Draft

Last hurrah for us, before they (sadly) close the doors on Draft after ¹²⁄₃₁. Thankfully, we can still enjoy their burgers at Tribeca. Service was perfect, and we were glad to hear that our Server will be relocating to the Cary Tribeca location.
Thanks for good times and great tastes… will miss you!
Anyone else that wants to say goodbye… well, you better hurry! And how grand is it that each day they’re donating a portion of the proceeds to different charities these last few days. Admirable!

This place was awesome enough that I actually came here twice before I got a chance to review Draft.
Food is dynamite. I’ve had a couple different burgers, a salad, and a couple appetizers. All of it, consistently, has been awesome. The burgers are what they’re famous for, and I see why. They’ll actually cook them to order, which is remarkably difficult for places to accomplish — I like my burgers medium-​rare, and they actually came out medium rare. (I said a silent prayer of thanks to the burger gods and then dislocated my jaw to get my mouth around said burger.)
Service is a bit hit-​and-​miss. The first time I was there, the service was dynamite. Couldn’t have hoped for better. The second time was a little slow — we kept having to wait for water, which is a cardinal sin in my book. But even at its worst, the service wasn’t all that bad.
Beer was quite awesome. They have a nice selection of craft brews, including six Mash House brews that I haven’t seen anywhere else in Raleigh (yet). And, you can build your own flight with anything they have on tap, which is awesome for people (like me) who want to try a bunch of different beers. The second time I was there was a Terrapin tap take-​over, which had 12 different Terrapin beers on tap. One of the best take-​overs I’ve seen. Nice beer destination, I think.

What can I say about Draft? First of all it is off Glenwood Ave. really on West Johnson St. They are open at 5pm during the week and at 12 pm on Saturday and Sunday. The menu is mostly burgers, salads, pizza and sandwiches using local products when possible and they do list where the product came from. Also on the menu is a turkey burger and a veggie burger. Draft does have a nice list of beers including local beer. On this visit I had the fish taco and it was so good.
Food B
Staff C
Décor B
Location B
Health Inspection Grade 97.0

I have been here 4 times and this is my place to bring out-​of-​towners. The burger selection is amazing and if you get the waiter that is British (?) you will have a good time.
I would have given it 5 stars if I didn’t have this one time where i was sitting at the bar and had to wait 30mins for the burger and then it was cold and the bar staff was unattentive… But that was one time out of 4.
The place gets quite packed 750pm and beyond, so try to make a reservation.

Oh you delicious giant burger! How am I supposed to resist you? Oh yeah, the price tag! Except for your good old standard burger with regular fixing, all other choices range between $ 13-​$ 15. The sandwiches like panini and French dip and regular club cost a little less, and salads are a few quarters over ten bucks. Although with choices like the Bruschetta and «Mean Mexican,» almost everything on the menu is top choice.
Before I move on further, I just want to clarify, «Japanese Black Wings?» No such thing. Japanese don’t do that, just like we Chinese also don’t do fire drills like you people. So weird.
As with all others in the Rocky Top chain, Draft is proud of the the local selection of beef, bacon, cheese, lettuce, tomato, and anything they put in the menu, beers included.
To me, Draft’s most attractive offering is their taps. Oh my! You can find your usual local brews like Foothills and Big Boss and Fullsteam and Mother Earth and Duck Rabbit, and I am personally excited to call New Belgium a local (NC) brewery! Hooray! Also, pay attention and follow them on social media, and you might find yourself joining me at some of the tasting events, even some with free pint glasses to offer.
Plenty of seats, plenty of television screens, plenty of pool tables and jukebox and DJ music mixes. It’s not hard to find yourself enjoying something here during meal time or happy hour, sports season/​championship/​play-​off or not.

This place is okay, but I can’t give it rave reviews. I’ve seen a couple folks call it «the best burger in Raleigh,» which makes me sad for them! It’s not. Of course, the burgers are fine — average sized, reasonably tasty, and that’s all fine and well. I had a Hurricane Burger (I think that’s the name of it) and it wasn’t bad.
We went during restaurant week a few months ago, so I got to sample some interesting and unique stuff. The zucchini chips were tasty, and the poutine was okay too. Weird stuff, considering the ambiance.
I appreciate their focus on beer (as should everyone!), and they seem to have good drink specials. I may be back, and my opinion may well improve. I was not disappointed by my experience, just not wowed either. I certainly think it’s a fine place to grab a burger and a beer with friends, though, if that’s what you’re after. It seems like a very neutral and group-​friendly meeting spot.

