The 21 best new restaurants that opened in the Triangle in 2023. Some are future legends
As we look back on the restaurant openings of 2023, one thing is clear. Some absolute stunners opened this year.
Ambitions soared in 2023, as a new class of restaurants opened in the Triangle, adding fine dining revivals, neighborhood bars and a few that reposition the Triangle in the national dining conversation.
Here are our picks for the biggest openings of 2023
▪ Ajja
209 Bickett Blvd., Raleigh. 919-213-1276 or ajjaeats.com
The encore restaurant from Garland owners Cheetie Kumar and Paul Siler, Ajja is not just alphabetically first on this list, it’s the biggest Triangle opening of 2023. Built as a groovy backyard dreamscape with a view of downtown Raleigh, Ajja continues Kumar’s style of showcasing seasonal North Carolina ingredients, this time with Mediterranean and Middle Eastern dishes. We’re not the only ones enamored with Ajja — Esquire named it one of the best new restaurants in the country.
▪ Bombolo
764 MLK Jr., Blvd., Chapel Hill. 919-914-6374 or bombolochapelhill.com
After pressing pause on their barbecue concept Big Belly Que, brother and sister duo Garrett Fleming and Eleanor Lacy launched one of the most creatively ambitious restaurants of 2023. Bombolo serves mostly Italian dishes, including house-made charcuterie and fresh pastas, but also makes space for fried chicken and octopus migas and ham steak with eggs and chanterelles.
▪ Cheeni
202 Corcoran St., Durham. 919-918-0220 or cheeniraleigh.com/cheeni-durham
One of the most exciting new restaurant concepts in the Triangle expanded to Durham this year, taking over the downtown space vacated by Jack-Tar. Cheeni is a comforting and personal view into Indian dishes, created by chef Preeti Waas, who was last year a James Beard semifinalist for her still very new Raleigh location.
▪ Common Market
1821 Green St., Durham. 919-294-8244 or commonmarketisgood.com/durham
Don’t call it a bodega, even though it sells just about anything you could need in a given moment. This new Durham restaurant/market/coffee shop/wine shop/basement bar/neighborhood hang, is the first Triangle expansion of a popular Charlotte brand. You’ll find solid sandwiches and snacks all day, a thoughtful wine list (and no corkage fee) and a comfortable basement bar.
▪ Eno River Brewing
329 Eno Mountain Rd., Hillsborough. 919-241-4711 or enoriverbrewing.com
Going to Eno River Brewing feels like stumbling upon a secret. Exquisite beer brewed within sight of the brewery’s namesake river, Eno River is the best brewery to open in 2023. There’s a wide open green space that slopes down to the river, beers from every taste, from crispy pilsners, a range of IPAs and perfectly balanced amber ales.
▪ Four by Giorgios Bakatsias
It was gigantic year for prolific restaurateur Giorgios Baktasis, who added four brand new concepts in 2023. The most ambitious of those is East End Bistrot in Raleigh, where under the direction of chef William D’Auvray, the new French restaurant proves that fine dining still has a place in a post-pandemic world. In North Hills, Bakatsias opened two restaurants: the Spanish Las Ramblas, named for a district in Barcelona and serving a wide ranging menu of small bites to giant pans of paella. And Giorgio Pizza Bar, a comfortable and casual pizzeria, serving personal pies, salads and pasta. And in Durham, Bakatsias returns to Brightleaf Square with a new Greek taverna, Nikos, one of the year’s brightest and most elegant new dining rooms.
▪ Isaac’s Bagels
1003 W. Chapel Hill St., Durham. isaacsbagels.com
The long-awaited brick and mortar from Isaac’s Bagels debuted this year near downtown Durham. What began as a farmer’s market and neighborhood pop-up grew and grew on the strength of flavorful, wonderfully chewy bagels, selling out just about every day they’re offered. The new shop expands Isaac’s offerings, adding sandwiches, coffee and pastries to a lineup of single bagels and babkas.
▪ La Montaña
370 E. Main St., Suite 170 Carrboro. 919-926-7002 or eatlamontana.com
The sister restaurant to Carrboro’s Iza Whiskey & Eats, La Montaña combines Asian and Mexican flavors and offers all-day service, from breakfast bowls and coffee, to steamed buns at lunch and quesabirria tacos at night.
▪ Lakewood Social
1920 Chapel Hill Rd., Durham. lakewood-social.com
One of the last openings of 2023, chef Joel Schroeter has taken over the former County Fare and Honeysuckle at Lakewood space in Durham. From the founder of the former Durham Food Hall concept Old North Meats, Schroeter plans to make Lakewood Social the neighborhood’s favorite local, serving up a perfected smashburger, shareable snacks and an accessible wine list. Plus Lakewood Social revives one of Durham’s best spaces for families, combining a casual bar with an open green space and plenty of parking.
