Cafe Renaissance

Some of the best Oxtail I’ve ever had. Everything was fresh, from the hush puppies to the oxtail and sadza.
Service was friendly and passionate.

The atmosphere inside and the outside sitting makes this location fun. The food is great I especially love the Philly Cheesesteak. The live entertainment is awesome. I have met friends here to socialize and they also give it 2 thumbs up.

After reading some of the other reviews, I didn’t expect to be impressed — but I was! The new manager/​chef is Rick and he really loves food and knows how to impress — not in a «fancy» food way but in an «it tastes great» way. My friend and I both had a fried shrimp entrée (she also added fish to her order), sauteed cabbage, and fries (since they were out of my preferred collards). The shrimp (and fish) were perfectly cooked and very lightly coated with cornmeal for a nice crunch, the cabbage was excellent (it also included onions, peppers, mushrooms), but the fries were pretty average. We sat at the bar since the dining room was being decorated for a private graduation party, which gave us lots of time to talk «foodie» with Rick. The menu will be tweaked in the future, as Rick adds some of his own twists to it — I’m looking forward to it!

I did not expect this place to impress or let me out without paying a ransom. However, The Artisan pizza they serve and the friendly staff would have me venture up Hwy 55 in Durham anytime. Nestled about 5mi north of I40 on Hwy 55 sits Café Renaissance. The menu is put together by specials of the day and some staple items like salads and drinks. I now wish I was able to try to hot wings as they smelled delicious but messy at the same time. If you make your way into Durham you should stop in and try.

I wanted to try this place because I see it everyday when I go to work and school. Finally, the other day I went in for lunch and was pretty optimistic. I looked at there menu and ordered a slice of pizza and cup of their smoked turkey soup. The server was polite but didn’t seem like she had much training. Still, it was fine, she asked the gentleman do was seated with his laptop (I’m guessing manager or owner) and they put my order in together. When the food came out… and I very let down. The pizza, was not pizza at all. It was EXTREMELY thin uncooked dough with sauce, cheese and onions. It was weirdly greasy yet not cooked. I took a bite and informed the server my pizza wasn’t cooked. Instead of being surprised she took it back and showed the gentleman that was seated and took it back in kitchen, a few minutes later came back and said they had popped it back in oven. =/​The soup wasn’t bad, just very oily. There was a lot of greasy residue left. The place was very empty and maybe I ordered the wrong thing but it was a HUGE let down. I didn’t get an apology and paid for the uncooked pizza.
I felt that it wasn’t her fault and I wished the man or cook would have come over and apologized and fixed things but they didn’t. The server was very kind but had not been properly trained.
It’s a hard time for businesses and I know it’s hard. i wish I could do something for them. Give them ideas, or help with their food, their menu but it’s hard. Seems like they tried hard but people are not coming so business is slow and they are losing money.
I am not upset at all, but feel bad and really truly wish Café Renaissance well. If they could make GREAT food and do marketing and make some changes, they could really make money! I wish them well, but won’t go again unless things change.

First off, looks are very deceiving. The virtual tour on the Internet looks a lot better than the actual establishment. It’s more like a hole in the wall spot for NC Central students, not an appealing establishment for urban professionals. None the less, I live close by and drove by a couple of times, and decided I would patronize this new business.
I read a review, and it boasted that the mac and cheese was excellent, so I went on line and checked out the menu. I decided to order the wing special, which was supposed to come with coleslaw, three corn muffins, and a fountain drink. It even said you get one free refill. I called my order in, and the young lady said it would be ready in a few minutes. I decided to stop by the store before I headed to the restaurant. Since 15 minutes had gone by since I placed my order, I called to find out if it was ready, and to let them no I was still coming
It wasn’t even 5 seconds, when the cashier called me back, to tell me that they were out of mac and cheese, and told me I could substitute it with something else. I was disappointed, because I was looking forward to some real comfort food, and one review gave them bragging rights for their mac and cheese.
I arrive at Café Renaissance and told the cashier that I felt I should be compensated, since she did not tell me when I placed my order, that they did not have mac and cheese. I wonder what she would have told me if I had not called, and simply showed up to pick up my order. She said she would have to go and get the manager. The manager came out, and I asked if he could give me extra wings, since I was not told when I placed my order, that they were out of mac and cheese. He was gracious enough, and said no problem. When my order comes, and the cashier rings up my bill, she charged me $ 10.20, and not the $ 7.50 as indicated on the Internet menu for their wing special. Needless to say, I also did not get a fountain drink.
I went to my car, and then realized that I didn’t even get the coleslaw or corn muffins, so I went back in to inquire about it. Once again the cashier went and got the manager/​cook. He came out and proceeded to tell me that the menu on the Internet was incorrect, and his web page designer was supposed to change that. Not only was the menu misleading, but they don’t seem to know what they have in stock. I would not go back there, nor is it the type of place that I would go for Happy Hour, and by the way, the food is nothing to write home about. I would have been better off going to Mellow Mushroom and getting a pizza.

