Page Road Grill — Restaurant in Durham

Ready to Eat Frozen dinners for “locallly sourced” “southern modern” dining prices. Maybe you’ll get fresh in person sometimes, but food ready in 15minutes is going to be mediocre food- and even then there’s just something off about the flavors. Unfortunately the sad pricing for food quality & limited menu, and indigestion from multiple people I’ve taken here makes it a generous 2 star, or I would have ranked it a 3 for the weird seasoning and food pairings. While I can see some unique pallets really enjoying the unique pairings, like strawberry ice cream with banana bread pudding to bland rice pirloo with somehow sweet notes instead of spice with spicy sausage, the theme with most of their “southern/soul”is daring pairings that lack the commitment or are restricted to a corporate menu trying to make every dish appeal to every pallet. The result makes it just…weird overall. I would say most people would tuck in for the steep price they committed to- not the best not the worse-but then never come again over the other quality options nearby. I have gotten take out and dine in from here over the past months to give them some chances- from lunch to dinner, to in person vs take out- definitely go in person at least if you want to give this place a decent chance like I regrettably chose to.

The inside is what I would call southern modern- pretty on the nose- with the light shining through plants and deep wood around you- a nice experience so long as you don’t come in when it’s slow and staff decides to seat the only customers right by the kitchen entrance in a corner.

What to avoid, What to Try: The brisket: tastes straight out of a frozen meal package- leathery and dry while its mashed sweet potatoes clashed with a mushy salty squash succotash with a rotten bitter flavor I wish I can forget ever trying a bite of. The seafood: is the only thing I’d order from here, the scallops, shrimp, and salmon- it’s just a hit or miss what you pair or the type of dish you get with those ingredient. The scallops: only gives you 4 of them which is sad since it’s only dish with them and they were great- but I’m not paying $30 for sausage added on for protein for a dish simply called “scallops.” It was the popular favorite from everything everyone tried, but even then the rice pirloo it came with was watery which made it absorb the pepper salty notes of the sausage, more of the mystery sweet flavor that seemed to be on every entree, which all clashed with the lemon emulsion and spinach they put in it- edible but I found myself chasing each bite with my drink to avoid the after taste of the flavors clashing. The blackened catfish: was cooked well but had a bitter peppery taste clashing with the remoulade (which was excellent). The shrimp and grits are not what you will often get in North Carolina as your standard- tomato jam is not easy to pull off.

Deserts: The “brownie cake”isn’t really a brownie or a cake- more of a oddly textured chocolate fudge in a muffin shape. The banana bread pudding at first I thought was great but with each bite I realized what just bread with the hint of banana- I had eaten half way before my suspicion of our take out this time being fully premaid was pretty much confirmed by a slimy green section that once was banana slices. The ice cream- was excellent- chocolate that had a malty note which is a preference for some.

For lunch, the burgers were pretty good and the only thing I ended up having worth the price I paid from here- that and the chicken salad wrap. It’s unfortunate that when we ordered, staff was visibly upset and continued to push the small plates on us which I understand but came off a bit too thick on top of visible disappointment as the lower priced items were chosen.

Overall, this place seems to rely on business meals- it has the fancy buzzword menu to intrigue that type of client. Maybe worth a try as an individual if you see an item you really want to try- but if you already love that meal elsewhere- this place likely...

On a Friday night, I invited my parents, who were visiting from out of town, to meet me at PRG. I had heard very good things and wanted to treat my parents to a nice dinner. I was surprised to find it not at all busy when i walked in to wait for them with a cocktail at the bar, and was a little nervous that my recommendation may have been based on out-of-date information. But from the moment we were seated at our table, it was a non-stop, wonderful dining experience. The server was welcoming, energetic, and very easy-going. The menu had great variation, and the food was fantastic. All three of us were delighted by our meals. It made me wonder why they should be so slow on a Friday night. I know that restaurants have taken a hit since the long lockdown, and I have certainly curtailed my own restaurant dining, having developed an absolute love of cooking at home during all those long months of not really having any other choice. But now that we are getting out in the world again, I would hate to see Page Road Grill fall aside. I want to highly recommend this place for any sort...

The quality of the food and service has steadily declined here since it opened a few years back. The wait staff is hit or miss-- sometimes awful, never outstanding. The burgers were once the best I have ever had and now are sub-par. For someone who goes regularly and often orders the same item, I have had a variety of dishes presented to me as there is very little consistency of menu items. Once I ordered a milk shake to go and found a PLASTIC MACHINE PART in the bottom of it. Yuck! But my final straw was last week when I ordered a salad. There are two lunch sizes (small/large). The waiter indicated the larger one was a better choice and that it 'includes the same toppings but more greens'. Sadly when it arrived it filled half the plate and for the 'large' option was not even enough to feed a normal human being enough to be considered a meal. Shame on you PRG, you just lost a long...