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Dark Chocolate Mousse Cake - Refectory Cafe, Durham, NC

Refectory Cafe

4.8 (980)
$30 and under
American
2726 Durham-Chapel Hill Blvd, Durham, NC 27707

Make a reservation

2 people
7:00 PM
Booked 13 times today
Experiences are available.

About this restaurant

  • Neighborhood gem
  • Great for brunch
  • Healthy
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!

Dining areas

Additional information

  • Dining style
    Casual Dining
  • Price
    $30 and under
  • Cuisines
    American, Organic, Farm-to-table
  • Hours of operation
    Mon–Thu 9:00 am–8:30 pm Fri, Sat 9:00 am–9:00 pm Sun 9:00 am–3:00 pm
  • Phone number
  • Payment options
    AMEX, Discover, Mastercard, Visa
  • Dress code
    Casual Dress
  • Executive chef
    Jake Miles
  • Catering
    Seven-days a week, Breakfast, lunch & Dinner. Comfortable casual events to full service, you design your perfect event - we will deliver!
  • Private party facilities
    Delicious & Nutritious, serving all diets, always. Cafe can be rented for private parties - indoor and outdoor experiences. Staff fully vaccinated
  • Neighborhood
    Durham
  • Cross street
    Academy Road
  • Parking details
    Plenty of parking in our private lot, right outside the front or side doors. Handicapped parking out front.
  • Public transit
    Bus stop across the street from the cafe
  • Additional
    Beer, Cafe, Cocktails, Corkage Fee, Dog Friendly, Full Bar, Gender Neutral Restroom, Gluten-free Options, Non-Smoking, Patio/Outdoor Dining, Patio/Outdoor Dining, Private Room, Takeout, Vegan, Weekend Brunch, Wheelchair Access, Wine

Experiences

  • Another Incredible Italian Wine Dinner

    $99.00 per person

    Feb 12, 2025 - Nov 19, 2025
    It's another incredible experience with amazing dishes created by Chef Jake Miles and Pastry Chef Rosa Redel. Laurence Vuelta, Sunrise Wines, is always entertaining and extremely knowledgeable of the beautiful boutique wines from Italy. It is always a night to remember with a fun mixer to kick off the party.
    Another Incredible Italian Wine Dinner Photo

What 980 people are saying

Refectory Cafe reviews from people who’ve dined at this restaurant. Based on recent rating.

Overall ratings and reviews

Reviews can only be made by diners who have eaten at this restaurant

4.8
4.8 based on recent ratings
  • 4.8Food
  • 4.8Service
  • 4.4Ambience
  • 4.6Value

NoiseModerate

Loved For

  • Raleigh / Durham / Chapel Hill

    Great for brunch

  • Raleigh / Durham / Chapel Hill

    Neighborhood gem

  • Raleigh / Durham / Chapel Hill

    American

  • Durham

    Best Value

  • Durham

    Great for brunch

  • Durham

    Healthy

  • Durham

    Neighborhood gem

Review summary

AI-generated from verified diner reviews
Refectory Cafe offers a unique dining experience with "delicious food" and "friendly, attentive staff." The atmosphere is charming with shaded outdoor seating and fresh flowers. Highlights include a variety of gluten-free options, vegan-friendly menu, and standout dishes like Indian Dal and shrimp and grits. "Highly recommend" for brunch and dinner.
980 Reviews
  1. Kimberly

    Charlotte1 review

    3.0

    Dined 3 days ago

    1. Overall 3
    2. Food 3
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Items ordered were burnt and unable to eat. Definitely not worth the cost. $85 for two people for brunch, nuts! Service was wonderful though.

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  2. Harriet

    Greater Boston1 review

    5.0

    Dined 5 days ago

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    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!

    Is this helpful?

  3. Janice

    Raleigh / Durham / Chapel Hill15 reviews

    4.0

    Dined on June 22, 2025

    1. Overall 4
    2. Food 4
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 4
    This was my 2nd time here, and the service was much better than before. We had a reservation and were seated immediately...unlike the prior visit. The food was quite good, and we enjoyed the brunch experience. It's a little different to stand in line to place your food order, but they seem to have their process pretty well perfected; and we were served in a reasonable amount of time after getting to the front of the line & placing our order. It's an interesting combination...the physical restaurant & its menu. The physical restaurant is very rustic and tables are all in an open area...rather close to each other. The serving process is as previously described; and yet, the menu is a little more upscale or boujie. None of this is particularly a negative...just interesting.

