These are the 10 essential restaurants in Raleigh, those that define the dining scene
Updated March 2
In the rapidly evolving Triangle, keeping up with the changes in the dining scene is a daunting — albeit rewarding — challenge.
For the last several years, each annual Best Restaurants list has included some two dozen restaurants that weren’t on the previous year’s list. For local foodies, that translates to an unending feast of new flavors.
But what if you’re new to town? Or you’ve got out-of-town guests, and you want to give them a real taste of your hometown? The local landmarks that reveal the region’s culinary history, as well as relative newcomers that are leading the way in its evolution?
We call these restaurants “essential,” those that define the local dining scene.
If only there was a list of such essential restaurants. A concise list that, if you were only in town for 48 hours, you could hit a few of them and feel confident that you had gotten a good taste of the local flavor.
A list like this one.
This week, we’re exploring the top 10 essential restaurants of Raleigh. Here is my list for Durham, Chapel Hill and Carrboro.
These are what I consider to be essential after being a dining critic for more than 20 years. Let me know what you would add to your “essential” list in Raleigh.
42nd St. Oyster Bar
508 W. Jones St., Raleigh
919-831-2811 or 42ndstoysterbar.com
With a history dating back to 1931, when it started out as a grocery story that sold oysters and beer, 42nd Street Oyster bar is the area’s undisputed granddaddy of seafood restaurants. A menu that embraces everything from Southern fried seafood platters to cioppino — and, naturally, a raw bar selection including several varieties of oyster — continues to attract a steady stream of customers.
A pair of stainless steel art deco entry doors set a nostalgic mood for a dining room with linoleum tile floors, vintage jazz, mounted trophy fish, and a collection of license plates donated by generations of local politicians.
Angus Barn
9401 Glenwood Ave., Raleigh
919-781-2444 or angusbarn.com
There’s no telling how many people have celebrated birthdays, anniversaries and promotions at this perennially popular steakhouse. Six decades after its opening in 1960, folks still make the trek out to the big red barn on the outskirts of Raleigh for its unlikely combination of down-on-the-farm atmosphere, world-class wine cellar, and aged beef (including the Chateaubriand that was the favorite of the steakhouse’s late co-founder, Thad Eure Jr.), served by a friendly wait staff dedicated to making you feel pampered.
For proof: In February, the restaurant was named a James Beard Award semifinalist for Outstanding Hospitality, a national award, for the first time.
Big Ed’s
220 Wolfe St., Raleigh
919-836-9909 or bigedsnc.com
The sprawling dining room at this decades-old City Market landmark is packed with more bric-a-brac from bygone days than Grandma’s attic. The country-style food is every bit as nostalgic for native Carolinians: country ham, grits and redeye gravy for breakfast.
For lunch, there’s a rotating list of meats: fried or barbecued chicken, roast pork, chuck wagon steak and fried catfish, to name a few popular choices, and vegetables. Be sure to try the butter beans and turnip greens. And, for a real down-home taste of Carolina, try a little molasses on your biscuit.
There are two other locations, in North Raleigh and Garner, but the downtown spot is the classic.
Brewery Bhavana
218 S. Blount St., Raleigh
919-829-9998 or brewerybhavana.com
Start with a contemporary Asian dim sum-inspired menu, developed by the owners of Bida Manda, the award-winning Laotian restaurant next door. Pair it with a selection of 40 craft beers, including an assortment of house brews that spans the style spectrum from classic farmhouse ale to mango peppercorn saison.
Nestle a flower shop and a small book store into the middle of the airy dining room, and frame the whole space in gauzy curtains and a high-gabled glass ceiling. Put them all together, and you get a unique and magical combination, and an experience that captures the essence of the ever-changing culinary and social kaleidoscope that is Raleigh in the early 21st century.
Crawford and Son
618 N. Person St., Raleigh
919-307-4647 or crawfordandsonrestaurant.com
Scott Crawford, a five-time James Beard Foundation semifinalist for Best Chef in the Southeast, has been a towering presence in the local culinary landscape since 2009, when he raised the bar for locavore cuisine at Herons, the restaurant in the posh Umstead Hotel and Spa in Cary.
