On a mobile device? Try our mobile site, optimized for faster browsing.
Loading...
the BEST restuarant in the SE (rivals - NYC)
Words can not describe the Atmosphere, Menu and Service
Bring your WALLET! not for the faint of heart!
Pricey but worth EVERY PENNY- once in a lifetime experience
BETTER than the FRENCH LAUNDRY in Napa!
"PLEASE, NO MOTHBALLS OR PATCHOULI."
Never before has a single line item on a menu so immediately solidified my love for a restaurant.
Magnolia Grill is a wonderful, locavore restaurant owned by a husband and wife team who also work their magic in the kitchen. I find I have the best culinary experiences in restaurants where the owner and chef are one, and Magnolia Grill reinforces this belief.
The décor is light and bright, with large naturescape impressionist paintings lining the walls. At first you are impressed by the seriousness of the place, and you sit up in you chair a little taller and try to recall all your best table manners. But then you look above the window to the open kitchen and see a giant abalone shell, complete with big googly eyeballs looking back at you. Now you realize that this place has a sense of humor, so order a cocktail and relax already. They're going to take care of you here (provided, of course, you've bathed and skipped the patchouli).
Reservations are a must. We called at noon on a Friday for that evening, and we were lucky to get a table at 9:00 p.m. We will definitely not cut it so close again in the future.
We started our evening with a cocktail called the Brick Wall. It was indeed a solid drink. Top shelf bourbon, apple cider syrup, lime juice, and a granny smith apple garnish. It was one of those drinks where, when you take your first sip, you close your eyes briefly so no one can see your eyeballs roll back in your head a little. While my intention was to switch to wine during the main course, I could not imagine drinking anything else the rest of the night, so I stuck with the bourbon throughout. Classy, I know.
For our appetizer, we split the goat cheese, warmed and gift wrapped expertly in filo dough. The cheesy present came alongside a lovely salad of mixed greens with roasted squash. The salad included fresh herbs that blended beautifully with the melt-in-your-mouth goat cheese.
We ordered separate entrees. I got the jumbo sea scallops. They were grilled, and so incredibly, wonderfully sweet. Jes got the grilled pork chop, and while I enjoyed my dish, Jes definitely hit the entrée jackpot. The bone-in pork chop was at least 2 inches thick, prepared a juicy medium rare. Every bite was bursting with flavor. It was, in a word, awesome.
You would think at this point we would be too stuffed for dessert. And in truth, we were. However, one look at the dessert menu, and we managed to find room.
I had the deep dish apple-cranberry cobbler with wonderful homemade cinnamon ice cream. The pie crust dough that draped over the cobbler and hung flirtatiously over the edges of the ramekin was so incredibly perfect. I've not had pie crust like it before. Fabulous!
As with her entrée, Jes again hit the jackpot with her dessert. It was a buttery, apricot pound cake with the most wonderful texture and flavor combination. It was served with a healthy scoop of homemade apple bacon ice cream.
Go ahead. Reread it. Though, you read right the first time.
Apple.
Bacon.
Ice.
Cream.
It was unbelievably rich and delicious, and the perfect accompaniment to such a buttery cake. The flavor combination was positively out of this world.
The service was exceptional. Our water was constantly refilled by what Jes and I took to calling the "water faeries" - women who appeared out of nowhere with stainless steel water pitchers and disappeared as quickly and as quietly as they appeared. Our server did not hover but was immediately available for any need. She let us know which dishes were running low in the kitchen in case we wanted to reserve something before it was gone for the evening. The whole experience was beautifully executed from beginning to end. The atmosphere, the cocktails, the food, the service, everything was simply splendid.
No question - Magnolia Grill was the apex of my trip to Durham. All other dining experiences were training exercises leading to this one perfect meal.
An amazing culinary experience!
If you have not yet dined at Magnolia you really should save up your pennies and get on over there! People always say that the best food in the area is in Durham, and I would have to agree. Magnolia is an example of amazing food at its finest.
We arrived and went inside and were promptly seated by the host in the perfect little table for two. The waiter quickly came over and offered to get us some cocktails. I asked for a recommendation, like I do anytime i go some place fancy, and I use this as a gauge to see how the rest of the night is going to play out. He gave us really good recommendations and had completely memorized every item on the extensively detailed menu and was able to set us up for home runs at every turn. Here is what we ended up with:
Sparkling gemlet - my cocktail - sweet and bitter at the same time, sort of like a twisted ginger ale!
