19 Triangle restaurants where diners swoon for hushpuppies, readers said
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Readers nominated 19 Triangle restaurants where hushpuppies drew enthusiastic praise.
- Smithfield’s Chicken & Barbecue and Squid’s in Chapel Hill received the most love.
- Most nominated hushpuppy spots are in Durham, so we toured four nearby locations.
The humble hushpuppy finds us at our hungriest, often arriving unordered in a plastic basket lined with paper, tubs of butter softened by these still steaming gifts from the fryer.
Hushpuppies, the cornmeal fritters served alongside barbecue and seafood platters, are a North Carolina delicacy. We happen to care an awful lot about barbecue and seafood in North Carolina, which means we often care deeply about hushpuppies.
There are few more ephemeral foods than the hushpuppy, which at their best keep a crinkle crisp and warm pleasant chew that’s nearly impossible to stop eating. Those free baskets that sometimes land on restaurant tables never last long.
A few weeks ago, we asked readers which Triangle hushpuppies they can’t get enough of and got dozens of suggestions. Of the favorites, Smithfield’s Chicken & Barbecue and Squid’s in Chapel Hill saw the most love. And though they aren’t restaurants, the Mill at the North Carolina State Fair and the Apex Methodist Church also saw shoutouts.
Most restaurants our readers nominated are in Durham, so we took a hushpuppy tour of four closeby spots and crowned a favorite.
Here are the 19 Triangle restaurants (listed alphabetically) serving up beloved hushpuppies.
Backfins Crabhouse
1009 Stadium Dr, Wake Forest. 919-562-8500 or backfinscrabhouse.com
Bullock’s Bar-B-Cue
3330 Quebec Dr, Durham. 919-383-3211 or bullocks-bbq.com
Cape Fear Seafood Co.
Multiple locations capefearseafoodcompany.com
Captain John’s Dockside
11550 US Hwy 15-501 N, Chapel Hill. 919-968-7955 or docksidechapelhill.com
Cook Out
Multiple locations. cookout.com
Danny’s Bar-B-Que
311 Ashville Ave., Suite G, Cary. 919-851-5541 or dannysbarbque.com
Hog Heaven Bar-B-Q
2419 Guess Rd., Durham. 919-286-7447
Jean’s By The Sea
617 Hicks St, Durham. 919-617-1001 or jeansbythesea.com
N.C. Seafood Restaurant at the Farmer’s Market
1201 Agriculture St, Raleigh. 919-833-4661 or ncseafood.com
Ole Time Barbecue
6309 Hillsborough St., Raleigh. 919-859-2544 or oletimebarbecue.com
Picnic
1647 Cole Mill Rd., Durham. 919-908-9128 or picnicdurham.com
Pure Soul
4125 Durham-Chapel Hill Blvd Suite 1, Durham. 919-903-6162 or puresoulff.com
The Original Q Shack
2510 University Dr., Durham. 919-402-4227 or theoriginalqshackdurham.com
Saltbox Seafood Joint
2637 Durham-Chapel Hill Blvd., Durham. 919-237-3499 or saltboxseafoodjoint.com
Shucker’s Oyster Bar & Grill
3309 Rogers Rd, Wake Forest. 919-453-1593 or shuckersgrill.com
Smithfield’s Chicken ‘N Bar-B-Q
Multiple locations, scnbnc.com
Squid’s
1201 Fordham Blvd, Chapel Hill. 919-942-8757 or squidsrestaurant.com
Stephenson’s BBQ
11964 NC-50, Willow Spring. 919-894-4530 or johnstoncountync.org/listing/stephensons-bar-b-q/1751
White Swan BBQ
3198 S. Brightleaf Blvd., Smithfield. 919-934-8913 or whiteswanbarbeque.com
This story was originally published July 1, 2026 at 8:00 AM with the headline "19 Triangle restaurants where diners swoon for hushpuppies, readers said."
