Diners' Choice: Best Value restaurants in Durham

OpenTable

Updated June 05, 2025

Looking for the best value restaurants in Durham? You’re in the right place. Each month, OpenTable analyzes nearly 2 million global diner reviews from the past four months. We sort the results by location and category to help you discover new favorite restaurants. It's a great partnership: you reserve, eat, and review. We listen...and deliver the results for all to benefit. Enjoy!

Lime & Lemon Indian Grill & Bar - Durham

4.6

4.6 (219)

$30 and under

Indian

Durham

About the restaurant

Rated as the # 1 Indian Restaurant in Triangle, Lime & Lemon Indian Grill offers an immersive dining experience with exquisite dishes that will take you on a journey through India's many regions, traditions and festivals. We meticulously curate using only the best ingredients to create dishes that are authentic, unsurpassed, and timeless. All this in an ultra-modern setting to ensure your dining affair is nothing short of perfect.

Featured in the October 2019 edition of News & Observer and received a 4 out of 5 star rating. It has been consistently voted as one of the Top 10 Ethnic restaurants and has also been recognized as the Best Indian Restaurant in the Triangle for 2019, 2020 and 2021.

Top review

Mandy

Dined on May 31, 2025

Excellent as always! The food is fantastic and the staff a pleasure to interact with.

Napoli Pizzeria & Gelateria

4.9

4.9 (137)

$30 and under

Pizzeria

Carrboro

About the restaurant

Offering small plates, True wood-fired Neapolitan pizza, housemade gelato, local beer on draft, wine & cocktails in downtown Carrboro!

Top review

Sam

Dined on Jun 20, 2025

The food was great and the service was excellent overall, however when we arrived the first thing the host told us was that there was another reservation at 8 pm behind us but, “that leaves you plenty of time” (Our reservation was at 6:30 pm for 6 people). This made us feel a bit rushed and the comment felt unnecessary. Managing overbookings is the responsibility of the restaurant not the guest. Our server on the other hand was excellent and never brought up the time and the food was great.

Carolina Brewery - Pittsboro

4.6

4.6 (122)

$30 and under

Southern

Chapel Hill

About the restaurant

Carolina Brewery is a brewpub located in Pittsboro, North Carolina that specializes in serving craft beers and American pub fare. The restaurant features a lively atmosphere with a full bar, patio and numerous televisions broadcasting sporting events. Carolina Brewery in Pittsboro serves lunch and dinner daily and offers a variety of menu items made using fresh, in season fruits and vegetables and locally raised beef. The restaurant offers an extensive menu of starters, soups, salads, sandwiches, burgers, typical pub fare and desserts. Featured entrées at Carolina Brewery in Pittsboro include chicken mac and cheese, down East BBQ plate, crab cakes, shrimp and grits and fish and chips.

Top review

DebbieVIP

Dined on Apr 29, 2025

Great food and service. Friendly server. My family loves the specials menu. Today we had the chicken soup and burger.

Talulla's

4.9

4.9 (1274)

$30 and under

Turkish

Chapel Hill

About the restaurant

When you walk through the shadowed glass doors of Talulla's, an instant transformation begins to occur. Your mind and body begin to relax. Your ears pick up on the eclectic mix of music. Your eyes wonder around the walls, decorated in Turkish rugs; then the ceilings, scattered with warm, unique lighting pieces; then the floors... the dark, hardwood floors; and finally, across the plush seating areas, disguised by cushions and pillows and fabric leisurely draped around the frames.

Top review

MimiVIP

Dined 6 days ago

One of the best restaurants in the area. Great food, ambience and the best service! Have been going there for the past 8 years!

Lime & Lemon Indian Grill & Bar - Chapel Hill

4.7

4.7 (508)

$30 and under

Indian

Chapel Hill

About the restaurant

Top review

W Reid

Dined on Jun 18, 2025

As always, friendly service, reasonable prices, and EXCELLENT food! Thank you.

Nasher Cafe at Duke University

4.9

4.9 (860)

$30 and under

Contemporary American

Durham

About the restaurant

The 125-seat indoor/outdoor Nasher Cafe overlooks the garden and sits adjacent to the Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen "Corridor Pin" sculpture, providing a serene and beautiful ambience. The Nasher Cafe offers local and sustainable products forged into creative lunch, brunch and dinner menus. Guests can experience a world class museum as well as restaurant in one stop.

