Well my first impression was awful. Â It was slow... But you think your still worth the business. Â Either way don't go late on a Sunday. Â They are mostly ready to leave. Â I'm pretty sad cuz u was really looking forward to there drinks. Â But hey who wants to hold people up when they are reminding you that they are closing soon even though it says they close at 11 and it was only ten.
Review Source:I had been interested in going to G2B Gastropub and Beerhouse for a while now and after seeing IM3 at a nearby movie theatre, I suggested to my friend that we stop by and check it out since it was close. They are located in an office building off of Shannon Road in South West Durham, and you wouldn't know the restaurant existed if you weren't already familiar with the area. Â This mid-June evening was beautiful and not too hot, so we sat out on the porch. The hostess seated us and pointed out the cheese and meets sampler as being their specialty. We were then given a tablet (It's not an iPad as other reviews mention, just something similar) to peruse their extensive beer and wine list.
The waitress was kind enough to bring several samples of their lighter beers, as I could not make up my mind from their list. After looking over the menu I decided on the fried oyster small plate and the sweet potato wedges. We were brought out fresh bread with olive oil to dip and this was a great starting point. I love fresh bread and when combined with the olive oil is a great way to start a meal in my opinion! The oysters were fried perfectly, with not too much breading, but enough to provide a nice spicy flavor. The sauce on top was not too heavy either, and tied everything together nicely with the bed of pickles and small salad underneath. Â The sweet potato wedges were very delicious also and a step above sweet potato fries in my opinion. My friend ordered the 3 for $12 sampler of the bread, cheese and cuts of deli meats, and it looked good, but the portions were quite small, so probably more of a starter than an actual meal.
The service at G2B Gastropub, was very prompt and friendly. Although we were sitting outside, I kept glancing through the glass to watch the changing light around the hostess area and bar. The décor is very avant- garde! (And probably something you are more likely to see in uptown Charlotte than Durham.) I like the fact that they are a little different than the norm, though. Business was steady, but not crowded on a Sat, night. I think because of their location they are still sort of unknown to most of the Triangle (but not to Yelpers with 80 reviews to date). If you haven't been to G2B, I would recommend heading over to S.W Durham to give them a try!
The best part of our meal was our waiter, he was this very friendly blonde haired guy. He was very knowledgeable and super friendly!
I really wanted to like this place and had been looking forward to trying it for date night but I was not impressed. The ambiance is very nice but the food overall was not good. My husband ordered the G2B Burger and  bacon mac and cheese. He told me he felt like the burger was "trying too hard to be different" The mac and cheese tasted like boxed velveeta shells and cheese. I think they forgot the bacon because it had no bacon flavor at all.
I got the Grilled Romaine which was pretty good and I would consider eating it again. I also got the Grilled Octopus. OMG this made me gag. Thinking of it sends a shiver down my spine! Now, I am used to eating octopus but this had a horrendous flavor and texture.
Great staff but barely mediocre food, it's a shame because it has such a cool ambiance. I am only giving two stars due to the waiter. The waiter gets 5 stars and the food gets 1 star.
We were underwhelmed with our experience here. A friend from Canada came into town, and we thought this would be up his alley. He is a vegetarian, and there were many options to suit his taste.
My boyfriend wanted the charcuterie plate, which came highly recommended by our server. This surprised me a bit, since the BF normally doesn't like to make decisions, and there were at least a dozen options to choose from. Upon learning this, he asked our server for his favorite suggestions, and the guy seemed utterly paralyzed. Needless to say, we skipped the charcuterie.
The octopus small plate we ordered at the suggestion of the diner next to us (yes, the tables in our section were that close) was the best-prepared octopus I'd ever tried...but I've never really been impressed with octopus. The Canadian visitor said his Wild Mushroom Risotto was the best he's ever had. My mouth watered at the server's description of this enormous $35 1-pound burger specialty they offered. I was excited to find a smaller version in the G2B burger -- containing gruyere, arugula, pickled red onion, shaved foie gras and garlic aioli, which I paired with sweet potato wedges. It was good, but nothing special. With those premium components, I was expecting an explosion of layered tastes in my mouth, but somehow, there was no synergy between ingredients making the whole any greater than the individual parts.
I was impressed with their beer selection. They didn't have anything that I couldn't otherwise obtain from Sam's Quik Shop, but it was definitely better than your average restaurant. My BF ordered a $20 option from the Beer Reserve list, and later ordered another selection right before our main course was served. The "beer sommelier" (?) personally came over and upsold him on another option. He said that it was "specially aged", and he needed to put it on ice for a few moments. Our server came back maybe 8ish minutes later to tell us that they were putting it on "new ice". Not sure what that means, but it ended up that he didn't receive the 22oz bottle of beer until all of our plates had been wiped clean. Not really the timing we were looking for. It then took literally 3 waves for us to finally catch the eye of our server to get the bill after we'd been sitting with empty glasses for about ten minutes. No wonder you can't walk into this place without a reservation on a Saturday night--there is no expediency in service whatsoever!