Bitter elder - husband's cocktail - grapefruity sour with a hint of sweetness!
Pan seared foie gras in a fig coulis - my appetizer - the BEST, hands down, foie gras dish I have ever consumed. previous to this dish the winner was at bin 54. this dish at magnolia was perfectly prepared and amazing when accompanied with the pickled watermelon - unreal!
Twice baked grits souffle - husband's appetizer - this was a house specialty, so we had to try it. it was like grits on air! the grits paired with the herbed sauce and mushrooms were perfect. husband loved every single bite!
Herb grilled swordfish in brown butter - my entree - this dish was recommended by the waiter. he was right, that this was a show stopper! The swordfish was perfectly grilled and accompanied by a brown butter sauce and served with pickled sultanas (large caper berries), arugula, and beans - it was really delicious!
Grilled new york strip in port wine reduction - husband's entree - the steak was fork tender and perfectly cooked med rare, no other seasoning was needed and every bite was delish! The steak came with a grilled salad - which was really wonderful. The sauce that it came with was scrumptious!
Brown sugar bacon waffles with peaches and sorghum ice cream - my dessert - what can i say? People, if you have never had bacon in a dessert, or bacon with chocolate - put it on your to do list.
Hot chocolate chile cake with mexican chile ice cream - husband's dessert - again, spicy chocolate is like bacon with dessert, if you have never gone there- you really should.
Pinot noir - French - 2005 - Auxey-Duresses 1er Cru - Climate du Val - light and fruity pinot noir that paired splendidly with both steak and fish!
Everything from the service to the art, and especially the food was amazing! We are foodies, no doubt about it and we really enjoyed this gastronomic experience! It was worth the wait and the $.
Delicious!
My roommate and I came as part of our graduation bucket-list. We didn't make reservations and came on a Wednesday and seated immediately.
Not many selections for a vegetarian, so my choices were pretty much selected for me. No vegetarian option on the menu, but the waitress told me an off the menu item they could make for me.
My beet salad was delicious - fresh beets, spicy pecans and perfect dressing. My vegetarian entree was good but not worth the top dollar for sauteed vegetables and sweet potato dumplings. Wish there was a more inventive vegetarian offering.
My roommate loved both her appetizer and entree. She ordered the pork belly and the confit rabbit.
Glad we went for the experience but I would not go back. Did not see what all the fuss was about. It probably would be much more worth it if I ate meat.
We visited Magnolia Grill shortly after it was named one of the top resturant's by Gourmet Magazine in the fall. We ate at one of the bar tables, and the service was still fantastic. I had the grits souffle, and the beet salad. Both were wonderful with very distinct flavors. Our table also got four different desserts to share: the Honey-thyme ice cream (Amazing!), Pumpkin Pie, and I believe a cheesecake.
I also purchased the cookbook on Amazon so that I could make recipe's back home in Arizona. Keep in mind, the recipe's are complex, but this resturaunt is really as good as it gets. Its completely worth traveling back to North Carolina to visit again.
Another all-around good place. It's #11 in Gourmet magazine's Top 50 American Restaurant and chefs Ben and Karen Parker have a couple of cookbooks to their names. Service is great - our waitress was extremely knowledgeable about the menu and the food preparation.
We started with the grits souffle and the beet salad. My friends enjoyed the souffle, but I thought it tasted pretty strongly of foie gras which I don't really like. The salad was excellent though, made up of crisp butter lettuce, shavings of fresh beets, slices of mandarin orange, spicy pecans, and crumbled blue cheese. The only thing that could have improved it would have been more beets - they were a bit stingy.
They were out of a third of their entrees by the time we arrived, so we had a limited selection. Upon the waitress' recommendation, I got the pan seared Alaskan halibut served in a mussel and chorizo stew. It was really tasty, and I could distinctly taste all the flavors. The fish was flaky and moist, the chorizo just slightly spicy, the mussels fresh and plump. It was a bit on the salty side, so maybe they could tone down the chorizo a bit or add a little less salt.
