With Mother’s Day coming up Sunday, check out these 20 top brunch spots in the Triangle
It’s brunch season in the Triangle, a time for patio mimosas and fluffy french toast.
Mother’s Day is the biggest brunch day of the year, as the moms in our lives are toasted with the sweetest, savoriest meal of the day.
For mom and the whole family, here are 20 of the Triangle’s best brunches.
Capital Club 16
16 W. Martin St., Raleigh. 919-747-9345 or capitalclub16.com
A fixture of the downtown Raleigh brunch scene, Capital Club’s outdoor tables are among the city’s most coveted. Mimosas are popular and plentiful and French toast is made with challah bread.
Chido Taco
2330 Bale St., Suite 100. Raleigh. 919-594-1930 or chidotaco.com
If you’re here on the weekends you want the menudo, the fire-red soup that can cure the most dire hangovers. You’ll also want a michelada. A big one.
Dame’s Chicken & Waffles
530 Foster St., Durham. 919-682-9235
823 Bass Pro Lane, Cary. 919-234-0824 or dameschickenwaffles.com
Dame’s is one of the most sought-after spots for brunch, serving up fried chicken wings with crispy waffles and a variety of flavored butters and syrups. If you don’t snag a reservation you could be in for a sizable wait, but no one seems to mind.
Durham Food Hall
530 Foster St., Suite 1, Durham. 919-908-9339 or durhamfoodhall.com
This somewhat recent addition to the Triangle’s food hall scene was seemingly built with brunch in mind. There’s Everything Bagels, serving daring takes on bagel favorites, plus familiar versions of the classics. Old North Meats & Provisions has perfected the breakfast sandwich. Ex Voto builds breakfast burritos what will stick to your stomach and stay on your mind. Lula & Sadie’s makes a red velvet waffle paired with fried chicken. Then there’s the house bar, which serves a satisfyingly tangy Bloody Mary.
Elmo’s Diner
776 Ninth St., Durham. 919-416-3823 or elmosdiner.com
The Carrboro location of Elmo’s was sadly one of the pandemic’s dearly departed restaurants. The Durham location soldiers on as one of the Triangle’s classic diners, beloved by students and locals looking for tried and true breakfast food.
Guglhupf Bakery, Cafe & Biergarten
2706 Durham-Chapel Hill Blvd., Durham. 919-401-2600 or guglhupf.com
Imagine what a croissant sandwich is like when the croissants are baked just a few yards away. This German garden oasis also serves plate-sized schnitzel topped with a fried egg and almond granola with local honey. Diners like to sit outside on a spring morning.
Hong Kong Chinese Restaurant
3003 Guess Rd., Durham. 919-479-8339 or hongkongdimsumindurham.com
A table at this Durham dim sum restaurant is the hottest brunch ticket around. The passing of the steam cart, full of dumplings and dishes, can be thrilling. But remember to pace yourself, it’s a marathon not a sprint. Save room for egg tarts.
Hummingbird
1053 E. Whitaker Mill Road, #111, Raleigh. 919-301-8900 or hummingbirdraleigh.com
With an all-day menu, this Raleigh spot opened as a brunch legend from the get-go. It takes a team to take down the sticky bun, but the airy and addictive ricotta fritters with jam might not get shared.
Irregardless Cafe
901 W. Morgan St., Raleigh. 919-833-8898 or irregardless.com
This pioneering Raleigh cafe is famous for its New Year’s pajama brunch tradition, but its year-round brunch is pretty special as well. Expect the seasons to drive the menu here, where vegetarian dishes took center stage before it was common.
Jack Tar
202 Corcoran St., Durham. 919-682-5225 or jacktar-durham.com
You’ll find truly gigantic pancakes at this modern diner in downtown Durham, plus enviable plates of just fried crullers passing through the dining room. Biscuits and gravy aficionados will find the version here livened up with poblano peppers and a couple runny eggs.
