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Second Empire Restaurant
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Second Empire Restaurant
330 Hillsborough St, Raleigh, NC | Map it
(919) 829-3663 | View Website
330 Hillsborough St, Raleigh, NC | Map it
(919) 829-3663 | View Website
Located in downtown Raleigh?s historic Victorian Dodd-Hinsdale House (circa 1879), Second Empire combines history, atmosphere, exceptional service and gourmet cusine for an unforgettable dining experience. Second Empire Restaurant and Tavern features our award winning Contemporary American Cuisine in two dining atmospheres. Upstairs enjoy the ultimate dining experience in an elegant yet relaxed atmosphere of charm and grace. Downstairs in the Tavern and beautiful Atrium room enjoy a lighter fare menu and more casual environment. The Capitol Room, Raleigh Room, Pine Room and Atrium Room are available for private parties seating up to 55 people or various combinations of rooms for parties up to 300 people. Second Empire is very proud to be the recipient of the DiRoNA Award the AAA Four Diamond Award and the Wine Spectator Award of Excellence since 1998. View Less …
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Best restaurant in Raleigh, NC, hands down !!!!. We just celebrated our anniversary in a party of 4 last night and the entire evening was just incredible. Service was impeccable, food for all of us was simply superb and the ambiance of this historic house is lovely. Upon arrival for our reservation, the maitre d' surprised us with a menu signed by the owner and the chef. He also presented us with a gift certificate from our jeweler and friend Margarita, which was not only extremely thoughtful and generous, but a huge surprise since it was not expected. We travel all over the country and also abroad and after eating there last night, we agreed this is absolutely the finest food and best service available in Raleigh and we can't wait to return.…
Love it....
My husband and I love Second Empire. We go there for every special occasion – the lamb is to die for!
Everyone seems to complain that SE is too expensive but I believe you get what you pay for. The portions are perfect and the staff has always been professional, pleasant (yet non-intrusive) and the atmosphere is beautiful.
We look forward to celebrating with Second Empire for years to come!…
A little too much hype. The food was good and the atmosphere was romantic but I expected more for the price. My boyfriend took me here for our Christmas date and I was definitely not wowed like I thought I would be. The prices are a little too high for what you are getting. I will however say that the meals were delicious.…
TERRIBLE EXPERIENCE, STALE OLD FOLKS HOME!. Terrible experience. Food was WAY overpriced for the quality. Waiters were not very friendly and the atmosphere was stale at best. Avoid this place and visit other restaurants and this is not a very friendly place to have a meal.…
Totally honest review of Chef table in Kitchen.
I normally don't post about restaurants but I wish I had read more about dining at the chef table. I booked a table for my husband and I for a nice celebration dinner. He went on the web-site and
found something called the "chef table" nad booked us there instead. Please note you must secure the reservation with a credit card, which was okay with us.
When we arrived we were taken into the kitchen. Wow, the lights were SO bright in there (of course, they need to see what they are cooking) and it is very loud and hot. I thought we would be seated in the corner of the kitchen with a nice view of what was happening....nope, we were seated right in front of where the food was coming out; it was a bit uncomfortable to say the least. Everyone from the dish washers to the servers staring at you and trying to get around our table. I was so nervous and felt 'on display'. I also expected a warmer 'welcome' but everyone was so busy running around it never happened.
We sat and (yes I looked at my watch) almost an hour before anyone brought us something to eat, and that was because I finanlly asked someone for bread.
They encourged us to get up and walk around the kitchen and ask questions and help out. I felt very out of place....and I adore cooking. Everyone we met was very nice and kind...very hard working people. We had three courses of food, which were yummy but tiny and we also got to taste 3 wines. The chef picked everything and his selections were nice.
I wish I had been eating the same food in the dining room and I wish more had been explained about eating at the chef table. Our bill was $331.00 for 2 people and I am certain I could have gotten 3 courses for so much less in the dining room. I am sure it is worth a bit more to have the kitchen experience, but for what we got, I found it over priced. I also felt it was rude for them to add over $50.00 in gratuity; it was out of line. First, not a sole even waited on us; we would have had better service in the dining room...and second, we agreed before hand to pay the money, why not allow two grown adults to leave there own tip? It was not like there were 6 or more of us.
I will return to the secnd empire and I will make sure I sit in the main dining room or in the tavern. I think the concept of this was nice but it failed to live up to the standards I would have expected. I hope this was helpful.…