We couldn't leave without trying their renowned desserts so we split the vanilla buttermilk pie with a much emphasized "LARD crust" and the small ginger cake with maple cinnamon ice cream. We had wanted to get the walnut torte with blue cheese ice cream but the waitress strongly suggested that we get another dessert to stay away from the blue cheese ice cream. The buttermilk pie tasted like vanilla custard in a flaky and rich crust - good, but not amazing. I didn't like the ginger cake, since it tasted strongly of cinnamon and did not like the ice cream for the same reason.
I was ultra curious about the blue cheese ice cream, so I asked the waitress to bring me a scoop. We all tried it and everyone hated it. It tasted exactly like the salad dressing in ice cream form. I felt like I should be polite since waitress brought it out especially for me, so I choked down a few more spoonfuls. Our waitress later came by to tell us that there was no way that she could stomach that ice cream, so I didn't feel as bad letting most of it go to waste.
Overall, a good upscale restaurant. If this place was in NYC, I'm sure prices would be doubled and portions halved. In Durham, you get a lot more bang for your buck - but it's still not cheap!
While I was living in the Triangle, I had heard more about this restaurant than any other. I knew that by the time my wife and I ended up leaving the area, we would have to try it at least once. Several friends of mine had dined here and had (paraphrasing them) one of the best culinary experiences of their lives. My parents were in town, and we wanted to take them out to a nice place, and Magnolia Grill was the restaurant of choice for the evening.
To start, service was about as poor as I've ever had in any restaurant, let alone a restaurant such as Magnolia Grill. Our waiter was downright rude, and generally tried to rush us through our meal as quickly as humanly possible. From the very moment that we put our drink orders in, our waiter was trying to get us to place our dinner orders. We tried telling him politely several times that we would like to finish our drinks first, but he was stopping by literally every few minutes asking 'So, have you decided yet?' 'Any closer to a decision yet?' and so on. Now, I'm not saying that we were trying to sit there for an hour or two before ordering, all we wanted was 15 or so minutes to finish our drinks before ordering. We asked him at one point whether or not he needed us to be finished by a certain time, and he assured us that the chef simply wants orders in as soon as possible, but he will pace the meal nice and slow so as to extend the evening. This turned out to be pretty far from the truth because very soon after putting in our orders, our first courses arrived, and very soon after we finished our first courses, our main courses arrived. In line with this, the table next to us (who arrived after us) ordered quickly, and were finished their first course before we even placed our orders.
But, as you all know, we don't come to a restaurant to make a new friend with the waiter, we come for the food. All in all, I'd rate the food as good, but not particularly memorable. In the end, not nearly as good as other restaurants I've been to over the years, and not even the best in the area. And not nearly as good as their high prices warrant. They charge about what you'd expect this type of restaurant to charge, but unfortunately none of us felt that the quality of the food matched the prices. It's a testament that I cannot remember a single full dish that any of the four of us ordered, save for the fact that I ordered some sort of duck dish either for my first course or main course. Like I said, no one had a bad bite of food, but at the same time nothing jumped out. If I were rating the food by itself, I'd probably give it a solid 3.0 (good, not mind-blowing)...the service, the lack of good decor, and the unjustified high prices brought it down by one star.
All in all, I would have to say that the Magnolia Grill was a major disappointment. Maybe it was expectations, maybe it was the fact that we had a bad waiter, or that it was an off-night all around...I really don't know. All I do know is that none of us thought that any of the food was above a rating of 'good'. In the end, I can put up with things like terrible service if the food is exceptional, but unfortunately that just wasn't the case.
Magnolia Grill should be at the top of anyone's list for a special occasion or just a fantastic dinner. I went for a birthday and was very impressed. Here is my list:
Pro
- Food was excellent. Sorry, that was generic, but it's true.
- The grits souffle is a tried-and-true appetizer and highly recommended.
- Bread was delicious, and it comes with the butter in those little white ceramic dishes.
- They executed my favorite part of the meal: they take that crumb scraper, clean off all the crumbs, and then remove everything except the glasses, leaving a perfect white tablecloth.
- Save room for dessert. They are excellent, and the restaurant has produced two dessert cookbooks attesting to this fact.
Con
- Service wasn't super fantastic, but fairly good.
- They made me call back the day before to confirm the reservation. It was fine, but usually the restaurant calls you, not the other way around.
A friend of a friend raved about this place a while back, so it was on my mind for my anniversary last year. Normally for important occasions I like to go somewhere that I know will be excellent, but this time I took a chance.
