Second Empire Restaurant and Tavern

Frommer's Review

The historically important landmark that contains these two restaurants is one of the most visible antique houses in downtown Raleigh. Originally built in 1879 in the French-inspired Second Empire style, it devotes most of its architectural glamour to the restaurant, and a somewhat folksier and less formal venue to its (less expensive) tavern. Frankly, we feel a bit more comfortable in the tavern (the restaurant, at its worst, can be a wee bit pompous). Among the restaurant's well-prepared menu items are buttermilk-fried quail and arugula salad, steamed local clams with penne pasta, pan-roasted halibut, and grilled Angus beef rib-eye. The food in the tavern is less expensive and less fussed over, and includes fried calamari, "pulled chicken" pasta, Kobe beef hamburger, and seafood paella.

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