Monuts
1002 Ninth St., Durham. 919-286-2642 or monutsdonuts.com
Really, Monuts serves a brunch menu seven days a week. The menu changes seasonally, but always put your faith in citrus or berry-glazed doughnuts and a slew of breakfast sammies. The Bloody Mary comes with a High Life pony for a healthy balance.
Neuse River Brewing
518 Pershing Road, Suite 100, Raleigh. 984-232-8479 or neuseriverbrewing.com
In recent years, Neuse River upped the expectations for what brewery food could be, adding an ambitious new menu and kitchen. That extends to brunch, where you’ll find a Benedict, a classic omelet and a rich, award-winning burger with beer cheese, aioli and crispy onions. Hash fans will find a duck confit version with caramelized onions.
Nomad
122 W. King St., Hillsborough. 919-217-0179 or thenomadnc.com
One of the newest members of downtown Hillsborough’s thriving food scene, Nomad serves brunch dishes that seem to exist only in dreams. Grilled cheese french toast pushes the boundaries of brunch, and biscuit poutine is the mushroom gravy and cheese-topped take on the Southern staple, biscuits and gravy.
Plates Kitchen
301 Glenwood Ave., Suite 100, Raleigh. 919-828-0018 or plateskitchen.com
At the heart of Glenwood’s brunch scene, this spot has crafted a special Mother’s Day menu, including crab cake Benedicts, house-cured salmon with potato pancakes and horseradish cream and an idyllic scrambled egg sandwich.
Relish Cafe & Bourbon Bar
5625 Creedmoor Road, Raleigh. 919-787-1855 or relishraleigh.com
Biscuits are the star at this North Raleigh bourbon bar, coming with fried green tomatoes or a pimento cheese-topped take on the chicken biscuit. Those with a lot of mistakes to soak up might look to the totchos, a tater tot version of nachos.
The Rockford
320 1/2 Glenwood Ave., Raleigh. 919-821-9020 or therockford1994.com
At a few decades old, The Rockford is a bit of an anomaly on Glenwood South, but is likely what the revelers need in the morning. Its brunch menu is as sophisticated as it is indulgent. French toast is made with doughnuts and topped with spicy hot honey. The mushroom omelet is made with truffled goat cheese and the burger is topped with pimento cheese and crispy onions.
Simple Twist
Locations in Clayton, Garner and Smithfield. simpletwistnc.com
In 2017, when North Carolina passed its brunch bill, moving up the hour when cocktails could be served, Simple Twist was the only pre-noon brunch in Johnston County. Now with three locations, it’s a brunch empire serving the classics.
St. Roch Fine Oysters + Bar
223 S. Wilmington St., Raleigh. 919-322-0359 or strochraleigh.com
This menu will wake you up if you’re feeling groggy. You can add fried oysters to your biscuits and gravy, or go for a bowl of grits with buttery BBQ shrimp, which St. Roch does with coconut milk and lime. Brunch cocktails include a Garibaldi, a mimosa spiked with Campari and a Bloody Mary done up with smoked tomato juice.
True Flavors Diner
5410 Hwy 55, Suite AJ, Durham. 919-316-7978 or trueflavorsdiner.com
A perennial brunch favorite, True Flavors and its biscuit shop Debbie Lou’s continue to serve some of the most creative brunch dishes in the Triangle. Bojangles’ fans might want to reach for the blueberry biscuit with chipotle fried chicken and a menu of hash plates include a buffalo chicken or grilled salmon.
Vin Rouge
2010 Hillsborough Rd., Durham. 919-416-0466 or vinrougerestaurant.com
During the pandemic, this lovely French bistro transformed its already elegant garden into an all-weather patio. It’s the perfect setting for an omelet stuffed with mushrooms and Gruyere cheese, or challah French toast served with a mimosa.
This story was originally published May 3, 2022 at 2:38 PM with the headline "With Mother’s Day coming up Sunday, check out these 20 top brunch spots in the Triangle."