I had my 2^nd trip to Draft a few weeks back and found that it was definitely a place to keep on the frequent dining list. We went on a Saturday night and sat at the bar– there was about a 40 minute wait.
Having recently moved from Northern New Jersey, we were overly enticed by the «all you can drink» beer only for $ 20. We definitely got our money’s worth, but don’t know if I’d go for that deal again unless we were really out to party.
The nachos were amazing — really delicious. The burgers were great too, we were definitely pleased with all the food. The bartenders were attentive — and when they ran out of my beer of choice on tap, they recommended another «close» option, which I always enjoy and it was a good match-​up.
We will definitely be back!

Checked out Draft for the first time a few weeks ago. Wasn’t necessarily blown away, but I’d be willing to visit again for a legit second opinion.
Definitely less than impressed with the appetizer — we got the zucchini chips, which were not at all «crispy». They were so oily that the breading literally was sliding off the zucchini on the plate. Ugh.
I will say that the burgers my BF and I had were fantastic though. Literally the best veggie burger in my life! BF devoured the bruschetta burger like it was the last one of his life. Good stuff.
Great beer selection, however the obnoxiously drunk people sitting behind/​literally on top of us did put a major damper on the dinner experience.
I’d check back with Draft for beers and burgers when football season gets underway.

Best burger I’ve ever had in NC. I hit here with some friends for lunch based on the strong burger reviews and since it had been weeks since my last burger we tried Draft. As soon as we sat down the server told us about how they try to source as much ingredients as possible locally. I always like supporting business who do that. They also had a very high quality beer selection on tap and we were lucky to be there for $ 3 pints on craft brews. I tried the breakfast burger which ended up being much bigger than I anticipated. A beef patty on top of a sausage patty then topped with bacon, ham, lettuce, cheese, and a fried egg. It was epic. I was full after half of it but it was so good I polished it off along with 2 pints of ale. Fantastically gluttonous lunch.
Draft also seems like a great place to watch sports. There are TV’s well placed from almost any seat and many of the booths have their own flat screen on the wall. Mental note for Football season.
I’m already figuring how to bank enough calories with my cardio this week to justify another trip.

A lot of people don’t like Draft, but I can’t figure out why. The beer list is extensive and FULL of local craft brews and the menu is great! The burgers are juicy, full of flavor and come topped with about anything you could ever think of putting on one. I’m also a big fan of their use of local food producers and craft brewers. They have a list of where all of their ingredients come from, down to the pasta and milk — all NC.
This place is good to watch sports (The Caniacs apparently love to go here) and the bar is a giant square, so you probably won’t have a problem finding a spot to sit or grab a drink.
Their hangover tots are good and I favor the Southern Lovin’ and Tar Heel burgers. The Wolfpack is pretty tasty as well. Their Devil Went Down to Georgia cocktail is fun and be sure to share the desserts. You won’t finish a whole one after finishing a meal.

Decided to try Draft via Groupon. Thank goodness for the Groupon. The burgers are decent, if not a bit overpriced. The sides were just «meh». Service was good but it took longer than usual for our food to come out. This was odd given the place was ¼ full. It’s definitely lacking in atmosphere. I could barely have a conversation with my husband due to the massive d-​bag sitting at the bar. Quite literally pounding the bar, tables, anything within arms reach while shouting expletives. Classy.
I could tell he was making other people uncomfortable (including staff) but no one ever told him to chill out. If that’s the kind of people they want to serve, that’s cool. We won’t be back.

