Lakewood Social — Restaurant in Durham

How much do I love Lakewood Social? Let me count the ways…

Great food at reasonable prices. They have outstanding sandwiches (the breakfast sandwich and grilled cheese are excellent!), solid salads (I desperately miss their Caesar salad, which was perhaps my favorite salad in the Triangle), and tasty starters (love the aioli with their perfectly cooked fries, ricotta is also great!). Don’t sleep on their chicken tenders, either.

Excellent drinks (and they change them up!). You can never go wrong with their margaritas, and I love that they always have some sort of tiki-themed cocktail on the menu. They also have great mocktails (especially the pink peppercorn Paloma). They have an excellent selection of wines by the bottle, as well, which you can take home or drink there ($8 corkage, which is truly a steal).

Family friendly. I love going here with or without kids. With kids, I sit outside so kids can run around (supervised) and play with the toys generously provided by Lakewood. Without kids, I sit inside near the bar for a still lively but less kid-focused experience.

Wonderful staff. From the owner Joel who is always around to each server or bartender, everyone has been super helpful and friendly (to adults and kids!).

Plenty of seating and no need for reservations. This is a great spot for a spontaneous group get together!

Order at your table or at the bar. I personally love QR code ordering (especially with a group), but for those that don’t, you can easily order with a person at the bar.

Gives back to the community! They feature a local nonprofit every month in addition to partnering with local groups on in-restaurant activities. I’ve seen them offer space for gatherings, host fairs, and spotlight artwork from local groups. Always a fan of folks that give back!

I’m sure there’s more I’m leaving out, but Lakewood Social is definitely 5...

Out of town visitors from Hampton Roads and glad we googled Lakewood!

Atmosphere was electric and super inviting. Staff friendly and manager/owner was the best. We sat down to order via the QR code which was very easy to use. Ordered a few different meals for our party of 5. Food came out very quickly and that was a plus as we were starving!

I ordered the bacon jam burger and it was packed with flavor! The fries were delicious and everything was hot. A few others from our party ordered the other smash burger and really enjoyed it. We also had the Fried chicken sandwich and it was huge and packed with flavor. The spicy one was a lil hot for my friend but she enjoyed it overall.

The manger/owner came over to welcome us and check on us—very polite and grateful for us stopping by.

While leaving out the door we decided to order a few fresh ice cream sandwiches and they are greaaattttt! Try one, you won’t be disappointed.

Sidenote: Bathroom was very clean

Whenever we are in town, we will visit again and eat at...

We just tried Lakewood Social, on a Friday night. Smash burgers were great ~$14 for a burger +fries. I also tried two of their featured cocktails the pink peppercorn Paloma and blood orange margarita, both were great.

The ordering process is slightly annoying because you scan a QR code and order from your phone. The interface does work well, but requires you to put in a credit card even though it gives the option to use Google pay when you are closing your tab. Once we placed our order drinks came out within a few minutes and the food didn't take much longer. So the service was quick.

The restaurant has a ton of space and tables both indoor and on covered patios. It would be a good place to go for large or small groups.

They were not very busy while we were there, I'm assuming that is because they just opened and word hasn't gotten around yet that they are open. So if you're looking for a new restaurant to try, I recommend Lakewood Social and I'll be going back to try some of their other...