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Alton's Kitchen & Cocktails
Category: Restaurants American (New) American (New) [Edit]
Jetton Village19918 N Cove Rd
Cornelius, NC 28031
(704) 655-2727
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Private Lot
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- No
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- Yes
- Good For:
- Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Noise Level:
- Average
- Ambience:
- Romantic
- Has TV:
- Yes
- Caters:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
25 reviews for Alton's Kitchen & Cocktails
Review Highlights
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"...he'd ever had and the twice baked potato was fabulous." In 3 reviews -
"The Oreo Cheesecake: This was a fantastic end to the meal." In 3 reviews -
"...dip for dinner which was lean and a perfect medium rare." In 3 reviews
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25 reviews in English
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Review from Angie P.
1/25/2012 1 Check-in Here
Like Rob, I was unaware of Alton's until they popped up on this year's (2012) Queens Feast.
First observations:
The place is pretty spacious & as Rob also pointed out, the tables aren't cramped together. The bar has its own separate area & isn't crowded in with diners. However, are hi-top tables in the bar area. There's an upstairs dining area. One thing I didn't like was how dim the lighting was. I know they're trying to go for an intimate vibe, but I would have liked a little more light, personally. Wait staff is dressed in nice white button down shirts, but have blue jeans on with black skirt aprons. Bottled water (literally) comes pre-chilled in a glass bottle with a beer bottle type cap. Warm earth tone colors throughout the restaurant.
Appetizers:
I had the stuffed mushrooms caps with cheese, prime rib & horseradish. So yummy & HOT - as in the plate was like 500 degrees! But these 10 or so mushrooms caps were delicious. My boyfriend had the shrimp cocktail, which came with 4 large shrimp, tarter sauce & cocktail sauce. Both sauces tasted homemade.
Salads:
He had the romaine wedge, which is basically just a large romaine lettuce piece with toppings. I had the house salad, which was full of yumminess - tomatoes, croutons, real bacon, cucumbers & cheese. My salad was fresh & tasty.
Entrees:
I had the prime rib & garlic mashed potatoes. Here's where my stomach was almost begging for mercy! The steak was HUGE & there was a pile of Idaho goodness on the plate. The steak was cooked to my medium well order & seasoned perfectly. Needless to say, I could not eat all of it. The au jus sauce was delicious, as was the horseradish sauce. Shawn had the filet medallions, which had crab meat on top & the same mashed potatoes I did. Delightful!
Dessert:
We both had the apple cobbler with vanilla bean ice cream. Thank goodness this were served in a small dessert dish! The cobbler was amazing. And here's an interesting twist: there were pecans in it! What a nice surprise...it did add a little extra something to the cobbler.
Service was excellent. We sat down & immediately someone came over & got our drink orders. Next up was our waitress...she was very attentive, came around & checked on us only a few times (perfect in my book) & came & took away plates in a timely manner.
From the looks of it, their bar menu is extensive - hence the name, "Alton's Kitchen and Cocktails".
Charlotte folks: it is worth the short drive to Cornelius to dine here! -
Review from Thomas P.
3/26/2012 1 Check-in Here
My girlfriend and I came here for an early dinner before we caught a movie. The atmosphere seemed a little dark and eerie so I wasn't sure what to expect. After sorting through the menu I decided to try the Lamb Shanks. It just seemed fitting in the dungeon-esk setting in which we were dining. I also noticed the bread and honey butter... I love honey butter so I had to get some. It would have been nice if they would have cut the bread for us but instead we were forced to try and saw through this brick ourselves with minimal utensils (the honey butter was quite good though). The lambshank was decent, not the best ever, but good nonetheless. I really liked the mash potatoes that it was served with - kind of heavy - but that's to be expected.
All in all Alton's Kitchen is A-OK. There's definitely potential here but for the cost I doubt I'll be going back for a while. -
Review from Randy N.
Huntersville, NC
2/3/2012
Well..... Heard great reviews, Great atmosphere thats where it ended for us.