I'm very much unlike Carolina Z... The cuter the animal on my plate, the better. If I could devour the entire cast of Bambi in one sitting, I would. As such, the menu really appealed to me. My girl and I love food, so we ended up getting one appetizer and three entrees. That turned out to be a good idea since the portions are relatively small. I can't remember exactly what we ordered except for the tuna (amazing), but it was all fantastic and quite diverse. The atmosphere and everything is great, but the food is very much the star here, some of the best you'll have in the area. Likewise with the wine (their staff is very familiar with the wine list and only too willing to help).
The service was slow, but that's what we wanted (it's a gaze into your lover's eyes kind of place). All around a fantastic dining experience.
As good as it gets in the triangle. You'll find flavors you can't make at home. 'Nuff said. (Don't plan on an important meeting with more than 4 people, though. The acoustics are terrible and it's always loud.)
I agree with Ben H that the decor and ambiance were non sequiter with the menu. Very LOUD brunch/diner atmosphere. Lighting was a little too bright and the decor (a few paintings scattered) were random and generic. The tables had linen cloths but the plates and silverware were the same you would find at a Denny's. The plates were even a tad dirty and oily.
The yellowfin tuna ceviche was good, but I thought it missed something--could add a crunchy texture to the mix. I had the grits souffle for the appetizer. The best thing I ate there! Creamy, rich, and quite filling.
M had the snapper and I had the cornmeal crusted trout. Both very good, but not incredible...4 out of 5 stars.
Service: The servers were friendly, but not completely coordinated. Had to ask for water refills at least 3 times.
They only offered 3 whites and 3 red wines by the glass. For such a great menu, Magnolia should really offer more wines.
For dessert we shared the sour cream cheescake. It was light, but still filling.
All of the entrees were under $30. For the Triangle, this is a solid restaurant and a good value.
Yelp doesn't allow for half stars. I expected fine dining, and got an upscale diner with very good food. Given the atmosphere and flatware used, I might give this place a 3.5 out of 5. For food alone a solid 4 stars.
I had an Orgasm at Magnolia Grill...my taste buds did and damn was it the best I've ever had...
Holy Moly! I can't believe that my BEST dining experience was gonna take place not in NYC nor San Francisco, but in Durham, NC no less.
I just got back from Durham after a hellish 2 days of hair frizzing humidity, heat and water conservation, but the food experience was well well well worth it.
So, this is what made me ohhh ahhh ohhh ahhh
The foreplay started with the Grilled Georgia quail on butternut squash, fig and pomegranate risotto. Super Super Super delicious...
and for the orgasm ...Grilled painted hill ribeye in red wine jus with porcini potato gratin ahhhhhh!
Roll over and smoke a cigarette
When I have a question on food I go to one guy. When my folks were coming to town I asked that guy where, if he could go anywhere in the triangle, he would go. Without hesitation he said "Magnolia Grill."
I took his suggestion and certainly don't regret it. The food was outstanding and, best of all, prices are resonably low relative to food of similar quality in the area and around the country.
Plan on going in hungry, because you don't get the full experience without partaking in all three courses. I started with a sweet potato bisque, followed by a grouper main course, and enjoyed a tantilizing spice cake dessert.
The menu made my mouth water and makes me want to keep going back until I've tried every dish.
My only critique is that I felt as though the atmosphere and service wasn't quite up to par with the food.
Still, this is a can't miss spot in the Triangle and certainly one of the best meals I've ever had.
Five Stars for sure...
One of a few local "World Renowned" restaurants. I was surprised to learn that there are actually a few local restaurants that are actually quite well known. Magnolia Grill, and Nana's to name just two. They don't make a big fuss over their fame, which is quite refreshing if you're used to other renowned restaurants in "big cities". It's a small place and deceptively "normal".
This is a top dollar establishment, but actually worth every penny! The abundance of flavor in every single morsel of food is just delicious! The chef has written a book on the particular style of intense flavor.
They have a wonderful selection of wines, the service is top notch, and the setting is very intimate.
If you're visiting and have only a limited time I highly recommend this restaurant! If you're a local, I highly recommend this restaurant for a special event, or to impress visiting friends and family (especially them Yankees {wink}).