Mediocre service at a premium price. ~$60 worth of beer for three people over dinner (a total of 3 glasses and 2 premium bottles) that we were quite pleased with, and food that was good, but did not overly impress. I will say the padded leather dining chairs are among the most comfortable I've experienced. They had an attached "jazz lounge" area that I would come back to, but I won't be ordering dinner here again.
And as a suggestion to the restaurant--you really need to change your water filter. Take a slow sip of the water, and you can definitely pick up hints of must/mold.
The bartender short pours my glass of wine and the manager said he'd be happy to measure it since they pour 5 oz. ha! Never had a manger speak to me this way. Â Wow.....measure for me! Â I sent it back saying I was not going to pay $10/ glass for a very obvious short pour. Â Wish I was a more savvy yelper, I would have taken a pic and shared. Funny how he returns back with an ounce or so...guess he measured:)
Food was okay and service was fine however I'd never go back due to sheer disrespect of the manager....really, measure???
So, no matter what they've called the restaurant that occupies this space - and there have been many - the decor has always been upscale and sophisticated. Â That said, the food was just ok. Â The menu looks fantastic, but the execution wasn't quite spot-on considering the price tag. Â We started our lunch with a Scotch Egg, which was seasoned well, but the sausage was a little too pink and mushy (i.e. undercooked) for my tastes. Â
We asked our server if we could do a plate of fried oysters with a side instead of the oyster po-boy, and while they accommodated the request, it was only after a visit to someone in the back. Â I also wanted the Arugula Salad instead of the fries and cucumber salad that came with the po-boy, but that request couldn't be accommodated and I had to get the salad as an extra item. Â Usually at this price point you'd expect a little more accommodation without a lot of fuss, but there you have it.
The Arugula Salad was lovely! With dried cherries and toasted cashews, it was the highlight of my meal!  The fried oysters  were very salty, but then I don't usually like a lot of salt in my breading. Â
Their wine list was short, but thoughtful, and I really enjoyed both the house Sauvignon Blanc and house Pinot Grigio. Â
The service was a little slow for lunch service, or maybe just laid back, but it made for a long lunch - we were there for over and hour and that was without dessert.
I think this would be great for drinks after work and the small plate options would definitely support that.
Tried this place for lunch yesterday. Â The Scotch Egg is great! Â Had oysters with garlic fries as an entree, which was not on the menu, but the chef took the oysters from the po' boy and served them as an entree. Â The oysters were spicy but a little too salty. Â The garlic fries were very good. Â The beer selection was okay, but I was disappointed with the selection of local micro brews. Â My business partner had the same entree as I, but with a salad which was excellent. Â She was not pleased with the selection of white wine, though.
Review Source:I stay a few blocks from G2B and I always mean to stop by and check it out. I like trying out new restaurants and food in my area. So I took my lady friend out on a date here about a month ago. It was great. We both had the special which was the 12 oz flank steak served with a red wine or horseradish sauce, fried bacon Mac and Cheese, Kale and Garlic fries. The Bacon Mac and Cheese was THE BEST ever. It was fried and prepared like a grilled cheese sandwich but grilled cheese it was not. The kale often used in most restaurants as garnish was cooked perfectly tender and seasoned just right. I had the horseradish sauce which was a great compliment to the medium rare steak I had and my date chose the red wine on a well done steak (not a fan of the well done. I need PINK in my meat. Lol).
Our server Kevin I can't remember his name but he was great. Whether that's his name or not tell him Brandon sent you. The overall vibe and feel of G2B was great it feels like you need to get overly dressed to dine but once you go in you will see business casual is a lil over dressed unless your on a date. Saturday was a good night to dine there. Haven't been back since but I will be making plans to go back sometime this month.
Please stop by and enjoy this restaurant it's become one of my favorites in just a one visit you will enjoy. I PROMISE.
This was a much fancier place than I was expecting - I clearly hadn't done enough research on yelp! This is a gastropub in the truest sense. They take their food very seriously. After I realized that I wasn't in a super casual pub, though, I started to appreciate the very modern look and fun kindle fires (I think that's what they are) they give you to browse the menu. I had a couple of tapas for dinner and a pizza, and I would say they were "just ok." The pizza was actually very very salty, which was a bit distracting from the excellent ingredients that they put on. The server was very nice and knowledgeable, though I did feel some pressure to order a lot, as if there was an expectation to spend a lot of money. Overall, it was pretty pricey and I wasn't blown away by the food, so I doubt I'll be headed back very soon.
