If you have an upcoming special occasion, consider The Second Empire Restaurant and Tavern as an exquisite fine dining experience in Raleigh not to be missed.
Craig and I are unsure why we never knew about the Second Empire Restaurant on the previous occasions we lived in Raleigh. After all, it has been around since 1997 and the impressive historic building on prominent Hillsborough Street is hard to miss!
As soon as we heard about it on this return relocation in 2017, we’ve had it on our list of places to eat in Raleigh for a special occasion.
That special occasion was celebrating our 19th wedding anniversary in April.
We started off with cocktails at Killjoy – a new AWESOME Raleigh cocktail bar discovery of ours – before moving around the corner for our early 5.45pm dinner reservations. (So happy our teen can babysit, but we have to eat early to make it happen. #TipsForParents)
From there, our night at Second Empire Raleigh was a date night fine dining experience we’ll remember for some time and this is now one of our favorite downtown Raleigh restaurants.
The Second Empire Restaurant and Tavern
Second Empire is a dining experience that makes a statement. One that goes beyond just food to rave about long after to offer a signature experience that incorporates beauty, history, Southern charm, gourmet meals, fine wines, and excellent service.
Please excuse the quality of the photos, we left our good DSLR at home and snapped some pics on our phone, but I think you’ll get the picture!
The Building
First, is the elegance of the restored Dodd-Hinsdale House. It’s a trip to yesteryear, in an English style home that once characterized every home that lined Hillsborough street, the Western road to the Capitol.
The Dodd-Hinsdale House’s architectural style is Second Empire Victorian, a style developed in France under Napoleon III. It retains it’s 1871 exterior, but the inside has been refurbished.
You feel as if you are walking into someone’s home as you enter through the heavy wooden door walkway to an ornately hand-carved staircase in the foyer leading upstairs.
There are four main rooms for dining. We sat in the bright and spacious front room with 14-ft ceilings and bay windows allowing in the natural light and views of the property’s beautiful gardens.
It doesn’t have an urban edgy décor vibe like you’d find at more modern Raleigh restaurants like Crawford and Sons, but its simple elegance retains the historical integrity of the property and allows you to focus more on the views, the incredible food, and the company you’re keeping.
Meals
Second Empire Restaurant had me at gluten free calamari. The calamari is lightly dusted in cornmeal and served with a creamy roasted pineapple lime dipping sauce, which suited the calamari perfectly.
Deep fried battered calamari is one of my all-time favorite dishes. (I HAVE to shout out to our hometown Fisherman’s Wharf in Australia that still holds the title for best ever (and I have tasted a lot around the world).
But I digress. Since developing an intolerance to gluten for several years now, this heavenly treat is often unavailable to me. Not at Second Empire.
Executive Chef Daniel Schurr is celiac, so you’ll find many of the meals on the menu gluten free, including their unique gluten free fig bread. It’s another reason Second Empire shot up the list as one of my favorite Raleigh gluten free restaurants.
Chef Daniel has created meals that blend French elegance with Southern comfort. The dinner menu changes seasonally and features his artful creations from the freshest seasonal ingredients.
Our other appetizer was the Empire Style Cioppino: roasted plum tomatoes & red onions, grilled octopus, clams, king prawns, chili flakes, mussels, fennel, garlic & oregano broth, sourdough bread.
If Aussie lamb is featured on the menu, you can guarantee either Craig or I will get it and pair it nicely with a red wine. Lamb is plentiful and popular in Australia but doesn’t seem to be as common here in the US, so we almost always order it.
Craig enjoyed the lamb chops dish with scalloped potatoes, and I the Roasted Five Spice Pennsylvania Duck Breast: roasted leeks & sweet potato casserole, oyster mushrooms, braised savoy cabbage, parsnip puree, fennel salad, ginger prune sauce
For desserts, we thoroughly enjoyed their famous Coconut Buttermilk Chess Pie: buttery rich short dough crust with buttermilk, coconut custard filling.
And the Vanilla Bean Creme Brulee: Traditional vanilla custard, caramelized sugar, fresh berries & an almond lace cookie
For an upscale restaurant I was surprised at the prices. $12 -$18 for an appetizer and mains ranging from $20 to $36 for a main make it an affordable fine dining experience for that special occasion. See the current menu here.
Service
The exceptional service begins the moment you sit down with your server introducing you to the history of the property.
I have not experienced this in a restaurant before and appreciated this thoughtful interaction to make the dining experience more meaningful and memorable.
Our server from then on was friendly and attentive, offering great recommendations for meals and wines and sharing a little about her own life.
I’m not sure if this is a normal thing for Second Empire, or we just happened to randomly time running into Chef Daniel at the door as we were leaving. But it really did feel like he was there to say goodnight to his guests.
I was happy to thank him for the calamari and spoiling me with an entire meal full of flavorful gluten free meals.
Second Empire has cred
This is one of the top restaurants in Raleigh for a reason, and you know you’re in good hands when it has won numerous awards over numerous years.
The Second Empire Restaurant and Tavern is a four-year recipient of the AAA Four Diamond Award, the Distinguished Restaurants of North America Award, and a nine-year recipient of the Wine Spectator Award of Excellence.
A Fun and Friendly atmosphere
This fine dining restaurant experience may seem like it will be as precious as China, but with all things Raleigh this soon proved not to be the case. Not only were our servers friendly, but nearby diners as well as we had conversations with other diners also experiencing a wedding anniversary.
They knew it was our anniversary, as like us, they were having pre-dinner cocktails around the corner at Killjoy and mentioned their dinner at Second Empire to the barman who told them we had just left!
And then, one of the owners of Killjoy, who we met while enjoying cocktails was on the porch of Second Empire when we were leaving. We got so caught up in chatting to him that we missed our Lyft!!
Why am I telling you all this in a restaurant review of Second Empire Restaurant and Tavern? Because this kind of stuff THRILLS me and further emphasizes just why we love living in Raleigh so much.
This is why we started this blog. Not just to share amazing places to eat and things to do but share the stories we experience that reminds us we chose the best place to live in the USA.
Even fine dining restaurants in Raleigh are friendly places.
The Tavern
Not ready for a fine dining experience in Raleigh? You can still experience the grandeur of Second Empire by dining in the Tavern.
It’s a lively spot for drinks or a relaxed meal with lighter fare. The exposed brick walls and soft lighting helps create a cozy atmosphere.
If you’re looking for fine dining Raleigh restaurants and Raleigh date ideas, definitely add Second Empire to your calendar!
- Address: 330 Hillsborough St, Raleigh
- Website: Second-Empire.com
