Alley Twenty Six — Restaurant in Durham

I’ve been here before for brunch and loved it, so this is only reflective of my dinner experience.

Firstly, service was superb, everyone that works here super friendly and attentive and the food came out fast, even for a busy Friday night.

My partner and I wanted to try out the dinner menu after really enjoying the brunch menu a while back. Unfortunately, I was left disappointed by the high cost and lackluster flavor. I understand restaurant costs have grown exponentially and this likely contributes to the high costs, but it’s worth noting that the prices expected at nicer dining establishments in Durham (not just Alley 26!) meet or exceed prices in bigger cities like Chicago, yet the food quality is just not there. Our food scene is being wrecked by corporate greed driving up prices for all involved.

What we ordered:

3 appetizers: The deviled eggs, fried cauliflower, and pimento cheese

The review: the fried cauliflower was AMAZING and my favorite dish that night, a dish that can be hard to get right. That being said, the dipping sauce it came with was way too thin and needed to be further emulsified. The flavor was great, but the execution of the sauce made it a messy eating experience. My partner really liked the pimento cheese dish, and the homemade saltines were delightful. Unfortunately, I would not recommend the deviled eggs. They were very salty and almost too salty to eat, and the filling tasted on the older side which might have contributed to why it tasted so salty. I’m sure it was made that day, but deviled egg filling doesn’t love to sit in the fridge very long, in my experience. I think the pickled topping contributed to the salt overload.

Main courses: We got the fish and the steak. My partner got the fish and liked it, but didn’t say much beyond that. The fish was cooked well and came right off the bone. I found the flavor profile a bit confusing, and didn’t love that you had both edible and non edible herbs mixed together on top to dig through (had to pull off some twigs of herbs, which to be fair maybe my partner should’ve done before digging in 🤣). If you want a very stimulating and layered flavor experience, this might be a good pick for you. Presentation was nice. My steak was very disappointing. It was leaning undercooked, and none of the fat was edible, so I couldn’t eat about a third of it. I’m sure they would’ve cooked it a bit more for me if I asked, but I already was not in love with the flavor. Lacking in flavor, I thought about asking for salt but didn’t want to be rude. Generally just wasn’t my favorite cut of meat. Given how much alley 26 likes to make herbally flavored things, I think doing something similar with the steak would be a big improvement. The bone marrow butter was not notable and could’ve had more punch. It’s entirely possible the flavor profile just wasn’t for me, as I prefer bigger flavors in my steak (which alley 26 does well in other dishes). Durham is not exactly a steak town, nor is North Carolina a steak state, so I wouldn’t hold it against them in any way, I just wanted to leave a few thoughts and recommendations for the owners and the great staff.

We got a couple cocktails and a beer as well and those were all good. I was worried I wouldn’t like the spice of the Mexican herbalist, but I didn’t find it spicy at all despite being told it was the more spicy of two options. If you like spicy drinks you might be disappointed, but if you like more fruity drinks you’ll be pleasantly surprised. I’m sure if you want it more spicy they could adjust it for you, or if you wanted it less spicy you could make that request ahead of time.

Overall, admittedly we probably won’t be come back for dinner due to the hefty price (the food was NOT bad but I did not feel it was worth the price we paid), but I would recommend Alley 26 brunch as a solid Durham mainstay. Alley 26 flavor palate for dinner may be geared towards a particular audience that is simply not me, and that’s okay. Definitely try it out and see what you think! They have a lot of passion when it...

This review could be summed up in one word, Meh. But if you're not into the whole "brevity thing"...read on.

I'll start by saying. Service good. Nearly perfect. Only issue, I ordered my burger med rare, they talked me into medium. Said the kitchen tends to underdo it. I said that's ok. As long as it's seared well outside. Again they insisted, I go Medium. I did. Bad call. Burger was dry. Otherwise stuff came out correctly and relatively punctual.

As to that, and the food portion of the review. I started with their keylime tonic pie. Pretty good. Very creamy, awesome. Not very tart, less awesome. Decent pie though, overall. Now to the burger. Might be the worst I've ever had. And, long life, so maybe I overstate. I can state these 2 things for sure. 1. It was dry. Gross. 2. It was the saltiest burger I've ever consumed. So salty that I had to remove my bacon. Still crazy salty. Somehow saltier than the bacon, now on the side. Wow. How is this possible? Was the chef out of it, and convinced they didn't salt my patty....only to maybe salt it, 4 times? I ended up using so much Ketchup, to make it edible. We're talking bad meatloaf, levels of Ketchup. The fries were the basic, boring, shoe string variety, that get cold fast(assuming they were ever hot). Least fave style. Would have skipped if I knew. Why did I eat my terrible burger instead of sending it back? For starters, it took a bit longer than expected. I was also tired and crazy hungry. I also don't do refires.

Drinks were ok. Not great not bad. Expected more. Looked fancy. Tasted batched.

Noise level. I note it, because it was asked. Very loud inside, but you can still hear. Only negative to noise.....all just talking. No music. Just a wall of voices in a crowded hallway. Which is the ambience . Crowded hallway with tables and a bar. Not bad. Not great.

That's the theme. Very meh. Very overated. Unless I had the misfortune of coming on a bad night.....

I visited Alley in Downtown Bull City this evening by recommendation of my friend and fellow Elite. I heard about their James Beard claim to fame as 2022's best bar program in the Triangle. I see why. We had a reservation for 8 pm and I arrived ahead of time. The hostess was friendly and accommodating. While waiting I checked out their collection of in house made bitters, syrups and tonic. They also are accompanied by recipe cards. Very classy. I love the rustic New Orleans style of the dining room and bar. I fell instantly transported to the streets of the French quarter. I will return next time for their beignets.

We were seated promptly near the full bar. The bar was at capacity for a Thursday evening. Our waitress recommended a few drinks to us that were refreshing. I decided on the strawberry G&T with their homemade Gin & Tonic. This was deliciously refreshing and really crept up on me ! Sip slow and careful. We decided on the Nashville Hot Cauliflower & Pimento Cheese spread, Pepper Jelly & Crostini. Both were excellent. I'm a Pimento cheese connoisseur, so this was excellent. It had a spicy smoked flavor, paired with the sweet and spicy mint flavored pepper jelly and crunch crostini, it was a hit. I had to order more crostini to finish off all the dip. I decided on the Ricotta Gnocchi served with spinach, bacon and almonds. This dish was flavorful and so comforting to me. Pure bliss. Plated well and tasty. My friend had the Steak served with a large salad. The steak was grilled to medium rare perfection.

Our waitress and server provided excellent service throughout our visit. I can't wait to return to try the other cocktail choice...