Review Source:Ok, this place is a little odd... it just seems that they are trying too hard to be something they are not. Â It's like they can't decide on what kind of look they are going for. Retro? Modern? Pub-style? I was just way confused. Â The food wasn't bad but it wasn't anything to rave over... I can't ever remember what i ordered. Obviously it didn't make much of an impression. The menu is very limited. Â The only reason i would go back is for the beer.
Review Source:Not too shabby.
BF and I went on a whim on a quiet Saturday night. We arrived at around 8 and it was nearly empty. Â After the Duke game ended down the road the place started to get full. Â BF stuck to beer, but I wasn't in the mood. I had a "New Manhattan" (basically a Manhattan but more citrusy) and a glass of a Cab blend. Â The cocktail was very sweet, moderately strong. Â One thing I like about normal Manhattans is that you can order them perfect or dry. Â This tasted something like a melted popsicle, but the quality of the ingredients was good.
We split several small plates- the charcuterie, stuffed calamari, Scotch egg, and cannelloni. Â The latter three were really delicious. Â The charcuterie was okay...we got a sharp Spanish cheese, soppressata, and a lamb pate for $12. Â The pate was very bland, and the soppressata wasn't anything special. Â The cheese was okay, but not great. Â I can't say it was worth what it cost, but it wasn't abysmal or anything.
The main reason I docked 2 stars was the service. It just really wasn't all that spectacular. Â As I mentioned before, when we got there it was nearly empty. Â Even so, they put us at a four-top set for two directly beside the bar and near a waiter station. Â Secondly, though our waiter got to us promptly the first few times, throughout the night his presence became more and more sparse. Â As the place filled up, we were attended to more by bartenders and whomever else happened to be nearby. This wasn't such a big deal, except at the end of the night the waiter brought us the check. Â BF and I split the cost down the middle (even though BF offered to pay, for the record). Â When the waiter brought us our receipts, only BF's was there. Â Mine was nowhere to be found. Â The only thing in my envelope was the itemized piece. Â This created a lot of confusion until the bartender (who couldn't find our waiter) just brought me a weird piece of paper to sign. Â
Oh, the other service issue... BF was driving, so he knew he'd only have one beer. Â I, on the other hand, wasn't driving, so was planning to try a cocktail and then have a glass of wine with my meal. Â As other reviewers mentioned, the drink list is on a tablet. Â I asked if we could hold on to ours, because I knew I'd be ordering another drink. Â Five minutes later, the waiter came by and grabbed it off our table and carried it back behind the bar. Â I'd understand if he had needed it for another table, but come on, bro. I literally JUST asked to keep it for a bit. Â Our first two dishes were brought out really quickly, so I wasn't nearly done with my cocktail yet. Â Then, there was a huge gap between courses. Â I finished my cocktail, and a back server brought out our food. Â FINALLY, the bartender came, and I had to try to remember the glass of wine I wanted. Â After some description, he knew what I meant. Â It was okay wine- kind of watery and flat. Â I usually order pinot by the glass but they only had one pinot selection- Argyle, which I hate (4 or 5 red by the glass choices total).
I'd go back if someone said, "Hey, we're going to G2B, want to come?" but I doubt I'd make it a destination for myself.
Excellent food and service. After we moved away from a noisy kitchen, the atmosphere was great too.
Update: Â this time (some months later) the experience was disappointing. Narrow menu selections, food just so, so, slow service and appalling wine by the glass choices. Manager had a snooty attitude when I sent the first glass of wine back because it was probably a corked bottle and if not the wine was either just dreadful or the bottle had been open for too long.
Probably the most interesting Durham restaurant I've been to so far, in terms of ambiance and appearance. Definitely has the appearance of hip/trendy restaurant for foodies, from the glowing neon lights in the dimly lit interior to the counters where you can see chefs prepare your food.
My bf and I decided to order the two different 3-course meals that G2B was offering for Triangle Restaurant Week.
1st Course:
1) Trout mousseline - Pretty yuck, definitely my least favorite dish of the night. Extremely fishy flavor infused with cream cheese consistency. I appreciate their willingness to experiment, but this was a very, very strange combination.
2) Onion soup w/ root vegetable fries - fries were delicious, soup was pretty good
3) Sauteed kale - Excellent seasoning and sauce, a bit on the saltier side but still very tasty!
2nd Course:
1) Salmon filet - Yummy, but nothing to write home about
2) Beer braised oxtail w/ butternut squash - Well-marinated and succulent! The sauce that it was cooked in was excellent, and the brussel sprouts that accompanied it were delicious as well.
3rd Course:
1) Chocolate-peanut butter mousse bombe w/ rosemary ice cream & 2) Passion fruit  tart w/ coconut lime sorbet - both not bad, but probably wouldn't have ordered them if we didn't go w/ the TRW menus.
