The Fiction Kitchen — Restaurant in Raleigh

To me, Fiction Kitchen is a comfy, safe, relaxing venue with an eclectic, retro feel while keeping a modern edge. First time in, we enjoyed our varied culinary journey from start to finish. We’ll be experiencing this North Carolina Gem in the future. We already thought about and decided what we want to taste there next! We were greeted by Drew and Castle, who made our stay a welcome one. Their witty, professional, courteous service made us feel like we were visiting friends and family. As we bellied up to the bar what was there to do but enjoy a beverage for starters. After some discussion of the wonderful choices, we enjoyed “The Stalker” and a “Rum Punch”. I didn’t try my wife’s Stalker, but the Rum Punch was a wondrous bright infusion garnished with an edible Johnny Jump Up. Very unique flavor with a fruity finish. Later I had a “Flower and Flame” cocktail. A sensory adventure with its deep color, beautiful garnish, with a smoky surprise with each sip. This cocktail had the “finest fizzy” element to it. Loved it. My advice is to open up your mind and let Castle guide you through her magical world of mixology. Starting with the Cornmeal Fried Mushrooms we experienced what I would call plant based fried calamari. Paired with the Old Bay Vegan Mayo this was probably my favorite. Never saw the seafood flavor coming. What a great surprise. Shifting gears we went to the Kale Fritters. Big, bold, beautiful and once you bite in they remind me of Thanksgiving is all I can say. Comfort food score of 10! Chef, these make me want for a side of gravy to dip them. The little crispy chickpeas running through this dish are little tasty treats. Soo gooood. We couldn’t resist ordering the Cast Iron Skillet Cornbread just to have with us, to compliment our meal. This makes a great partner to anything you order. Watch the skillet as its hot out of the oven. Very well done with a finely crisped outside while moist and soft inside. Almost wanted some baked beans to pair with it so we ate half and took the rest home for that experiment. On with the entrees. The Southern Style Plate with popcorn chicken was full of a variety of high notes. I had an expectation the popcorn chicken was going to be lack luster as “popcorn anything” in my opinion always is, but I was wrong. These lil’ poppers were fun and made you feel like a kid with every bite. I say they are best eaten with your fingers and some dipping sauces. Castle innovated her recommendation in, to have us pair it with the BBQ Pulled Pork and it was a home run. It was like a culinary game, mixing and matching the flavors on our forks, getting a magical taste combination every time. My favorite was a scoop of mashed potatoes with a scoop of BBQ Pulled Pork. When I ordered I simply told Castle to bring me a wonderful meal, surprise me, and she came through with flying colors. The Hearts of Palm & Lions Mane Crabcakes were yet another layer of culinary comfort. It was nice to see both entrees have either a fresh salad or sauteed vegetable component. They brought color and balance to each meal. The fried foods weren’t greasy. All the dishes and drinks had several layers of flavor voices. The staff is both friendly as they are efficiently professional. The setting is balanced with a nice park outside for friends and family to spend some time away from the hustle, bustle and trying times we live in. Fiction Kitchen has mastered extracting the multitude of flavors from their source of foods. While others drown foods in sauces and give a monotony of “the same”, Fiction Kitchen somehow mystically brings so much abundance in their flavors while creating layered complexity, so every bite is a sensory journey. I highly recommend you stop in, turn your phone off, and eat with your friends and loved ones. Thank you to everyone at Fiction Kitchen for this Culinary Oasis so close to home....

A handful of reviews have reported negative experiences with the restaurant hostess. Most of these reviews have owner responses from a restaurant staff member asking for specifics: e.g., "what do you mean when you say that the hostess was rude?" I have an example that may help clarify.

Yesterday evening, I happened to be attending a concert at the Red Hat Amphitheater that was unexpectedly evacuated at about 8pm due to thunder and visible lightning. The abrupt evacuation created a moderate panic outside the amphitheater, as attendees streaming out in different directions tried to find shelter in whatever businesses and shelters were open. The Fiction Kitchen just happens to be a block away from Red Hat. I am a fan of Fiction Kitchen from years ago, and decided to make that my destination upon our evacuation into the thunder and lightening. By the time I ran over (in the rain and through loud bursts of thunder and lighting), it seemed, luckily, not to be crowded, and I felt hopeful that maybe I'd be able to get a table.

