401-2600 or guglhupf.com
Cuisine: German, bakery
Jujube
1201 Raleigh Road, Chapel Hill
919-960-0555 or jujuberestaurant.com
Cuisine: Asian fusion
Kitchen
764 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Chapel Hill
919-537-8167 or kitchenchapelhill.com
Cuisine: French, contemporary
Margaux’s
8111 Creedmoor Road, Suite 111, Raleigh
919-846-9846 or margauxsrestaurant.com
Cuisine: contemporary, seafood
Oakleaf
310 E. Main St., Carrboro
984-234-3017 or oakleafnc.com
Cuisine: contemporary
Plates
301 Glenwood Ave., Suite 100, Raleigh
919-828-0018 or plateskitchen.com
Cuisine: contemporary
Postal Fish Co.
75 W. Salisbury St., Pittsboro
919-704-8612 or postalfishcompany.com
Cuisine: seafood
Rose’s Noodles, Dumplings & Sweets
121 N. Gregson St., Durham
919-797-2233 or rosesdurham.com
Cuisine: contemporary Asian, desserts
Saltbox Seafood Joint
Two locations in Durham (Mangum St. is walkup only); see website for details
Cuisine: seafood
so.ca
2130 Clark Ave., Raleigh
919-322-0440 or socaraleigh.com
Cuisine: Latin American, Caribbean
Tandem
200 N. Greensboro St., #1A, Carrboro
919-240-7937 or tandemcarrboro.com
Cuisine: contemporary
Vivace
4209 Lassiter Mill Road, Suite 115, Raleigh
919-787-7747 or vivaceraleigh.com
Cuisine: Italian
The Village Diner
600 W. King St, Hillsborough
919-245-8915 or villagedinernc.com
Cuisine: Southern diner
Whiskey Kitchen
201 W. Martin St., Raleigh
919-803-3181 or whiskey.kitchen
Cuisine: contemporary Southern
This story was originally published January 27, 2020 at 5:30 AM.