We had a reservation on time seating!! Server was polite. Dinner took 2 hours for service.
5 total ppl in my group. we ordered water and tea/wine/soda took more than 10 min to return with items, dropped them off and returned 10 min later. took our order, Chips w/ guacamole, lobster bisque, and salad. Soup was very salty, Chips/dip and salad was good. 30 min to return to the table and we had to stop a different server to bring us another round of drinks/refills and additional glasses of wine. We then sat for almost 30 more min with empty glasses and plates/bowls on our table waiting for entree to arrive.
Prime rib as cool & dry ( ordered Med Rare) looked like it sat in the the server window for10 min waiting to be served. another person ordered Rib Eye was very tough and had a tendon running down the length. Lobster was the special of the night and my friend seemed to enjoy it, another friend had salmon which was also DRY. I think the staff forgot about our order and it sat in the window, now the plates were warm!!.
When dinner was over and credit card was processed, that was the end of service for us. We were sitting chatting with empty glasses yet again and no one even came back to say would you like more tea/water etc.....
First and will be the last. Way more value if you head to Flat Iron Kitchen & Taphouse just a couple of miles away. -
Review from Rob B.
I had never heard of the place until I saw it on the Charlotte Restaurant Week website. The miss' decided that she wanted to go here based on the menu, so I made reservations a couple of weeks ago and we had our meal tonight. I have to say that it was one of the most amazing meals we've had since coming to the Charlotte area and we can't wait to go back again!
The restaurant appears pretty large with high ceilings and a lot of open space. The tables are not cramped together so you get a good amount of personal space. It makes Alton's a pretty nice, fancy place for an intimate dinner with a loved one.
We were greeted and seated right away upon coming in, and the waitress came by soon after. She was extremely friendly and knowledgeable, and the other servers nearby seemed to be just as friendly. Now on to the food!
For an appetizer I ordered the lobster bisque. It was simply divine! It was a nice, creamy soup with tons of lobster flavor. It also had a bit of heat to it, which was unexpected but highly appreciated. The weird thing was that they plopped a dallop of mashed potatoes in the middle of the bowl. As weird as it sounds (at least to me coming from the northeast...maybe it's a traditional southern thing?) it really worked well and made for a super de-duper soup. The miss' ordered the shrimp cocktail which were also very good. The shrimp were fresh and firm, so they had that "crunch" to them that I love from shrimp cocktail. The appetizers really bowled us over and we were looking forward to the rest of the meal.
Next came the salads. Normally I would say "the house salad is your typical house salad", but this is not the case at Altons. I ordered the house salad which came with lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes, croutons, fresh bacon crumble (none of that bacon bits here) and their homemade creamy garlic ranch. The dressing and bacon really elevated this salad above most other house salads I've had at restaurants. The miss' went with the wedge salad which had even more bacon and their homemade bleu cheese dressing. I normally shy away from bleu cheese, but I found this one to be extremely good, and it's something that I would consider ordering next time.
Then came the entrees. I ordered the lamb shank, and it is to die for. They dish up a HUGE portion of lamb on top of a bed of their awesome mashed potatoes (such a huge portion that I had to bring half home with me...something I rarely do.) It's all covered in some kind of red wine au jus that made an excellent sauce. The lamb was ridiculously tender, like fall off the bone with just a fork tender. It had a great lamb taste to it, but it was nowhere near as "gamey" as other lamb I've had. It was a really great lamb dish, and if you've got a craving for lamb this is the place to go. The miss' ordered the salmon special and this one really beat our expectations. I normally look down on the lowly salmon, but Altons prepares it in such a way that it's elevated above any other salmon's station in life. It was firm yet tender, didn't have that distinctive "salmon" taste that I'm not a huge fan of, and the glaze they serve it with really brought the meal home.
