Grace’s Cafe

This definitely is the best Asian food on campus as other Unilocalers have said before me. This is where I go when I’m craving good, authentic food. The hot bar is great, and it lets you get a lot of variety and you can pay by weight. If you get the other dishes though they give a pretty big portion but it’s harder to eat by yourself. Ideally, most Chinese food should be eaten family style so you get a lot of variety. Hot bar compensates for that though. Expect to pay ~$ 10 a meal which is okay on a college student budget.

The string beans here are amazing!!!
Everything else is pretty good too, but seriously get the string beans.

Definitely the best Chinese food on campus (the only other comparison would be Panda Express). Service is super nice — I’ve gotten to know the management and they are excellent. I appreciate the wonderful fruit bar as well. Chinese food is mostly your typical «Americanized» food, but there are a few dishes here and there that are closer to being more authentic. I think of Grace’s Café as my go-​to spot for greasy Asian comfort food, which I crave once in a while (who doesn’t?). Also, they deliver!

I came for Boba tea and left with disgrace in my mouth. This might have been the worst beverage I have ever had the displeasure of drinking and I’ve had cheap and questionably old tequila from Mexico that induced the worst mind-​numbing stomach sickness I’ve ever had, because at least then I didn’t have expectations. The tea is watered down and only tastes of burnt fragments which apparently were not removed. Furthermore the boba weren’t characteristically soft or chewy but as tough as my own hide, which has suffered many a ‘discipline’ from my tiger mother years ago. I’m normally a half-​full type of guy, but I quickly wished that this cup was given to me empty. Being that this is the only boba shop in the nearby Durham area is not only unfortunate but a transgression of the highest caliber. You would think with a fairly sizable Asian population that they would have invested into decent Boba by now but I suppose this is just another example of life’s great disappointments.

Grace’s café is arguably the best place to eat on campus. It’s not very crowded as other places as it’s disconnected from other parts of the campus, but still provides the best food. Need to take central campus bus (CCX) if you don’t have a car.

Nice gem inside of Duke!
Should try their seafood chow fun and spicy handmade Chinese noodle. I love their bubble tea because I cannot found other place around the neighborhood that sells bubble tea!

Used to go to Grace’s multiple times a week. Since the management change, all of the recipes have changed. The food is now absolutely terrible.

Grace’s café used to be my favorite dining place on campus. After the management team changed this semester, I decided not to go back again except for the bubble tea. The food at the hot bar has so little selection with such low quality. I no longer have the appetite to get anything there. Their daily special also became really low quality. I ordered korean bbq beef over rice today. It tasted literally worse than the beef I can cook with my eyes closed (and I can’t really cook).
Very disappointed at Grace’s Café. Give me back my old Grace’s café!

During a six week internship in Durham, I stumbled upon Grace’s. Ever since that day, I literally returned DAILY for their lunch specials. Their food is always hot and fresh. I was a big fan of the General Tso’s chicken. Tender, juicy chunks of chicken as opposed to over-​fried breading leaving barely any chicken. The restaurant itself is set up like a cafeteria mess hall.

I come to Grace’s Café probably once a week with friends. They have several seatings which can accommodate a decently large group (10 — 12 people). The staff are very friendly.
Grace offer a pretty big selection of entrees both Asian and American (bacon cheeseburger for example). They also sell the food by weight (imagine self-​serve froyo place but with food). The lunch menu is pretty good — One plate of food and a side (soup or eggroll) for less than $ 7. I’ve tried most items on the lunch special and honestly I can’t recall /​distinguish some of them, but I generally enjoyed most. I like the Eggplant with tofu and the Mandarin chicken. The mongolian beef is usually a little too chewy — overcooked — for my taste. Their dinner portion is more generous — I always bring a to-​go box home after dinner.
I also tried some of the dishes in the self-​serve bar — quality is meh.
They also offer bubble tea, which is not easy to find around this area. I’d go there for bubble tea if I really, really, really crave for it, but it’s truly not the best. The tea is stale and the bubble is too soft.
Overall: Love it for the cheap price tag and the variety. Don’t expect high-​quality first-​class restaurant when you visit, and I think you’ll have a good time. If you want to be safe? Order the Mandarin chicken :-).

Usually when I come to Graces I visit the hot bar or order one of my tried and true favorites (meat buns, ho fun) but recently I decided to try the almond chicken lunch special and it was a grand disappointment.
The restaurant is pretty busy around lunch, took about 20 minutes for my food to come out. The lo mein noodles were sweet, which was very off-​putting. The standard and often overwhelming brown sauce that coated the vegetables and chicken was thick and masked it a bit, but on its own, definitely too salty. I trudged through the vegetables the best I could and the egg drop soup was good, but my first thought when I bit into the chicken was «petroleum». Couldn’t finish it.
Warning about some of the other foods: ho fun can definitely be tiring to eat when you don’t have any shrimp/​vegetables/​meat left to complement it.
Prices for fruit and bubble tea ($ 3) can be on the exorbitant side, especially when compared to the typical lunch entry price ($ 5-​$ 6).
Of course this is only one experience among many, but having such a bad meal here is disappointing for a place that has always been satisfactory. Be very careful to avoid the Americanized food. Feel free to ask the staff for recommendations.