-Zac Morris
Probably my favorite restaurant in America. The first time I ate here, my friend and I took simultaneous bites of our appetizers, looked at each other, and were unable to speak. My parents still talk about the desserts, and now that I live in New York, I realize how reasonable the prices are for the food.
I'm sure part of my love for Magnolia is its associations with the people I've gone with and overall happy years in Durham, but it's the kind of place that encourages those times to flourish. Plus the service is great--- casual and top-notch.
my husband and i went here for his birthday and were a bit disappointed. Overall the food is ok, not the mind-blowing experience that we were expecting.
first, the decor threw us off a little bit. the atmosphere was casual for such a fine dining establishment that they claim to be. it was bright and had a semi open kitchen. it was sort of noisy and you felt like you had no privacy.
for apps, we had the blue cheese stuffed figs. they were really good... for entree, my husband had the pork chops which were good. i had the buttermilk fried quail and that was tender but slightly mushy. i do remember asking the waitress (1st day working) if i could get the riosotto app as an entree portion. she said that the kitchen could not accomidation because everything was pre-measured. if i wanted an entree portion, they would actually bring me out two plates of riosotto. i thought that this was strange because they could just put double of the portion on a place and charge me twice the amount. its not that complicated.
overall, the food was good, but not the spectacular stuff that people were hyping it up to be. the flavors were not that sophisticated at all. therefore we were disappointed.
also parking is limited...
Came here for a nice, relaxing meal to kick start an upcoming two-week vacation. Again, we were impressed with the variety, innovation, flavor, and presentation in our food. Didn't make a reservation, but showed up around 7pm and got seated with no wait (though it was a teeny-tiny 2-top jammed up against a wall and another party). We're pretty easy going, so it didn't bother us. We did, however, take note of the shabby (not even shabby-chic!) decor at the restaurant this time. Plastic swordfishes and other marine life with googly eyes. Drab carpet. Un-ambient lighting. Though it doesn't detract from their food, it does distract from what is an otherwise excellent restaurant. If you're going to throw down a certain amount of money, it's usually for a 'special' evening out when you get a little dressed up and hope for just a little more attention to detail in restaurant appearance.
If you're looking for fine dining in a casual atmosphere, this is the place. We got dressed up since… Read more »
The mediocre food doesn't justify the price and pretentiousness of this overrated Durham landmark. The food is as good as you'd expect at half the price, which is to say pretty good but not mind-blowing. Pops down at Bright Leaf is better, as is Papa's Grill up on Hillandale Avenue. They both cost less.
I've been twice in the past three years. The service is just OK: slow on the refills and not much personal attention, and not very flexible. My wife is a vegetarian and there were no vegetarian entrees (they say they always have one). She asked for a dish without the meat and the waitress got all weird and was like "The waiter will not change his menu, but he can make you some soup." So she got a bowl of rigatone soup which was admittedly pretty good.
Overall it was just sort of awkward interacting with people there.
Great food, service a little slow, but it rocks for Durham.
My husband and I tend to avoid the famous, five-star-ish restaurants. I'm a picky eater - I don't eat fish or foie gras and I don't eat lamb, duck, veal, bunny rabbit, or anything else that belongs more in an Easter basket than on my plate. So I figure these rotating, small-menu places won't work for me. Still, it was our three-year anniversary, so we said "For the experience...we should try Magnolia Grill." I have to say that we rose above our general oddness and pickiness and truly enjoyed our meal.
I was worried that the servers would look down on two twenty-somethings who didn't understand a word on the wine list, but our waitress was very friendly and helpful. She even honored my request for a pork tenderloin that was "somewhere between medium and medium well." And voila - my tenderloin was perfectly cooked. So that was my entree - I also had a tasty green tomato soup with lump crab meat and salsa, and two glasses of an excellent rose' wine. We've heard the desserts are supposed to be amazing, but didn't have room to try any of them. The husband enjoyed halibut with what he dubbed "possibly the best mashed potatoes ever."
The whole meal - two entrees, two appetizers, and three glasses of wine - cost us right at $100. That's pricey for us, but it's probably kind of reasonable for "fine cuisine." I see that the "attire" vote below is split between casual and dressy - that makes sense to me, because the place is sort of like one of those confusing dress descriptions on a party invitation..."snappy casual" or something like that. No need to bust out your black tie; spiff it up modestly. The decor is modest - low on windows, big on plain walls - but I didn't think that was a big deal. I'll take friendly and comfortable over high-brow and snooty any time. There's nothing wrong with a restaurant having a big-time reputation and still being fun.
