I did not know this place was here. Just started a new job off of TW Alexander, and looked on yelp…read morefor nearby restaurants for lunch. It's a southern thing popped up. I almost didn't go, because I thought this was the downtown Durham restaurant, which is nice, but parking nightmare. Glad I went, though. The food was solid. I had the fired chicken sandwhich and fries the first day, a buffalo chicken wrap the second day, and the smoked chicken wings the third day, yes, 3 in a row. That has to say something, especially for me. All lunch items were pretty spot on, although I like a little more vinegar in my slaw than most. That was remedied by the texas pete on the bar. The service staff were all hands on. If the bartender was not there, the manager or a back of the house person was always checking on me. Very nice staff. As far as the ambiance itself, nice setup. Good sized bar, nice big patio, clean indoor and restrooms... all in all, I could not ding them for anything. I need to go to check out the weekend brunch or dinner menu. I am sure that I will not be disappointed, however, I have been told to get to brunch before noon, as it gets very busy, also a good thing. Cheers. :)

Visited on a Saturday afternoon with a group of five and were seated right away. The restaurant…read morewasn't too crowded, and though they only had two servers on staff, the team was incredibly friendly. ​The food did take a bit long to come out, but the presentation was excellent. We started with a variety of appetizers, and they were an absolute hit with everyone! For my main, I tried the daily special--a French Dip--which I'd rate a solid 7/10. While one of my friends didn't care for her French Dip, the rest of the table enjoyed theirs. Personally, I found most of the dishes a little on the saltier side, though no one else seemed to notice. Overall, it was a good experience and I'd definitely go back to try more of the menu.

Overall good experience. Food was decent not awesome. The service was quick and the staff were…read morekind. Reason not 5 stars was the food was not much better than most other places that serve fish. I liked the shrimp po boy vs the fish sandwich but both were good. Cool place if near Chapel Hill. The cakes looked crazy good but didn't have room to try it.

Drinks at the bar with a dessert is a can't miss! Great staff as well, very attentive.read more

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!

Our food was exceptional. Fresh, and plentiful, and extremely flavorful. Such exquisite…read morecombinations of tastes. The ambiance was also good, and the service was 5 star. We will tell everyone we know to stop there on their way in or out of RDU. Amazing.

After moving to the west coast, I've missed the food on the east coast/South so much! I went on a…read morework dinner while in town for training and this was the perfect first place to stop and grab food during my trip! Since it was a Monday night I was not expecting the restaurant to be busy and it wasn't. Plenty of open parking, no wait at all, and quick to be served. I ordered the smoked brisket which came on top of burnt end hash, collard greens, and topped with a bbq sauce/gravy. The brisket was so tender and a really thick cut. I typically like leaner cuts of meat and the meat was perfect, not too much fat. The sauce also complimented really nicely. The burnt end hash was also really good. The potatoes were tender and soaked up some of the juices from the greens and sauce. The greens were cooked perfectly. Not too soft and still had some crunch to them. They had a lot of flavor and had a touch of sweetness. I would get a bowl of them to eat on its own for sure. My coworker got the pork chop with mashed sweet potatoes and green beans which she said was really good. Her plate was vibrant in color from the vegetables and the pork chop looked well prepared. For dessert we shared the banana bread pudding with strawberry ice cream. The bread budding came out warm which was perfect to go with the ice cream which tasted homemade. I'm a sucker for anything strawberry though. The bread pudding had slices of banana throughout and held together well when eaten with the ice cream. Service throughout the evening was good. We were checked on and brought refills without having to flag down the waiter. Overall it was a great experience. I know I'll be back to RDU at some point so I'll be sure to come back.

A staple of the triangle area. I like taking guests/newcomers of the area here. The food--classic…read moreNew England/American fare--is consistently solid: not necessarily a "wow" experience, but always satisfying and reasonably priced for the portion sizes. The service is reliably good, and I especially appreciate the community atmosphere. It's the kind of place where you regularly see families gathering and large groups celebrating together. The cakes are the best - and one of the flavors I associate most with the area and my early days after moving here, very nostalgic! My personal favorite is the strawberry shortcake, which I find myself coming back for often!

I've been here 3 times, and they never disappoint. I had the salmon this time and a slice of…read morestrawberry chocolate cake, both delicious. The prices are very reasonable (compared to Long Island prices). I will definitely return when I'm in town. Thank you.

Y'all. This is truly a gem. A dear friend and I are having…read morea girls' weekend in Durham and were looking for an unpretentious dinner spot with great food. We frikkin' found it! Quaint, spotless, Frank Sinatra & Sam Cooke playing thru the speakers, a lovely server & bartender, and the food... For mains, I had the Duck Gumbo with a side of collards & my friend had the Angry Yard Bird Mac & Cheese. Everything was an impressively elevated version of familiar comfort food. BUT, Y'ALL, we shared the fried green tomatoes for a starter. Now, I've eaten fried green tomatoes many times in many, many places. These were the best I've ever had. Hands down. No contest. The pimento cheese just takes them to an entirely different level. I'm sure I'll be thinking about them long after I leave NC. Ugh. Can you make friends with food and then miss it when you're away? Apparently so. For your own sake, get yourself to Lula and Sadie's and order those fried green tomatoes.

Great Food, Great Service & Definitely Worth Another Visit…read more We visited Lula and Sadie's in Durham around brunch time and were pleasantly surprised that we had access to the full menu. The restaurant has a warm, inviting feel. The tables are a little closer together than I personally prefer, but it wasn't busy during our visit, so we never felt crowded. Our waiter, Jack, was fantastic--attentive without hovering and full of great recommendations. We started with the mimosa flight and chose strawberry, orange, cranberry, and apple cider. First of all, these were generous pours! Every flavor was delicious, and I'm already looking forward to coming back and trying some of the others. For our appetizer, we ordered the Oysters Rockefeller, and this was probably the biggest surprise of the meal. Their version features a fried oyster with pimento cheese, and somehow the pimento cheese stole the show! I never would have thought to put the two together, but it absolutely works. This is already on my must-order-again list. For my entrée, I had the cowboy steak cooked medium, and it was flavorful, juicy, and cooked perfectly. The dinosaur kale was seasoned well, but those smashed golden potatoes deserve their own moment. Perfectly seasoned with sea salt and rosemary with just the right amount of crispiness--they were easily one of my favorite things on the plate. We also tried the pork chop special. The portion was huge and it looked amazing when it arrived. Unfortunately, because the chop was so thick, portions of it were very undercooked. The flavor was definitely there, but the uneven cook made it much less appetizing than it otherwise would have been. With the execution corrected, I could see this being a great dish. We added sides of potato salad and mac & cheese, and both were very tasty. By dessert, we were completely full, so everything came home with us. The strawberry lemonade Bundt cake was moist, flavorful, and not overly sweet--exactly how I like a dessert. The banana pudding was just okay. It didn't seem as fresh as the rest of the meal, and the wafers were already very soggy. So, is Lula and Sadie's a perfect 5/5 for me? Not quite yet. The undercooked pork chop and banana pudding kept it from getting there. But overall, we had a really enjoyable dining experience with several standout dishes and excellent service. We'll absolutely be back--if for nothing else, I need another mimosa flight and those Oysters Rockefeller! But really, I'm looking forward to eating my way through more of the menu.

Just wow! The price was great, the food was amazing, and the owner made sure everything was exactly…read morehow we wanted it. This is the best spot for breakfast. I can't wait to try more items on the menu!

The interior/decor is by no means great. It's clean but nothing special at all. The food delivery…read moreto our table was a little slow. The food itself was great!! Would definitely go back.

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.