Bar Virgile — Restaurant in Durham

9/27: Today I got to enjoy the experience I'd missed the last time. My salmon was perfectly cooked, my drinks were kept filled, and we all left happy and full of good food. What a great day!

Updated review: 7/11 Daniel reached out and apologized for the issues. I was offered a refund and a small gift card. I have enjoyed my other visits to Bar Virgile and will happily give them another visit.

6/28 Today we went to Bar Virgile for my friends birthday. We got there before 5 to make sure we got a table. Once they opened they said there was a leak upstairs but they could seat us downstairs. Fine. Originally I was going to get steak salad but a couple minutes later the waiter came back to tell me they didn't have the stuff to make the salad. Weird but ok.

Then I was going to get steak frites, but it came with chimichuri. Frequently chimichuri has cilantro and that tastes like garbage to me so I asked. Sadly it did. So then I went with the panzenalla salad with steak. Time passes the food comes out and my salad steak is covered in chimichuri.

I hate sending food back but I just couldn't eat it like it was. The food runner was very kind about it. Minutes pass and it comes back. The steak looks a little odd. Upon closer inspection I find they scrapped most of the chimichuri off and then cooked the meat more to hide the remaining sauce. Now my steak is way past my requested medium rare and still tastes like garbage.

I wasn't going to send it back again. Obviously they didn't give a single crap about making things right and that sounds like a great way to get my food spit in. I paid 203$ for three people to eat and I come home hungry and upset.

And about the bill. Everything was 3% more than the listed menu price. We asked about it and we're told the menus were old and so the prices were wrong. While 3% isn't going to break the bank it still feels bad.

Lastly the service was leaps and bounds worse than any other time we've been. I don't blame the bartender, he was trying his best and I know those drinks take a lot of time to craft, and those were great. But still it's frustrating when I come to a nice restaurant, get sat in the basement bar section despite being there before they even opened, and then have to walk up to the bar for everything; to get a second round of drinks, to tell them someone's side was wrong and we needed the right one, to ask for water, and ask for the check.

Yeah I'm upset and I'm going to let people know about it.

Old review: We had fried oysters and a meat and cheese board, both of them were okay. For drinks we had a margarita which was well made and Roman Holiday, it as it...

This place! I love this place! How have I never been here before? We stopped by before a show at DPAC Friday evening and put our names down for a table, but were able to snag seats at the bar, which is also full service. I ordered a cosmo, and the boy got a Sloe Gin Fizz, which he had never tried before but was specifically wanting that day. The bartender warned us about the 'mixology time' for the drink, but didn't seem put out by the request, even though the bar was fairly busy. It was fascinating to watch the bartenders make the drink, and everyone behind the bar was very helpful. When the drink came, it was declared well worth the wait. I stuck with my cosmo, but the boy ordered an Old Fashioned to follow up the SGF, and found it to be one of the best old fashioneds he'd ever had (and he has tried them in almost bar we've gone to).

Then there was the food... We ordered one item off the small plates portion of the menu, mac and cheese, as well as two sides, mushrooms and the fried broccoli, and one main dish, the pork chop adobo. The three smaller dishes arrived fairly quickly, and were all delicious, with the broccoli being my favorite. Then the pork chop came out... SO GOOD! Marinated and cooked perfectly, perfectly accompanied by the mashed potatoes and grilled pineapple. I don't think we left much, if anything, on any of the plates.

Overall, our meal came out to about $90 for 3 specialty drinks, 3 small plates and one entree, which seemed pretty reasonable for the quality.

They don't take reservations, so especially if it's a weekend and you're on a time crunch, arrive early! Well worth any wait! We already have plans for at least 2 more trips with 2 other couples, and I...

TL;DR: Food was a big miss last night.

My gf wanted to have a chill but nice birthday dinner and it had been a little while since our last visit to Bar Virgile. And it was a plus that they're open Mondays. The bartenders are always great - we've never had a cocktail that missed. Nice atmosphere - cozy, a little loud, but not so loud that you can't have a conversation.

The food unfortunately was a pretty big miss last night. The fried oysters were overfried to the point of being chewy - not juicy or tender at all. Also ordered the shishitos and fried okra which were par for the course - nothing super special, but solid. The okra was tender and halved lengthwise down the middle instead of cut into rounds, which was a plus. The bottom bun of our burger was straight up burnt - not just a little overtoasted. Otherwise it was a good cook on a medium burger.

The biggest disapointment was the "buccatini carbonara" - the pasta was cooked poorly and not al dente (it wasn't quite mushy, but had absolutely zero bite). And I think the sauce was pretty heavily cream based - difficult to tell if there was any egg yolk. It didn't have the amount of cheese I would expect from a dish that's supposed to have 5 ingredients. I also have doubts that the meat was actually pancetta as the pieces were quite thin, not lardon sized I wouldn't be surprised if it were bacon. So then... why call it a carbonara at all?

We'll definitely be back for drinks at the bar - we've always enjoyed that. But at $100 before tax/tip, ~$130 out the door? I question if we want to order dinner again...