Haven't done date night here in a few years. When we lived here we liked Coquette and Firebirds for just a normal date night (this won't be a super expensive date night).

What's new here for a simple dinner and a movie night? We have a 3 month old and take her out all the time, but this is our first alone date night since she's been born.

2/20/2016 8:10:20 AM

Firebird's is always good. Poole's diner is great, but moderately expensive. Travinia in Cary/Morrisville is great, Buku downtown is always tasty, too many options to choose from.

2/20/2016 8:13:14 AM

That's my problem, there are so many to choose from. In Roanoke there are like 5, so the decision is always easy.

2/20/2016 9:02:34 AM

buku or ORO. since you get out so rarely, lots of different types of food at both but small plates so you can try them all

2/20/2016 9:17:58 AM

Salt & Lime Cabo Grill. Get your Cali-Mex fix and be done with it.

2/20/2016 10:08:27 AM

Bida Manda downtown was fantastic, though I've only been there the one time so the sample size is small.

2/20/2016 5:05:36 PM

^been voted best restaurant in NC, so it's pretty legit.

2/22/2016 3:19:13 PM

hayes barton cafe - great food and ambiance.

2/22/2016 3:25:50 PM

Go to Hayes Barton if you want to wait 90 minutes for a table. Not worth it.

[Edited on February 22, 2016 at 6:00 PM. Reason : J/K, it's great. Just always busy.]

2/22/2016 6:00:00 PM

Yah they don't do reservations for parties < 4 so 20-30 minute waits can happen during peak weekend times.

2/22/2016 7:09:35 PM

Bella Monica

2/23/2016 11:24:15 AM

Melting Pot




jk Margaux's, Sitti, Poole's, Irregardless...but Hayes Barton is my usual go-to

2/23/2016 11:39:18 AM

Come to Mandolin in Hayes Barton. I'll get you a reservation.

2/23/2016 2:29:40 PM

Quote :

"RESERVATIONS: are taken for 4 – 8 people. Call and talk to a PERSON."

Not a fan of this attitude. Especially when their website has links to sites like Yelp. "We hate technology except when it drives business to us!"

2/23/2016 3:31:52 PM

Then don't go. Less wait times for me.

2/23/2016 3:35:22 PM

Oh I might still go. Just wanted to point out the mild hypocrisy.

2/23/2016 3:40:29 PM

Absynnia, duh.

2/23/2016 3:55:19 PM

Welcome back bro!

2/23/2016 4:24:42 PM

^^^ def give it a shot. food is excellent.

[Edited on February 23, 2016 at 4:41 PM. Reason : owners are super nice too...husband is like the maitre d and wife is usually behind the counter]

2/23/2016 4:40:03 PM

ORO is overrated as fuck, the restaurant is pretty but the food is very meh

2/23/2016 6:56:14 PM

theres a red lobster on wake forest road

2/23/2016 8:12:01 PM

Took my current gf to Sitti on our first date 3 years ago today.

2/23/2016 8:33:56 PM

Bojangles on Western Blvd

2/24/2016 2:10:17 PM

I tried to go to Absynnia recently at night. Apparently its a dance club at night.

2/24/2016 2:49:17 PM

Bojangles Smithfield's on Western Blvd

2/25/2016 10:34:10 AM

Pooles Diner downtown. Incredible food/menu, great drinks, unique atmosphere. Home run.

2/26/2016 12:40:16 PM

All of these are good, but are listed in order of price, so you can determine what you want to do.

Capital Club 16, Centro, Humble Pie, Bida Manda, and Poole's.

All of these have a good atmosphere with their own cocktails and specialities. If either of you are vegan, skip Capital Club.

2/26/2016 1:44:30 PM

Standard Foods but you'll need to make a reservation well in advance

2/26/2016 2:17:43 PM

Pearl Chinese

[Edited on February 26, 2016 at 3:07 PM. Reason : get dat house lo mein]

2/26/2016 3:07:26 PM

Garland
Bida Manda
Stanbury
Fiction Kitchen
Poole's
CC16

Everything else is a step down...plenty of other good places, but those six are where you'll get crazy goodness.

2/27/2016 2:24:41 AM

Irregardless

2/27/2016 2:32:50 AM

Lol everything else is a step down

hipsters

2/27/2016 10:26:37 AM

lol, Standard Foods is definitely not a step down by even the most hipster of scales

[Edited on February 27, 2016 at 10:41 AM. Reason : if there was an award for "elevated-hipster" it would win by a wide margin]

2/27/2016 10:40:06 AM

did not like Standard Foods

granted, I went early, might've improved

2/28/2016 10:44:49 PM

2/29/2016 4:01:31 PM

Damn we are getting old.

3/1/2016 8:57:14 AM

Can we come to consensus on standard foods? Its really bothering me.

3/1/2016 9:59:56 AM

I really enjoyed Mandolin off Oberlin and usually not too crowded.

Want to try standard foods.

3/1/2016 10:27:59 AM

^^ delicious, crawford did a great job. no idea who their pastry chef is, but their desserts are also killer. service at the beginning was hit or miss (still good, but not exceptional), but it has improved and i expect that to continue. i wish the restaurant was larger and the store part smaller, especially if it meant the dining was a little more intimate (which is also a chief complaint at stanbury). if you get a seat on the bar side it's okay, but you lose a lot on the market side.

(when i said their was a wide margin i should have said that the margin between standard and stanbury is much tighter than the others, i think the lead over stanbury is marginal)

3/1/2016 11:25:19 AM

Doesn't Poole's Diner always have a significant wait? That's prevented me from eating there every time I've tried.

I've never eaten at Standard Foods but after looking at the menu I have no desire to. Just not my type of place.

3/1/2016 11:32:13 AM

there*

3/1/2016 11:37:02 AM

Quote :

"Doesn't Poole's Diner always have a significant wait? That's prevented me from eating there every time I've tried. I've never eaten at Standard Foods but after looking at the menu I have no desire to. Just not my type of place."

you can probably get a table at applebees right away

3/1/2016 12:15:11 PM

LOL, I'm just saying... OP's not familiar with the area restaurants and while some people have suggested Poole's, nobody let him know there's a good chance of being a line out the door.

3/1/2016 4:16:36 PM

Taverna Agora, downtown.

3/1/2016 4:54:16 PM

I've never had an issue getting a seat at Poole's, really just depends on the time and day you're going. Any restaurant downtown is going to have a wait at like 7:00-8:00 on a Fri/Sat night.

3/2/2016 8:37:40 AM

that's what reservations are for

3/2/2016 9:02:26 AM

I think Standard Foods is better than Stanbury by a pretty big margin, at least based on the last time I went to each

3/2/2016 10:02:34 AM

Quote :

"Any restaurant downtown is going to have a wait at like 7:00-8:00 on a Fri/Sat night."

This re: Poole's.

I eat at Poole's fairly regularly after work. After 9 on a weekday, you can just walk in and sit down.

3/2/2016 12:15:35 PM

^thanks for the tip.

Quote :

"that's what reservations are for"

And last I checked, Poole's doesn't take reservations.

3/2/2016 12:27:43 PM

i was responding to the any restaurant

poole's is overrated, it's worth going once but it's not great

3/2/2016 1:46:24 PM