Overall the tastiness of the food was mixed, depending on what we ordered. Definitely a cool place to impress a date or friend with the atmosphere + Â creative dishes. IMO better than other higher-end Durham restaurants such as Piedmont, Revolution, and Nana's. For these reasons, I'd definitely put it in the 3-4 stars range!
See, here's where Yelp! is your friend. Had no idea this place was even here, tucked in the back of an office park, until I came across it by way of another Yelpster. And I've even been to Doolin's Pub, in the same office park, a few times!
Place was pretty busy for such a hidden location on a Sunday night. It's got a neat modern feel with several different kinds of seating. We chose the bar, which has four good-size TVs. I also liked the board reminiscent of an airline schedule displaying the menu over the semi-open kitchen.
The beer list is awesomely well-chosen, and the draught beers have long and detailed descriptions. Plus it comes on a Kindle device. I had the Goose Island IPA, which I would definitely recommend. The menu is divided into small and large plates and has huge variety and a great range of ingredients. (We've all been to those local places where it feels like they're recycling the same ingredients in five or six different dishes.) I had the mixed lettuces with red-wine poached pears, then the lamb burger. Both were quite tasty, though I will say that I wish the bleu cheese on the salad had had a little more bite. The only other problem I had with the place was that the bar didn't have enough overhang and the bottom railing stuck too far out. The result was that you can't slide your stool close enough and you have to hunch forward to eat. Otherwise, I thought this place was very cool and I will be going back to work my way through more of the menu.
Came here for Triangle Restaurant week-- $20 for three delicious-sounding courses finally prevailed against the inertia of my being too lazy to drive around to the back of the office building where G2B is located to find the restaurant. (Keep driving until you see the storefront windows).
The place is quite large, essentially one big rectangular room with color-changing lights, an open kitchen, and somewhat inexplicably, a Mario Kart setup. I made a note of the several TVs over the long bar since there seem to be a dearth of places serving decent food where you can watch sporting events.
The drink list comes on a tablet computer, which is neither particularly irritating or cool in my book. They have a nice selection of beers on tap, including ones outside the usual suspects of local breweries and stella--lots of beers I wanted to try, as well as a flight of beer pairings for the prix fixe TRW dinner.
Starters:
Trout mousseline: I kept calling this "trout waffle", as it came with a waffle. Mild and creamy, a little too sweet for my taste. Interesting and different, not fabulous but not bad.
Lamb terrine: $4 supplement, terrine wasn't particularly lamby but not bad either.
Entree:
Braised Oxtail: Came with sweet potato (?) agnolotti, was pulled off the bone, tender, and delicious. We both added hanger steak, which despite our comment of "Extra steak for only $4?! How could you go wrong?!" was probably unnecessary as it resulted in us both being excessively full. Steak was fine, didn't really get integrated into the dish, but hey--steak! $4!
Dessert:
Chocolate peanut butter mousse bomb - delicious! Sweet, not too peanut buttery, and light. For being a bomb.
Passion fruit cream tart - delicious! Even the little granola crunch thing! Also light, and the passion fruit-y-ness was just right--fresh and bright without being too tart.
Definitely want to come back to take advantage of the beer list, and to ask about the "Afoiecalypse" Burger. With a name like that...I've got to have it. I think.
One star off for seating us right between the only two occupied tables in the entire empty dining room, and for the amount of time I spent waiting and periscoping my head around hopefully before someone finally came and took our drink order (again, in a nearly empty dining room at that point)
Pros: Interesting, tasty food and drink, trendy decor (lots of neon lights and smooth surfaces happening in here), and a Wii! I had their restaurant week menu, but a member of my party got the burger, which comes with a dollop of foie gras and big, hearty slices of sweet potato fries.
Cons: Pretty much the worst possible service, ever. A three-course meal took over THREE HOURS. Excessively long periods of boredom between courses. Indifferent server who casually meandered around, was impossible to find, and never refilled waters. Everyone was so frustrated by the service by the end of the meal that we forgot how good the food was. Maybe it's because we were having the restaurant week menu and not the full price one, but even so--that's no way to treat your patrons. Now we won't be going back for a regular meal.
I had a gift certificate to this place which I let sit in my purse for over a year before I finally decided to check it out with YCC (Y chromosome carrier). Â I dillied and dallied because of the goofy name, the weird hippie-ish logo, and the fact that I'm not generally a fan of pubs for food. Â I figured it would be an overly trendy place with overly complicated food and overpriced beer which would annoy me. Â Thankfully I was completely mistaken.
