New Raleigh restaurant is inspired by worlds near and far, far away. Take a look inside
Wrapped in glass and surrounded by walls without a single straight edge, the future Raleigh restaurant Peregrine is something of a culinary spaceship.
Its inspiration comes from some of the most beautiful sun-bleached spots on this earth, and maybe some beyond our planet.
“The plaster walls are inspired by Tulum and Tunisia,” said Patrick Shanahan, who co-owns Peregrine with chef Saif Rahman. “I love to say it reminded me of (Tatooine) in ‘Star Wars: A New Hope.’”
Peregrine aims to offer global flavors and a transportive experience as one of the first restaurants in the new Exchange development just outside the Beltline.
Restaurant world-building
While Rahman is drafting a menu based on his cooking experiences around the world, Shanahan led the restaurant’s design.
Shanahan comes from the film world and views moviemaking as creating an encapsulated universe. He co-created the downtown Raleigh bar Watts & Ward to feel like another time and place.
“With Watts & Ward, it was like we were building a 1920s speakeasy, with a marble fireplace and wainscoting,” Shanahan said. “For me I’m not really designing restaurants and bars. I’m world building, that’s how I see it.”
Incorporating past and present
Every wall in Peregrine is curved, flowing from one side of the long narrow restaurant to the other. Shanahan did the mudding himself by hand, aiming to sculpt a kind of energy.
“There’s not really a straight wall here, everything has movement in it,” Shanahan said. “We used ancient techniques, archways and columns, raw wood, a lot of plaster. We knew we wanted this feeling mixing the past and the present, the ancient and the modern.”
An experience that takes you ‘somewhere else’
Peregrine will be the first restaurant to open in The Exchange, a new development by Dewitt Carolinas, moving into the ground floor of the 1000 Social building. Large developments have led the Triangle’s restaurant growth in the last few years, including glitzy projects like Raleigh Iron Works, Fenton and Smoky Hollow.
Shanahan said Peregrine is reaching even further.
“When people come in, we want to take them somewhere else,” Shanahan said. “We want you to feel like you’re no longer in Raleigh. That’s what great hospitality does, it takes you to another place.”
Open kitchen design
The door to Peregrine is set in the middle of the restaurant. Walking in, the first thing diners will see is the bar, but on that bar they won’t see a single bottle. Shanahan has built the bar to hide the spirits, leaving clean surfaces and an arch and a window into the kitchen.
“We thought, what if we got rid of the back bar?” Shanahan said. “Instead we’ll have a window where you can watch the show. There’s a central arch, but there’s no door into the kitchen, it’s all open. I wanted it to be this seamless feeling.”
On one side of Peregrine is a private dining room for about a dozen diners. It also doesn’t have a door, instead it’s shielded from the general bustle by a wall and warmed by a gas fireplace.
Peregrine will have seating for 100 people: 10 at the bar and another two dozen outdoor seats once the weather warms up.
This story was originally published February 28, 2025 at 7:00 AM.
