This famous steakhouse is named Southern’s Living’s best local restaurant in NC
Best known for its annual holiday twinkle, its spread of steaks and a cavernous wine cellar, Raleigh’s Angus Barn is once again in the national spotlight.
The historic Angus Barn has been named North Carolina’s best locally owned restaurant by Southern Living, announcing this week the results of its annual Best in the South reader poll.
Southern Living readers voted the stately restaurant as North Carolina’s best local spot for its high volume of steaks and distinctive sauces.
The Angus Barn, open since 1960, was one of Raleigh’s first destination restaurants, drawing diners from across the state and the South for a meal. Founded by Thad Eure and Charles Winston, the Angus Barn is today owned and operated by Thad’s daughter Van Eure and her husband, Steve Thanhauser.
These days the restaurant is something of a culinary choose-your-own adventure, featuring various dining rooms, a saloon and banquet hall and an iconic upstairs bar, the Wild Turkey Lounge, lined with countless turkey-shaped whiskey decanters.
Today, and for the last 28 years, chef Walter Royal has led the Angus Barn’s kitchen.
Local diners know the Angus Barn for its hosting of special moments, the birthday and anniversary dinners and annual holiday pilgrimages to see the restaurant festooned in lights, greenery and decorations. Tables around the holidays are booked months in advance, with 7 p.m. seatings often scarce by October.
On the menu, the Angus Barn serves the steakhouse classics, including Oysters Rockefeller, nine cuts of beef, famous cheese and crackers and a signature chocolate chess pie.
In 2019 the Angus Barn was included in a roundup of the country’s most profitable restaurants published by Restaurant Business magazine, landing at 15 at the time and climbing to 11 in 2020.
This story was originally published March 10, 2023 at 7:45 AM with the headline "This famous steakhouse is named Southern’s Living’s best local restaurant in NC."