Then came dessert. I ordered the apple walnut cobbler, which is exactly what it sounds like...warm apple mixed with walnuts, and it's covered with a generous scoop of vanilla bean ice cream that is dusted with cinnamon. I love apples and vanilla ice cream, so this dessert was most excellent in my book. The miss' had the white chocolate bread pudding, and while I hate to say it, it was better than the cobbler. The bread pudding had a great sweetness to it, and it was cooked perfectly. What really did it was the white chocolate chunks of goodness buried inside. This is high-quality white chocolate...none of that chalky aftertaste here. Just a warm, wonderful bite of sweet bread, cinnamon, and a blast of white chocolate. Simply amazing!
Alton's not only met our expectation, but blew them clear out of the water. The ambiance, service, and most importantly, the food, are all of the highest quality. I would highly recommend taking the trip up here if you want to share a tastetacular meal with a loved one. It would definitely make a great date night destination! I know that we'll be back here soon. -
Review from Tom C.
Updated - 7/25/2011 6 Check-ins Here
I guess I should quit reviewing Alton's as this is number 3 but, really want them to stay open so am doing all I can to get the word out. As ever, we had a nice meal, this time for Charlotte Restaurant Week. It was so wonderful to hear that they have been slammed all week as they do a great job and just need more to know it. Between CRW and the hundreds of Groupons they sold, I am hoping that will do the trick.
For future restaurant weeks, know that the portions are smaller. Like 4 shrimp vs 7 or 8 on the cocktail as one example. Big deal though because it's an awesome amount of food for $30, they have a fab selection from which to choose and everything we had, this visit and on our others has been quite nice.Listed in: Lake Norman Eats
2 Previous Reviews: Show all »
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5/22/2011
OK.... Second time here. This time we brought some friends and, as always in situations like this,… Read more »
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Review from Alana K.
Concord, NH
4/26/2012
We had a voucher for $30 so we decided to use it. The building is beautiful and the room set up was very nice as well! I love that they put water on the table for you. The wait staff was very attentive. We started with prime rib stuffed mushrooms and shrimp. They were both wonderful, the mushrooms were unlike any I have ever had! They were delicious. The shrimp came with plenty for the whole table. We all wanted the prime rib sandwich that they are famous for, but they did not have it that night. We had orders if pork chops and trout. The trout sauce was delicious and the fish was also good. The pork chops were way too big, undercooked and salty. The green rice is very good! Due to all of the snafus with our table we were comped desserts. OMG the desserts were to die for. The apple dessert was soooooo good! I could have had 10 bowls. The new coconut vanilla pie was light and good, but didn't have ton of flavor. The oreo dessert was also good. Over all it was great dining. The prices were very reasonable. The berry mixed drink was amazing!
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Review from jeff c.
Cornelius, NC
11/19/2011
Been several times, great/unique food items. Solid wine list. Excellent large bar with fun drinks.
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Review from chad h.
Cornelius, NC
8/1/2011 1 Check-in Here
I'm not sure where to start with this place - there are so many things about it I appreciate and really enjoy. For starters, there is always a nightly special that is tough to beat. I think it's usually around $14 or $15, and you get a beef, chicken, and fish option, served with a side salad or vegetable and a scoop of ice cream for dessert. Sounds pretty simple, until you order it, and realize it's a big enough portion to feed you for dinner with leftovers for the next day.
If you want to be the only thing 'special' at the table, and choose to order off the full menu, there's no shortage of options. Although the wait staff touts the prime rib, I've found it to be just ok. What seems to stand out the most are the fish dishes. I always order some kind of beef or pork entree, but my wife always orders fish, and just about every time, hers is slightly better than mine. Make no mistake though, mine is excellent as well, but good ole' Alton knows how to cook some fish it seems. But you can't go wrong with anything on the menu. If you can save room for dessert, go for the Key Lime Cheesecake. You won't want to even chew it... you'll just want to stick it in your cheek pouches and keep it there for hours so the taste doesn't go away.
