The Peking Duck was the culinary highlight of our time in Raleigh, North Carolina. Photo by: Evan Berman

Quite a few cities are known for their food scene. Raleigh carries a well-deserved reputation as as the intersection of many global cuisines. During our time in Raleigh, we sampled several of these options– Laotian and Chinese cuisine– as well as a delightful tequila and mezcal bar.

The review of restaurants and bars in Raleigh is a part of the Hockey in Raleigh trip. For more on this trip, follow these links:

Intro

Hotel: Four Points by Sheraton Raleigh Arena

Visiting Beautiful College Campuses

Tampa Bay Lightning Game

3 Days in Raleigh

Food and Drinks in Raleigh (This Article)

Conclusion

Bida Manda:

As I’ve noted in reviews before, I love Asian food– from Chinese food to Thai food and everything in between. We visited Bida Manda for a Laotian meal during our time in Raleigh and I’m glad we did!

To begin the meal, we ordered Lao beef jerky. I marvelled at how beef could be so tender after being dehydrated and fried! As would be the case throughout the meal, the rice was delicious.

Next up, we had a tasty coconut curry. This was an involved dish, with the flavors of coconut, fresh vegetables, and chicken all playing together with the rice to create a hearty and delicious meal. As a coconut curry, this was mild spice and was more savory than spicy.

Finally, we shared the Pho Lao. Pho is common in several Asian cuisines, most commonly associated with Vietnamese food. This was the Laotian version and my first time trying this variation quickly informed me that this will not be last! Chinese five-spice beef, beef slices, and beef meatballs were the proteins that went along with the rice noodles very nicely.

Here are the options from the menu:

Gallo Pélon:

During our time in Raleigh, we decided to stop for drinks at Gallo Pélon, a bar known for its extensive list of tequila and mezcal. Our family loves mezcal and always enjoy trying new ones. Here, we learned about Tepextate (Tepeztate), trying both the Banhez Tepeztate from Ejutla and the Fidencio Tepextate from Santiago Matatlán. Tepextate is generally spicy with some fruity notes and that was the case here as well. If your reference is tequila, you may be surprised at the punch that this drink packs. While the fruit notes carry sweetness, the spiciness was quite strong. For me, that is more than welcome!

Brewery Bhavana:

I’ve saved the best for last in this review. It may seem strange to write that about eating at a restaurant with brewery in the name. Nevertheless, if you ask people who know Raleigh where to eat, most people would suggest Brewery Bhavana. This chic downtown restaurant, located next to Bida Manda, contains a large, classy, and upscale dining room and equally elegant bar separated by a large wall. The restaurant features dim sum.

We started with the Char Siu Bao, the specialty Cantonese barbecue pork buns and the bone marrow appetizer. Wow, they were good! For the main course, we opted to share the Peking Duck, a wonderful dish I always try and sample when offered on a menu. Once again, it did not disappoint! This dish is somewhat uncommon to see and I suggest you order whenever you see it.

Recap:

We had a great time in Raleigh and that included the delicious food and drink scene. In this trip, both restaurants and the bar we visited were terrific and I recommend that you stop by each of them when in Raleigh! Next up: the conclusion of this trip and the beginning of the next one.

Evan