The Borough

Dang, I’m going to miss this place. Great scene. So very all inclusive. In the time it’s been open, basically every downtown sub-​culture has embraced this place. Strong gay scene. Strong lawyer and politician scene. Folks from my choir go here a lot. It’s been open on all the holidays, so if you can’t stand your family, or they don’t welcome you, The Borough has been there for you. Been to many birthday parties, photography meetups, friends gatherings, pumpkin carving contests, and even a wedding reception here. Best Halloween scene in town. Great food. Wonderful staff who have become friends. They are so busy that they aren’t always warm, but we know they love us! Liz (and Schmitty and Marty and Seth and Hannah and Maranda and the rest of them) are just the tits, and I will miss seeing them. The Borough is where I went first when the tornado hit. In the days after when half of downtown was without power, I came back and brought power cords. People hung out and charged their devices and shared stories. I went a few night ago and pilfered a menu. So many dishes on there I may have to try at my house. Don’t know where we’ll go now. Big hole in the late night scene with this joint closing. :(

I love this spot! This where I first enjoyed Wells Banana Bread beer, and I’ve returned many times to sample their fried green beans, black beard/​red beard veggie burgers, and highly creative cocktails. The owner and bartenders are pleasant and chatty, and the whole atmosphere is fun and upbeat.

The Borough is a great place for large groups to gather for appetizers and drinks. The service is fantastic, always polite and helpful, they never forget items and do well tracking large, fluid groups.
My favorite meal item there is the «Valhalla,» which is a small filet mignon with broccoli and potatoes. It is filling and perfectly portioned and well priced. The «Smattering» is an appetizer plate with yummy hushpuppies that changed my life. There is other good stuff on there but I let my friends eat that so I can have all the pups. My vegetarian bff loves it there too. She gets a tofu sandwich thing.
The drinks are outstanding as well. Very skilled bartenders who work quickly. The «Nice Pear» is my favorite, but you really can’t go wrong. You may want to get a cab! The R line picks up right beside it and cabs are plentiful. Do yourself and your group a favor and start your night out there!

Service was great and the fried green beans were delish, and I’m not really a green bean eater to begin with. Also had the matzo ball soup and that was very good too.

I’ve eaten/​had drinks at The Borough probably more than 200 times. I love this place. The owner Liz is a true gem. One time about two years ago my partner and I brought our puppy Gracie with us for some outdoor seating action — and ever since then, Liz always pauses to ask us how Gracie is doing or ask us why Gracie isn’t with us. All of her customers and she remembers this little detail about us — THAT creates a return customer right there. We will always come here to grab drinks or a quick delicious dinner when the opportunity arises.
This is the kind of place I feel like I would frequent if I lived in NYC. It’s loud and crazy on the weekends, chock full of humans who wanna have a good time. On weeknights, it’s quiet and perfect for a little date night or get together with friends. The drinks are STRONG, just the way I like them! Tip: try the How Do You Q at least once in your lifetime. Just once. Whoa, baby.
They’ve got some awesome vegetarian options and the broccoli and french fries are both delicious side choices. Get their spicy ranch — that stuff is ON POINT (I’m a bit of a sauce snob). I’ve never had a piece of food I didn’t like here and I’ve had a LOT of their food — the black bean salsa is AMAZING. My favorite sandwiches are the Shillalagh, the BLT&A and the pearodactyl.
Most of the servers have been there for years and know us and welcome us as family as we walk in the door. I love going to a place with low turnover because you truly feel like you’re a part of it as much as it’s a part of you. Keep doing your thing, Borough!
Extra KUDOS: Acceptance of any and everyone who walks through that door!

This place is a gem in downtown Raleigh. The staff is warm and automatically makes
you feel welcomed. The patrons of The Borough are an eclectic mix and you will never feel out of place. Their menu includes delicious vegetarian options (try the mock chicken salad!) and I love that you can get fried green beans as a side! They play great music and never make you feel like you need to hurry up, eat and free up your table which I appreciated. I will definitely be back! *Also, there is ample parking around which is a perk!

Fun place with great food and service. The mock chicken salad sandwich was perfect, and homemade peanut butter pie delicious. Not too sweet. Will definitely go back when in Raleigh again.