As for service, I've always found it to be excellent. My wife recently went to Alton's with a friend of hers, and they had a negative service experience, which was a first. After recognizing the mistake, Alton's staff went above and behind to make my wife and her friend happy again, including comping the meal and an additional bottle of wine. On a different occasion, my wife left her wallet sitting on the table, and Alton himself called us to coordinate the pickup. I honestly don't know how he balances taking care of customers personally while also maintaining such a top notch restaurant. -
Review from Mitch R.
Cornelius, NC
7/24/2010
Fantastic service! Great Food!
This is the kind of place where every member of the staff makes it their personal mission to make sure you are well taken care of, it feels more like you are dining among good friends than at a restaurant. We used a groupon, which gave us $50 to spend on food and alcohol that we only paid $25 for. We told them this from the start but there was never a hint of reduced service or skimping that you sometimes get when using such a steep discount.
As for the food, well it has been a long time since I left a restaurant and felt "fully satisfied". I had the ribs and my wife had the fish of the day. My wife had a raspberry martini and we split the oreo cheesecake for dessert.
The Ribs: These were perfect! Both the glaze and the cooking and the pairing with coleslaw and fries.
The Fish: Again, perfect, this looked like the kind of dish you could see on a TV show. My wife left very happy.
The Martini: I tried it, and it tasted great. The most impressive part of it however is that about halfway through dinner my wife had half of it still left. Without prompting our waitress Holly came over and poured the remainder into a fresh chilled martini glass!
The Oreo Cheesecake: This was a fantastic end to the meal! A lot of places that serve an "oreo cheesecake" basically give you cheesecake with a crushed oreo crust. This was much better! The entire cheesecake was crafted to give you that fantastic oreo cream and chocolate with every bite. -
Review from Maricel T.
Huntersville, NC
6/29/2011
Took my husband and I a while to finally find this place. Worst location evaaar. No wonder this spot has a high turn around. It's almost like finding a needle in a haystack. Service and atmosphere was great. I ordered their filet special with the Gorgonzola & Bleu cheese sauce with the twice baked potato. AMAZING. I'm small and petite so the portion was PERFECT. I even had a little bit for a doggy bag. My husband ordered the prime rib (medium rare) but came out rare. That's why I'm giving it a 4 star.
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Review from Andi M.
3/21/2010
Alton's Kitchen opened in early 2010 in the Harris Teeter shopping center off Jetton Road in Cornelius. Their location is spacious, with tables spaced nicely apart, available second floor dining, and a nice bar area with flat screen TVs. I noticed music playing outside, but we did not hear any music once we entered the restaurant, and that was one thing I missed.
Our server was attentive and knowledgeable, and we never lacked anything while we were there. I had the pear martini to start, and my husband had the blueberry mojito. The pear martini was really good and strong, but the mojito was quite weak. We had the guacamole appetizer, and it was delicious except for the accompanying salsa, which tasted like picante sauce from a jar.
For our entrees, I had the lobster roll with coleslaw and homemade kettle chips, and my husband had the fish tacos with green rice. The lobster roll was unique, but I'm not sure I would try it again. It was made with a light, non-sweet mayo, but it had a bit too much filler (celery, etc.) for my taste, and the lobster chunks were a bit too large for easy eating. (I counted four large chunks in my roll.) It was served on a buttery piece of what looked like Texas toast split down the middle, which made for a greasy and messy thing to eat. The coleslaw was made with sweet mayo (unlike the lobster roll), and I was not fond of it. The homemade kettle chips were quite good, however. I just think that $17 is a bit much for this entree, given how little lobster you really get.
My husband's fish tacos were much better. He had two tacos filled with large thick pieces of grouper (not chunks or flakes), on top of flour tortillas filled with the sweet coleslaw and a creamy sriracha sauce. He loved the tacos, especially the fact that the fish was served in whole pieces. He also liked the rice, which was a simple rice with chopped peppers and cilantro. The tacos were also served with the picante sauce. For $12, this meal was a great value and he would definitely get it again.
The portion sizes were quite good, and we saw many plates pass us by with things we would like to try the next time (the lamb shank looked amazing!). And we WILL be back again for another meal. For a new restaurant, they have many great things going for them and I'm sure they will only get better with time. -
Review from H B N.
