Tesoro is a cute little neighborhood gem in Carborro just a stones throw away from Weaver Street…read moremarket. The vibes are intimate and cozy, and I'm so glad I made a reservation because even on a Tuesday night, the whole place was full, and people kept coming throughout the evening. There's a few smaller tables and a bar overlooking an open kitchen. Bonus vibes points for the fresh flowers on the tables. The menu is Italian with a small, focused menu. We started with the focaccia bread, and wow, it was pillowy and melt in your mouth good. The butter that accompanies it was a warm hug that brought the whole thing together. Otherwise, we ordered a few other dishes. The waitress was really kind and helped us ensure that everything we got was vegetarian. We ordered the linguini vegetarian, rigatoni, and the gnocchi. All were very flavorful and rich tasting.

Tesoro is a charming little Italian spot in Carrboro. We sat outside on a beautiful day, which made…read morecelebrating my husband's birthday even more memorable. We started with the beets, focaccia with whipped herb butter and a glass of wine--simple, fresh, and a great way to start the meal (the focaccia is a must order and the herb butter was worth the $1 upgrade). For our entrées, he had the mafalde and I ordered the ricotta gnudi. Both dishes were delicious. We couldn't skip dessert. We shared the caramel bread pudding with ice cream and the olive oil cake with citrus crème anglaise. The olive oil cake is a must order. Because of the restaurant's small size, I'd definitely recommend making a reservation if you plan to dine in.

My husband and I had dinner at this restaurant, and it had been a few years since our last visit…read more Before we went, my husband had read some negative online reviews about the food and was hesitant to give it another try. I'm so glad we decided to take a chance. We also discovered that some of the information online about the ownership is inaccurate. My husband spoke with one of the owners, who explained that while one of the original owners has passed away, the restaurant continues to be owned and operated by the remaining three owners. I'm happy to say that the bread was just as delicious as we remembered, and the quality of the food was every bit as good as in the past. The only suggestion I would make is to expand the wine selection. There weren't many people dining while we were there, but I'm hoping that was simply because of the time we chose to eat. We've always enjoyed this restaurant, and this visit reminded us why. We'll definitely be back soon!

I love the pizza here. I order it often. As a former New Yorker that says a lot. It is the best in…read moremy area. The calamari and carbonara is delicious as well.

There are not a lot of decent options in Durham after 9:00 PM, that I could find. This was near the…read morehotel , decided to give it a try. Food was "good", "normal", definitely not great. I had the chicken cannelloni. Nice side salad, average bread. I'd come back for 2 reason: Excellent carrot cake! Grace! Wonderful, knowledgable, friendly server.

I love going to this place for lunch. It's close to the office and my friends seem to enjoy the…read morefood as well. The calamari is excellent and cooked perfectly, not chewy at all. The pizza is exceptional, it's is my husband's favorite. I prefer the supreme, but he loves the meat lovers. My all-time favorite thing to order is still the chef salad or Pasta alla Dino. They always give you so much food and it's usually enough for a second meal at home. The wait staff is usually pretty good but sometimes they're slow.

I get this for lunch sometimes since it is close to work. I absolutely LOVE the chicken gyro!!…read moreDefinitely recommend

Enjoyed a nice birthday dinner at Melo. To start, the bread, I think foccacia, was really good…read more Their mozzarella sticks are huge and some of the best. Two people commented they didn't need the marinara they were so good. We all shared in some capacity. The hubs got the NY Strip which had beautiful and tasty veggies along with the good steak. I got a few tapas versus an entre. The sautéed spinach with the bacon for salt and an interesting dried cranberries for sweet were great.. not soggy or overcooked. The Shrimp in lemon was amazing! I could have just drank the sauce. Great for bread dipping. And of course the baked cheese was a winner. Service started a little slow because we had 7 folks and I didn't call ahead to warn them, but when we were finally settled the service was great.

We were here on a Thursday evening for a seminar event. They have 2 rooms in the back that are…read morevery well suited for small gatherings. Service was as to be expected for this type of event. I got ONE glass of ice tea and no offer of a refill. We had a small menu to order from. The Caesar salad was divine !! Well dressed and shaved parmigiana. I had the spaghetti with shrimp and feta. Shrimp was well cooked but the feta did not taste like feta. It had NO taste at all. Not sure what would cause this. It had a red sauce that was OK. Hubby had a sirloin steak that was drowning with gravy and mushrooms. Did not look appetizing at all. For dessert we had chocolate cake, served with a dollop of whip cream and a strawberry. The outside seating looked lovely. We may be back to try that out.