Top review

Anthony

Dined on May 8, 2025

I’ve had lunch here twice and both times the service and food has been excellent.

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Local 22 Kitchen and Bar

4.7

4.7 (1091)

$30 and under

Southern

Durham

About the restaurant

A Southern-accented gastropub with a strong local focus.

Top review

PeterVIP

Dined 3 days ago

Food and drinks were great. The servers are friendly and efficient. It’s a small indoor dining area, so it can be loud, not that I minded that.

Bleu Olive

4.9

4.9 (1330)

$31 to $50

Mediterranean

Durham

About the restaurant

For parties of 5 or more, pease give us a call.

A family operated - Mediterranean Bistro serving a fresh & local ingredient inspired menu.

The Papanikas family first opened the doors at this location in 1994 under the name Papas Grille, a fine dining Greek and Mediterranean restaurant. With “Papa” and Sam in the kitchen and Angelika, Chris & Yianni running the front of the house, Papas Grille turned into one of the finest and well-respected restaurants in the Durham food scene. After eighteen successful years as Papas Grille, it was time for a makeover and with that came a new brand as well. The reconstruction took place in 2012 in which the changes brought a more casual setting and modern feel. With “Papa” retiring during the changeover, Sam took over the realms in the kitchen fine-tuning his craft which is highly focused on quality ingredients and consistent execution. The front of the house continues to be overseen by Angelika and Yianni.

Top review

Craig

Dined 6 days ago

Meals at Bleu Olive are always a great experience. Great menu, wonderful service

M Tempura

4.9

4.9 (644)

$50 and over

Japanese

Durham

About the restaurant

M Tempura, in Downtown Durham, is part of the acclaimed M Restaurants group by Chef Michael Lee. Specializing in traditional Japanese tempura and Kaiseki Omakase, M Tempura elevates these classics with unique twists and subtle European influences. Each meticulously crafted multi-course menu balances tradition with innovation, delivering a refined and unforgettable dining experience. Guests must select the same menu option for their entire party. Please note, we cannot accommodate shellfish, vegetarian (egg in batter), gluten, or seafood allergies. Experience reimagined Japanese cuisine at M Tempura.

Top review

Stephanie

Dined 3 days ago

We snagged a last minute reservation at the bar and had an amazing experience! We did the $38 Tempura Tasting menu, which was plenty of food and allowed us to try a good number of items fried right in front of us by Ava (who was great), as well as some whipped tofu, a celery sorbet palate cleanser, miso soup, wheat noodle main course, and ginger ice cream. Wonderful from end to end! The next time we're in Durham we'll try to plan ahead and make reservations for one of the higher end menus and maybe even do the sake pairing!

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Experience

M Omakase Tasting Menu

Experience

Kaiseki Omakase Menu

Refectory Cafe

4.8

4.8 (979)

$30 and under

American

Durham

About the restaurant

Established in 2005, The Refectory Cafe was the first “Green” restaurant on the Duke campus and was located at the Duke Divinity and Law Schools. Now located just 2 miles from Duke's West Campus, The award-winning Refectory Cafe continues to be the restaurant where omnivores, vegetarians, vegans, and gluten-free folks happily share a table together in the same facility. Every diet classification can delight in delicious, satisfying, creative food from a common menu, while enjoying the health benefits of consuming clean food, minimally processed.

Appreciate the Award winning flavor and creativity of our Executive Chef Jake Miles & Pastry Chef Rosa Redel.

MOST RECENT AWARDS: 2023-2025
2023 #4 Independent Restaurant in the STATE (Southern Living Magazine)
TripAdvisor #1 / #2
Best Brunch
Best Wine List
Best Pie
Best Vegan
Best Vegetarian
Best Patio Dining

We look forward to serving you! You will love the food and our team!

Top review

Harriet

Dined 4 days ago

Easy to get to and lots of parking available. Shaded outdoor seating available and dining room with beautiful fresh flowers on the tables. Wait staff was friendly, respectful and knowledgeable. Indian Dal entree was delightful!

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