Venable Bistro

Sent Went here for an anniversary celebration and it was great!! Got some cocktails, the calamari, the tamales (pictured) and pad Thai and a root beer float and the chocolate mousse for dessert. All the food was delicious!! The menu has a lot of options, so you’re sure to find something that looks good! We sat outside and it was a great atmosphere.

Outstanding food and even better service. A must-try in Chapel Hill/Carrboro! These guys rocked it for lunch on Thursday 12/17. Everyone in our group was SO impressed with the food quality and service. Having never been there, they said it was up to NYC and San Fransisco foodie standards. Bravo, and happy holidays. Keep up the great work!

Was a delicious brunch to the start of my husband's 63rd birthday. Very busy place on a Saturday morning, so around early or maybe reservations. Will definitely go again!

I’m new to Carrboro and this seemed like one of the more upscale dinner spots to try. Below are the curry mussels on special, and the NC Trout. Very good, contemporary atmosphere and attentive service.

Really enjoyed the overall experience at Venable. We were seated promptly, drinks were quick, and the food was excellent. The menu has an interesting and varied selection of items. The dessert was top notch as well.

Shrimp & grits, huevos rancheros, and French toast were all delicious. A great brunch in Carrboro.

Service was great. The food was amazing (chicken tiki marsala) Staff were very friendly and accommodating. Will be back for another meal.

I got the bibimbap and it was amazing. Everyone else enjoyed their dishes as well. The apple tart was fantastic, mousse was pretty good too. Great natural lighting and service was prompt. Also got a free dessert for birthday girl! Would definitely go back.

Incredible menu which serves a variety for all to enjoy and clearly indicates dietary considerations, making it super easy and enjoyable! Our hostess and waitstaff were excellent and personable!

We had a delightful dinner 6/19/24. Host and waitress were very friendly. Atmosphere was nice. Food was really good. What more can I say...? We had the appetizer special crab cake... and also off the regular menu ... the chicken satay. Entrees were the bibimbap and tamales. Everything was on point. We will be back. (Btw....this was our 1st visit)

I have eaten at Venable for years, just a couple of times per year as I live in Mebane. Now, I am working in Carrboro, and will frequent more often. I sit at the bar and talk to the bartenders and order the fried chicken which comes with arugala salad on top (Milanese style). The food is consistently GREAT, the service is excellent - true value! Highly recommend.

I could literally cry after eating the mashed potatoes. I have simply never had such creamy, smooth, perfectly textured, and flavored mashed potatoes in my life. Ellie was a perfect server, they gave us an overview of the specials and served us in a very timely efficient manner! We ordered her two favorite dishes (salmon) and (fried chicken) and we were NOT disappointed. I truly am almost in tears over the flavor. The black walnut old fashioned was fantastic also! Can’t recommend this place enough!!

A friend and I had lunch there yesterday. The staff in this comfortable, low-key restaurant was welcoming. The gluten-free items were labeled clearly. And, the food was scrumptious, especially the smoked salmon dip with gluten-free toast for me. (It doesn't hurt that it's next door to a bookstore )

First time here and it was really great. We came for lunch. Greeter was very friendly and our sever was great. Accommodated my wife’s dietary preferences with a lot of care and concern. Menu is fun and eclectic. Gazpacho soup of the day very very flavorful! Fun cocktails and good food in a friendly, professional, high ceiling environment. Will be back!

One of the yummiest steaks I’ve ever had. The flavor was UNMATCHED. So so so good. The drinks were delicious too. The hosts and waiter were so sweet as well. Wish we had a Venable in Charlotte!

Such a fantastic array of vegetarian options - it was truly hard to choose! Everything we had was good, and close to great. A few minor details ( the lack of crispy rice in the bibimbap; the lack of good bread for the bahn mi) but they were minor details. Definitely worth a trip.

Had a great dinner here. We got there near opening so they were able to seat us (plus it was a weeknight) but it does get more crowded as the night goes on. I had honey salmon over spinach and mashed potatoes which was fantastic. Service was really friendly and drinks were good too. Only thing I didn't really like was the lettuce wraps appetizer. It came totally deconstructed so 1. You had to build yourself and 2. There was no sauce (there was mayo but I don't think that makes sense on a lettuce wrap) which I think is part of what usually makes them so good. So next time I'd try a different one but other than that it was great.