Charlotte, NC
12/3/2011
My dining partner and I went to Alton's tonight for the first and last time. It was the last night of a $30 Groupon offer and I was looking forward to a nice meal. I had read the negative reviews, some of which were written seven months ago, so I hoped that they had straighten out any problems they had dealing with their own Groupon offer. We drove over 25 mile to get their so we left early in hopes of avoiding northbound weekend traffic. I had read and understood that I could not combine my Groupon purchase with any of their special offers; so when we arrived by chance in time for their early dining special I told the waiter that we would have separate checks to which he replied that it would not be a problem. I added that I would be using a Groupon for me to which he literally high fived me since I had gotten there on the last night before it expired.
The very nice waiter took our drink orders and left us with the menus. I had studied the menu online and knew that it would be NO problem for me to spend well over $30 by myself, but who likes to dine alone so I invited a guest to join me. I expressed to my dining partner that their was no reason he HAD to order from the "specials" menu, but he expressed that it was exactly what he was in the mood for since it included an appetizer and dessert. When the waiter returned with our drinks he told us that we could not order the special if we were using the Groupon. I reminded him that we were getting separate checks and that I would NOT be ordering the special. I told him that I had read about a similar problem with a previous customer of theirs and that is why I told them up front that we would be having separate checks. I was going to order warm bread at $2, the Ahi Appetizer at $11, the filet at $25, and cobbler for dessert at $6 plus a beverage well over the $30 Groupon purchase not to mention my dining partner's meal and drinks. He said that we could not sit at the same table, but that he would check with the manager. I was shocked at the absurd idea of two people having to sit at two separate tables in order to enjoy a night out which was initiated by their own Groupon offering. Another man arrived who said we were trying to nickel and dime them and that they were loosing money on every Groupon dinner. I offered to pay for the few sips we had of our beverages and left with a sour taste in my mouth never to return again! -
Review from Carol J.
Huntersville, NC
9/30/2011
Purchased this as a Groupon and was not disappointed. Enjoyed an early dinner of the North Cove Salad and husband had the cheeseburger. Excellent, Excellent, Excellent. Shall I say it again? Excellent! The Champagne Vinaigrette Salad Dressing was the perfect compliment. And the cheesburger? Well, hubby said it's the best he ever had - even better fries. Don't forget to order the Mr T's Cocktail - you won't be sorry. Had to stop on the way home and buy a bottle of Firefly Sweet Tea Vodka! (Attentive Wait Staff - Ask for Sean)
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Review from Brad S.
Cornelius, NC
4/19/2011
Gotta try this place again. Went for appetizers and drinks. This was a nice quiet hidden gem. This location is bad and would never know it was there. I would recommend this place and have heard good things about dinner there. Nice bar and very happy with the friendly service.
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Review from J S.
Denver, NC
5/15/2011
The food was excellent! I had the nightly special (shrimp and angel hair pasta with fresh spinach and pine nuts in a lemon sauce). This dish was spectacular. My husband had the ribeye steak with the twice baked potato. He said it was the best ribeye he'd ever had and the twice baked potato was fabulous. Some reviewers said steaks were too salty but this was not the case for us. My husband often thinks things are too salty but this was not the case here. Great atmosphere. I only give 4 stars because the service was slow and the server was a bit hurried because they were busy. We will definitely go back!
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Review from Mike N.
Beverly Hills, CA
1/4/2011
This building almost seems cursed from the failed restauarants last 10 years. I heard good things so after going back 3 more times I am a believer that these owners truly know what they are doing. The servers were confident and knowledgeable of a menu I suspected to see more in L.A. / NYC not LKN. A great selection of wine and the atmosphere from the dining room to the bar is open, comfortable and really pleasant. curse broken
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Review from Kathy B.