This place will pleasantly surprise you, don’t be fooled by the building because what goes down in that kitchen is the biz-​ness. Collards, cabbage, fish, shrimp, shrimp and grits, and that cole slaw is again, the BIZ-​Ness. I’m not talking about collards out the can, not talking about already made food, this food is made from scratch with soul and love. The stay open until 2′ am most nights so if you got a hankering for some good down home food head to Café Renaissance ASAP. O, and every Friday they have fish fry Fridays with a DJ and everything, bananas. Go check it out, you will love it.

I have to start with some praise. This place is pretty new and from what it looked like before the remodel, the owner deserves some credit. MUCH improved. My wife and I really love supporting local eateries and holes in the wall, so we were excited to try this place out. Sigh. We really wanted to like this place.
Start with the Good: The owner is a really nice guy and very motivated to try and give you a good experience. I’ll give him credit for that and maybe even 4 stars for intent. Food is southern/​cajun inspired and is ok. 3 stars.
Not so Good: The owner is a little overbearing. We’ve been here twice and both times we felt a lot of pressure to have a good experience. The food is ok to underwhelming. Wife first got a BBQ sandwich which was pretty good. Not NC style, but had a nice sweet, thick sauce. The rest of the sandwich was pretty standard. I ordered gravy smothered fried chicken per recommendation of the guy at the cash register. Meh… The chicken was over cooked and dry, the gravy was pretty salty, mac’n cheese was mushy and a little bland. Overall, maybe 3 stars. I know this sounds a little abstract but there was just a weird vibe here. But that’s not a big deal, right? It’s a new place, maybe they need some time to find their way. Totally understandable.
2^nd visit was maybe 3 – 4 months later. There were only two other people there and they were in the corner with a laptop and books. A little old to be students in my estimation, but hey, times are changing maybe. They had new menus and the owner was our server. Wife ordered a Philly cheese steak and I got some wings. The sandwich again was nothing special, but not bad. The wings were dry and equally unremarkable. The sauce was odd though. It was in a small plastic cup and looked like it was oil/​vinegar mix that separated. It had a rather unusual flavor although don’t get me wrong, I ate it. It was just strange. Again, the atmosphere was just bizarre. I hate to lack an accurate and descriptive explanation, but it’s one of those things you have to experience to really understand.
Alright, final observations. Both experiences here were less than expected. We had reasonable and positive hopes, but it’s just too weird. I wish I could say the food made it all ok, but it really doesn’t. Upon leaving the second visit, my wife remarked that the place seemed very bachelor-​like. A lot of stone/​tile, functional, efficient, but pretty cold. It’s not really a place you feel welcome or comfortable. The food is sort of average, but it just has a weird feeling about it. I hate to write all this as I was hoping the place would survive. And maybe it will. But I don’t think we’re coming back any time soon. Too many other choices in this town that don’t creep me out or get me depressed.

This place is a gem! I ordered the cajun chicken sandwich that was mouth-​watering delicious. The spices were just perfect. As a side, I got the yellow rice and vegetables that was just ok (minus one star). Should have gotten the cajun fries. My friend got the reggie’s veggies that he enjoyed. The ambience was great and relaxed. I would definitely return !!

I had already heard that this place did not have good food, but against my better judgement, I went anyway. I always try to give a restaurant a try before I decide whether or not I will patronize it. Needless to say, the food was horrible! I asked for a vegetable plate and I got discolored cabbage with meat in it (you would think if a person said veggies only that you would not sell them veggies with meat in it), some kind of seasoning that should not be put in food and rice and veggies that had some kind of balsamic vingerette with extra spices. It did not look edible and it surely was not. I will not be back. Yuk Yuk Yuk!!!

Excellent place to eat and the prices are very reasonable.

This restaurant is brand new so some co-​workers and myself went for lunch. The outside is nice with a patio seating area and inside is decorated nice. I ordered the fish platter with yams and collard greens and all I can say is OH… MY…GOD it was so delish!!! The fish was so pretty it seemed a shame to eat it, the yams were great… not too sweet but right on time, the collards had a slight vinegar taste and was hot (spicey). I had to tip the cook because that was the best soul food I ever tasted in Durham. The plate was loaded with food and there was cornbread. I thought for sure I would be taking a doggy bag home but I did not because I ate everything including the cornbread which had corn kernels in it. If I wasn’t in public I probably would have licked the plate too LOL. There were a lot of people getting take out when we went also so that is always an option if you are a plate licker LOL.
The host (Mo) kept apologizing for the lack of servers but really it was no problem. It wasn’t terribly crowded and we did not have to wait long for our food (we had a party of 7). Everyone at the table was more than satisfied. The only thing I can say was not perfect was the tea but there were plenty more things to drink. I think this place is a sure fire winner!!! YOU HAVE TO CHECK IT OUT!