There’s no shortage of culinary powerhouse cities across the South, but it’s time to officially add another to the list. Raleigh, perhaps overshadowed at times by its trendy neighbor Durham, has been marching up the ranks of gastronomic excellence in a major way recently.
The rise in notoriety, says Scott Crawford, the five-time James Beard Award nominee and owner of popular local spots like Crawford & Son and Jolie, started in 2007. “Ashley Christensen took a chance on downtown Raleigh when she started Poole’s Diner,” he says. “And I think that was really the beginning of the city’s food scene.”
Cheetie Kumar, owner of hotspot Ajja and fellow five-time James Beard nominee, has said similar things about Christensen’s influence: “[Poole’s] became the anchor for everything else in Raleigh.”
Crawford himself is credited with having a heavy hand in developing Raleigh’s restaurants. He was the executive chef at Herons when the restaurant received a Forbes Five Star designation in 2008, one of only seventy-nine in the country, before opening Crawford & Son in 2016.
An increase in development projects around the city starting about a decade ago has also helped fuel the growth of local, independent restaurants, and a massive population surge during the pandemic helped push Raleigh’s food boundaries even further. “While Raleigh is still a fairly young food scene, it’s a pretty impressive one with a surprising number of exceptionally well-trained chefs,” Crawford says. “It’s both a mix of longtime North Carolinians who have honed their craft here and Michelin-trained chefs who have chosen to move here from major cities and restaurant groups as our dining public continues to grow and demand more sophistication.”
Bhavin Chhatwani, executive chef at Tamasha and a recent James Beard nominee, was one of those chefs who purposely moved to Raleigh. “Meeting [the owners of Tamasha] Mike and Tina, our shared vision for exceptional food and hospitality aligned,” he says of his decision. “And I knew the city was ready for inventive Indian food that is still approachable at its heart.”
While there’s a surplus of new and noteworthy spots in town worth talking about, here’s a small sampling of eateries generating buzz and attention.
Brodeto
One of Crawford’s latest endeavors, Brodeto is a seafood-heavy concept inspired by the flavors of southern Italy and Croatia. The coal-roasted scallops are a must-have, as is the pistachio ice cream for dessert.
Capital Pizza Box
Owner Anthony Guerra is considered by many to be the pizza king in town, and this offshoot of his original Oakwood Pizza Box recently opened to help keep up with demand. On opening weekend, the two locations made well over one thousand pies.
Figulina
Chef David Ellis earned a James Beard nomination his first year in business thanks to his ever-changing rotation of homemade pasta dishes. Try to land on a night when the country ham carbonara is in rotation for the ultimate lesson in comfort food.
Peregrine
South Asia meets the South at Peregrine. The chicken crackling snack, twice fried and paired with the Ethiopian spice blend berbere, marries the two cultures seamlessly, while dishes like the saucy Bengali wedding chicken are more of a nod to chef Saif Rahman’s upbringing in Bangladesh.
Mala Pata
This Latin American spot only opened in May and has already shown up on all of the local “best of” lists, thanks to their tortillas made with freshly ground masa and dishes like succulent grilled fish with salsa two ways.