I give them 3.5 stars.
Some may think that this is a little harsh, but if Grace’s Café opened up near my hometown, I’d probably not frequent it. However, since I’m in Durham, I will continue to rely on them to fulfill my Asian food cravings.
I can’t count the amount of time I’ve ordered from Grace’s. It’s hard to find decent Chinese/​Asian food in Durham, and Grace’s Café somewhat fills my cravings.
Most of their specials are good, and I don’t understand why they don’t just add their special items to their menu. The rest of the menu is somewhat bland, with only 1 or two items that shine. If I’m not particularly in the mood for their special item, I automatically default to the pork chop over rice and spicy bean curd/​tofu with pork.
They do have great service and I love that their deliveryman delivers to the front of my dorm instead of making me walk to the nearest parking lot.
The dishes that I recommend (in no particular order) are:
1. Pork chop over rice
2. Mandarin fried chicken over rice (Special)
3. Spicy pork with bean curd
4. Bimbimbap (a rare special)

OMG I just discovered Grace’s a few weeks ago and I’m embarrassed to tell you the number of times that I have eaten there since. I’m full of their dumplings right now as I write. The food is totally decent, some of it even excellent. I’ve particularly enjoyed the beef noodle soup and the spicy Mongolian dishes.
They have a fabulous lunch special where you can get a big plate of food and a side for less than $ 6. So far I’ve tried the eggplant-​tofu, the Mongolian chicken, and the veggie tofu in garlic sauce. Usually hits the spot. But I suspect they make their lunch specials in advance so you get the freshest and best food when ordering off the rest of the menu.
And the staff, which includes Grace herself, is consistently nice and helpful. They also do pick up and delivery.

Super friendly and helpful staff. I ordered the lunch special of broccoli tofu in garlic sauce with egg drop soup. The egg drop was pretty standard (though I did miss the crispy wonton pieces!). I wish the sauce had had more flavor as the rice and tofu were quite bland (as is to be expected). The broccoli was the stand-​out portion as it was perfectly cooked and the sauce adhered to it nicely. The portion was quite big for the price.

While the food Grace’s serves is mostly Americanized, this was definitely my go-​to comfort food at Duke. Grace’s has more authentic Asian dishes (such as Eggs and Tomatoes and Za Jian Mian) as well. The hot bar’s got a good selection of hot and cold dishes and a wide variety of fresh fruit. The Bubble Tea and Smoothies are great here and I used to get them all the time. Plus, Grace is the best! Say hi the next time you’re there and try the specials.

Grace’s menu includes both authentic and Americanized Chinese food, and is a pretty good place to get a limited selection of authentic Chinese dishes or just dependably good take out. Very popular with Duke students because of the quality of the food and fantastic service.
They have a well-​priced hot bar serving the typical Chinese fast food, and an overpriced fruit bar that is mostly used by Duke students with food points to kill. Their milk tea is probably one of the biggest highlights, since it’s hands down some of the best milk tea I have had in the Triangle.
The hand-​made noodles that they put in their soups are great as well, but the only qualm I have about the soups is that they put a generous helping of cornstarch in them. Their daily specials great, and although it’s certainly not the best Asian restaurant in the Triangle, it’s an excellent place for Duke students and faculty to grab some lunch.

Think your average chinese take-​out restaurants. And now add.
1) delicious boba milk tea.
2) their handmade noodles!
3) fruit bar (think already skinned mango and kiwi slices)
4) you can use food points on campus
Plus, the owners are very nice and funny so you should get to know them. I was never a huge fan of their smoothies, but maybe it’s just me because I am very picky with them. My friends just can’t get enough of Grace’s fruit smoothies. I do like their noodle dishes and a bit of the fried rice selections, but I wasn’t the biggest fan of other items they had. I can’t say I’ll be missing Grace’s when I graduate, but while I’m on campus, I’ll visit occasionally.

If I’m on campus studying and I need to take a break for lunch or dinner, my first choice is always Grace’s Café because 1) it’s close, 2) it’s cheap, and 3) it’s good enough. Plus, I can always rope one of my classmates along into coming with me.
Grace’s has a pretty extensive selection, but every time I go, I get one of two things:
–H1: jjampong — spicy seafood stew
–H2: jjajangmyun — black noodle goodness
I can say, without a doubt, that both will do the job so you can get back to work. On special days, I get an H1+H2 combo, which means that they serve each in a special split bowl.
Is it the best ever? No.
Is it the best in the Triangle? I hope not.
But it’ll do.
Besides, you’re not coming to Duke’s campus to eat good food, are you?
BONUS: Free delivery if you order over $ 15 or $ 20…can’t remember. Jeez, I really eat at Grace’s too much.

The best place to get Chinese food on campus and via duke food points. They have fruit by the oz and a hot bar. Grace’s is probably the healthiest place to get food on campus.
Only suggestion would be the food is kinda expensive… but understandable for an on campus food joint (that accepts food points).

I looved eating at Grace’s. Mostly cause I was missing Chinese comfort food — but Grace’s has all those little fixings — even including Sweet Asian Mom (Grace).
They have good bubble smoothies (the tapioca gets a little hard since the smoothies are so cold), noodles (fresh, hand-​pulled), fried rice, and tea eggs. (Really good tea eggs, actually). I can only speak for what I ate, but I enjoyed everything thoroughly. The portions are big though, so I couldn’t finish everything. Surprisingly, the food wasn’t that greasy. I wouldn’t mind eating at Grace’s … a lot :)