▪ Leroy’s Taco Shop
900 Park Offices Dr., Durham. lawrencefoodco.com/leroys-taco-shop
This spin-off concept from Lawrence Barbecue was built around a taco special that was so popular it could bring the restaurant to a standstill. Whenever Lawrence Barbecue would offer their quesabirria smoke brisket tacos, they would sell so many, they would cover all of the restaurant’s flat-top space. But Leroy’s offers much more than just brisket tacos. You’ll also find an immensely flavorful and fresh carne asada taco, spicy micheladas and endless vibes.
▪ Little Bull
810 N. Mangum St., Durham. 919-251-8989 or littlebullnc.com
The first restaurant from acclaimed, James Beard nominated chef Oscar Diaz, Little Bull is one of the very best openings of 2023. This modern Mexican restaurant serves a menu that’s bright and playful, with fried plaintains scooping fiery ceviche, and a deeply flavorful octopus dish where the star is somehow rich cannelloni beans. While the dining room is open and vibrant, the side patio is a tucked-away garden as Durham zips by.
▪ M Test Kitchen
4 Fenton Main St Suite 120B, Cary. 919-729-5662 or m-restaurants.com/m-test-kitchen
Sometimes restaurants are playful, but M Test Kitchen is a culinary playground. Durham chef Mike Lee has opened two concepts in Cary: a second location of his popular M Sushi and the new M Test Kitchen, where there are seemingly no rules at all. The menu can change as often as weekly and mashes up casual and fine dining techniques and ingredients. You might find a kind of loaded tater tots — loaded in this case with lively bonito flakes — alongside decadent lobster shumai, served with a French butter sauce.
▪ Madre
518 N. West St., Raleigh. 919-594-1871 or madreraleigh.com
Opened in the new Smoky Hollow development in Raleigh, Madre is nothing less than the most visually stunning dining room to open this year. The ceilings feel towering, the banquettes feel intimate and the Spanish tapas menu is meant to make a meal eat like a dinner party.
▪ Mike D’s BBQ
455 S. Driver St., Durham. mikedsbbq.com
North Carolina’s modern barbecue boom continues, with Mike D’s opening as Durham’s newest ‘cue spot. Mike D’s specializes in sauces and rubs, so the spareribs are not to be missed.
▪ Nanas
2514 University Dr., Durham. 919-251-8213 or nanasrockwood.com
Top Durham chef Matt Kelly revived the old Nana’s (now Nanas), once one of the most legendary restaurants in the South. The new Nanas is a time capsule of velvet and leather, serving versions of dishes that will never go out of style. You’ll find the famous chicken liver mousse, plus a grits souffle, whole roasted fish and creme brulee among the sweets. The new Nanas feels like a missing piece of Durham’s heart has been returned.
▪ SAAP
37 S. Walker St., Suite 100, Cary. 919-377-0160 or saapcary.com
Alongside Cary’s new downtown park, you’ll find this first restaurant from the former chef of Raleigh restaurants Bida Manda and Brewery Bhavana. SAAP serves similar Laotian flavors, including grilled bites, pork belly soup and bright cocktails.
▪ Seraphine
324 Blackwell St., Suite 402, Durham. 919-244-2720 or seraphinedurham.com
From the owners of NanaSteak comes this ode to the flavors of New Orleans. Tucked in a cozy corner of the American Tobacco Campus, Seraphine welcomes diners through its front iron gate, lit by gas lamps. The menu hits on the seafood of the Gulf Coast, with oysters and shrimp playing major parts, as well as a gumbo with andouille sausage.
▪ New Taprooms
Over the last few years, the Triangle has been a hot spot for out-of-town breweries adding satellite taprooms. This year Raleigh and Durham added three big ones, with Wilmington’s New Anthem opening in Raleigh’s Smoky Hollow, Asheville brewery DSSOLVR opening in Durham and Winston Salem’s Incendiary moving it Raleigh with a new location.
▪ Umbrella Dry Bar
14 W. Martin St., Raleigh. umbrelladrybar.com
Raleigh’s first zero-alcohol cocktail bar will open right before the end of the year with a New Year’s Eve party. Umbrella is a first-of-its-kind concept in the Triangle, a space treating zero proof drinks with the same attention and craft as the boozy ones. The new cocktail bar has taken over the former Garland space in downtown Raleigh and will also have a bottle shop component.
▪ Velvet Hippo
119 Orange St., Durham. 919-294-4447 or velvethippodurham.com
The Triangle’s newest rooftop bar is also the biggest beverage opening of 2023. Owned by five women, the Velvet Hippo specializes in cocktails and offers views of downtown Durham. If you’re looking for a space to grab a drink with your pup, the Velvet Hippo offers a “Yappy Hour” where dogs are welcome.
▪ Zweli’s Ekhaya
406 Blackwell St., Durham. 919-381-4128 or zwelisekhaya.com
This second restaurant from Zweli and Leonardo Williams raises the couple’s culinary ambitions and brings something distinct not only to downtown Durham, but to all of North Carolina. With Ekhaya, chef Zweli has created a fine dining, tapas style Bantu restaurant. The menu includes small plates like cauliflower with a peanut and coconut curry sauce, and kebabs with Nigerian spices.
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