Restaurants in the N&O Top 50 list located outside Raleigh, Durham & Chapel Hill

The News & Observer named its Top 50 Triangle restaurants, with picks from Johnston County to Chapel Hill. Here are the four picks beyond Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill, including a barbecue joint with a Michelin Rating.

FULL STORY: The N&O’s Top 50 Restaurants of 2026: The Triangle’s best places to eat

Aaktun (Clayton)

The trend of all-day cafes is suddenly everywhere, promising coffee and pastries, sandwiches and late-night cocktails. No one does the all-day cafe quite like Aaktun, which looks more like a seaside Mexican cave than a restaurant. Created by current “Top Chef” contestant Oscar Diaz, the walls at Aaktun are lined with curved pink grottos that can carry whispers across the table while the sun beams in through skylights. Even still, your rum punch is the brightest thing in the room, a blend of pucker and bite.

704 Ramseur St., Durham and 401 E. Main St., Clayton | aaktun.info | $ - $ $ $

Cheeni (Research Triangle Park)

The depth and warmth of Cheeni surrounds you when you walk through the door. There’s a rattan rocking chair draped with a blanket, curious in a restaurant, but familiar in a home, which, of course, is what Cheeni conjures, filling a menu with regional Indian dishes from the memories of James Beard-nominated owner Preeti Waas. Don’t be embarrassed if you can’t move beyond the craveable chaat section on the menu, where masala fries in the aloo chaat or the bread pakora, essentially a fried cheese sandwich, touch the deepest parts of our snacking souls. Larger dishes bring the family together; the Mangalorean chicken, a coconut curry with a slowly building heat, like being warmed by a fire.

202 Corcoran St., #100, Durham and 3151 Elion Drive, #101, Research Triangle Park | cheenidurham.com | $ $ - $ $ $

Fonda Lupita (Sanford):

A phenomenon since it opened, Fonda Lupita brought the gordita to the mainstream in the Triangle. These pockets of thick, griddled tortillas are stuffed with braised meats — shredded pork in green salsa is peak comfort food. You may get lucky and run into a bowl of fiery red menudo, sometimes a weekday special.

1952 S. Horner Blvd., Sanford and 905 W. Main St. #21A, Durham | fondalupita.com | $ - $ $

Prime BBQ (Knightdale)

North Carolina’s proud barbecue tradition has taken an uncomfortable backseat to the nation’s buzzy obsession with Texas, swooning over brisket, dinosaur-sized beef ribs and sausage. Prime BBQ in Knightdale is a full-throated rebuttal for an entire state’s barbecue grievances. At Prime, owner and James Beard semifinalist Christopher Prieto serves tender, smoky brisket, glistening with fat and a black pepper bark, widely lauded pastrami, giant ribs and snappy sausages. But he also pushes the conversation forward, serving whole hog, North Carolina’s most cherished contribution to barbecue, but with tangy mojo sauce and rice and beans, honoring his own Puerto Rican roots. America’s barbecue scene is better for it.

403 Knightdale Station Run, Knightdale | prime-bbq.com | $ - $ $ $

The summary above was compiled with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists. The full story in the link at top was reported, written and edited entirely by journalists.

This story was originally published April 8, 2026 at 3:15 PM.

Drew Jackson

The News & Observer

919-829-4707

Drew Jackson writes about restaurants and dining for The News & Observer and The Herald-Sun, covering the food scene in the Triangle and North Carolina.