When YCC and I entered, we were seated near a dimly lit area with periodically-color-changing-lights. Â Immediately I was annoyed by the trendy decor, which seemed to emulate a futuristic spaceship--it actually somewhat resembled Ten Forward, the lounge on the Enterprise in The Next Generation. Â I expected Whoopi Goldberg in a giant hat to come take our orders, but our server turned out to be a charming and attentive Argentinian guy. Â He handed us iPads (ugh) to look at the drink menus. Â Neither of us was particularly iPad-savvy so it took us a few minutes to figure it out, but eventually we were able to access the drink menu. Â As you might expect of a "gastropub" they had an extensive, wide-ranging beer menu with long descriptions of the individual beers, and our server even let us have samples before committing to a full glass. Â I don't recall which beers we chose, but they were delicious, and immediately put us in a happy mood.
As for the food, YCC went with the hanger steak which he adored, and I went with the lambtastic duo. We also shared sweet potato wedges, which were fantastic. Â Now, I had only started to eat lamb recently, because as a child, I decided that since I was born in the year of the Sheep (Chinese zodiac), I would not eat lamb, because that would be cannibalism. Â I also hated the idea of eating cute little baby animals. Â When I grew up I continued to refuse lamb out of habit. Â However, I have recently wavered on this dietary restriction, and after reading such positive things about G2B's lamb in yelp reviews, I decided to be bad and order it. Â Oh, was it good--perfectly cooked, and accompanied by excellent sides of kale/quinoa/bacon. Â It was so delicious that I couldn't even speak, because all I could focus on was the explosions of happy flavors in my mouth and experiencing them as fully and deeply as possible. Â I cleaned my plate in record time.
We shared a beautiful dessert of toasted almond financier, tangerine creme brulee, and thyme ice cream, which was the perfect ending to the meal--creative, creamy, refreshing, and not too sweet. Â While I still find G2B's decor goofy, and the food overly pricey, I can honestly say that this was one of the best meals I've ever had in Durham. Â And I am now a baby animal eater, so watch out for your baby animals if you see me coming.
G2B is a surprising gem in a really random location. The best part about it is the FOOD (pay attention, Foodies). Wow! Mostly small plates- really gourmet innovative, modern concoctions mixing interesting flavors. For example, bone marrow, mushroom risotto with soy beans and toasted leeks (yum!), and shrimp and lobster canneloni. Each dish was uniquely delicious.
As a night scene, the place is still oversized and sometimes kinda empty, but I'm confident that the quality of the food will start attracting more people. G2B is also a pub (of course) and has a little more intimate smaller room with a stage for live music on some nights. It is in the back of a small office building in suburban Durham, so not too exciting location. The ambiance is very modern, kinda playful, and I think would be a great place to hold a large party.
So far the 3 times I have been there, the service was excellent, so not sure what happened to some of the others reviewing on yelp.
Anyways, I look forward to watching this place get discovered (already seeing more and more customers every time I go there). Check it out!
Something else I'd like to say is that G2B surpasses any other restaurant / store I've ever dealt with in terms of using its mailing list in a positive way. Â If you sign up, they will let you know about their (INCREDIBLE) beer dinners, jazz, et al ahead of time, which is wonderful because it really seems like they always have something exciting coming... not just events to pack a calendar and make it look full.
G2B also does a fantastic job contacting you to follow-up on reservations, whether by email or over the phone.
If it sounds like I can't stop gushing about this place, then I guess I'm doing something right...
I was surprised by this place! Â The space is located in a Class B office building just off the 15/501. Â I walked in, and it's quite a nice space. Â It was relatively empty on a Friday night (I would guess in part because of its location). Â Modern space, but comfortable. Â
I took a seat at the bar, and after a few minutes was greeted by the bar tender and offered a tablet to review the drink menu. Â While it's a novel idea to use tablets, I think that because the various lists don't fit neatly on the tablet screen and you have to resize them, that it would probably be better to just use simple menus rather than a tablet.
I ordered a New Old Fashioned which was fairly good. Â I also ordered the Pork belly. Pumpkin Soup, and Cannelloni. Â Everything was very good - surprising. Â The pork belly and cannelloni were just a bit overdone. Â But you can definitely tell the Chef takes pride in what he/she is producing and is using higher quality ingredients. Â
They also have a nice beer selection including Belgian (including large format bottles) and local brews. Â The prices were reasonable. Â Overall I was pleased, and will be back.
This was the most tasty and fun meal I've had in a long time.
It was an unexpected experience as it was my first time there. First, the restaurant is just beautiful. It looks like something you'd see in NYC. There are arrival/departure boards above the kitchen that rotate out the menu and specials. In addition, the bar lights up with colors that change hues every few minutes. Great atmosphere.
Now the food: My wife and I had great service, drinks and unforgettable food. We started with the little neck clams with warm crusty bread. Then we shared a meat and cheese plate which was absolutely incredible. Finally, we halved the G2B burger with garlic fries.
