411 West Italian Cafe — Restaurant in Chapel Hill

Great location and service in a cozy restaurant. Some solid dishes with a few dishes that could use some improvement. This visit was good, and some dishes were very good, but some menu item descriptions sounded better than their execution.

This is the second time that we have enjoyed this restaurant. The first was the day we dropped our daughter off at Chapel Hill three years ago; I was sobbing, and so we came in for a glass of red wine and some comfort pasta. On that visit, the server was extraordinary! We talked about how sad it was that my daughter was leaving home, and he said that she was going to do great, and he even left me a note on the bill. We actually saved the note. It was that sweet.

Three years later, and she is indeed doing great, and looking at PhD programs. So we thought we would take her to this restaurant when we visited her for a clothing drop off. On this visit, the service was fine. Of course, I didn’t expect it to be as sweet and loving as the first time, but there was nothing wrong with the service. The location is good, really in the thick of things.

On to the food. The specials looked fantastic, and they sounded fantastic, but I think they were just not quite executed well. I ordered the Brussels sprout pizza, which came with caramelized shallots and bacon and Gorgonzola, and it should’ve been a taste explosion! But it was rather bland. It also had a balsamic reduction, and I think if they had leaned into that a little bit more, it would’ve balanced it and provided a bit of zing.

The warm olives were a nice appetizer. I’m starting to see those pop up everywhere. It was quite a few olives, which was great. My daughter enjoyed her meal a great deal. She is a vegetarian. My husband always gets the chicken parm. He said it was good, and was a big portion, but was a bit overcooked. Sometimes chicken parm is really thin, and it comes out very tender, but this was a thicker cut, so that may have affected the way it was cooked. He thought it was a little bit dry. And overdone.

I would also like to see a more affordable red wine on the menu, so that it acts as sort of a “House” wine. Often some Italian restaurants will have an inexpensive chianti or valpolicella or some such, which is nice to order and share with the table. They did have some wine specials. One rosé, one white, and two reds. And they do have a nice wine list, but I’m talking about adding just a “house“ wine that’s super affordable that is always on the menu.

I remember really enjoying all the food on my first visit, even though I was sobbing, and so I will definitely revisit this restaurant, but perhaps choose...

I had been before but not in a long time and met up with a friend for dinner last night and this was the choice. I honestly have to say the food was pretty good the issue is I did not really get to eat it. Why you might ask? because I only eat a little at a time or I get sick and so I asked for most of my pasta to go not once but three times and he confirmed it with me as well as a dessert to go. I get my sealed to-go bag and sign my check and leave and get home to put away my stuff and look forward to eating my 20 dollar meal later and its not there so now I have wasted money and am hungry. This same waiter was also wildly inattentive to the point that a good chunk of dinner conversation was about if he would ever notice us or keep exclusively dealing the the two tables on either side of us. He even walked away when we were mid sentence ordering and straight up walked into me the second I entered the establishment because he was not paying attention and did not even notice that happened. Overall it was a really poor experience despite the food being good because of this...

They say you should never meet your idols; maybe the same can be said for your favorite restaurants from decades ago.

411 West was one of my favorite restaurants during my undergrad and dental school days in Chapel Hill from 1990 -1998. I thought it was really fine dining (and maybe it was). When we arrived at the Carolina Inn for our daughter’s orientation, I was pleasantly surprised to learn it’s still open and suggested it for dinner.

We were moderately disappointed by the food, although I thoroughly enjoyed their Peach & Prosciutto Pizza. That was by far the best entree, and the Crème Brûlée was very good as well. The Wood-Grilled Tenderloin was perfectly cooked but over-charred on one side and quite under-seasoned. It needed a fair amount of salt & pepper. My wife’s Wood-Grilled Salmon was similarly under-seasoned, even though it was also cooked to the perfect tenderness. She did enjoy the mashed potatoes.

Service, location, and atmosphere were great, but most of the food didn’t have...