NORTH CAROLINA | THE SOUTH

Where to Eat in Raleigh: 12 Restaurants That Define the City

By Eric Barton | Oct. 9, 2025

Ajja

AUTHOR BIO: Eric Barton is editor of The Adventurist and a freelance journalist who has reviewed restaurants for more than two decades. Email him here.

Raleigh used to be the kind of place where going out to eat meant something fried and smothered, with ranch on the side. Which, hey, sounds delicious. But every adult person at some point figures out they need more than sauce-drenched fried chicken.

Luckily for Raleigh came a revolution. It arrived thanks to chefs who traded city lights for oak trees and brought with them fire, fermentation, and ambition. Now the dining scene in North Carolina’s capital feels less like a regional secret and more like a declaration: Raleigh can cook.

These 12 restaurants are where Raleigh is eating right now, and more importantly, where it’s becoming itself.

Ajja

$$$$$ | MAP | WEBSITE | INSTAGRAM

Chef Cheetie Kumar and husband Paul Siler created Ajja to feel like a daydream spun from sunlight and aromatic spices. The menu wanders through the Mediterranean and Middle East with stops for grilled lamb, charred carrots over labneh, and fall and winter tagines that could make you cancel flights. The back patio, all hanging lights and chatter, might be Raleigh’s best argument for staying out late on a Wednesday.

Best for: Dinner that feels like a small vacation

Brewery Bhavana

$$$$$ | MAP | WEBSITE | INSTAGRAM

Dim sum and draft beer share the stage at this downtown stunner—nationally noticed since day one. Order soup dumplings, seafood dumplings, and the Sichuan cucumber salad; add a house brew or a cocktail and you’re set. The restaurant was a 2018 James Beard Best New Restaurant semifinalist and remains one of Raleigh’s most recognizable modern dining rooms.

Best for: Dim sum, beer, and the surprise of finding both under chandeliers

Crawford & Son

$$$$$ | MAP | WEBSITE | INSTAGRAM

Scott Crawford’s namesake restaurant is the kind of place that reminds you why fine dining survived the 2010s. There’s comfort in the precision: pork collar lacquered in sorghum, cornbread crisp at the edges, servers who remember your cocktail from last month. It’s modern Southern without the sermon.

Best for: A night that needs to go right

Death & Taxes

$$$$$ | MAP | WEBSITE | INSTAGRAM

Ashley Christensen’s wood-fire palace remains the flagship of downtown Raleigh’s restaurant scene. Dishes come touched by flame and smoke—roasted oysters, embered cabbage, greens cooked over coals before baked into gruyere cheese. You could argue she built the city’s dining identity here, one scorched peach at a time.

Best for: When you want Raleigh at its most iconic

East End Bistrot

$$$$$ | MAP | WEBSITE | INSTAGRAM

Chef William D’Auvray doesn’t chase trends; he just cooks like someone who’s been doing it long enough to know better. His duck confit could pass a Paris brasserie test, and the steak au poivre arrives the way it should—crusted, unapologetic, perfect with a martini. The room feels grown-up in the best way, full of people who still believe dinner should take all night.

Best for: Escaping the small-plates generation for a proper meal

Figulina

$$$$$ | MAP | WEBSITE | INSTAGRAM

Figulina is Raleigh’s latest proof that simplicity wins. Yes, this is about handmade pasta, but there’s also a dash of chef David Ellis’ British heritage, along with locally sourced produce. A real contender for a James Beard trophy, it’s already become the place locals brag about getting into.

Best for: Pasta made with reverence, not trendiness

Gonza Tacos y Tequila

$$$$$ | MAP | WEBSITE | INSTAGRAM

Gonza still feels like a house party, with music that’s never set below nine with mariachi covers of ‘80s hits. The tacos, like the carne asada with cilantro and lime, are equally cranked up versions of Mexican classics. Look, is it more about the party than what’s on the plate? Maybe. But who doesn’t need a place with decent tacos and margs to turn around a rough day?

Best for: Tacos with a side of chaos that works

Jolie

$$$$$ | MAP | WEBSITE | INSTAGRAM

Next door to Crawford & Son, Scott Crawford went full Parisian—tiny tables, pink flowers, and escargot in enough garlic butter to make you forget whatever it took you to get here. It’s more joyful than formal, like the French bistro you imagine under your second-home flat in Paris. On nice nights, everyone wants a table under the awning, so get here before folks start claiming their spots.

Best for: Pretending you live in France for an hour

MoJoe’s Burger Joint

$$$$$ | MAP | WEBSITE | INSTAGRAM

As far as restaurant concepts go, it’s hard to argue with MoJoe’s reliance on good burgers and a dozen beers on tap. It’s the kind of place where a pint, a patty, and the hum of college football on TV equals happiness. Going strong for two decades now, this is a Raleigh institution that hasn’t forgotten what a burger should be, starting by the six-ounce burger that’s still just seven bucks.

Best for: Beer-and-burger nostalgia done right

Peregrine

$$$$$ | MAP | WEBSITE | INSTAGRAM

Chef Saif Rahman’s cooking at Peregrine doesn’t just cross borders—it folds them into every plate. The Maghrebi Duck Breast arrives spiced barley and stone fruits; Suya Mushroom comes draped in Nigerian sweet potato curry; and the Bengali Wedding Chicken leans into its dramatic roots, served with Carolina Gold rice. Opened since April, Peregrine is already a sign of the ambition that’s everywhere these days in Raleigh.

Best for: The next-gen of Raleigh cooking

St. Roch Fine Oysters + Bar

$$$$$ | MAP | WEBSITE | INSTAGRAM

Chef Sunny Gerhart channels his Louisiana roots into oysters, gumbo, and a dark roux that could win over the homesick Cajun in anyone. It’s one of those places where you start with a Sazerac and end with strangers at your table. Raleigh doesn’t have many bars that feel like New Orleans, but this one earns it.

Best for: Oysters, small plates, second rounds

Tamasha Modern Indian

$$$$$ | MAP | WEBSITE | INSTAGRAM

Chef Bhavin Chhatwani has brought Indian fine dining to Raleigh with a wink—playful plating, street-food flavors in couture clothing. His kerala pork belly bao is proof that fusion can be more than marketing. The room glows in gold and spice, a reminder that dinner should feel like a celebration.

Best for: Impressively plated Indian dishes in a space to match