The prices were nice. The drink and beer selection was great. I'm so glad something like this is just 10 minutes away.
I always get a little nervous when a restaurant I have not been to before is mostly empty on a Friday night. Â Luckily for us, this was one of those situations where the crowd was not indicative of the experience. Â G2B has one of the more exciting menus that I have seen in a while. Â I really enjoy eating things that I cannot otherwise easily cook at home - and they delivered in a big way. Â The roasted bone marrow app is probably the best app I have had in the past 6 months. Â The wife and I did a bit of a taste and share on our two entrees. Â Hers, the hanger steak was a little better than the foie gras topped burger, but both were absolutely fantastic. Â
Can't say enough about the service. Â I will say that I found the touch screen drink menus to be over the top and just a real annoyance. Â I spend enough time at work in front of a computer screen, and I go out to eat to get away from that. Â Also, the giant Nintendo Wii screen in the corner is such an unnecessary contract to the otherwise comfortable yet trendy atmosphere.
All in all - I highly recommend and really look forward to a trip back.
I came here for a send off dinner with some visiting out of town friends and enjoyed my experience. But for everything this place got right, there was something a little off. For example, the restaurant atmosphere seemed sleek and elegant from the entrance way, but then... there is a giant projection screen with a wii hooked up to it. This also meant there were little kids running back and forth from the wii to their table. Also, the kitchen is a huge open area in the back corner which is totally out of place for this otherwise classy looking joint. The wine and beer menu is also randomly only available on a tablet, which seems modern and cool, but the actual menu is only on paper.
As for the food, I wasn't super hungry that night so I planned on getting a small plate. I really wanted to have the Peach and Duck Duo, but I saw it and portions were absolutely minuscule! Definitely not worth $12 so I went with the Lamb Burger instead. I wanted to try the sweet potato wedges as people said good things about it here, but the restaurant was out so I went with a side of fried mac and cheese. This was a fantastic choice - it was deep fried on the outside and shaped like a hash brown, but had a delicious mac and cheese filling. My friends got the Swordfish (delicious!) and the Paella stuffed Calamari (not good at all). The food here is a definitely on the expensive side for the portion sizes, but I am tempted to come here again just to get the mac and cheese.
So I really wanted to like this place--really. And I just couldn't, even though a lot of my friends love it. I've been there for dinner three times, and each time I left slightly disappointed. Â I think part of it is that the interior seems out of place for a restaurant in the bottom of an office building in suburban Durham--it's trying way too hard with flashing colored lights and synchronized TVs behind the bar. I also found the iPad menus confusing, because (at least when I was there last) you look at them but don't order off of them--so what's the point?
As for the food--it's not bad, but not great. I've gotten pizza several times and it's been okay, but I was disappointed at the quality for the price. I also got dessert once and I was p,easing surprised at the banana chocolate chip ice cream--it was as wonderful as it sounds. Overall, solid food, but I feel like the quality of some items is below their price point, particularly considering that the rent for that location must be dirt cheap.
I never give places five stars, but when I think about my experience at G2B, there really wasn't a reason not to give the big 5, so I did.
I was very impressed with the friendliness of the staff, timeliness of service, and quality of the food served. I always appreciate when the manager comes around after service to ask how everything was which he did. He also told us about their Friday Night Jazz which I'm returning for next weekend.
G2B is a hidden gem  - I highly recommend it for anyone on the Durham foodie scene.
My girlfriend was visiting and we wanted to go to a place we never tried (I am new to the area too). We always like gastropubs so when this came up in a search, we figured we would try it.
The location: Kinda hard to find. You need to go around the office building. Sub optimal but not a big deal once you know it's there
The atmosphere: It was pretty decadent. From the looks of it, I felt like I could have been in a trendy club/lounge. However, it wasn't too loud and the wood tables made it still have a warm feel. Comfy leather (pleather? not sure) chairs. Certainly felt classy. I do not think they have a "dress code" but I was glad I was at least wearing a polo shirt (but with sandals and jeans for what it's worth).
The selection: Gastropubs tend to have small food selections, especially compared to the beer list. This one was better than most but if you're a picky eater, check the menu first. They have pizza (more on that later) which tends to be safe for anyone. And they had my gastropub go-to: a hamburger
The beer list was good. I wouldn't have minded more IPAs but overall it certainly wasn't lacking. The list was on a tablet. A bit tacky if you ask me but not a big deal.
Appetizers:
First of all, they brought 3 types of bread to try. They were all good but the lavender was AMAZING. I could eat a loaf of it!
We shared the seafood and chicken sausage appetizer and were disappointed. It was served cold which felt strange and uncooked (though I am sure it was). The flavor was okay but the texture was awkward. I would not get that again.
