NOFO @ the Pig

Decided to go to NOFO for Raleigh restaurant week. This special event had a 3 course menu for only 20 dollars. I had the fried green tomatoes, the prime rib with loaded baked potato, and a slice of cheesecake. I’ve never had the appetizer before, but since it’s a southern favorite, I decided to try it. It was yummy. My prime rib was delicious and cooked exactly as I ordered it. The baked potato was surprisingly awesome; they give you horseradish sour cream. It adds an awesome flavor. Lastly, the cheesecake. The waitress said it’s made with goat cheese. It was literally the best tasting cheesecake I have ever had and I have to say, I have had a lot of different types of cheesecake in my lifetime.

Somehow I’ve never been here before.
Neither has my friend Jen.
Enter lunch.
I have heard mixed reviews, but I really enjoyed my experience here. And it was super cheap. I got the grilled pimento cheese. She got the bacon/​avacado BLT. We split each in half and shared. Service was good. Ambiance was ok. Food was yummy. Bill was like $ 12 each with the 20% tip. Very reasonable.
I never realized there was a gift shop upstairs (I always drive by on the other side, where the restaurant is.) We wandered around a little, but everything was fairly overpriced, unlike the restaurant.
Decent spot. Now I can finally say I’ve tried it.

I love this place! New twists on traditional southern fare & shopping upstairs — what could be better?! I’m never disappointed with my food picks here, the drink options are good, the prices are reasonable for such quality and service is well done!
Last night my husband ordered some drink that had a beer, peach schnapps & fresh squeezed oj! Really good! We got for appetizers: the baked pimento cheese dip which was very nice & beautifully presented & an order of fried oysters that were delicious! My husband’s salmon was Awesome! My daughter wasn’t thrilled with her shrimp & grits though… said she’d had better. I went with my tried & true spinach burger… they are always devine.

The menu is tasty and consistent, using fresh local ingredients. We’ve even coined the term «Meatloaf Thursday» because of their Thursday blue plate special. Matt, in particular, is an awesome waiter/​bartender whom we look forward to seeing. Two stars are given for the rude and sullen little 17-​year-​old sour-​attitude blonde dread-​lock twit who works to seat patrons. Back up to 5 stars once she’s gone.

Driven past this place for years but finally stopped in. Had their takes on the eggs benedict classic, which they called the Coastal Benedict and Fried Green Tomato Benedict. Both were tasty — I’d give the edge to the Coastal. I also had their award-​winning Bloody Mary which I enjoyed almost as much as my own (mine are outstanding). Very inventive menu overall.

Haven’t been to The Pig in a long time (maybe as many as 8 years ago). I took my Mom for lunch today. We arrived right at 11:30. We were promptly seated. The wait staff was very attentive. The menu still had favorites and a few new choices. I had an excellent Avocado BLT sandwich. Mom had the chicken salad sandwich. Both delicious. We enjoyed browsing in the gift shop afterward. A nice collection of treasures, perfect place to find a lovely hostess gift for the upcoming holidays.

I came here for my birthday with my family. Overall we had a great time. Very cute atmosphere and all of our food was very good. Unfortunately, the cocktails we ordered were nothing special. Our server was very nice and the hostess was flexible with us when my parents were running late.

This place used to take my brunch money every week. Because the menu doesn’t really change I got burned out on my coastal Benedict, but it really preoccupied my thoughts for at least six months. «when will the weekend be here? How long will the wait be? Can I time it right at 12 on Sunday to get a mimosa too?» Yeah I had it bad. The place is really at the point where they should start taking reservations simply because of the length of wait on weekends. If you’re prepared for a possible wait the upstairs gift shop is littered with free coffee and food samples to bide your time. Good luck getting bored up there. It’s a veritable Wonderland.

Came here for brunch while the in-​laws were in town. The food was tasty and the service was good, but we had to wait a bit longer than we were originally told — which was disappointing. I have had better brunch, but would be willing to try it again

My favorite brunch place in Raleigh that I’ve found so far! The pulled pork hash and shrimp & grits are both amazing! So, even tho I want to try everything else on their menu I don’t because I always get the pulled pork hash. There’s always a line but it’s worth the wait. I can just wander the upstairs area looking at all the random stuff for sale while I wait. Bummer about how they don’t serve drinks until 12 but I guess that’s everywhere around here.

Lunch special of pan fried trout over a grits cake for $ 7.95? Delicious? Yes and yes. Just an overall pleasant lunch experience with a waitperson as sweet as Carolina iced tea.

Went to NOFO for restaurant week. Hostess couldn’t find our reservation and had an attitude. My party ordered from the appetizer/​entrée/​dessert special menu. I got the beet and kale salad, prime rib with baked potato, and key lime dessert. The beet salad was lovely! Prime rib was a little fatty and chewy but the loaded potato was huge. Dessert seemed like an afterthought, not horrible… Satisfactory. Didn’t get a chance to go to the store as it closed before we finished eating. Overall the meal was enjoyable but a potato and beets is not a dinner. Oh and the atmosphere, how could I possibly forget? The kitsch overwhelmed the restaurant… I get it, they converted it from a Piggly Wiggly supermarket… Can we focus on the food a little more and the décor a little less please?

This was our first time here. Came in and loved the homey yet modern feel. Our server was great. Friendly and knowledgeable. We started with Caesar salads with obviously homemade dressing. Delicious. My wife had the Trout and I had Shrimp and Grits. Both dishes were hot, fresh, and absolutely delicious.
Bottom line here is FRESH FRESH FRESH and made with great skill and care.
If you have to crawl to get here your effort will be rewarded.