This was our 1st time trying Venable. We had a new server, Alyssa, she was fantastic. Promptly brought our drinks out, timed our entree just right after our appetizer and removed dirty dishes from the table before the next course. The meal was so delicious, we had the surf and turf special it was cooked perfectly and so was the Korean BBQ. The presentation was as good as the taste. We had sticky toffee pudding and apple tart both with ice cream, for dessert. The single serving French press coffee was a nice ending. We would highly recommend this place. Prices were good as well, all of this: appetizer, entree, dessert & coffee, total $78 including tax not tip (shared entree)

Three of us recently had dinner at Venable and it was really delicious! We were all in the mood for seafood and there were three choices on the menu, so we each had one. We all shared a bit of our entrées with one another and all of the fish was prepared very tastefully and was perfectly done. In addition, the mashed potatoes were to die for! Multiple kudos to our waitress, Rebecca, who was attentive, friendly, and so helpful. We’ll be back.

I took my family here for graduation dinner! I got a reservation a month ahead due to the event but usually they have reservations available in the same week. The atmosphere is very nice for a celebratory dinner or a date night. We had six people and got the appetizer special as well as the panella which is my favorite! I had the tamales for dinner and they were very good, particularly the salsa. Our waiter was very friendly and everything was a reasonable price.

I found Venable when looking for a Saturday brunch place in Chapel Hill, and we couldn't have been happier. Really nice setting right by the window, our waitress was lovely, and the food was excellent. You won't often find potato pancakes on a brunch menu, so that was an extra bonus. The French toast and the Banh Mi were also delicious. We will definitely come back!

A bit of a hidden gem, with an eclectic menu that has something for everyone. Great vegan choices and plenty for the carnivore as well. Usually easy to find a table for lunch but recommend reservations for dinner. Parking at the front access can be a little difficult but there are plenty of spaces on the other side of Carr Mill - just walk through the old Mill building!

Went here for my partner’s mother’s birthday and had an absolutely incredible meal. We had the shrimp crab cakes (day’s special appetizer), butternut squash soup (soup of the day) and for my entree I had the fried chicken with the mashed potatoes. The shrimp cakes and soup were both 9/10, the chicken was 10/10, and the potatoes were 11/10. The only reason this is 4 stars instead of 5 is that my partner ordered a cocktail and when the waitress asked what type of whiskey he wanted, he said whatever the bar recommends… and they used a whiskey that doubled the price of the drink. Even though he said he deferred to the bar, someone (anyone, I’m not blaming the waitress, her service was otherwise impeccable) should’ve come back to our table and asked if a price increase was okay. Would definitely go back and just make sure that situation doesn’t happen again.

We chose to eat outside, and they have multiple tables under an open tent. As the sun went down, strings of lights came on, adding to the ambiance. I kept it light, as I wanted room for dessert, so I got bread and butter to start off. The butter was soft and spreadable, and the bread was tasty. Then I got the heirloom tomatoes, which was essentially a caprese salad, with mozzarella, basil, olive oil and balsamic. I would have preferred slightly thicker slices of tomato, but that's just my preference. I chose the green tea creme brulee for dessert, and it was great. The sugar shell was thick, but not too thick, just right as a foil to the incredibly smooth and creamy custard underneath.

Went to Venable this weekend for brunch with friends; hadn't been in a really long time so was curious to see if things had changed here. It was just as I'd remembered! Super cute, rustic vibe with an interesting menu ranging from a chaat to a lox plate, waffles to Benedict of the week. I got a grapefruit mimosa cocktail and the Gravlax Plate which I was expecting it to be a deconstructed Lox plate per usual, but it was plated beautifully (like the picture below). My only complaint was that maybe the potato pancake was a tiny bit too oily in the middle, but the outsides were perfect and crunchy and delicious. Our waitress was sweet, and let me know that this plate wasn't with smoked salmon but lemon cured salmon, which I loved even more, and it was well balanced with the salad and dressing. Definitely will be going back for future brunches!

Delicious food!! I had the banh mi and soup of the day. One of the most refreshing and unique banh mi’s I have had. Reasonably priced for the size. The server was very nice. Fast service. Clean restaurant. There was another server that just seemed very unhappy. The vibe/atmosphere indoors was meh.

Very nice environment, but food varies. There are some great tastes, but some that sound more "fancy" tend to be hit and miss.

Food was excellent. Service was very slow. Our server rarely checked on us during the meal. Probably worth going for the food despite mediocre service.

We had dinner with friends. We enjoyed the food although we thought the portions were on the smaller side. Prices were fair although a little high. The waitstaff and drinks were good. Read a bit about parking in the area

Food was pricy for what you get, but everything was delicious. I'd return for a date night, but not as a regular thing.

Food was just ok but expected it to be better to match the price. Service was great.