Draft was my go-​to sports bar last Thursday when I went to watch UNC beat NC State. I walked in around 8:30 and it was a full house for sure! I walked around until I found a friend of a friend to sit with and watch the game. We drank beer and upon my victory (their loss) we had a couple shots to celebrate. Good job on the lemon drops and kamikazes bar tender. Meanwhile we’d made new friends to talk about our allegiances, favorite beers, and whatnot.
Now I didn’t get to eat anything. I got there kind of late and nothing on the menu screamed «pick me» plus I thought it was a little pricey for a sports bar — cheapest app is $ 7, pizzas from $ 10 to $ 12, salads from $ 10 to $ 11, sandwhiches from $ 10 to $ 13, burgers range from $ 10 to $ 15. Those burgers looked intense and there’s a million cheeses to pick from though! Next time I’ll order something as soon as I get there so I have time to savor it.
This time it was all about the beer and enjoying some brews though. They have at least 48 beers on draft… and a whole charade of specials to benefit from on any night you go. On Monday, all pints $ 3. Tuesday is Rare Beer day, whatever that means but they’ll tap a limited beer for that night. You can get 23 oz. Pilsners for $ 5 every Wednesday. Thursdays you can’t beat $ 6 for 34 oz. mugs. I saw quite a few of those! $ 1 House Taps. I ain’t got no shame in drinkin’ a $ 1 PBR either! On Fridays it’s Bar Tender’s Choice $ 3 pints and everything else behind the bar is supposedly $ 4. On Saturday you can get $ 20 bottomless mugs.
The setup is almost identical to Hi5 and is still owned by Rocky Top Hospitality, but it seems to be a class above Hi5. After the game I hung around with my new friends to play shuffleboard and enjoy the beats from the DJ. There’s a DJ corner up front and Rang the DJ was definitely spinnin’ some good tunes. The TVs were what I needed though and they certainly didn’t disappoint. My only complaint is the priciness and the parking — where to find it?!? Not a seat in the house doesn’t have a view of a TV though and I can see this place servin’ up some gamelovers for a long time. So let’s go team, throw back a few, and cheers because Draft seems to do it well.

We finally made it to Draft last weekend and really enjoyed it. I like the «keep it local» concept, from their selections of NC beers to their food.
Service was excellent in spite of it being a busy Saturday evening. Our server, Taylor, did a great job. She explained the concept of the restaurant and was spot on with here food and beer recommendations.
We started with the Cheesy Poofs; puff pastry stuffed with brie, cashews
& bacon served with a raspberry sauce. Now, how could that possibly be bad! We were off to an excellent start.
My wife and I shared The Really Mean Mexican burger; Ground beef, guacamole,
salsa, chipotle coulis, Ashe Co. habanero cheddar & fried jalapeños. Excellent! It really had a nice bite to it. We shared sides of Mac and Cheese and Onion Rings. Both were excellent. The Mac and Cheese was just creamy enough. I’m not sure the Onion Rings were house made but, were very good anyway.
They were featuring their Mash House beers on Saturday, a 22 oz Pilsner glass for $ 5.00! I tried the Hoppy Hour IPA and enjoyed it.
We don’t get down to Glenwood South much anymore but, Draft might lure us back down there…

First Friday rolled around and Brit stated — «I want a burger.» So I threw out two options. Both good burger options, but one with a bit more to do than the other.
Open Table reservation in hand (not needed but definitely worth my 100 points), we walked in after valeting our car and were greeted by two hostess. A great greeting and off we went to a 2 top high top overlooking the shuffle board.
Draft’s evolution from High 5 (with the dance club) to Hi-​5 without the dance club to now holding down the fort at this address for Rocky Top is doing well. Taking on menu items from all their institutions past and present. Michael Dean’s wings are always a hit, and are offered at their Tribeca locations as well.
Draft’s beer selection is solid — solidly Craft beer. I’m a big craft beer fan so a Terrapin Wake n Bake was on my agenda. Brit had a Torch Pilsner and we were sated for the time being.
Timothy our server was on point, descriptive with the menu and kept our waters and fermented beverages topped off. The manager came by once to check in on us and everything was A-​Ok.
The food we ordered was also well presented and had a lot of good flavor. My one concern I’ve had with restaurants that ask you what temperature you want your burger is nine times out of ten it comes out well done. Why bother asking me, if you’re going to cook it all the way through? This was not the case at Draft, and my medium burger was pink all the way through the center. I ordered the NC Bruschetta burger. For some reason I had thought it was going to come out on ciabatta, but the roll the burger was served on was crusty and moist. The burger was well cooked and seasoned rather well. The brie was creamy and savory, while the heirloom tomatoes were a bit on the smallish side (if heirlooms are available in January), the rest of the additions played well with the theme. I asked Timothy what side to go with and he recommended the twice baked potato. I opted for that, and was very happy that I had. The potato is served in a ramekin sans skin, and was chunky with a crunchy cheesy cap.
For a Saturday evening, the place was staffed well and event with a decent amount of people ordering, the kitchen was putting out good food consistently.
Brit shockingly decided to go with the California salad. Quite a far cry from the burger desire from hours earlier. There wasn’t a lot of Napa cabbage, and being the first thing in the descriptor, I think she believed the salad would be more cabbage than mixed greens, but all in all she was quite satisfied with the salad.
We rounded things out with another couple rounds of drinks, and an order of Japanese Black wings. Salty, crunchy and moist wings are always a hit, and we added a side of fries. Thick cut steak fries, slightly crispy with a starchy center.
As Rocky Top’s direction changes in the local food environment, the places they have kept, and the places they have opened are thematic and all put out good food with good service.
I’m glad we opted for another of their venues for our wedding reception.