First restaurant during my visit to Raleigh in January 2015. It just so happened to be the Triangle (area) Restaurant Week. I love a good restaurant week! However, it seems like the people of Raleigh aren’t as into it as us Austinites. A three course meal for $ 20 in Raleigh at a nice restaurant… don’t know what is not to love!
The interior of NOFO is pretty cool, very bright, and open. It used to be a piggly wiggly grocery store and there are pictures of the old store around the restaurant as well as a big mural when you enter/​exit the correct door. There is also a marketplace upstairs but it was closed when we arrived for dinner.
We arrived (via the wrong entrance oops) at Nofu and it wasn’t too packed. We did have a reservation which was nice and they had a table saved for us. It did take awhile for the hostess to arrive as she had stepped away. The other employees did not know where our table was going to be etc.
After getting seated it took awhile for someone to come over and take our drink order. They had $ 5 wine specials so of course I had a glass of wine.
My course selections:
1^st course: fried green tomatoes which were delicious! I
2^nd course: blue plate special of the night which was Meatloaf with mushroom gravy, mashed potatoes and green beans. Wow this was a lot of food… it was good but I ate half of it which was kind of a waste as I didn’t take it with me.
Dessert: Cranberry Pound Cake. I am not sure why I ordered this but I think I wanted something different from what my friend ordered which was something with chocolate. In hindsight I should have went with the chocolate. This wasn’t that great. Luckily I was full and couldn’t eat much more anyway.

Great food. I had the pimento grilled cheese sandwich, which was delicious. The shopping area is kitchy but fun. The chocolates in the display case are absolutely divine. Minus one star for very slow service during a very slow time.

I’ve been living on the same street as NOFO for over two years now, and figure it’s about time to write a review. This is one of my favorite brunch stops in Raleigh, and I’ve taken to going almost every weekend.
There are really two things to review with this place; the restaurant section (best for brunch) and the boutique shop upstairs. The brunch menu changes seasonally, but my favorites are available year-​round. The french toast and the NOFO Ranchero are my favorite go-​to brunch options, but I’ve enjoyed pretty much everything else as well. The Denver NC Omelette is also great when available. The breakfast sausage is really good here, so I would recommend trying that as your side. On the less awesome side — the coffee tends to be kind of sour, and I usually add a lot of cream and sugar if I order it.
The shop is located upstairs, and they sell a wide range of boutique goods, hand-​crafted foods, and candies. This section reminds me of Parker & Otis for the Durhamites. Most of the stuff tends to be on the pricey side, but hey, this is a shop in the middle of Five Points. Personally, I tend to stalk this section for the fancy foods and candies, but I love looking around at the other stuff while I’m waiting for a table as well. The store is also very seasonal, and sometimes you can get a great discount on seasonal candy after the holiday passes.
I’m definitely a brunch person, and there are few places I enjoy as much as going to NOFO. I’m not as crazy about their dinner menu and the shop upstairs usually closes before dinner time, so I tend to think of NOFO more as a brunch place.
Tips: They have a parking lot accessible from Fairview, but there aren’t that many spaces. I usually forget about the lot and park along either Fairview or Glenn Avenue. Skip the coffee and go for fresh-​squeezed OJ. If you’re fiending for caffeine, grab a latte from Third Place after brunch.

Moldy disintegrating salad greens and no surprise to the staff, that’s just the way they are apparently. Gross.
Update, the side of fruit I ordered had a hair on it (drop mic, I’m out)

We met another couple here for dinner on a Saturday night. The place was busy but we did not have to wait for a table at 6:30. The table we were seated at forced three of the four people to be directly looking into the sun. We were asked to be moved and the hostess gladly moved us to another table that had just left.
The server was very knowledgeable and friendly. She gave prompt service, we never had to ask for another drink or anything with our meal. The Shrimp and grits were amazing! Both my husband and I ordered them and both had delicious leftovers the next day… this was our favorite shrimp and grits in the area.
I should also mention that the burgers, brunch items, and appetizers have all been delicious that we have ordered on other occasions.
…Since our first visit we have been other times and learned that brunch is a very busy time. I wish that they would change the location of their hostess station because it’s awkward walking into the middle of the restaurant, walking in front of servers trying to take drinks/​food/​etc to seated tables all while trying to give the host your name and how many are in your party.
NOFO does everything pretty solid, the service and food are both on par.
I just wish it was larger to accommodate the crowd it has drawn.

We went to NOFO for brunch on Sunday and it did not disappoint. The atmosphere is casual, so it’s a great place to go if you don’t really want any frills on a potentially hungover morning. We sat at the bar and ordered the special (biscuits and gravy), a side of bacon, and shrimp and grits.
I love that living in Raleigh shrimp and grits are on almost every brunch menu — and these were outstanding — my favorite so far! The bacon had a good smoke flavor, the shrimp were plump, and the mushrooms and spices really added to the dish. The biscuits were soft and warm and really delicious.
I would definitely recommend NOFO for brunch — but get there early! We got there 20 minutes after they opened and there was already a long wait.

It is restaurant week so my friend and I went for their three course price fix meal for $ 20. What w wonderful meal we had. We started with fried green tomatoes and crab Rangoon. Both were large portions and so flavorful. Then my friend had salmon and I had the sushi grade tuna. Wow was all I could say. My dish had Laura written all over it. It had an Asian sauce, wok veggies and a fried rice that was just heavenly. My friend enjoyed her salmon too. Dessert was also the bomb. We both had chocolate tart with chocolate ice cream. It had salted nuts and it tasted wonderful. In addition to wonderful food we also had a super server. I forgot her name, but the girl with the asymmetrical hair cut, you rock as a server.