Diners' Choice: Great for brunch restaurants in Raleigh / Durham / Chapel Hill

OpenTable

Updated June 05, 2025

Looking for restaurants that are great for brunch in Raleigh / Durham / Chapel Hill? 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!

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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4.8

4.8 (980)

$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 5 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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Popular dish

Huevos Rancheros

Experience

Another Incredible Italian Wine Dinner

NCMA Cafe

4.8

4.8 (508)

$30 and under

Contemporary American

Raleigh

About the restaurant

Catering Works is proud to present NCMACafe, located at the North Carolina Museum of Art WEST BUILDING. Our menu features a variety of Southern-inspired fare with International influence. Premium wines, crafted coffee drinks and in February of 2023, the long-awaited return of weekend brunch at the Museum of Art.

Top review

SherriVIP

Dined 7 days ago

Awesome place to meet friends for lunch! I would recommend reservations.

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Popular dish

Tarragon Chicken Salad Plate

Popular dish

NCMA Café Chicken Salad Plate

Experience

Art Heist Dinner

Simply Crepes Cafe of Raleigh

4.8

4.8 (212)

$30 and under

American

Raleigh

About the restaurant

A full-service restaurant and bar. Offers progressively traditional, French Canadian farmhouse vibes. Scratch-made comfort food is handcrafted in our kitchen using fresh meats, produce, signature sauces and dressings.

Menu Musings: Nosh on some of fan favorites for breakfast like French toast, Maple Sausage Stackers, oatmeal creme brulee, simply strawberry crepes. Lunch can be healthy! Many gluten and dairy free options. Try a Mediterranean Chicken (or make it vegetarian with tofu). Vegan friends love the Thai Curry Crepe. Food Network has featured our Rugby Crepe on The Best Thing I Ever Ate. Try it, is it the best?! Come for dinner and grab a burger or fried chicken sandwich. After dinner nutella dessert crepes - yes!

Top review

Isabella

Dined 2 days ago

The service was very good but later on we had to wait a while to get our checks

Carolina Brewery - Pittsboro

4.7

4.7 (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.

It's a Southern Thing - Downtown Durham

4.7

4.7 (293)

$30 and under

Southern

Durham

About the restaurant

It's A Southern Thing is our owner's personal love letter to The South. Known for our unique take on traditional Southern fair, we welcome you with a laid back atmosphere, Southern hospitality, delicious craft cocktails and thoughtfully created, scratch made dishes. From our best-selling Shrimp and Grits to Sweet Tea Brined Pork Chops, Fried Green Tomatoes, Collard Greens, Chicken and Waffle Skewers and everything in between, you will find familiar flavors presented in an original way. Offering lunch Monday through Friday, brunch on weekends and dinner service seven nights a week, we invite you to come in, stay a while and let us show you why so many customers love being part of our It's A Southern Thing family.

Top review

Kemuel

Dined on Jun 21, 2025

Great food and love the feel of the place. Had a wonderful service who was very attentive. Would recommend

Coffee Bar at The Durham

4.6

4.6 (549)

$30 and under

American

Durham

About the restaurant

The Coffee Bar at The Durham is a morning-to-night gathering place where days begin with breakfast and Counter Culture coffee, afternoons invite co-working and casual meetings over salads and sandwiches, and evenings unfold with classic cocktails, spirit-free drinks, and shareable plates. It’s low-key — order at the bar, then settle into a book, puzzle, or board game with friends. With a welcoming atmosphere and room to gather, it’s an ideal spot for clubs and meetups to come together. Light-filled by day, cozy by night, it’s not quite a coffee shop, not quite a bar — it’s the perfect in-between.

Reservations available via Open Table for Brunch and Special Events or Contact our sales team at 919-768-8831 to reserve space in advance for your club or meeting.

Top review

KellyVIP

Dined 3 days ago

excellent avocado toast; topped with goat cheese was divine.

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Experience

Sunday Supper at The Durham

East Cafe

4.6

4.6 (93)

$30 and under

American

Raleigh

About the restaurant

Enjoy lunch with the most breath taking view in Raleigh, the Museum Park at the North Carolina Museum of Art. Located in C level of the East Building, the East Café offers a variety of sandwiches, salads, and Barista crafted coffee and tea beverages. Indoor and patio seating!

Top review

OpenTable Diner

Dined on Mar 24, 2025

Attended a tea event at East Cafe, and it was an absolute delight! The staff was incredibly welcoming and attentive, making the experience even more enjoyable. The food was beyond expectations—beautifully prepared and full of flavor. The cucumber mint cilantro tea sandwich was my favorite savory option, and the lavender honey scone was so delicious. But the real highlight was the tea itself—a true experience that showcased quality and tradition. Highly recommend for anyone looking to indulge in a unique and memorable tea event! Had the best time catching up with old friends, and can’t wait to bring my mom for the Mother’s Day tea event.

Omakase by Kai

4.6

4.6 (16)

$50 and over

Sushi

Raleigh

About the restaurant

Welcome to Omakase by , a truly unique combination of classic Japanese & Korean dishes by Chef Chung.

From a selection of luxurious dishes to contemporary plates, the Omakase by Kai menu is made by our talented chefs who use the best seasonal ingredients from carefully selected suppliers.

Top review

Peter

Dined on Jun 18, 2025

We Got the omakase premium and shared it between the two of us and it was probably the best sushi meal we have ever had and we have been to nobu in a few places and morimoto in Philly. These guys are doing really amazing stuff

Bar Louie - Brier Creek

4.1

4.1 (14)

$30 and under

American

Raleigh

About the restaurant

At Bar Louie, we're passionate about delivering flavor packed experiences. Defined by our award-winning handcrafted martinis and cocktails, our lunch, dinner and happy hours elevate the top-shelf bar experience. In a vibrant atmosphere energized by our local community, we serve all guests looking to create unforgettable moments - making us the go-to-spot for all occasions, from a spontaneous happy hour hangout to a celebratory spot for milestone events.

Top review

jamie

Dined 5 days ago

The space is big and has eclectic decorations of photographs and paintings . They even have an area to post an instagram photo or social media . Our waiter was great but the food service was a little strange . We had a party of 3 and all of our food came out at a different time ,and it wasn’t even close together . One in our party received her food 10 min before the rest even started coming . We ordered an appetizer of nachos and the dips were great but the nachos were not even heated . They were cold and stale . The chicken tenders were dry and overcooked . We still had fun , but with the price of the food and the more upscale vibe they definitely need to do better . Our bill was a few dollars under $100 , I have had much better food at other cheaper restaurants and bars for what we ordered and that was disappointing since we were celebrating a 21st birthday

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Experience

4th of July Patio Party with Surfside

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