In retrospect, I can see that it was unreasonable for me to think that a table would be open (it was a Friday night, after all). And the hostess said as much when I entered the restaurant (all of the open tables including any spots at the bar were reserved). However, the way that she communicated this to me and the aggressiveness with which she rushed me out of the door and into the storm was surprising and upsetting.

Specifically when the hostess explained to me just how unlikely it it would be that I would be able to get a table at any point that evening, it was with an unempathetic and irritated tone that made me feel like my existence in the restaurant was an annoyance to her. I thanked her for trying, and moved out of the way and into a corner of the front of the restaurant where there was a bench that seemed to be the waiting area, just to quickly check google maps to find out the closest place to find shelter nearby (I do not know the area, and the storm conditions directly outside were dangerous for standing around or walking aimlessly). But the moment that I sat down, to look at my map, the hostess walked over to me and, even more rudely, told me “we can’t have anyone sitting there. You need to leave.” I quietly mentioned that it was lighting outside, and she repeated “you need to leave.”

To clarify my concern here, I do not believe that the hostess had any responsibility to offer me shelter from the storm, given that she was busy and the tables were full. The restaurant itself was not full, but I can see how letting one person take shelter could have opened the door to a crowd of others coming in and clogging the waiting area. The Fiction Kitchen has no responsibility to change its operations in response to a concert hall evacuation in bad weather.

However, I do think that any institution, especially a small local restaurant like Fiction Kitchen, ought to have some care for the health and safety of human beings who enter its doors seeking shelter. I would expect a place like the fiction kitchen to be able to consider the nuances of particular situations, such as the one that I was in, and to respond appropriately to them rather than bureaucratically holding to a fixed set of rules (e.g., no loitering in the waiting area) at the expense of others’ safety. The hostess should have had some awareness that the conditions outside were dangerous, that there were many people at once looking for shelter, and been kinder when asking me to leave. She could have pointed us, for example, to the nearest place that we could take shelter. And if not that, she could have given me a few minutes to find the nearest shelter before rushing me out the front door. I left the restaurant feeling ignored and afraid-- like the restaurant had kicked me...

Update May 2025

They're now at their final destination over off Crabtree Blvd. I love the new space! It seems much more open and the tables are larger, which is very helpful when you plan to share multiple dishes. My friend and I came to check it out and have dinner and we're very impressed. They had a few new dishes on the menu, so we decided to try the Kale Fritters and Crabcakes, along with our regular potatoes and corn bread favorites. The presentation and flavor profiles were spot on! We split the Gluten Free Carrot Cake for dessert and absolutely loved the frosting! I've got to get this friend recipe for my kids birthday cupcakes...PLEASE! 🙏

New Update June 2024 Went back again with a friend who came in from out of town. We were both very impressed with the food, service and the owner/chef. We spoke with her at length and she is exceptionally friendly, knowledgeable and wants her guests to have the best plant based experiences. My friend loved the food. And I was thrilled that they had a gluten free peanut butter cheesecake. This thing was freaking delicious. Spot on!

If you decide to check them out, don't forget the seasonal specials on the chalkboard. We had the Locavore Salad this time and it was a really good combination of in season flavors, colors and nutrient dense. Delicious!

Update Went back with a friend last night to give it one more shot at the new location and was glad that we did. The service and good were both much better. Definitely think it was just growing pains last time my husband and I were there. This time everything we got was phenomenal! So I'd highly suggest the following:

-Cornbread (it isn't ridiculously sweet and has a bit of an herb flavor to it. Really good!) -Cornmeal Fried Mushrooms with Vegan Ranch -Twice Baked Potatoes -Spring Risotto (Loved that it was chock full of fresh asparagus, carrots and mushrooms)

I've been here a few times throughout the years, prior to Covid, and was not impressed. However, some friends really wanted to try it and told me the menu was completely different.

I'm very happy that we did, because it was delicious!

Every dish was had was wonderful. The whole place is completely vegan now, which is great for my vegan friend, and even good food myself, as a vegetarian. And most of the menu is gluten free, or has a gluten free option. Which is awesome for me since I have Celiac Disease.

If you haven't checked them out since they changed the menu, I would suggest trying the Rainbow Smoked Potatoes, Cormeal- Fried Mushrooms and the Lettuce Wraps. They're all killer!!

We came back to their new location and were thrilled with how much larger this location is. However, the food was a bit disappointing this time. While the Black Bean Dip was delicious, it was really the only thing that was. The Curry and the Meatloaf both really lacked flavor, and the former wasn't really even that appealing to look at. Hoping this is just a growing pain, but not a huge fan of the...