Seeing ‘Hamilton’ in Durham? Here’s your guide for eating and drinking near DPAC
If you’ve scored a ticket to the biggest show on the planet, you’ll need to make a night of it.
With “Hamilton” returning to the Durham Performing Arts Center until June 5, here are a few of the best bars and restaurants for a pre-show meal or a nightcap after the curtain.
Dinner before the show
345 Blackwell St., Durham. 919-282-1183 or nanasteak.com
This steakhouse is essentially the front porch of DPAC, offering a modern take on the dinner-and-a-show kind of menu. The bar stirs and shakes up versions of the classic cocktails like an Old Fashioned or a barrel-aged Manhattan, while the kitchen prepares Caesars and steak tartares and familiar cuts of steak.
705 Willard St., Durham. 984-888-5365 or boricuasoulnc.com
Over on the American Tobacco Campus, across the street from DPAC, Boricua Soul serves a Caribbean-Southern menu with famous collard greens and slow roasted pork and mac and cheese that diners order by the sheetpan on holidays.
107 W. Main St., Durham. 919-973-0111 or copadurham.com
Showcasing the Spanish side of Cuban cuisine, COPA serves a tapas-style menu best for sharing and sampling. Look for snacks like charcuterie boards and spiced pork sausage, “loaded plantain chips” as a unique take on nachos and larger plates like steamed clams and Cuban-style meatballs. COPA opens at 5 p.m. on nights there is a show at DPAC and also serves a three-course prix fixe theater menu for diners.
105 E. Chapel Hill St., Durham. 919-908-6936 or pizzeriatoro.com
Every night, this downtown pizzeria sends beautifully charred pizzas flying out of its wood-burning oven from open to close. The classics include a spicy lamb meatball red sauced pizza topped with kale or a white pizza topped with a soft runny egg and roasted trumpet mushrooms. Besides pizza, look for highly seasonal snacks and maybe the only truly beloved kale salad in existence.
112 W. Main St., Durham. 984-439-8702 or lunarotisserie.com
Casual and fun, this South American-meets-Southern restaurant specializes in Peruvian chicken, roasted rotisserie style and served with the addictive and fiery green sauce. You’ll probably want a Caipirinha before the show, or one of nearly a dozen juices.
111 Corcoran St., Durham. 919-956-6760 or countinghousenc.com
The restaurant of the 21C Hotel is serving a Broadway-worthy menu, pulling dishes and flavors from around the world but grounding them in seasonal North Carolina ingredients. Snacks include Japanese milk bread with bacon fat mayo, a tartine with grilled ramps and seared foie gras with poached strawberries. There’s freshly made pasta, local pork chops and the burger from the former Raleigh restaurant Royale, the former restaurant of Counting House chef Jeff Seizer, served on an English muffin.
335 W. Main St., Durham. 919-797-0413 or viceroydurham.com
This Indian gastropub will offer thrills before the show even starts. The menu features dishes from the tandoor oven like the blistering hot Jeera wings or smoky chicken kababs and nearly a dozen curries. For a quick bite and a drink, the Gobi Sukka — battered and fried cauliflower — is a crispy snack you’ll crave forever.
Early drinks or late nightcaps
320 E. Chapel Hill St., Durham. 984-439-2278 or alleytwentysix.com
An influential player in the rise of the Triangle’s cocktail bar scene, Alley Twenty Six is currently up for a James Beard Award for Outstanding Bar Program in the country. These cocktail wizards do sharp and refined versions of the classics and have an often-changing and creative house menu serving up whatever is seasonal that month. It’s getting hot out there, so consider something Tiki.
105 S. Mangum St., Durham. 919-973-3000 or barvirgile.com
Steps away from DPAC, Bar Virgile is cozy and lively any night of the week. And downstairs, consider Annexe, a Champagne-flowing room that’s always an after party.
321 E. Chapel Hill St., Suite 100, Durham. queenysdurham.com
One of the few downtown Durham restaurants serving a late-night menu, Queeny’s is affordable and fun, with frozen Irish Coffees on tap, shareable bowls of fries and spreads of nachos and ice cream cake for dessert.
347 W. Main St., Durham. 919-748-3014 or remedyroomnc.com
Perhaps this is where we make a “room where it happens” reference? This new bar revived the former Criterion space in the heart of downtown Durham, bringing back one of the city’s great drinking rooms. The cocktails are focused and vibrant, with seasonal touches to cut through the approaching swelter.
