Triangle Top Three’s – Best Restaurants and Food in the Raleigh-Durham (RDU), NC Area

Find some of the best food and restaurants in the area by cuisine and amenity! If you’re willing to travel a bit, here’s the best food and cuisine in the RDU, across Raleigh, Durham, Cary, Chapel Hill, and beyond. As a full-blown foodie, I think the drive is always worth it when you’re hungry! Organized by cuisine type, click on the link for full reviews or the website.  (Updated on 1/14/23)

Best Bakeries, Bread

• LaFarm Bakery– 4248 NW Cary Pkwy, Cary, NC 27513
• Boulted Bread- 614 W South St, Raleigh, NC 27603
• Guglhupf- 2706 Durham-Chapel Hill Blvd, Durham, NC 27707

Best Bakeries, Pastries and Sweets

• Guglhupf- Durham
• Lucettegrace- Raleigh
• Layered Croissanterie- Raleigh

Best NC Barbeque Joints – Pork

• Sam Jones Barbeque- Raleigh
• Picnic- Durham
• Clyde Coopers- Raleigh

Best Southern Barbeque – Ribs, Brisket

• Longleaf Swine- Raleigh
• Lawrence Barbecue RTP- Durham
• Prime Barbecue – Knightdale

Best Brunch Restaurants

• True Flavors- Durham
• Barcelona Wine Bar- Raleigh
• Acme Restaurant- Carrboro

Best Burgers in Cary

• Barry’s Cafe- Cary
• Corbett’s Burgers & Soda Bar- Cary
• Shake Shack- Cary

Best Burgers in Durham

• Bull City Burger and Brewery- Durham
• Queen Burger- Durham
• Dain’s Place- Durham

Best Burgers in Raleigh

• Fine Folk – Raleigh
• Cow Bar Burgers and Fries – Raleigh
• Bad Daddy’s Burger Bar- Raleigh

Best Chicken, Fried and Otherwise- Durham

• M Kokko- Durham
• Dame’s Chicken & Waffles- Durham
• Chicken Bee- Durham

Best Chicken, Fried and Otherwise- Raleigh

• Beasley’s Chicken & Honey- Raleigh
• Soo Cafe- Raleigh
• Mami Noras- Raleigh

Best Chinese Restaurants

• Super Wok (Sichuan)- Cary
• Gourmet Kingdom- Carrboro
• Taipei 101– 121 E Chatham St, Cary, NC 27511

Best Date Spots, Inexpensive- Durham

• M Kokko (Chicken)
• Luna Rotisserie (Chicken, Latin-American)
• Toast (Paninis)

Best Date Spots, Basic- Durham

• Viceroy (Indian)
• Hutchins Garage (Pizza)
• Juju (Asian Fusion)

Best Dates Spots, More Expensive- Durham

• Mothers and Sons (Italian)
• Mateo (Spanish)
• M Sushi (Japanese)

Best Date Spots, Inexpensive- Raleigh

• CO (Asian-Fusion)
• Whiskey Kitchen (Southern)
• Beasley’s (Chicken, Southern)

Best Date Spots, Basic- Raleigh

• Tazza Kitchen (American, Pizza)
• Capital Club 16 (American, German)
• Barcelona Wine Bar (Spanish)

Best Date Spots, More Expensive- Raleigh

• Crawford and Son (Southern)
• Stanbury (American, Seasonal)
• St. Roch Oysters (Seafood)

Best Donut Shops

• FlipSide Donuts- Cary
• Baker’s Dozen- Raleigh
• Monuts Donuts- Durham

Best Eastern European Restaurants

• Guglhupf (German)- Durham
• Capital Club 16 (American-German) – Raleigh
• J Betski’s (Polish-German) – Raleigh

Best Farm to Table Restaurants (Raleigh)

• Poole’s Diner- Raleigh
• The Stanbury- Raleigh
• Plates Neighborhood Kitchen- Raleigh

