Side Street Restaurant — Restaurant in Raleigh

This is a quaint little place that was built in the 1800s as a small corner shop that sold an assortment of small trinkets. Over 60 years ago it was transformed into a restaurant with limited space. Forty years ago a young waitress impressed the owner of the Side Street Restaurant so much, she was abled to convinced that waitress to leave the other restaurant she was working in and came to work here.

Mary Lou worked very hard at mastering and enhancing the menu. Within a short amount of time her boss knew she had hired the right person to keep this awesome place going. she was asked Mary if she wanted to buy this small restaurant, without much thought Mary said yes and the deal was sealed.

In the past 40 years Mary and her staff have made big improvements on the Side Street Restaurant. She purchased two adjoining businesses to expand the dinning room and kitchen to what it is now. In the historic district in the city of Raleigh NC

Service: Top of the line! You are greeted, seated and served by a team dedicated to making your experience positively memorable. The atmosphere is contagiously friendly and just down right family. Even if you just happen to bring that one relative/friend you'd really rather not be seen with in public, this eatery has the type of class that will force that person to hold back.

Food: Here is where it gets a little sticky. Get desert first! Yep you read that right. I had both the pecan pie and the carrot cake and I would almost swear I saw St Peter motioning me to come on home but not without the pecan pie. They were JUST THAT GREAT! Not to die for but to due with!!!

Being my first time here, I went for the club sandwich. You know the traditional club right? You expect it to be just like all the others everywhere else. Heavy on the veggies and just enough deli meat to make it legal. Loose that assumption! This is clearly the original Club Sandwich. Here is my suggestion. Get it without the middle slice of bread. Here's a secret, Mary makes this sandwich with the intent to make sure you won't be hungry for dinner.

Guys, if you come here for lunch you'd better hit the gym and do some laps to burn off some of this deliciousness before you go home and eat you wife's cooking. Whatever you do!!!! Don't blame Mary, her staff nor me when you're still to comfortable to eat another mouthful.

Ladies, unless you are willing to get a job under Mary Lou, please resist the overbearing temptation to take home a meal for that special someone and then try to act like you made this awesomeness. Just tell them " Oh, I asked Mary Lou to make it for us. Isn't she great?"

Recommendations: Bring the family. Bring the prospective client. Bring the date you want to impress. Bring your Preacher. Come alone (greatness is meant to be shared so skip that one) but COME! There is no way you should go without ever eating here at...

I had an unsatisfactory experience at SIDE STREET RESTAURANT. First, noone is answering the phones so I walked over about 2 blocks from the office to order. I was surprised that it was not really busy at all so I informed them the phone wasnt working and the lady could care less. This should have been a sign but I digress- so I ordered a side street sub 9.85 to include a side (chips) from the to go menu and a cup of tomato bisque soup (5.85) and I was on my way. The total when I got my receipt (digital) was 22.18 (.85 included for using a card). With a sale tax and food tax of going with 9% should have been $17.11 there was NO tip added because I was not seated/served and annoyed that I walked to the site to order and got the careless attitude. What was the extra $4.22 for? No notice that gratuity was automatically added, no itemization of the receipt to contest and to make matters worse the sub was submerged in so much italian dressing the bottom bun was no longer bread but a mush pile of meat ,tomato and gluten mush. This place is a mess. I guess if I was a neighborhood hipster or one of its senior customers it may be the spot but I certainly wont...

One of my favorite places and best chicken salad sandwich I’ve had! I love this little spot. They can get busy so you need to be patient. Very down to earth, but a cute tearoom type atmosphere. Personally I pick up to go once every week or two. Plenty of street parking nearby and in the middle of Oakwood Historic so nice to walk around after lunch. The service can be slower, and I’ll admit that at first some of the staff can seem rude. They are not. They are perfectly respectful, kind, and run a solid business. So adjust your expectations when you go here - it tends to have an older crowd bc they appreciate what the restaurant has to offer. Influencers, people who in general don’t appreciate character (it’s an older building) and simplicity, and instead expect flash, glam, etc - this is not the spot for you. Please don’t go and then leave a bad review bc it wasn’t cool enough for you. But if you want a quiet spot for a simple lunch or dinner, and the words “quaint” and “charm” make your ears perk, then...