I wasn't as enthralled with Magnolia Grill as I expected to be after hearing such rave reviews from all of my friends. Don't get me wrong, it was good, and definitely above average, but I was expecting to be WOWed. Our waiter was ok, but didn't take our orders in the proper manner you would expect from a 5-star restaurant, and our drinks took a long time to get refilled. The food was prepared and presented excellently, but my steak was sort of bland. Still a good meal, but I've had better meals for the price in the area.
Magnolia Grill has really, really good food. Not just great food; food nirvana. A few years ago I had a particularly good NY strip steak here, and I haven't been the same person since. I've also considered starting a religion dedicated to worshipping their foie gras and desserts.
The service has always been good, however it's not in the same league as a 3-star Michelin restaurant with more wait staff than customers. The decor is a bit plain compared to the food, but it's comfortable and pleasant. The environment keeps the restaurant accessible and unpretentious for everyone -- it does have "Grill" in the name, after all.
I recently moved out of North Carolina, but this restaurant is high on my list of reasons to come back and visit. If you're in the area, it's a must-visit.
My wife took me here for my birthday last year. We've been wanting to dine here for a long time because we have heard so many good things about the owners and their talents for great food. I have to say that we left a bit disappointed with our experience. The food was good, but not what we expected. I was expecting to have one of the best meals of my life and it was far from that. It's possible that the people that are excited about the Magnolia have never experienced a great restaurant. Maybe it's the best restaurant in Durham (I don't think so). Take my word, there are better restaurants in Raleigh. My favorite restaurant is in Charleston, SC. If the Magnolia was in Charleston, they would have to step up their cuisine or they would have to close down from the competition. Now that Johnson and Wales have moved from Charleston to Charlotte, we are a closer drive to some great restaurants.
The service out performed the food. Our waiter was new to the restaurant, but knowledgeable none the less. He was friendly, but a little pretentious. We didn't have to wait extraordinarily long as others have said in their reviews. We heard the appetizers and desserts were to die for. I have to say that they were good and certainly better than the entrees. The menus ever changes so just try anything and it will probably be good.
Now, about the entrees. I chose to have a steak as nothing else on the menu appealed to me. It was a NY strip steak which was seasoned and grilled. It had a unique flavor due to the chef's concoction of herbs and spices, but the meat itself was on the tough side. I ordered it medium-rare and it came back medium. The more a steak is cooked, the drier it gets and is therefore tougher. I sent the steak back. The new steak was cooked correctly but was still on the firm side. I wish that they had a nice tender filet on the menu.
My wife ordered the ossu-buco. It was too salty to eat. Way over seasoned! When we told the waiter, he said that in essence, too bad. The restaurant has a policy of not changing your order to another item on the basis that you don't like it. My wife ordered the fish option, so we had to pay for three entrees that night. She enjoyed her fish.
In closing, I would have to say that Magnolia is overrated. The prices are higher than they need to be and only serve to suggest that you are paying for a great meal, which you are not. If the prices were lower, it would be more in line with expectations and if the food was better, then you would be getting a bargain at their prices. In other words, I would pay more for better fare, but I've paid less for what I got at Magnolia.
(I would give 3.5 stars, but that is not an option, so I give them 3 stars.)
The desserts are AMAZING. The chef/owners call their style of cuisine 'new southern', and this reflects in the restaurant's dessert selection: mini caramel apples and funnel cakes, tirimisu waffles and ice cream, coca-cola chocolate cake, etc. I like to show up with a friend at 10pm without a reservation and have dessert and coffee . yum.
I've been to Magnolia twice in 2006-2007. For a full dinner you'd need reservations and may need at least a week to call ahead. If you're there just for desserts and don't mind sitting at the bar then I'd highly recommend trying their wonderful goat cheese cheesecake. Their door-posted menu changes slightly and I try to look at it every time I walk by. Also, look for any desserts that have carmelized figs.
