This Durham soul food restaurant ranks among the nation’s best. Why fans love it
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Yelp studied online reviews to determine the nation’s top soul food restaurants.
- Pure Soul in Durham ranked No. 9 in the United States.
- The vegan restaurant’s menu includes popular “soul rolls.”
North Carolina is home to one of the nation’s top soul food restaurants — and it may “keep you coming back for more,” a new report finds.
Pure Soul in Durham ranks No. 9 on a list of the 25 best places to grab the cuisine, according to results updated in early February.
To create the list, the review website Yelp said it studied soul food restaurants nationwide. It considered the “volume and ratings of reviews” left over time from Elite users, those who are active on the platform.
Why fans love Pure Soul
Pure Soul was the only place in North Carolina to earn a spot on the U.S. list. The restaurant — located at 4125 Durham-Chapel Hill Boulevard in Durham — got its start in 2018.
“This vegan soul food restaurant serves sandwiches, plates, and desserts that keep locals and travelers alike coming back for more,” Yelp wrote in its report. “Yelpers recommend their ‘soul rolls’ and vegan fried ‘fish’ sandwiches.”
Soul rolls — the restaurant’s take on egg rolls filled with barbecue, collard greens, cabbage and macaroni and cheese — are one of the most popular dishes on its Yelp page. As fans took to Yelp to praise Pure Soul’s food, some also raved about the welcoming atmosphere, helping it earn 4.9 out of 5 stars.
The restaurant on its Yelp page said founder and head chef Nikolas Spaulding “got his start at a young age, having to become inventive at a time when there were very few vegan restaurants. Most of the recipes used at Pure Soul are family recipes, altered to be plant-based.”
It’s not the first time Pure Soul has been named a fan-favorite destination. In 2023, the Triangle restaurant ranked as the No. 1 best place to eat in the Carolinas, The News & Observer reported.
Vegan restaurants
More recently, Pure Soul earned a spot on a Yelp list of the top vegan restaurants in the country.
“We are honored to not only be ranked among some awesome restaurants, but to also be representing the Bull City & our growing veg community,” the restaurant wrote on Instagram after the winners were announced in 2024.
This time around, Yelp said the nation’s No. 1 soul food restaurant was Monell’s Dining & Catering in Nashville, Tennessee.
This story was originally published February 23, 2026 at 2:51 PM with the headline "This Durham soul food restaurant ranks among the nation’s best. Why fans love it."