    Is this helpful?

  4. Kate

    Unspecified1 review

    5.0

    Dined on June 15, 2025

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 4
    4. Ambience 5
    The food was great, as usual. Kitchen planning could have been better - two meals came out first, then another, about 5 minutes later. (There was a problem with the last one and everyone was very apologetic.) It’s not very convenient to have to go to the cashier to order. Table service would make the experience better. Thanks!

    Is this helpful?

  5. Doug VIP

    Chicago / Illinois6 reviews

    4.0

    Dined on June 15, 2025

    1. Overall 4
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 3
    4. Ambience 3
    It was popular for Father’s Day brunch! But the line to order moved fairly fast and the food didn’t take too long to arrive at our table. Everyone in our group of six enjoyed their meals! The shrimp and grits were particularly yummy!

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  6. Carol

    Raleigh / Durham / Chapel Hill1 review

    5.0

    Dined on June 14, 2025

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    All was great. Our entire family enjoyed the food, service , drinks, ambience.

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  7. Lauri

    Raleigh / Durham / Chapel Hill14 reviews

    5.0

    Dined on June 14, 2025

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 3
    One of my favorite restaurants! I great place for brunch with friends.

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  8. Kendra VIP

    Atlanta33 reviews

    5.0

    Dined on June 12, 2025

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Just wow! This is an absolute Jen of a restaurant! The food was amazing! The service was impeccable! John was our server and absolutely amazing! We will definitely try to visit this again!

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  9. Diana

    San Antonio3 reviews

    5.0

    Dined on June 9, 2025

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    The spices shrimp salad and Indian Dal were delicious! The lemon curd cheesecake was amazing! The staff was super friendly. Great atmosphere.

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  10. sonya VIP

    Raleigh / Durham / Chapel Hill14 reviews

    5.0

    Dined on June 4, 2025

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 4
    4. Ambience 4
    The reason that service didn’t get five stars is it took quite awhile for the server to come to our table. They weren’t busy. She said it was a shift change.
    Refectory CafeResponded on June 7, 2025
    Thank you Sonya.... Shift change or not we should have been there faster. Thank you for letting us know, this will not happen again. We look forward to serving you again, faster, soon. Many thanks, Laura Hall

    Is this helpful?

FAQs

Refectory Cafe offers takeout which you can order by calling the restaurant at (919) 908-6798.

Refectory Cafe is rated 4.8 stars by 980 OpenTable diners.

Yes, you can generally book this restaurant by choosing the date, time and party size on OpenTable.

  1. Home
  2. United States
  3. Raleigh / Durham / Chapel Hill
  4. Durham
  5. Durham

Make a reservation

2 people
7:00 PM
Booked 13 times today
Experiences are available.
Google Map for Refectory Cafe

2726 Durham-Chapel Hill Blvd, Durham, NC 27707

Dining areas

Additional information

  • Cross street
    Academy Road
  • Neighborhood
    Durham
  • Hours of operation
    Mon–Thu 9:00 am–8:30 pm Fri, Sat 9:00 am–9:00 pm Sun 9:00 am–3:00 pm
  • Price
    $30 and under
  • Cuisines
    American, Organic, Farm-to-table
  • Dining style
    Casual Dining
  • Dress code
    Casual Dress
  • Parking details
    Plenty of parking in our private lot, right outside the front or side doors. Handicapped parking out front.
  • Public transit
    Bus stop across the street from the cafe
  • Payment options
    AMEX, Discover, Mastercard, Visa
  • Executive chef
    Jake Miles
  • Additional
    Beer, Cafe, Cocktails, Corkage Fee, Dog Friendly, Full Bar, Gender Neutral Restroom, Gluten-free Options, Non-Smoking, Patio/Outdoor Dining, Patio/Outdoor Dining, Private Room, Takeout, Vegan, Weekend Brunch, Wheelchair Access, Wine
  • Phone number
  • Catering
    Seven-days a week, Breakfast, lunch & Dinner. Comfortable casual events to full service, you design your perfect event - we will deliver!
  • Private party facilities
    Delicious & Nutritious, serving all diets, always. Cafe can be rented for private parties - indoor and outdoor experiences. Staff fully vaccinated
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