Let me begin by saying, the appetizers here are amazing--well, at least, all of the vegan ones…read more(most of which I've gotten). There's a green hummus??? Wow. Perhaps my favorite out of everything we got all night. However, although they do have a nice variety of vegan appetizers, they only have one vegan entree, the Golden Quinoa. It isn't bad, but it pales in comparison to the appetizers we've had. Additionally, over the past two years (during which we've come to parizade about 3 times, because we had a massive giftcard to use up), the quality of the entree has gone down somewhat. When we went last night, I was disappointed to feel that it was altogether underseasoned. It's also disappointing to see that they have not attempted to introduce or switch our their vegan entree in 2 years. The service also varies. Last night, our server was fantastic, and obviously very experienced, but on past visits we have gotten less experienced servers who have made our dining experience more uncomfortable rather than less so. Perhaps most frustrating is that only one out of three of the servers appeared to understand what it meant that we were vegan. Both of the others, after being told that we were vegan, recommended dishes which were not vegan (which we had to awkwardly tell them), or suggested we add protein to the quinoa dish (which, again, I don't think they have a vegan tofu to add--or if they did, he didn't tell us). I'm willing to have some grace on a server that is learning, but I think it's frankly unacceptable for a fine dining establishment to have wait staff who don't know how to accommodate vegan customers (especially when they literally have their vegan options labeled on the menu!). Generally speaking, a hefty giftcard to a fine dining restaurant should feel like a gift, not a burden. Because of the limited vegan options, however, using up our giftcard felt like something of a chore (and we ended up resorting friends with us the last time so that we could blow most of it on a few bottles of wine). If you aren't vegan, I'm sure you would enjoy this place. If you are, I think that there are much better fine dining experiences in the area. Even so, I'm rating this 4 stars because the appetizers, the wine, and the cocktails were all truly 5 stars.

We recently held a remembrance gathering at 411 West Italian Restaurant to honor my wife of 70…read moreyears who passed away recently. Before reserving our private dining room, I was concerned that we might encounter the usual delays and miscommunication I've experienced several times in the past with other restaurants. Instead, we received professional, compassionate, timely, and reassuring service at every step. Coordination meetings with Mr. O'Connell took minutes instead of hours because he seemed able to anticipate exactly what we needed. Each concern was answered with "You don't have to worry - we'll take care of it" - and they did. The dining room was set beautifully, and it nicely accommodated our nearly 20 guests. Every detail was beautifully executed and timed just as we had requested. The special menu prepared for us was a major hit with or guests. And our server, Marley, was absolutely superb - perhaps the best, the friendliest, and most efficient in my memory. I'm now in my 90s, and I've seldom seriously used the word "perfect" to describe anything. But Mr. O'Connell and his staff, the dinner, the beverage service, and the attention to detail deserve a "perfect" rating. They have my family's and my highest recommendation and our sincere appreciation. BVC Chapel Hill, NC

Went last Wednesday our server Angus was wonderful, polite, and attentive. Food was amazing! Loved…read moremy chicken marsala actually wanted more. My husband enjoyed his chicken parm and a margarita pizza. We ordered calamari as an app and it was delicious. Will be back again.

We chose this restaurant to celebrate our daughter's graduation because we had such a wonderful…read moreexperience there previously. Unfortunately, this visit was extremely disappointing, especially given the importance of the occasion and the amount we spent. The service was very slow, and the overall experience simply did not match the standard that brought us back in the first place. While the manager did apologize and brought an extra dish to the table, the repeated apologies did not really make up for the poor pacing and frustration during brunch. The menu has a lot of variety but there are no substitutions or adding protein to a salad.... But the food was good! Since the food took a while -spirits were dampened. This is a great place for two to four people but since we were a party over six, our server was guaranteed a 20 percent tip -so maybe there was no incentive for great service.

1 star I visited…read moreNikos in Durham this evening and had a very disappointing experience. What stood out the most was the behavior of the owner. I watched him go around greeting multiple tables and engaging with guests--but he noticeably avoided tables with Black patrons, including mine. There was no greeting or acknowledgment at all, which felt intentional and uncomfortable. Hospitality should be consistent for everyone. No guest should feel ignored or unwelcome. Unfortunately, the service and food did not make up for the overall experience. I hope management reflects on how all customers are treated moving forward.

I went with a friend to their afternoon tea on Sunday - they offer it 2:30 - 4 only. This place is…read moreposh! Which is to be expected since it is located in the Washington Duke Inn. We had to book our reservations ahead of time and also paid ahead of time - $70 per person. The staff was gracious and attentive. The food was delicious and the tea was probably some of the favorite that I've had. I don't necessarily know if it was worth the price though. The food was good but I was hoping, based on cost, that it would have been a more substantial offering. All in all, it's a fun place to go and have an afternoon outing with friends.

Booked afternoon tea to celebrate 2 birthdays and do a fun girls outing. All of the sandwiches and…read moredesserts were delicious - freshly made and flavors were well paired. They also gave us 2 pieces of cake at the end to celebrate our birthdays, which at that point we were so full and already on a sugar high but we appreciated the gesture and the cakes were great! It wasn't busy when we went and they don't rush you at all. You do have to prepay so just beware of that and make sure to communicate ahead of time if your plans change. Great place for afternoon tea!