The Goat Brier Creek — Restaurant in Durham

Unfortunately - this place is everything BUT the G.O.A.T. (thanks to Tom Brady - we know it stands for Greatest of All Time). It was truly disappointing. I visited a week ago or so to meet a friend for dinner. We sat at the bar, and it was mid-week (not a weekend night). Upon arrival, it was decently busy, which gave me hope! We sat at the bar . . . and waited . . . .

and waited . . . .

and waited . . .

Finally one of the bartenders greeted us (no smiles, not friendly, not rude . . . just kinda said hey. We got menus, and waited . . .

Finally he returned, and we ordered a beer and dinner. He got us our beers, and then went about whatever he was doing. My friend and I visited, sipped our beers . . . and then finished our beers, and wanted another. So, we waited . . .

Bartender finally made his way back around to us (maybe 10 minutes after our beers were empty) and we ordered another round. Still no food (it had been about 20 min at this point, which isn't excessive, but I was starting to wonder). We were mostly done with our second beers when food finally arrived (probably 40 min or so since ordering). Food was dropped off, without any of the condiments we had asked for. Had to get the bartenders attention to get the condiments we needed, and eventually ordered another beer (again, after a rather long wait). Unfortunately - the service was mediocre at best. It wasn't rude or off-putting (although it wasn't overly friendly either), just incredibly slow - no sense of urgency whatsoever. There were no smiles or chit-chat, just super slow service. My friend, who has been there a couple of times on his own confirmed "this is just how it is here".

Now the food. I ordered chicken tenders with fries and mac-n-cheese. First of all, the fries and mac-n-cheese were both cold upon arrival. Chicken was at least luke warm. Would have mentioned this to someone, but our bartender was MIA and there was no manager presence at all. Not once in the hour and a half I was there did I see anyone who resembled a manager. The fries, besides being cold, were the same generic frozen fries that a lot of restaurants use - like exactly the same ones Chili's uses - yes, Chili's - the restaurant chain that hasn't been relevant in 20 years or so. I don't fault them for using a generic product, but when serving a mediocre product, at least dress it up some (seasoning, or at least make sure it's HOT) to hide the fact its mediocre. The mac-n-cheese looked hopeful - looks like it's probably made in-house, or at least a quality pre-made product that is "doctored" in house to make it look home made. However, it was cold, which made it pretty unappetizing. Last - the chicken fingers. These were actually pretty decent! They seemed like they were probably breaded in-house and had good flavor. If they had been hot, it would have been even better!

The one bright star of this place is the ambiance, which I am sure contributes greatly to how busy they are (that, and there is literally nothing else around). It's a beautiful space, very modern and sleek. Now, if they can just get the service and food right - this place...

I recently had the pleasure of dining at The Goat restaurant for my birthday, and I must say that the service provided by Sandra was absolutely excellent. From the moment we walked in, Sandra greeted us with a warm smile and made us feel incredibly welcome.

One of the standout aspects of Sandra's service was her timeliness. She promptly took our drink orders and ensured that we had everything we needed throughout the evening. Despite the restaurant being quite busy, she managed to attend to our table with great efficiency, never leaving us waiting for anything.

Not only was Sandra quick, but she was also incredibly knowledgeable about the menu. She confidently answered all of our questions and provided insightful recommendations based on our preferences. Her expertise in food preparation was evident, as each dish she brought to our table was beautifully presented and bursting with flavor. It was clear that she took pride in her work and genuinely cared about ensuring our dining experience was exceptional.

What truly impressed me about Sandra was her responsiveness. She was always attentive to our needs, regularly checking in to see if we needed anything else. She anticipated our requests before we even had to ask, which made us feel incredibly well taken care of. Sandra's attention to detail and ability to anticipate our needs truly elevated our dining experience.

Thanks to Sandra's exceptional service, my wife and I had a fantastic time celebrating my birthday at The Goat restaurant. Her friendly demeanor, timely service, and extensive knowledge of the menu made us feel like valued guests. I cannot recommend her enough for her outstanding service.

Overall, I would rate Sandra's service at The Goat restaurant as nothing short of excellent. Her dedication to providing a memorable dining experience, coupled with her attentiveness and expertise, truly made our evening special. I will definitely be returning to The Goat in the future, and I hope to have the pleasure of being served by...

A modern restaurant with a lot of potential, but poorly managed. Disappointing.

The Goat has a really great set up and a lot of potential but I’ve had multiple poor experiences here. The staff have made my guests and I feel like an inconvenience many times, especially when requesting to sit on the patio. I’m not sure why they’ve invested so much into their patio (nice ambiance, games, heaters, etc) yet are annoyed when guests want to sit out there. Just this weekend while waiting over an hour for a table, the hostess told us we could sit outside at the bar if seats were available. After sitting down, the bartender (young girl with dark brown here) denied us service, stating that she wanted to close the window to the patio and stop serving there. It was only 6:30pm. It’s worth noting this same bartender has been rude to us before. We eventually checked back in with the hostess to see how much longer until our table would be ready. Another server approached the hostess stand and yelled at us saying we would have to wait the 45 minute wait like everyone else - even though we had been waiting at this point for over an hour. Waiting was never an issue for us; we just wanted an estimate so that we could plan the rest of our night accordingly. We did not appreciate being treated so rudely. The hostess was very sweet and apologetic.

Also beware if you ever want to order takeout or even just call to make a reservation. We’ve completely given up on trying to order takeout from here - they hardly answer their phones, especially around dinner. I know a lot of restaurants are struggling right now with staffing, but the Goat seams to have other problems going on that greatly affects their service. We live in the LC community and would come much more often if we were not treated as such an...