Breaks my heart to go from a 5star to 2star review (the «signature» drinks are the only saving grace now), but our last experience here was an absolute joke.
Here with 3 other friends Sunday night. Just ordering rounds of drinks until we decide it’s food time. My sister orders first; French dip add mushrooms. Takes over 30minutes for basic sandwich to come out and the shrooms weren’t on it. Server apologizes, admits my bad, brings her a new, correct one within 4minutes. In the time it took her food to come out, the other 3 of us order our food.
The owner, Liz (slender, short, brown curly hair) was helping the server out, asking if anyone needed anything, etc, so we order through her. Ask if I can do one of the mock chicken sandwiches but with real chicken and she hesitates and then suggests a different sandwich w actual chicken, that I didn’t want because it didn’t have cheese or the same sauce. Asking that simple question was apparently a hassle, and I was made to feel like I was inconveniencing them so I picked a quesadilla off the app menu and she suggested the quesadilla that they had as a weekend special, I was just like ok, perfect whatever.
The special was supposed to have onions and peppers in it and came out with neither. Obviously let our server know and he brought out a side of grilled onions and peppers for me, and said that she (I’m assuming the manager/​owner? as she was the only other person around who wasn’t Bartending) wanted me to know the onions and peppers were mixed in w the steak. No. They weren’t. Not at all. There were none in the quesadilla and there certainly weren’t any somehow stuffed into the tiny steak medallions. Whatever. My tab even said «weekend special $ 7.50» soooo…
Considering this was the second thing wrong with our order, and that the food took a ridiculous amount of time to come out when the restaurant was slow, I expected her to acknowledge us more, or at least not throw her server under the bus, and have him be the messenger of BS news. He doesn’t make the food. We had already spent a collective $ 75 on booze, so you’d think they might exercise a little bit more of respect or sincerity towards their customers.
Long story short, the service has never been great, nor the food but for the price, you just take it as it is.
Only drinks here from now on.

One of my favorite spots to unwind. Good food, great drinks and always friendly service!

Strongest drinks in town. Best bar/​restaurant in Raleigh. How do you beat half price apps every weekday!!! Always amazing. Giant portions. Great staff– always amazing. I worship The Borough.

Came on a not so busy Wednesday night. Had a BLT and avocado. Was fairly decent. Service was quick and friendly. Would recommend for Quickstop

Meh. Only reason I gave it two stars was the waitress was fantastic. I would have to be severely inebriated to enjoy any food other than the salad at this place.
I loved the vibe this place had, laid back super chill, waitress treated everyone like a regular (most seemed to be). She was fantastic at her job she was doing the bar service and waiting the tables I was very impressed. This is where my love for this place stops…
The fries were drenched in stale oil and overly salty seasoning. The wonderful waitress was nice enough to replace the fries due to the salt content saying it was too much for many people; this led to a new batch less salt – more stale oil.
Über Wisconsin, not worth the grease soaked bread and substandard cheeses it was made with :(
The food is the same as you would find at a cheap pool-​side snack bar with fancier names.

Unless you are part of the «crowd» here you will not get good service. Apart from a couple of bartenders everyone seems to hate their jobs here .The food is horrendously mediocre and bland .It is just a bar but a little more could be expected from a downtown Raleigh establishment .Ive been here a lot due to friends who go there .I think raleigh could do with a new gay friendly bar that serves food that is less cliquey

This is an ecclectic bar and restaurant downtown which caters to a diverse crowd. Good for a drink and a snack, or a full meal. The menu offers great choices for vegeterians as well as carnivores like me! We had the macaroni and cheese, a piping crock of thick cheese and soft pasta crowned with bacon. A great start. My wife and I both had wonderful meals and will definitely be back.
If you like funky and great food, try the Borough!

