Counting House

Nice restaurant in downtown Durham - part of a hotel, but separated nicely - valet parking a bit steep for Durham at $10 - but the food was very good. Everything we had (chicken, fish, cheese plate) was nicely plated and tasted very good, including the dessert (chocolate cake and cream puffs). I will go there again.

One of meals was suppose to be with a salad not fries. We thought ok we will deal with it but the fries were not cooked well. The service was great.

Our waiter (all the waiters) were just wonderful!!!

Love this place! Food quality is excellent and such a cool atmosphere!

Drinks took a long time, food was not great. I’m ok paying pricey food, but I expect it to be good. My family did not like it at all, my dish was ok, desert was not good either.

I have been there several times but always got an appetizer and drink. This was my first time sitting down to a meal. Nothing was cooked. I mean literally. The potatoes, I could barely get the steak knife threw. The butter beans were almost as raw. The steak was fatty and under cooked. Horrible. I never send food back, I just know not come back for another visit. The waiter was great though! I will stick to sitting in the front ordering something small and enjoy the atmosphere, art and convo. Will never waist my money on a meal again.

Excellent service. Food was outstanding especially the octopus. Only complaint was the brownie desert was dry as toast.

Counting House has some dishes with truly interesting flavors. We loved all the dishes we ordered but the octopus really stands out. My partner and I came for a birthday dinner. There wasn't anything special that the restaurant did for the birthday - but we didn't' mind. The ambiance was great, parking was easy, and the cocktail menu had some solid selections. We would definitely recommend this restaurant for a date night.

It was first time visiting Counting House. The food was very good (especially the octopus appetizer!) and service was outstanding. We called ahead letting them know we'd be late for our reservation, and they accommodated us but still got us out in time for DPAC show. We will definitely return.

Excellent service, creative, delicious food, and artful ambience!

Service at breakfast was extremely slow in a nearly empty restaurant the food was lackluster and over priced. The only good part was the grits, which were EXCELLENT, but we didn't order. They brought them out to us because they didn't have the skillet potatoes that we actually ordered.

Our brunch was great and our waitress was very attentive.

Elegant atmosphere and excellent service. Small plates were tasty and delicious gazpacho....

The service was amazing, my friends and I felt attended to. Our server Victor went above and beyond to give us an amazing experience for my birthday.

Our food was delicious and the artwork was captivating. Our only concern was that the food took an uncommonly long time to get to us- approximately 45 minutes- and the restaurant was not very busy. It was only after we had been served out meal and eaten our food that a manager apologized for the delay, and while the apology was appreciated, something to mitigate the delay would have been much more preferred. However, I don't think we would write off the restaurant because of this. We would like to go again and we hope that this experience was an exception.

We came to the Counting House to celebrate a birthday. From the hostess arranging for a penguin friend at the table to the birthday favors (thanks, Derrick) - the food, service, ambiance was wonderful. Everyone loved what they ordered and our server Ryan was very helpful in explaining items and ensuring items did to include problem items ( cilantro) for one member of the party. Won't wait for the next birthday.

Absolutely delicious versions of breakfast standards. Love dining amidst the artwork!

Great location for a pre-show dinner for the Carolina Theater. Limited selection on the dining menu but amazing cocktail menu. Highly recommend the "Sacred Geometry" but at $12 each, it's not for the faint of heart! Food and service are outstanding. Decor is great. Not every table in the house is super, though, so keep in mind where you'd like to sit when you book.

Great brunch, cool space and wonderful bartender! Loved it!

Derrick and his team did an excellent job. We will return.

Great for a friends birthday. Service and food and cocktails was excellent. It was pricey but worth it.

delicious food, visually beautiful food and surroundings. Unique experience.

We had people sitting next to us who were very loud, which explains my response to this question. Otherwise, there were many empty tables and so the noise level was fine.

When Counting House opened, I was very impressed with their food and service. Sophisticated and urbane without being pretentious. (I am from New York and compare everything to my life there. It measured up.) Since then, everything has slipped. The place was half-empty and it took forever to get a drink. A salad that had been ordered without dressing was served with dressing on it.