Today marked my 3^rd visit to Draft (for food). They seem to be definitely going for the the expensive sports bar, step-​brother of Red-​Robin. $ 15 for a hamburger? Ouch. I ordered the lamb burger (after requesting a more lean burger). It was a bit greasy. Clearly, I should have went with the bison burger. Also, I wasn’t in love with the flavor.
On my first visit I shared a salad… it was enormous. Their portions seem to fit that trend. The food is fresh… nothing too exciting, but good and consistent (better than average sports bar food if that helps). They have amble bar space and plenty of tv’s…
If Tobacco Road is packed and/​or you are starving, go to Draft. Though it’s not the first place I think of, it’s a great little place to grab a bite and watch the game.

Draft, formerly Hi-​5, is basically Tribeca with more beer, but I like Tribeca too, so no complaints here. :)
The service is always friendly, prompt and they know their beer. I was disappointed to find that they had taken the cheesy poofs off the menu last night though. Bring them back, please???
Other items on the menu that I recommend are the Fried Green Tomato BLT and the Spinach and Artichoke dip. I also like their focus on local cuisine. Draft gets a big thumbs up from me!

You know I love the old Hi5 that used to be in this space but sometimes you just gotta let go… Draft is the latest concept from Rocky Top and does gourmet burgers, similar to sister restaurant Tribeca Tavern. The main difference from Tribeca is that Draft has an upscale, urban feel to it. The place is brimming with polished wood, sparkling chrome with a pub-​like feel. Flat panels dot the space giving you all the latest sports but Draft is not really a sports bar per se.
The menu has a bunch of great burger options, I went with the Wolfpack (two patties, pepper-​jack, bacon, onion strings and BBQ sauce). Our started of fried zucchini chips was pretty well done, just a bit greasy and served with cholula sauce. When the food came out, I could see my friend’s jaw drop. And yeah, the burgers at Draft are B-​I-​G, big! My burger was really well-​presented with thick strips of peppered bacon hanging off the sides, melted cheese and more. If you finish one of the monsters here, they’re gonna have to roll you out! My guess is ½ lb. of meat along with generous toppings means you have got a lot of food. And the house-​made chips were pretty good too.
Service was professional and relatively attentive. They definitely put some time into training staff here at Draft. And the crowd here is pretty much professionals from 25 to 50. With burgers starting at $ 12, you’re pretty much going to scare off young un’s used to a $ 5 Cook Out platter. Overall I like Draft more than I thought I would. I had gone to Tribeca Tavern and didn’t think that much of it but that’s because it’s more of a family restaurant. Draft is all upscale burgers and beer which suits me just fine! So see ya later, Hi5! There’s a new sheriff in town…

A sports bar where the emphasis is on great local beer and food. 90% of their menu is sourced locally and there’s over 40 beers from North Carolina on draft. You can make flights from anything on the menu which is a great way to try brews you haven’t had. I definitely recommend for the beer which is hard to imagine for a «sports bar.» If I’m watching a game in Raleigh it will be here.
The food was pretty great. The only criticism was from the cheese puff appetizer which weren’t consistent from puff to puff with the ingredients. What was supposed to be a puff pastry stuffed with brie, cashews & smoked bacon served with raspberry sauce was more like a puff pastry stuffed with brie and a smattering of bacon and cashews. That said, the ones that did were spot on and a fantastic.
The burger menu is the star, featuring 16 specialty burgers (some with bison meat) and a mixture of great local toppings. We had the Southern Lovin’ which was a ground beef patty with fried green tomatoes, goat cheese, bacon & aged balsamic — amazing. We also had the spicy tempura fried NC flounder sandwich which was really great.
They also have pizzas, other sandwiches, lots of appetizers, and entrée salads. Great menu.
I’m not a fan of the décor at all, very chain restauranty, which I can learn to get over. The lights were also too dim to me, I don’t want to sound like an old geezer, but seriously, its a sports bar (although granted upscale.)
Definitely look forward to returning and sampling more of the menu.

