Glasshouse Kitchen — Restaurant in Morrisville

My companion & I dined at Glasshouse Kitchen yesterday evening. It’s been open for a few years but it was our first time there. It was such a beautiful experience for us from beginning to end. I’d like to share some things that made this dining experience so special and memorable. (The TL;DR is at the bottom of this review.)

THE AMBIANCE: In short, the restaurant is stunning! The Dining Room boasts floor to ceiling windows, beautiful lighting and fresh plants everywhere. There’s a relaxed, casual feeling from the moment you step into the venue, and also a positive & vibrant energy from the patrons and the staff. First impression for us was 10/10. We dined out on The Courtyard, which is also a very pleasant place to be if you enjoy outdoor spaces. Though the temperature outside was very comfortable at 6:30pm, the restaurant went the extra mile to keep the area cool & comfortable with their gigantic fan. It was unimposing & set out of the way but very much appreciated.

THE FOOD: Whoa Nelly! The food is so good!! We started out with the Crab & Salmon Dip with Duck Fat Focaccia. It was so decadent & full of flavor, and that focaccia bread was an incredible companion to the dish. Our main dishes were the Green Curry Salmon with Basmati Rice and the Salumi Pizza. My dining companion had the salmon and reported how delicious it was, and it must have been because he left nothing on the plate! I ordered the Salumi Pizza. The combination of sweet & savory flavors combined with a little heat created a flavor explosion. It’s probably the best pizza I’ve ever had. The manager, Kristin, recommended a red wine to pair with the pizza and it was a perfect pairing. I wish I remembered the name of the wine because it is a definite “must try” for red wine drinkers. Food & drinks were a 10/10 for us!

THE STAFF: I consider myself a foodie and love to visit restaurants whenever I can. While it’s usually the food that brings me to an establishment, it’s the service that keeps me coming back. My companion & I were simply blown away by the level of service and attention we received at Glasshouse Kitchen.

The manager, Kristin, stole our hearts from the moment she stopped by our table to introduce herself and ask about our dining experience. Her #1 priority is the happiness, comfort and satisfaction of her guests and she knows how to deliver. I’ve been to 5-Star restaurants that didn’t operate as smoothly as Kristin ensures this establishment does. From making food & wine pairing recommendations at the start of our visit to ensuring our complete satisfaction at the end, Kristin made a fan out of the two of us. This will be a restaurant we return to again and again, simply because we were made to feel so special. We felt like celebrities the entire time we were there, and we weren’t even celebrating a special occasion. It was just a date night that turned out to be a lot more magical than we could have ever imagined.

Our server, Cole, was an absolute joy! His smile, friendly demeanor and enthusiasm drew us in immediately. He took the time to answer our questions, offer food recommendations and entertain the interrogation of two Baby Boomers regarding his background and future plans. He never tried to rush off or make us feel like we were taking up too much of his time (although we probably did monopolize him a bit more than we should have). Cole is a gem of a server with a friendly & welcoming personality. The Glasshouse Kitchen is lucky to have him. He really made our time there memorable.

And finally, there was Tabby who just happened by our table with that beautiful smile and infectious energy. We held her hostage too! (Boomers will do that to you!) She was so easy to talk to … very genuine and very funny. Spending time with her was like spending time with an old friend. She made us feel like she’s known us forever.

TL;DR The ambiance of the Glasshouse Kitchen is stunning, the food is delicious and the staff is incredible! You should definitely visit. You’ll have a magical...