Crawford and Son, which he opened in 2016, dialed down the plate presentations to a more approachable level. The result, expressed in anything from exquisitely simple malted wheat dinner rolls to soul-satisfying chicken confit with roasted root vegetables, reveals a chef who, free from the constraints of high-end hotel cooking, is clearly in his comfort zone. Call it Scott Crawford unplugged. And don’t miss it.
Garland
14 W. Martin St., Raleigh
919-833-6886 or garlandraleigh.com
“Indian & Asian Cuisine, Southern Spirit.” That’s the motto of this popular downtown spot, but it also reflects an essential part of the contemporary local culture, which has been enriched by an influx of immigrants drawn largely by Research Triangle Park and area universities.
Fittingly, the menu — which meanders tantalizingly from heirloom field pea chaat to Szechwan local turnips to lemongrass brisket — is the brainchild of owner/chef Cheetie Kumar, a native of India who comes to Raleigh by way of New York. Since opening Garland in 2014, Kumar has picked up four James Beard nominations for Best Chef in the Southeast. Clearly, the vibrant charms of her creation are no longer a best-kept secret.
Jose & Sons
327 W. Davie St., Suite 102, Raleigh
919-755-0556 or joseandsons.com
Jose & Sons, a popular Warehouse District spot since opening in 2013, is a celebration of its namesakes’ culinary heritage. The immigrant cuisine of family patriarch Jose Ibarra, a native of Mexico, is melded with the Southern fare eagerly adopted by his sons, who grew up in Raleigh.
On the plate, that translates to the likes of braised collard green tamales, skirt steak with charro black-eyed peas, and North Carolina sweet potato tacos dorados. While you’re enjoying the meal, be sure to raise a glass of sangria roja spiked with blackberry brandy to Jose & Sons, a fitting gastronomic symbol of the colorful cultural melting pot that our region has become.
Bonus: Check out The Cortez on Glenwood Avenue, a seafood restaurant opened up by two of Jose’s sons, Charlie and Hector Ibarra, and chef Oscar Diaz.
The Mecca
13 E. Martin St., Raleigh
919-832-5714 or mecca-restaurant.com
Over the decades, The Mecca’s dark wood paneling has attained a timeworn patina, and its walls have accumulated dozens of framed newspaper articles and signed photographs of politicians and judges. For the most part, though, the narrow dining room looks much the same as you imagine it did when Greek immigrant Nicholas Dombalis opened the restaurant in 1930.
The menu has evolved over the years, but remains true to the spirit of the original with an offering that ranges from a Greek diner take on spaghetti with meat sauce to the best fried chicken in town. Order a homemade cobbler for dessert, and as you wash it down with coffee served in a classic diner mug, you can just taste the history.
Poole’s Diner
426 S. McDowell St., Raleigh
919-832-4477 or ac-restaurants.com/pooles
Even if owner/chef Ashley Christensen hadn’t won the 2019 James Beard Award for Outstanding Chef in country, Poole’s would be a must on any list of essential Raleigh restaurants. You should go because it was a pioneer in the revitalization of downtown Raleigh. You should go to bask in the nostalgic vibe of a dining room that preserves the vintage chrome barstools and double horseshoe counter of a pie shop and luncheonette that thrived in this space in the middle of the last century.
But mostly, you should go for the food: a daily changing offering of Southern-inflected contemporary fare listed on wall-spanning blackboards. Christensen’s roasted chicken and macaroni au gratin are legendary, but you can’t go wrong here. Whenever you do go, know that Poole’s doesn’t take reservations, and a line starts forming a half-hour or so before the restaurant opens for dinner at 5 p.m. Plan accordingly.
The Roast Grill
7 S. West St., Raleigh
919-832-8292 or roastgrill.com
The Roast Grill has been cooking hot dogs on a flat top grill to various degrees of darkness since 1940 (It’s one of the few places where customers are known to order their selection “burned”). This is purist’s nirvana, serving only hot dogs – no burgers, no fries, and don’t even think about asking for ketchup. Toppings include mustard, onions, hot sauce, and a beefy homemade chili.
Even the slaw is as simple as possible: finely chopped cabbage, vegetable oil and salt. Folks in a rush order takeout, but half the fun is sitting at the counter and soaking in the atmosphere and the first-name camaraderie between the staff and long-time customers.
This story was originally published March 2, 2020 at 5:45 AM.