Best French Restaurants

• Vin Rouge- Durham
• Jolie- Raleigh
• Bluebird- Chapel Hill

Best Ice Cream

• Two Roosters- Raleigh
• The Parlour- Durham
• Maple View Dairy- Hillsborough

Best Indian-Nepali Restaurants

• Himalayan Range Nepali- Cary
• Tower Indian- Morrisville
• Himalayan Nepali Cuisine – Cary

Best Italian Restaurants

• Mothers and Sons- Durham
• Gocciolina- Durham
• Tesoro – Carrboro

Best Italian-American Restaurants

• Daniel’s Restaurant- Apex
• Vic’s Ristorante – Raleigh

Best Latin-S. American Restaurants

• Luna Rotisserie – Durham, Carrboro
• Centro- Raleigh
• COPA- Durham

Best Mediterranean-Middle Eastern Restaurants

• Sitti- Raleigh
• Sassool- Raleigh and Cary
• Bosphorus- Cary

Best Mexican Restaurants (Durham)

• Mezcalito- Durham
• Taqueria La Vaquita- Durham

Best Mexican Restaurants (Raleigh)

• Taqueria El Toro- Raleigh
• Los Cuates- Raleigh
• Carajillo’s Mexican Kitchen – Raleigh

Best Neapolitan Pizza Places

• Capp’s Pizzeria- Chapel Hill
• Pizzeria Faulisi- Cary
• Pizzeria Toro- Durham 

Best NY Pizza Places

• Oakwood Pizza Box- Raleigh
• Randy’s Pizza- RTP
• DiFara Pizza Tavern- Cary

Best Standard Pizza Places

• Hutchins Garage- Durham
• Pizzeria Mercato- Carrboro
• Trophy Brewing & Pizza Co.- Raleigh

Best Patios (Durham)

• Tobacco Road Sports Cafe (American)
• Guglhupf (German, Bakery)
• Juju (Asian Fusion)

Best Patios (Raleigh)

• Humble Pie (Small Plates)
• Mulino Italian Kitchen (Italian)
• Whiskey Kitchen (Southern)

Best Ramen

• Miso Ramen Bar – Raleigh
• Noodle Blvd- Cary
• Tonbo Ramen- Raleigh

Best Sandwich Spots (Durham)

• Toast- Durham
• KoKyu Na’mean- Durham
• Ideal’s Sandwiches and Groceries- Durham

Best Sandwich Spots (Raleigh)

• Carroll’s Kitchen- Raleigh
• Union Special- Raleigh
• PrimoHoagies– Raleigh

Best Seafood Restaurants

• St. Roch Oyster Bar – Raleigh
• Cortez Seafood – Raleigh
• Postal Fish Company – Pittsboro

Best Small Plates Restaurants (Chapel Hill)

• Hawkers Asian Street Fare- Chapel Hill
• Glasshalfull- Carrboro
• Jujube- Chapel Hill

Best Small Plates Restaurants (Durham)

• Mateo- Durham
• Dashi- Durham
• Juju- Durham

Best Small Plates Restaurants (Raleigh)

• Humble Pie- Raleigh
• Brewery Bhavana- Raleigh
• Vidrio- Raleigh

Best Soul Food Restaurants

• Dame’s Chicken & Waffles- Durham
• Jack’s Seafood and Soul Food- Raleigh
• Mama Dips- Chapel Hill

Best Spanish – Tapas Restaurants

• Taberna Tapas- Durham
• Mateo- Durham
• Barcelona Wine Bar- Raleigh

Best Sports Bars

• Tobacco Road Sports- Durham
• Sports & Social- Cary
• Carolina Ale House- Raleigh

Best Sushi-Japanese Restaurants (Raleigh)

• Sushi Mon- Raleigh
• Sono- Raleigh
• City Market Sushi – Raleigh

Best Thai Restaurants

• Thai Station- Chapel Hill
• Cham Thai- Chapel Hill
• Thai 55- Durham

Best Vietnamese Restaurants

• Mekong- Morrisville
• Midtown Pho- Raleigh
• Anise Pho- Raleigh