Main Meal:
I got the burger. It was pretty good. Not the best burger ever but certainly very good. Had some flavor but maybe could have used a bit more seasoning. The bun was good. I would have preferred leafier lettuce. I think it was iceberg. Romain would have been better. Or something totally different. However, the fries were absolutely out of this world amazing.
My GF got a pizza but I don't recall which one. It was very good and a really nice size. The crust under the pizza part was perfect and the toppings fit well. The only complain is the crust part was a bit dry.
Dessert: Didn't get any but everything sounded great!
Price:
When you look at the menu sans price, and the atmosphere, you would expect to be paying quite a bit. However, it was actually quite reasonable for the main meals. Ours was $12 each.
Overall:
The food is a solid 4/5. The selection is better-than-expected for the genre and the atmosphere is a solid 5/5. I would come back and I will (and have already) recommended it to others.
I think my friend put it best: This is an adult's pub.
The interior is very modern and cool with some retro vibes to it. Classic rock plays in the background but isn't so loud to overwhelm conversation. Definitely no college or frat kids at this place.
The food was very good. I opted for a small plate (not big enough for a meal) and a side. The duck and peach combo worked well together although the foie gras was a bit loose after being placed on the bruleed peach. The fried bacon mac & cheese was solid but nothing special.
The service was okay--a little slower than I would have liked considering there were not many people in the restaurant at the time.
There is a large parking lot just outside, but you do have to drive around behind the Wells Fargo building.
Although the sign for G2B is clearly visible from Shannon road, I never would have even known what it was without Yelp. My first visit was with a group of Yelpers, and I followed that up by recommending it for dinner with my family before my brother leaves for Japan.
The entrance to the restaurant is actually in the back of the building as you enter from Shannon (we thought it would be near the sign, and had to walk around the building in ~100 degree weather). The interior is very stylish and classy, with color-shifting ambient lighting accenting the walls and the two bars. The dining tables and chairs are also cool, and the chairs are amazingly comfortable. The atmosphere of this place is definitely one of the big draws for me.
As for the food, I've at least tried most of the items at this point and everything has seemed high quality. I love that they use local ingredients for their dishes, and that you can watch your food being prepared. My favorite dishes so far have been the grilled red snapper, sweet potato wedges, and the lambtastic duo. Â I enjoyed the ricotta gnocchi as well, but the portion size is relatively small and the flavors are mild, so I'm not sure I would recommend it. The wedges are the best sweet potato app I've had in the area, and I could really just eat a couple orders of these and be happy as a clam. I also tried the shrimp and lobster sausage, which is good but also a little strange. I'd definitely recommend sharing this app, because it's interesting to try but maybe a little too much for one person.
Overall, I'd definitely recommend giving G2B a shot. I love that "beer gardens" are starting to pop up in the area, and that they aren't just doing standard bar food. Having items like shrimp & lobster sausage, lamb bacon, or goat cheesecake just make the menu that much more interesting to me. A great selection of beers certainly doesn't hurt either!
Thanks to my outstanding cosplay skill (nah I kid I kid, the whole Yelp-Sweat-Tears team did a tremendous job winning this year's DOUGHMAN Spirit award,) and how the team gets a nice $75 gift card, then of course we all politely decided on sharing the nice gift with an UYE at G2B.
If you have not been here before, put your faith in that Google Map direction. Yes. I understand Google plot the flag so far off the street, that's because G2B is hiding all the way on the back side of this business building.
First step inside, and I quickly understand why it was a $75 gift card; this place look fancy enough to quickly rack up $75 on your bill & tab. Fancy red upholstery lounge chair, fancy decors, fancy open kitchen, fancy tablets used to show online menus... I think you get the idea.
By all mean, don't let me misguide you into thinking this place is all look and no substance. The G2B burger I was told were pretty good, and so was gnocchi, but personally I had to give mad prop for the Lambtastic Duo; neat freak as I am, if you see me picking up food with my bare hands and start sucking the marrow off the bone, oh I guarantee you it is that finger licking good. Same reason we all got suckered into the dessert menu, they were all fancy but delish.
"Why the 3 stars?" Well, sometimes during dinnertime I like to take my time and enjoy the experience, but 4 hours for dinner could be taking in just a little too much. I know there were a few in our dinner party that showed disdain toward repeated delay of service, and I felt the same way.
We decided to come here for restaurant week last week and had high hopes due to the great reviews on Yelp. Unfortunately, the experience was quite average.
Food:
the food is good. i would say a solid 4 stars. I had the pork pate to start. The combination on the plate was good and the pistachios embedded in the pork pate was a nice touch. I then had the 'lambtastic' entree. The lamb was cooked well and the flavors were all there. The meat was a bit on the well done side (i like mine medium to medium rare - even on lamb). it was paired with quinoa and kale mix with a salty piece of bacon on top. The bacon was definitely needed to be eaten with the quinoa and kale because those two were extremely flavorless. the carrot puree was not really memorable and reminded me of baby food.
the dessert, the crepe w/ blue berries was just good, not amazing.
