The Top 57 Places to Eat and Drink Near Mala Pata
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Rank 1. Mala Pata
Mexican
At Mala Pata, a lively Mexican kitchen in Gateway Plaza, the foundation is literal: corn from Oaxaca ground daily into tortillas, tostadas, and chips. Tacos arrive with fish and meat; whole market fish and beef anchor the larger plates. The adjoining cocktail bar mixes mezcal mules and pisco sours with the same attention to source.
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Rank 2. Brodeto
Adriatic Italian
In a converted ironworks, Brodeto channels the Adriatic through crudo, handmade pasta, wood-fired fish, and the slow-cooked peka that gives the menu its backbone. The wine list favors small Italian producers with an explorer's attention to region and vintage. What emerges is not nostalgia but a genuine kitchen thinking clearly about salt, smoke, and time.
- James Beard Awards 2025 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Restaurateur · Scott Crawford - Crawford Hospitality
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
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Rank 3. Crawford and Son
New American
Scott Crawford's neighborhood restaurant in historic Oakwood keeps a short, seasonal menu where quality ingredients speak plainly—smoked trout rillettes, seared duck with grilled apricots, Manchego biscuits warm from the oven. A long bar and marble-topped banquette create an upscale ease that feels less restaurant than refined living room.
- James Beard Awards 2024 · Nominee · Outsdanding Hospitality
- James Beard Awards 2025 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Restaurateur · Scott Crawford - Crawford Hospitality
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
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Rank 4. Ajja
Mediterranean
- James Beard Awards 2024 · Semifinalist · Best New Restaurant
- Esquire 2023 · The Best New Restaurants in America
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: Southeast · Cheetie Kumar
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Rank 5. Jolie
French
Chef Scott Crawford's French bistro in Historic Oakwood channels Paris through steak tartare and French onion soup executed with punchy modern flavor and classical rigor. The rum-soaked baba justifies the detour alone; the all-French wine list and front-window champagne service complete the picture of careful, unpretentious hospitality.
- James Beard Awards 2025 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Restaurateur · Scott Crawford - Crawford Hospitality
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
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Rank 6. Stanbury
New American
Stanbury trades reservation certainty for first-come charm, serving an eclectic menu that swings from roasted marrow to seasonal NC produce in a taxidermy-lined former grocery store. No-frills communal dining in the Mordecai neighborhood rewards early arrival and an appetite for wandering.
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- US Coffee Championships 2025 · #6 · U.S. Brewers Cup · John Dixon
- US Coffee Championships 2025 · #9 · U.S. Brewers Cup · Kyle Ramage
- US Coffee Championships 2025 · #3 · U.S. Coffee Roasters Championship · Kevin Seehousz
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Rank 10. Tamasha
Contemporary Indian
Tamasha treats Indian cooking as grand spectacle, marrying traditional technique with local ingredients and occasional fusion flourishes in a striking modern space. The kitchen balances classics like coconut curry snapper with creative hybrids—Kerala pork belly bao, desserts bridging north and south India.
- James Beard Awards 2025 · Semifinalist · Emerging Chef · Bhavin Chhatwani
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
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Rank 12. Figulina
Italian
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- Bon Appétit The Very Best Bagels in the US (Yes, Outside New York)
- Bon Appétit 2019 · America's Best New Restaurants
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Rank 14. Sam Jones BBQ
Barbecue
Three generations of pit masters at this downtown Raleigh smokehouse tend whole hogs over embers, chopping the meat fine and cutting its richness with sharp vinegar sauce; a meat combo arrives with sides and cornbread, best chased with one of the family's own beers. The line moves, the room hums with the particular warmth of a place that knows what it does and does it well.
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Rank 15. Brewery Bhavana
Chinese
A bistro that takes its beer program seriously while pivoting to Chinese cuisine: dim sum trolleys at lunch give way to communal plates built for sharing, some threaded with considerable heat. The dining room doubles as a gallery for local crafts and vintage books, a setting that feels more thoughtful curiosity cabinet than conventional restaurant.
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A former clothing store turned oyster bar where Chef Sunny Gerhart's Louisiana heritage shapes the menu around briny, daily-shucked selections. Barbecue shrimp and grits anchor the brunch, while fried oysters and beignets round out a seafood-focused bistro rooted in Lowcountry tradition.