Truthfully, Durham serves a lot of good burgers; so I wasn’t sure what to expect after taking a gander at Draft’s menu, which is heavily burgers, couple of salads and pizzas, and then a sandwich selection. We kicked things off with a drink order of beers all around. Loving that Draft is focusing hyper-​local, with beef, cheeses, and beers sourced from NC. I opted to capitalize on the variety with a flight (a selection of 4 beers, not-​including high gravity for $ 6). They came poured to the top in a nice rack that was labeled (in the order I ordered, rather than a palate progression). The special tonight was $ 5 22-​oz pilsners, and so my gal pals jumped in on that.
Two of my friends were good enough to get the ball rolling with shared apps, so I got to nibble on the cheesy poofs — fried balls of brie with a raspberry dipping sauce. Absolute heaven! — as well as the crab dip. Didn’t care for the cheese covered greasy, thin pita points. The dip was okay (I kept thinking I’d had better, crabbier at the Borough recently); though my comrades kept commenting that they really enjoyed the thick cheese topping.
I decided to go with one of the house burger creations — the Tarheel. It pales in creativity in comparison to items like the Breakfast Burger (sausage, beef, ham AND bacon, plus cheese, eggs, and syrup, on a bagel, if i correctly recall). But the brie aboard a patty with red-​wine cooked onions sounded just right. The patties here are thicker than those at Bull City Burger and Abbey Road… it all added up to me not quite being able to finish the whole thing. Cooked medium, it was a juicy, messy, delicious piece of meat.
Our server was awesome and even accommodated my odd request for multiple condiments and ramekins so that I could concoct a science experiment to produce srirachinaise. My biggest complaint would be that the beers and food seemed slower than the norm… particularly considering they weren’t all that busy. Not sure about the black-​light thing they have going on (retained from Hi-​5?). And TVs within the booths is interesting. But shuffleboard adds a nice touch to what I’m sure will make a fun beer stop in future.

This was our first time to the location (we had made an attempt earlier but we greeted with a 5pm opening time and it was only 4pm. What about late afternoon beers??)
We had been to Tribeca Tavern in Cary before (another Rocky Top restaurant) and we truly enjoyed our experience there. The menu had many similarities to Tribeca with the exception of all the incredible North Carolina craft beers on tap! How thrilling.
My boyfriend (while a devout NC beer fan) did go for the Great Divide Hoss Rye Ale (Thursday’s special was $ 6 enormous mug night); it’s a wonderful, crisp beer (Great Divide is a great choice, pun intended). The waitress was really helpful in allowing me a couple of samples before making my final decision on the Mother Earth Dark Cloud. Another excellent choice (Mother Earth has some exceptional beers– still making my way through the list).
And then, of course — food! Not much in life goes better with beer than burgers, so I opted for the Bison burger with brie (from Chapel Hill Creamery) with sweet potato fries. At Tribeca we had ordered the sweet potato fries before, and the fries were waffled (!) and delish. At Draft the waitress wasn’t really sure if they were going to be waffled or something else. Not a huge deal in the grand scheme of things; she did offer to find out (big plus). This was my first time ordering Bison (local meat) so I went with medium-​rare. I will say it was much rarer than I anticipated although the meat was flavorful and juicy. Sweet potato fries were crisp!
My date went with the Southern Livin’ with fried green tomatoes, bacon and goat cheese. He ordered it medium; it did some out much more medium-​well to almost well-​done. Again, we were both happy with what we ordered, BUT if you are going to serve burgers, for any restaurant, it’s important to heed the customer’s request.
The manager Chris was incredibly friendly and ended up chatting with us for quite some time. The venue is dark, as others have noted, but our booth was comfortable. The bar looks great; they have really opened up the space well. We will certainly be back and hope that business continues to grow for Draft! (and maybe some extended hours earlier in the day too!)
I would lean towards a 4.5 rating as 4 just seemed too low. The beer selection is definitely worth a 5!