It was a warm and rainy Thursday evening in February. We wanted to grab a bite to eat near chapel hill. Had been wanting to check this place out. Upon arrival they had a outdoor tent set up for dining. We were sat inside. Looking at the menu, it was all over the place. Asian food, southern food, burgers, salads, tacos, etc. very strange. The soup and bread were good. We got a Cobb salad and Udon Noodle dish for our main entrees. The food was plentiful but not that good. The noodles were pretty bland and shrimp was scarce for $10 add on. The scallion pancakes were good, but the sauce to go with it was extra salty. The service was great so that definitely helped the experience. Overall the food holds this place back. (Good drink options from what we saw but didn’t try anything so can’t review it).

This is a solid restaurant that serves good food, but won't knock your socks off like Oakleaf, Hawthorne & Wood, etc. They have good draft beer selections, ther cocktails I glimpsed looked good and also gave a good wine selection. A drawback is that they serve wine in stemless glasses which I do not like as it favors warming your wine as you hold ther glass which can ruin a wine especially a white wine. The soup and salad that we ordered were delicious and the entrees were a good size and good. Didn't have space to enjoy dessert. A little loud, but not awful. Beautiful bar and industrial design. Parking in the Carr Mill Mall lot can be crazy, but at night seems ok.

The service is good, but the food left me wanting more. The over-easy eggs were more like fried eggs in the brunch fried chicken, and the yolk of the eggs were not runny. In the end, the eggs were overcooked. The chicken, on the other hand, was delicious! Moist and crispy, perfect for a brunch fried chicken.

Food wasn’t worth the price. Cutlery was below acceptable (knife handle was wobbly). For a place that charges so much for its food, you would expect everything to be on par.

I used to go Venable pretty often and liked the food. Tonight I had fried chicken and roasted brussels sprouts. The chicken was tender, but it was completely bland. Totally forgettable - I’m surprised the kitchen put this out. The brussels sprouts were also seriously under seasoned. I don’t think I’ll be going back.

Ordered NE clam chowder.. really tasty and rich. Shrimp and grits were a disappointment.. no seasoning, so bland. Brunch chicken, eggs, biscuit with gravy was very good. The chicken moist, tender, crispy but again no seasoning so it was bland to eat. Atmosphere great, service phenomenal!

We experienced subpar food and remarkably poor service, the worst we've had at any restaurant. The server only took drink orders from 5 of our party of 16, and I had to repeatedly flag her down to place my order. After 30 minutes, our drinks still hadn't arrived. When our entrees finally arrived, the servers didn't bother to check in on us, likely due to the automatic 20% gratuity. Additionally, our request for low-sodium preparation for my mother's entree was ignored, as it came with compound butter and heavily salted fries.

Some of my earliest memories of living in Carrboro was going to eat at venables…. It’s becoming very disappointing after once being the best place to eat in Carrboro. A couple weeks ago we came back to our favorite place and here’s how it went. Let’s start with the bread which used to be a highlight. As kids, we used to be SO excited for the bread and salty butter but when it came out we were totally bummed. What happened to the salty whipped butter? What happened to the $2 unlimited bread? Why wasn’t the bread offered to us or EVEN on the menu!? The butter was bland and the salty whipped butter was replaced with cheap COMPOUND butter. Now the other food, the burgers were plain and the buns were wet and soggy. But even more disturbing was the fries, the fries were served as hash browns in tiny pieces that tasted like nothing and were cold. What a waste of my calories on this meal. The service was mediocre. The server seemingly forgot about us and the restaurant was almost empty. Our server looked like she did not want to be there and had in different demeanor. All in all, it was a MAJOR let down. Eating out has become so expensive that you expect high quality food and service. Venables, we don’t want to give up on you, but bring back the salted whipped butter, toast those burger buns and bring back some energy to the service.

The restaurant itself was fantastic—great food, excellent service, and a wonderful dining experience. But the parking situation is absolutely outrageous and ruined the entire night. We parked in the restaurant’s lot, which was about 50% full, and while one person went in to check us in, the rest of us briefly walked across the street to check out menus at other restaurants for future date nights. We had no idea there was a sign (hard to see at night) saying you can’t leave the property or you’ll get towed. After spending hundreds of dollars on dinner, we came back to find my truck gone. When we spoke to the restaurant, they told us this happens all the time. Even with our receipt proving we were paying customers, the towing company refused to cooperate. They were incredibly rude and demanded $270 to release the car, despite the restaurant calling on our behalf. We later found out the towing company isn’t even under contract—they get paid per car towed. They literally sit and watch cameras 24/7, just waiting to catch someone, even innocent customers like us, stepping off the property for a moment. It’s a predatory, evil practice, and while I feel bad for the restaurant because it’s not their fault but the landlord’s, I’ll never return. No meal is worth dealing with a system this unfair and exploitative. As a college student working part-time just to make rent, this $270 hit hard. It’s gross that the landlord of a $20M+ property enforces such a predatory policy.