I gave this restaurant 3 separate tries before writing this review with last light night being my 3rd. and probably my last time. I wanted to like this place, I really, really, did. My first visit was good. It was brunch and I got the open-faced biscuit sandwich with the smashed potatoes. It was good enough that it made me want to come back for dinner and try the whole fried fish. My friend and I had dinner about 2 weeks ago and the fish was not as good as I thought it would be. It had TOO MANY bones in it. I couldn't even enjoy it because it had so many bones, and every bite I was having to take the napkin to my mouth and spit the bones out and that got tiring rather quickly. I also didn't really care for that coconut curry sauce - it was too much and I actually LOVE coconut curry anything. I also did not like the appetizer of the Waygu beef cheeks either, but I am going to put that on my personal taste rather than the dish itself. So that night was a miss for me. My friend, however, loved all his dishes and thanked me for introducing him to this restaurant. This brings me to last night which sealed the deal for me, that I will most likely not be back. First of all, I am not the type of person that thinks wait staff should be overly friendly or even talkative, but while the bartender I had last night - while she was not rude, she was not welcoming either. NOT AT ALL!!!! It was one of those situations where I felt like I was bothering her, but more on that in a minute. So, I got the fried oyster as an appetizer and I liked that. I would recommend. It was a tad too salty, but overall a solid dish. - the kimchee was a nice touch. Then things went downhill...the only reason, I decided to go back this last time is that I heard (from the staff) that the lobster pizza was great and a best seller on my previous visits, so I wanted to try it. It was horrible. Just HORRIBLE!!! :-( The problem was that whatever white sauce / cream it was based in, it was TOO MUCH!!! (seems that they are heavy-handed on the sauces here) and it drowned the pizza. The pizza was "wet" and it had no taste other than milky (Yuck!) I couldn't even taste the lobster or any of the other ingredients. I ate 2 slices, and I just stopped. So let's go back to the bartender. She asked me if I wanted a box. I said no, and that I didn't like the dish. No response from her. No "Can I get you something else? " Or anything type of response that would have mimicked some level of customer service. So I just asked for the check, as I wasn't trying to get comped or anything (at this point I just wanted to leave as the experience last night from the bartender to the dish was not enjoyable- the drinks were not good either). After I paid, the one shining moment in my visit happened where another staff member (she was a young lady with brunette hair) happen to come across my discarded dish (after I paid) and asked me did I not like my dish? I told her no, and even after I had already paid, she said hold on let me talk to a manager, I told her not to worry about it (once again, I had already paid), but she insisted. After about 10 minutes she came back and asked could she have my card and she cancelled the original purchase and ran the purchase again without the lobster pizza on it. I appreciated her attention to detail and care. That was top-notch customer service unlike the bartender. At any rate, I would still recommend that people who are interested in trying out this restaurant, do so. It has a great ambiance, and I think they have decent dishes. I just think maybe I picked the wrong ones on the wrong night. My brunch dish was my most successful dish there and I liked it, so maybe I will go back, but only at brunch, because I think they need a more extensive dinner menu and...

Glasshouse is a hidden gem within the Triangle food scene that provides an upscale culinary experience and an elevated attention to service.

We’ve visited Glasshouse 4 times before writing this review, to make sure we had a consistent experience, and we did.

While the restaurant itself is in the middle of an office complex, they do their best to make it feel welcoming. The campus is well maintained, has large grass spaces, and incorporates the glasshouse green houses that were original to the space. The overall feel is modern functional architecture with accents of glass, wood, greenery indoors and outdoors.

Service has been very consistent all 4 visits. Some of the newer staff has seemed overworked and inexperienced, but they still provided us with good service and a positive attitude. The servers have been able to explain most of the dishes we had questions about and provided recommendations on pairings. Management has always stopped by our table to confirm we’ve had a positive experience.

The food/menu is why I keep coming back. Whether you’re looking for tapas style dinner, a pizza, or a full entree, Glasshouse menu gives you the flexibility. See pictures from one of our visits.

The bone marrow was fantastic, and we always pair it with bread service. It’s beef flavored butter.

The yellow tail crudo is just ok. The tuna isn’t super fatty and the curry style drizzle is not one I would pick.

The local greens is large enough to split in between two people, and the server can ask the kitchen to split it so it’s plated by the time it gets to your table. The lemon ricotta spread at the bottom of the salad compliments the fresh and crisp greens by adding an element of creamy/soft. The fruits/nuts toppers add another dimension of sweet and savory.

I do not like beets, but you have to have the burrata. The beets are soft and sweet, the cheese is very mild, and the hot honey adds that little kick of spice.

The duck confit is very good. The skin is cooked perfectly crunchy. A rather smaller portion and it’s so good you’d want to order your own anyway.

The pistachio gelato is covered with a raspberry shell, which overpowered the overall flavor. We personally did not like it, and would not recommend.

Not in the pictures but have tried are:

Hanger steak, we highly recommend. If you add a couple small plates, you can easily split it in between two people.

Salumi Flatbread is a healthy portion of pepperoni, salami, with cheese and hot honey. Big enough for two people.

Overall, Glasshouse is a 10/10 for us and how we like to eat. There’s many vegetable options, many animal protein options, and the flexibility of...