The Borough has been in DTR for a long time, I just didn’t get a chance to check it out till recently. This corner pub is putting out some fresh and tasty bar food, heavy veggie menu options, and a nice selection of beers.
For a casual night on the town this is a great pick. There is a small patio out front that is great for people watching in DTR. They had a lot of tasty appetizers on the menu and I was told the hush puppies were a must try. I love hush puppies and besides an occasional Cook Out run I rarely find them on menus around Raleigh. This appetizer came with I believe 6 huge hush puppies, I could barley finish 2 they were so filling. These hush puppies were so worth it though, fried perfectly and served with whipped honey butter. Hush puppies go great with a cold beer. The P (om)BR is what to drink at The Borough, and yup it’s what you think, pomegranate juice and PBR.
After filling up on beer and hush puppies I didn’t have room for one of those delicious looking sandwiches. I decided to order the Dizzy’s salad — fresh greens with pistachios, blue cheese crumbles, pears, and a balsamic vinaigrette. I’m always looking for yummy salads and The Borough will be added to my list. It’s always great to find a neighborhood pub serving up terrific bar food. All your vegan and meat loving friends can all unite together here as well they have plenty of options. I’m hoping on my next trip I can try those fried green beans.

Some friends and I went to The Borough on a Tuesday night a little after 9 pm. It wasn’t very crowded and we got great service. We were there mostly for food and beer, but I’ve heard their other drinks are really good.
I ordered the French dip (I Put My Hand Up On Your Hip) and copied one of my friends who ordered half an order of fried green beans and half an order of fries as her side (the waiter was great and said it was no problem). The French dip was really good — the beef was well seasoned and not overcooked, and the au jus was a nice salty flavor. The fried green beans were awesome, definitely something I’ll be getting again, and the fries were good. Everyone really enjoyed what they ordered (Shillelagh, BLT and A, Pearodactyl) and we were very happy with the quality and quantity of food we got for the price.
My husband and I paid $ 22 for two beers and two dinners, which is great in downtown Raleigh. The staff was very friendly and the space is nice and open — we biked there and were able to lock up right outside, and got a table next to a window to keep an eye on the bikes. This was one of those places where, after going, we wonder why it took so long for us to go. We’ll definitely be returning soon!

After getting dinner at Fiction Kitchen (seemingly satisfied)…I got hungry by 10PM.
I was fortunate that the Borough was among the handful of places that opened later into the night (I was at Flying Saucer last night) to stuff my piggy stomach.
I had the Brute Squad ($ 8.50), which was basically a burger with mushrooms, fried onions, lettuce, tomato, and a sweet mustard aioli-​type sauce. The burger was quite good as the patty was seasoned well. The only complaint I have would be that the bun should’ve been toasted a bit more. The fries were lightly seasoned with parmesan and garlic (I think?), and would’ve benefited from a bit more of both.
So I should’ve been done, right? NOOOOO…
I also ended up getting the UberWisconsin ($ 7), which was a glorified grilled cheese sandwich with sourdough bread, alongside fried green beans.
A Brooklyn Lager rounded out a solidly square meal in the best way.
With a laid-​back atmosphere to have conversation with friends (versus the crazy atmosphere at Flying Saucer), I would frequent this place more often if I lived in the area.

After having mixed reviews about The Borough, I decided to go back a few times… and I’ve been pleased with the results :) The owner, Liz, has really turned it around since I provided her with the feedback from the year prior. When we walk in, we’re immediately recognized and provided with pretty good service. Their food is always consistently good, and the service is getting better each time. I’m looking forward to going back again soon :)

I like this venue! I came with my friend and we sat outside on a comfortable late summer evening. Beer is super cheap. I had the PBR mixed with pomegranate juice. Surprisingly tasty and refreshing.
I wasn’t hungry, but my friend had the mac and cheese with jalapenos. I tried a bite and the jalapenos were slightly overpowering.
I like the crowd, the location and the atmosphere. The Borough caters to a gay clientele, and the venue it is very friendly and comfortable. The outdoor seating right on the corner was great for people watching.
I will return. And I would again drink that unique PBR concoction… I would just leave the jalapenos out of the mac & cheese.

The Borough looks like just a cool corner bar BUT it also has some really great food. And we’re not just talking good bar food here, there are some really yummy vegetarian and healthy dishes on the menu (along with an amazing bacon mac ‘n cheese)!
They make some great drinks too! Here’s a tip; keep in mind that they’re not out to skimp on the alcohol so avoid cheaper labels or you’ll taste the difference.
Overall they’ve got a great atmosphere, friendly staff and good prices, everything you could ask for on a good night out.