Magnolia Grill has won a lot of awards. They've got the coveted James Beard. They've received others both national and local. I personally don't see what all the fuss is about. I liked my meal there. We went for a special occasion. It was good, but not on par with what I expected. We were crammed into a table squished against others enjoying their occasions. The passing of food from our server to those at our table was awkward due to the layout. Food whizzed by my head to go to my brother across the table with a "Pardon my reach." Everyone enjoyed the meal, because we were all together for an occasion, not because we were floored by heroic culinary genius. As a Southerner, if I want amazing Southern food, I'll visit my elders or my Mom. They totally get it and are not simply using Southern cuisine as a gourmet gimmick with a twist. Southern food warms the soul. It is made with love. You feel that love in the food. It is bad for you. There's no two bones about it. It is fattening and indulgent and unhealthy. But when it is amazing it is unforgettable. I can't remember what I had at Magnolia, apart from a Pink Grapefruit dessert, which was quite good. That tells me it is more style than Southern (substance).
The dining experience at Magnolia Grill definitely lives up to its James Beard nomination for Outstanding Restaurant of 2007 and its past Jame Beard awards hanging on the restaurant walls (including Best Pastry Chef). I'll admit that the decor and loud ambiance do not quite match the high quality of the food and service. However the meal was remarkably prepared and made my taste buds happy and my belly pooch. I dined with a party of 4 and we split 4 appetizers. My favorite was Twice-Baked Grits Souffle with Chantrelle Ragout, Aged Sherry-Mushroom Emulsion & Shaved Confit Foie Gras. To me this dish should be the signature of the restaurant as it displays the creative use of Southern ingredients in a fining dining way. We also started with Green Tomato Risotto with Andouille Sausage and Flash Fried Calamari. The dish was a bit soupier than risotto and seemed more like a gumbo. Maybe it was the Andouille, but it was good. We also had the Pork Belly and Crab Rillettes which were both very enjoyable. For my entree, I ordered the second to last order of Osso Buco with Fried Okra, Corn, and Red Beans of the night. My boyfriend ordered the last one. This popular dish was tender and full of flavor...no wonder it sold out. Others at my table had the lamb and steak--both delicious. Although we were full, we sampled their desserts which included twists on southern classics like chocolate chip pound cake and modern desserts like PBJ-Concord Grape Sorbet and Peanut Butter Shortbreads. In short, if I were a local, I'd visit often.
I've been here three times, the first two I enjoyed two out of three dishes and on the most recent visit I enjoyed my entire meal. The problem with Magnolia Grill is the outrageous ambition of the chef. The menu is extremely long, and the restaurant spreads its ingredients thin such that each time I went there were several menu items that were no longer available by my 8pm seating time. Speaking to the ambition, most memorably I was served 'rabbit three ways' which included a portion of rabbit ribs that had been frenched, but did not include a finger bowl until I made the request twice. Anyway I've never been disappointed by dessert, except that the pound cake I had the second time was super dry but was saved by a delicious helping of malted chocolate ice cream. At the end of the day I'd say Magnolia Grill is worth a trip if you're from North Carolina and therefore accustomed to god awful food that wouldn't be served to the dog in other parts of the world, because Magnolia at least produces food that's worthy of putting on the table for human consumption and that earns it four stars against its Triangle competition.
this is one of durham's finer eating establishments. the staff were exceedingly friendly and accommodating. the place gets a 5 star service rating. unfortunately that was the highlight of the show. i thought the decor and ambiance were a little misplaced. our appetizers were hit and miss, the yellow fin tuna ceviche was AWESOME the shrimp and crab something or other just tasted like butter. my dinner partner's halibut had an odd chewy texture to it and my salmon was good but not incredible. normally i don't comment on a wine list cuz i like to drink wine more than agonizing over which one to buy, but for a more upscale restaurant i really expected a few more choices. our desserts were hit and miss as well - definitely try the sorbet dessert if you are here. i don't want to sound overly negative though - we had fun while we were here. the food is good, but not great. that being said...it is also reasonably priced w/ all of the entrees falling in the 20 dollar range. this might almost push it up to 4 stars...but definitely not a 5 star establishment.
Durham, NC
Category: Restaurants
Durham, NC
Category: American (New)
Durham, NC
Category: American (New)
Durham, NC
Category: French
Durham, NC
Category: Barbeque
Some of my favorite dining destinations in the…
Some of my favorite dining destinations in the…
Some of my favorite dining destinations in the…