Very delicious food, but service was very spotty. They rarely checked on us and forgot two of our sides. Waiters were all nice, but just forgetful and inattentive.

Service was surprisingly slow for a Monday night, and the noise level very high. We had to ask for bread, while we waited, as well as the complimentary cotton candy. (Trivial, perhaps, but still was forgotten until we asked.)

Tried restaurant again and while the food was delicious, the service was not great. Also, corkage here is $40 per bottle. This is by far the highest amount I have ever heard of at any restaurant. We brought in some very special and unique wine and thought this was unreasonable. Paid it but will not return.

We’ve been here three times and always excellent food, wine, service with unmatched ambience! Make sure to go down to the Vault and up to the art before or after dinner!

Great food. Cool art.

Counting House is worth a try. It has a cool vibe with interesting art inside. The menu features lots of interesting small plates and a few nice fish options. Not the best in Durham, but a solid menu and a very good product.

Kendra is a treasure and I hope the 21C fully values her work in the restaurant because she makes every visit that I make there a wonderful experience. She knows her stuff - and is so friendly and fun.

The Counting house is a very cool place to visit. We had dinner with friends who remember going there when it was a bank. The food has amazing flavors and are very ascetically pleasing. The only complaint we had was the portion for the entree was just a bit small. Well worth visiting.

Our service was good, but the food was just mediocre. The ravioli I had as an appetizer was good, but my boyfriend got the shrimp & grits and the tails were still on the shrimp...covered in sauce, making them difficult to eat without getting your hands super dirty. The shrimp & grits were also very salty. For our main course, he had the pork, which was good, but I had the scallops, which were just eh. The scallops themselves tasted delicious, but the curry/corn mixture they were in were very citrus-y and bright and the balance was off. The desserts were AMAZING. We had the creme brulee and the semifreddo and they were both very good. While a lot of people really enjoy their dining experience here, I don't know that I would recommend it.

It’s not a very inviting
Place. The food wasn’t flavorful it was all bland and the service wasn’t inviting either.

Food was great. Took way too long to come out. It was not busy at the time. Really unusual decor. The waitress apologized and said it was a new menu that caused the delay.

Amazing food & service. The desserts were well balanced. Overall a great experience

Great experience! Awesome food and drink. And the DJ cocktail was the best drink I’ve had in years. Splurged considerably more than I normally would when eating out, but it was well worth it.

Interestingly, we were giving Counting House a 2nd chance after a very bad first experience. My wife and I both ordered chicken and waffles, which arrived with the chicken completely undercooked. We sent them back and 15 minutes later, my wife's replacement came out. 10 minutes after that my replacement arrived in a to go container that we didn't ask for. Fortunately, we were using. $50 credit from our initial disaster. Safe to say they will not be getting a 3rd chance.

This is a nice restaurant, with high quality food in a great atmosphere. However, in Durham it faces very fierce competition, and I cannot say it rises above it. For the amount of money you pay, you are ultimately going for the "experience" and I don't think you get your money's worth. The Durham Hotel, Mateo, and Vin Rouge are much better choices.

I have to say this experience was a disappointment. The food was very good, but the lack of explanation from our server on food choices and portions, as well as nothing said about the restaurant week menu, we felt rushed and not attended to properly for a meal that leaves a bill of almost $100 for 2. The first impression from waitress was a casual and rushed tossing of our menus on the table and definitely didn’t correspond with the price point of the menu.

One major negative to us was being seated less than an arms length away on both sides between 2 other tables- very awkward. We heard both conversations on each side and has to smell strong perfume throughout our meal, so definitely wouldn’t recommend for a date spot and personal conversation. The waitress discouraged plate sharing our choice due to small steak, so we ordered 2 dishes, but when it arrived the steak was huge. Also- it took me 4 popular types of wine requests to get one they actually served by the glass, and a large glass came filled about 1/4 full, and charged $12. So annoying, wish I had known.

Went for lunch at restaurant week. Soup was fabulous as was the dessert but the chicken dumplings was over salted and uninspired. Neither comforting as "comfort" food or anything new as a fusion cuisine.