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Dark Chocolate Mousse Cake - Refectory Cafe, Durham, NC

Refectory Cafe

4.7
4.7
952 Reviews
$30 and under
American

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2 people
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun
23:00
Booked 14 times today
Experiences are available.
  • Neighbourhood gem
  • Vegan-friendly
  • Healthy
Established in 2005, The Refectory Cafe was the first “Green” restaurant on the Duke campus and was located at the Duke Divinity and Law Schools. Now located just 2 miles from Duke's West Campus, The award-winning Refectory Cafe continues to be the restaurant where omnivores, vegetarians, vegans, and gluten-free folks happily share a table together in the same facility. Every diet classification can delight in delicious, satisfying, creative food from a common menu, while enjoying the health benefits of consuming clean food, minimally processed.

Appreciate the Award winning flavor and creativity of our Executive Chef Jake Miles & Pastry Chef Rosa Redel.

MOST RECENT AWARDS: 2023-2025
2023 #4 Independent Restaurant in the STATE (Southern Living Magazine)
TripAdvisor #1 / #2
Best Brunch
Best Wine List
Best Pie
Best Vegan
Best Vegetarian
Best Patio Dining

We look forward to serving you! You will love the food and our team!

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Dining areas

Additional information

  • Phone number
  • Price
    $30 and under
  • Cuisines
    American, Organic, Farm-to-table
  • Hours of Operation
    Mon–Thu 09:00–20:30 Fri, Sat 09:00–21:00 Sun 09:00–15:00
  • Dress code
    Casual Dress
  • Parking details
    Plenty of parking in our private lot, right outside the front or side doors. Handicapped parking out front.
  • Payment Options
    AMEX, Discover, Mastercard, Visa
  • Executive Chef
    Jake Miles

Experiences

  • Another Incredible Italian Wine Dinner

    US$99.00 per person

    12 Feb 2025 - 19 Nov 2025
    It's another incredible experience with amazing dishes created by Chef Jake Miles and Pastry Chef Rosa Redel. Laurence Vuelta, Sunrise Wines, is always entertaining and extremely knowledgeable of the beautiful boutique wines from Italy. It is always a night to remember with a fun mixer to kick off the party.
    Another Incredible Italian Wine Dinner photo

What 952 people are saying

Overall ratings and reviews

Reviews can only be made by diners who have eaten at this restaurant

4.7
4.7 based on recent ratings
  • 4.7Food
  • 4.5Service
  • 4.3Ambience
  • 4.6Value

NoiseModerate

Loved For

  • Raleigh / Durham / Chapel Hill

    Great for brunch

  • Raleigh / Durham / Chapel Hill

    Healthy

  • Raleigh / Durham / Chapel Hill

    American

  • Durham

    Best Value

  • Durham

    Great for brunch

  • Durham

    Healthy

  • Durham

    Neighbourhood gem

  • Durham

    Great for outdoor dining

Review summary

AI-generated from verified diner reviews
Refectory Cafe delights with its "great food" and "friendly staff," offering a variety of vegetarian options and an inviting atmosphere. While some diners experienced longer wait times on busy days, the "delicious" menu keeps patrons returning. The cafe's "casual, classy" vibe and commitment to "fresh, clean" ingredients make it a neighborhood favorite.
952 Reviews
  1. Andrea VIP

    Raleigh34 reviews

    5.0

    Dined 4 days ago

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 4
    Always a great experience with our server Cassie. Food was scrumptious. Don’t miss the amazing red velvet chocolate cake.

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  2. Kristin VIP

    Washington DC3 reviews

    5.0

    Dined 6 days ago

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    I will definitely be back! What a pleasant dining experience 😊

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  3. Paul

    Raleigh1 review

    5.0

    Dined on 25 February 2025

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    While visiting our son and his family, we had an excellent experience at The Refectory. Food and service were exceptional. We will definitely be back! Eric was our server and was one of the best restaurant staff members we have ever encountered!
    Refectory CafeResponded on 2 March 2025
    Thank you Paul! There is nothing that makes our day more than delighting our guests. We appreciate the awesome review and look forward to serving you again soon! Laura Hall