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- James Beard Awards 2022 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: Southeast · Sunny Gerhart
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Rank 17. Poole's
Southern
A Raleigh institution since 1947, Poole's occupies a restored diner counter and adjoining warehouse space where the kitchen delivers unfussy Southern cooking: tomato pie with real depth, slow-cooked shrimp, mac and cheese that justifies its reputation. The horseshoe counter itself is as much the point as what arrives on the plate.
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Rank 18. The Pit
North Carolina Barbecue
Smoke billows from this Warehouse District warehouse where North Carolina barbecue transcends the expected—chopped pork anchors a menu of ribs, sausages, and Gulf seafood, each order begging for cornbread with seasonal butter. The carrot cake arrives like an afterthought that matters more than it should.
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Rank 20. Herons
Modern New American
Set within a luxury hotel on wooded grounds, Herons harnesses produce from its own farm for Chef Steven Devereaux Greene's carefully composed plates that carry echoes of the Lowcountry—shrimp and grits among them. The wine program, developed with partner vineyards, deserves its own attention, and desserts like blackberry panna cotta arrive with the same precision as the savory courses.
- AAA Five Diamonds
- Forbes Travel Guide Forbes Five Star
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: Southeast · Steven Devereaux Greene
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Rank 21. Prime Barbecue
Barbecue
A Texas pitmaster's spare operation in rural Knightdale runs out most afternoons—arrive early or risk finding the doors locked. Brisket and ribs emerge from the smoker with the care of someone who knows the craft, sold by the pound or bundled with two sides into a "meat and 2." On Saturdays, whole hog lechon arrives chopped, a departure that rewards those who plan ahead.
- Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand
- James Beard Awards 2025 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: Southeast · Christopher Prieto
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- US Coffee Championships 2025 · #9 · U.S. Brewers Cup · Kyle Ramage
- US Coffee Championships 2025 · #3 · U.S. Coffee Roasters Championship · Kevin Seehousz
- US Coffee Championships 2025 · #6 · U.S. Brewers Cup · John Dixon
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Rank 25. Fairview Dining Room
Classic New American
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Rank 26. Dampf Good BBQ
Barbecue
Brothers Nick and Bryce Dampf smoke brisket and ribs from a countryside trailer, open weekends only. Meat sold by weight, homemade sausages rival the signature beef in a no-frills setup worth the drive.
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- James Beard Awards 2025 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Chef · Ricky Moore
- Eater 18 Essential Restaurants in Durham, North Carolina
- James Beard Awards 2022 · Winner · Best Chef: Southeast · Ricky Moore
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Rank 35. Little Bull
Mexican
Chef Oscar Diaz blends West Coast technique with Mexican heritage in vibrant small plates designed for sharing, anchored by an al pastor skewer and tom kha ceviche. The half chicken with pita satisfies, best chased with ice-cold beer or a house cocktail.
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Rank 36. Seraphine
Southern
Inside a converted tobacco warehouse, Seraphine trades in Southern comfort—fried shrimp, broiled oysters, gumbo, catfish—while the marble bar slings classic and inventive cocktails beneath moody lighting. The terrace opens to the renovated complex; the dining room offers something darker, more intimate, where the past seems to linger in the walls.
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Rank 37. Nanas
French-influenced Italian
A smart retro dining room hosts Italian and French cooking anchored by local ingredients, where wood-grilled plates and house-made pasta compete for attention with lingering traditions like North Carolina shrimp remoulade. The chocolate soufflé arrives dreamy and billowed, a small finale to a menu built on the principle that there's something here for everyone.
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- Eater 18 Essential Restaurants in Durham, North Carolina
- James Beard Awards 2022 · Nominee · Outstanding Bar Program
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Rank 43. Nikos
Greek
Inside a converted tobacco warehouse, Nikos serves Greek and Mediterranean standards—spanakopita, octopus carpaccio, a sprawling meze platter—in a dining room that honors its early-1900s brick bones while maintaining a casual modern ease. The wine list tilts Greek, the baklava arrives properly burnished, and the whole experience carries the unhurried pleasure of a taverna, minus the jet lag.
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- James Beard Awards 2023 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: Southeast · Preeti Waas
- James Beard Awards 2024 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: Southeast · Preeti Waas
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Rank 56. The Fearrington House Restaurant
Modern Cuisine
A converted farmhouse anchors a pastoral village where linen tables and intimate alcoves cater to ceremony. The seasonally shifting menu draws on local produce and balances inventive technique with classical restraint, though the chocolate soufflé remains the unapologetic indulgence that justifies the pilgrimage.
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