Ivory Road — Restaurant in North Carolina

I saw good reviews and wanted to try the Ivory Road café. I had read about how great it was and was hopeful. I love to try new places. There were available tables inside, but it was too smoky from the open kitchen, and the room was too dark for me. It was an absolutely beautiful day, so I wanted an outdoor seat.

There were some picnic tables available on the ground level, but the four seat tables were taken. There were no individual tables for one or two persons that I noticed from the deck. However, I was wearing an orthopedic boot, so I didn’t want to walk across uneven ground anyway. But maybe that’s something they can change by adding a few small tables on ground level, and at least one or two to the deck. There was a little bit of room near a window for a tiny table.

I sat at table for four since it was the only free table on the deck. Why does that matter? Because I was taking up a table where they could’ve made money on a larger group if I had come in. Plus, I felt a little weird to be sitting at such a large table by myself. A group came in after me, and a woman l asked if I was by myself and could she could take one of the chairs from the table and use it at the one beside me. And I had no problem with that.

The servers were pleasant, and I received my order promptly. The real problem was the food. It was quiche, which I figured could just be cut and served. Some places serve it cold on a very hot day, and this was that kind of day. But they warmed it up and that’s fine. What wasn’t fine is that it was overcooked. The eggs were rubbery, and the crust had pulled away so from the quiche there was a good half inch of space. That indicates the quiche was overdone. The flavor was OK, and the crust was rich & buttery. That was a sign that had the quiche been fresh, it probably would have been quite good.

The fruit was fresh and delicious. Unfortunately, the potatoes were tough. Again, that indicates they were warmed up too long. Some had a crunchy exterior, which is always good for country potatoes. But when the fork doesn’t easily break the skin, the potatoes are overdone. And they tasted overdone & warmed over.

The server asked how it was, and I told her. I did say that I enjoyed the fruit cup. She apologized for the quiche and potatoes, and said she would tell the kitchen, but that’s as far as it went. I ate as much as I could because it was my lunch. I didn’t expect to be comped for the food. I ate it. But I did expect better. And I was disappointed. That just means I won’t be back.

I chose this restaurant over another new (to me) one. :(. But that’s OK because I tried someplace different, and I drove around on a...

I cannot say enough nice things about this teahouse café.

I visited once with my grandmother and was happy that the location (including one bathroom) is wheelchair accessible. They have wonderful tea and coffee, and they have delightful sandwiches and salads, all very reasonably priced for how well-made they are. Everything is served on adorable tableware. We felt like princesses.

I hosted a party here. I've got a family member with severe peanut allergies, and a café like this that actually cares about cross contamination is SO RARE. They made it possible to actually have a family event here. Jill made it super easy to plan everything.

For the party, I chose their Afternoon Tea Service. Every guest got their own distinct teapot with their own choice of tea. (They have so many options. Ya'll, they have Yaupon! It was so good. And yes they have the typical choices too, calm down.) Everyone was obsessed - oh look mine is pink, oh look at theirs it's a different shape, oh look at the flower pattern on this one. The teenagers were, I swear, impressed.

And the food!! Ya'll, I have never once in my life wanted seconds of shortbread. But now I can't stop thinking about the lavender shortbread they served. The scones were perfection in pastry form, even approved of by a very British family member. They make chicken salad that is literally perfect. The chicken salad cannot be overhyped. You need some right now.

Oh, and we had a cake! Grandma wanted coconut, so we got coconut. Typically I tolerate coconut, but I don't love it. This cake, though! It has changed my mind about coconut. The people here really know how to bake!!! And they have so many options for cake, you just have to pre-order.

I live far away, so ya'll better keep this place in business until I...

Ivory Road cafe is like your favorite Indy band that the selfish part of you doesn’t want them to get “too” popular to block your ability to enjoy them but yet you know damn well that the world deserves and needs to know just how amazing they are. Jill and her crew of amazing human beings have always treated us like friends and family every time we come and it’s one of our favorite brunch spots for my family that lives locally. Although they keep staple menu items, they routinely change the flavors or ingredients and everything is always amazing with enough variety of choices to please any/all diets or picky eaters. We love them so much that we rented out their venue privately for our elopement which was one of the best meals and service experiences we’ve had and loved it all so much so that when we were able to have our larger wedding after COVID calmed down, we had Ivory Road cater our dessert for the wedding. We had nearly 175 guests and ordered A LOT of extra dessert “just in case”, gleefully hoping we’d have left overs next day and it’s the first I’ve ever seen essentially none of the desserts left over because everyone ate everything because their desserts are that amazing! Thank you to Jill and her amazing pastry chef Jenni as well as the rest of her chefs and staff for all they do and joy they bring to their community especially to our bellies :) Get yourself a donut or a scone while you’re there or a lavender mimosa (my...