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  4. Janet

    Raleigh3 reviews

    5.0

    Dined on 24 February 2025

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 4
    Our table was a little too close to the one behind us. Otherwise we enjoyed everything else.
    Refectory CafeResponded on 2 March 2025
    Hello Janet, Thank you for the terrific 5-Star review. Please know we are always happy to move tables for our guests - next time let us know. We are always happy to help. Very happy that you thoroughly enjoyed our food and service. Laura Hall

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  5. Denise VIP

    Raleigh57 reviews

    5.0

    Dined on 23 February 2025

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 4
    4. Ambience 4
    The food is always delicious and delivered to our table quickly and hot. The staff is very nice and accommodating. I LOVE that we can make a reservation and get a table at a good time. So many brunch places have a long wait and less seats than needed. This is a go to place for us.
    Refectory CafeResponded on 2 March 2025
    Hello Denise! We love that you can make a reservation also! We love being your "go to" place. Appreciate the 5-STAR rating and the time you took to share your experience with others. Always grateful, Laura Hall

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  6. Joann

    Wilmington2 reviews

    5.0

    Dined on 22 February 2025

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Brussel Sprouts are amazing, Dal fantastic, everything we had was exceptional. Excellent dinner!!
    Refectory CafeResponded on 2 March 2025
    Hello JoAnn, Many thanks for the "excellent dinner" and the 5-STARS! These reviews are shared with the team at our weekly meetings and I cannot describe to you how grateful our team is to achieve EXCELLENCE. You are the best for taking the time to share your thoughts. We look forward to serving you again soon. Laura Hall

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  7. Jasmine

    Raleigh2 reviews

    3.0

    Dined on 21 February 2025

    1. Overall 3
    2. Food 1
    3. Service 3
    4. Ambience 3
    Today was the first time this place disappointed me. The bacon was rock hard, the grits tasted stale, and the pancake was dry. I was informed that they had been closed for two days, which they said was the reason for the poor quality, but that was unacceptable.
    Refectory CafeResponded on 2 March 2025
    Hello Jasmine, I am sorry that you had a less than stellar experience - it is definitely not us. (Everything was fresh - not sure what being closed for 2 days had anything to do with it). I agree, totally unacceptable on the product - please always say something at the cafe - the entire team will be happy to replace any item that you are not 100% pleased with. Thanks for letting us know. Laura Hall

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  8. Joan

    Greensboro11 reviews

    3.0

    Dined on 15 February 2025

    1. Overall 3
    2. Food 4
    3. Service 1
    4. Ambience 2
    The food was good. The service was nil. I was brought the wrong soup. My friend got her own iced tea twice. Our tiny table for two was filled with plates and glasses and flowers. We both tipped generously when we ordered our food. We usually enjoy our experiences here. Maybe it was just an off day.

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  9. Ed

    Wilmington1 review

    4.0

    Dined on 14 February 2025

    1. Overall 4
    2. Food 4
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 4
    Wonderful Valentine's Day ambience. Especially friendly and helpful staff. Great service. Comfortably quiet noise level, despite near-capacity dinner crowd. Room temperature was unpleasantly cold. Food was quite excellent, except for surprisingly tough wagyu flank steak.

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  10. Julie

    Raleigh10 reviews

    5.0

    Dined on 2 February 2025

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 4
    Love that I could make a reservation as it was a busy Sunday afternoon. Avocado toast with bacon and corned beef reuben were delicious and reasonably priced. Staff is very friendly and patient.

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FAQs

Refectory Cafe offers takeout which you can order by calling the restaurant at (919) 908-6798.

Refectory Cafe is rated 4.7 stars by 952 OpenTable diners.

Yes, you can generally book this restaurant by choosing the date, time and party size on OpenTable.

Make a booking


Booked 14 times today
Experiences are available.
Google Map for Refectory Cafe

2726 Durham-Chapel Hill Blvd, Durham, NC 27707

Dining areas

Additional information

  • Phone number
  • Price
    $30 and under
  • Cuisines
    American, Organic, Farm-to-table
  • Hours of Operation
    Mon–Thu 09:00–20:30 Fri, Sat 09:00–21:00 Sun 09:00–15:00
  • Dress code
    Casual Dress
  • Parking details
    Plenty of parking in our private lot, right outside the front or side doors. Handicapped parking out front.
  • Payment Options
    AMEX, Discover, Mastercard, Visa
  • Executive Chef
    Jake Miles
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Impressum
  • Cookies and Interest-Based Ads
  • Cookie Preferences
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