Cornelius, NC
12/4/2011
I have had many good meals at this restaurant over the past nearly two years. It is ashame that someone would post a review like HBN did which has nothing to do with the food but simply with the fact that HBN was trying to get away with something. When you buy a Groupon you know there are restrictions and should be aware of them. I have purchased many Groupons and know what I can and cannot get with it. Of course, the only other restaurant review by HBN also was a negative so maybe that means something.
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Review from Bill M.
Woolwine, VA
6/2/2011 1 Check-in Here
Uninspired! Very average. Staff very perfunctory. Eat here soon before it is gone. Ha!
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Review from Aimee K.
Cornelius, NC
4/4/2011
Beautiful atmosphere and great service, but food was just ok. I come from a long line of foodies, so maybe I'm just being difficult, but after reading all of the reviews, I was a little disappointed. I would recommend it for cocktails and apps though.
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Review from Julie R.
Cornelius, NC
8/29/2010
I have eaten in Alton's twice. It is very close to my house and it is in a restaurant that has turned over many times. The interior is TIRED. They tried to make it look new, but, it is the same basic design from "Charleston Chops" with some new paint.
The reason this review gets two stars instead of one is because of the cocktails. They are good. The food is just OK. It is really not great. The tuna app, (which we think made us sick) was just scary. The ribs were OK, the "New Orleans"style shrimp dish was served over the most sticky white rice I have ever had. It was bad. I was sad when I ate here the second time and it was worse than the first. Save your time and money and go to 131 Main. These guys did not do a good job opening a restaurant that even compares. I am a stay at home Mom and a foodie and I know good food. This is not good food. -
Review from Jennifer D.
Davidson, NC
6/7/2011
Just ate here last night... Have to say its the best food around! Try the mashed potatoes!!! They're fantastic.
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Review from chris W.
Davidson, NC
5/20/2011
This is the most amazing food we have ever eaten! The mashed potatoes are to die for and the filet is full of flavor, tender and cooked to perfection. This is our new favorite place!!!
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Review from Nick K.
9/23/2010
Solid food. Its great to have another restaurant like this in the Lake Norman area. The dinner deal that was mentioned in another review is available until 7 I think. My wife took advantage of the deal and had the half chicken half rack of ribs with a side of fries, and started the meal with the included salad. The salad was fresh and the homemade champaign vinaigrette tasty. The ribs were tender, easily came off the bone. Chicken was leg and thigh, juicy with a generous amount of barbecue sauce. The only mildly disappointing part of the 3 course $15 meal was the dessert. I guess I just expected more than Breyers vanilla. I ordered the french dip for dinner which was lean and a perfect medium rare. I had twice baked potatoes as my side that were cheesy and crisp at the top. I look forward to going back, and I would even say that its worth the trip from Charlotte for anyone contemplating it.
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Review from Joni H.
Cornelius, NC
7/31/2011
I cannot say enough good things about Alton's! It is my favorite restaurant in the Lake Norman area. Although I've been quite a few times, I'll just review when I was here for a Thursday evening last week with a friend. We ordered a bottle of their house wine to share (pinot grigio - very good for $18!!) and I ordered the trout with succotash. I am not a huge fish person, but I order fish every single time I come here! The trout was seasoned perfectly, and the succotash just tasted so fresh and delicious - not mushy or drowning in butter! My friend had the lobster roll, which she's gotten multiple times as well and she always raves about it. I love everything about this place, including the wonderful service! (Quick note: my husband and I came a couple of weeks ago, and they were doing a mock 'restaurant week' to get ready for the real thing, and it was fabulous - WELL worth the $30. The appetizers were huge, and I ordered the sea bass as I almost always do because it's perfect every time! Their key lime pie cheesecake is also one of the best I've ever had!)
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Review from Ney Z.
Durham, NC
5/23/2010
Excellent, excellent, excellent. We used a Groupon, which was great value, but even without it, the value would have been excellent. Attentive but not disruptive service. Delicious food - sirloin medallions (daily special) and lamb shank. Really very flavorful and just excellent. Would highly recommend and would definitely return. Probably one of the top three meals I've ever had in NC.
