Raleigh Day Trip ★ 4.6
The state capital 30 minutes east. Ashley Christensen's James Beard-winning Poole's Diner and Bida Manda's Laotian kitchen are the main draws.
Chapel Hill & Carrboro is a food day trips in Durham.
A 20-minute drive to a restaurant scene as independent as Durham's. Crook's Corner invented shrimp and grits; Lantern is a serious farm-driven kitchen.
Editorially verified June 24, 2026 by Lewis Vaughan, TableJourney editor. Source.
Address: Chapel Hill, NC 27514, Durham
The state capital 30 minutes east. Ashley Christensen's James Beard-winning Poole's Diner and Bida Manda's Laotian kitchen are the main draws.
Twenty-five minutes west. Weaver Street Market co-op, Jujube's Asian-inflected kitchen and Hillsborough BBQ Co make a rewarding half-day food trip.
A former mill village 40 minutes south-west. Haw River Farmhouse Ales and the Eddy Pub in a 1920s spinning room make an excellent half-day rural food trip.