Atmosphere:
The decor is interesting. changing mood colors throughout the bar and restaurant. the patio seemed cozy and nice. There are some lounge chairs in the center of the restaurant accompanied by a large screen with a wii console. Need something for your kids to do? send them to the wii. i'm not sure how i feel about this. on a busier night, i dont know if i would appreciate kids running around. a very modern look but the table and chairs are quite traditional (leather cushy chairs with large wooden tables).
The location is also behind a business building, which is discouraging upon first impressions.
Service:
we went on a thursday night. There were people dining, but it certainly was not crowded. our waitress, although very nice, was lagging. it took a noticeable while to get our orders taken (including drink orders). my first plate came out 20 minutes after we ordered. my main course came out 30 minutes AFTER my appetizer. the dessert came out 15 minutes after that. We arrived at 7:45 p.m. and didnt leave until almost 10 p.m. There were only TWO of us.
It was this portion of the dinner that i had the biggest issue with mainly because i was STARVING. it took way too long to get our food and i had not planned on dedicating my entire night to dinner alone. getting our check was easy though - they take a while to give us our food, but quick to take our money.
Drinks:
extensive beer list, yes it's on a tablet. that's about it.
overall, it was just "a-ok" as Yelp describes it. if the purpose of restaurant week is to get us to try new restaurants this experience definitely doesnt make me want to come back for more.
This is currently my favorite restaurant in the Chapel Hill/Durham area! I love the modern, trendy decor. The fact that the beer and wine lists are on a tablet is pretty darn awesome too.
For food, I've ordered the beef cheek confit salad and the grilled salmon filet. The salad was incredible with the beef cooked perfectly. The grilled salmon filet was also good but didn't completely "wow" me. On our second visit, we also received bread with our meal, which was very good. My favorite was the lavender bread.
They have an extensive wine and beer list. Per the waiter's suggestion, I ordered the Bodega Amalaya - malbec blend. It's one of the cheaper wine choices and I thought it was delicious. :)
The service has been wonderful each time we went. The hostess is always friendly and the waiters are more than happy to answer any questions and make any accommodations.
This is a great place for a date, night out with friends, or just a drink at the bar. Enjoy!
Really glad to have a new spot in Durham. Â It's in a bit of an odd spot, located behind the Target near the South Square area, behind and and nestled below an office building. Â My wife & I had a 5:30 reservation on Saturday night and almost didn't go in as the parking lot was empty, but we gave it a shot. Â I'm certainly glad we did although we were the first couple for dinner (another arrived about 5 minutes later to (somewhat) kill the awkwardness.)
The atmosphere is very trendy, reminiscent of Revolution in downtown Durham, but more spacious. Â There is a large modern bar with rotating backlight which can be a bit cheesy and a nice lounge area with low-profile chairs. Â While I'm sure some will find the cocktail list being on an e-tablet cool, I thought it was a bit gimmicky and not necessary. Â The whole gastropub vibe to me is exactly what G2B is not, BUT the food and service makes me look past all of that. Â
The food was extremely good. Â We sampled a couple appetizers and split an entree. Â We started with the house-made lamb bacon with shaved radicchio, sunchokes, orange, toasted hazelnuts, and mint. Â This was more like a salad with three two-inch pieces of bacon on top. Â This is the type of dish that you take a bit of and aren't sure if you dig it, then can't stop eating it. Â Definitely a crazy mix of wild flavors that really work together. Â We also tried the salmon tartare which was lightly dressed with spicy chipotle, candied walnuts, ginger, lime, and cilantro. Â This was my favorite dish, by far, and I almost got an order to go. Â Super light but very flavorful and fresh. Â I'll return simply for this. Â We tried a few items on the charcuterie; chorizo, duck-duck pate, and a dried beef. Â Our favorite was by far the duck-duck pate which paired perfectly with the onions and mustard served. Â
For our entree we went with the mustard maple glazed pork tenderloin with
rhubarb apple chutney, braised escarole, and roasted red potatoes. Â Knowing that we were splitting the entree, the kitchen split it onto two plates for us; always a nice touch. Â I thought the portion size was great ($17 - enough for an entree size for two with an app or two) and very tender and perfectly cooked. Â I think there were a couple specials but they weren't explained to us (this always happens to me...why?!) Â That said, the server was super attentive and the rest of the staff ran food and kept our glasses full. Â I will definitely return and welcome another great dining option to Durham. Â Oh, and the restaurant eventually got a little more crowded (6:30-ish.) Â Hopefully the good word continues to spread!
Very modern and stylish inside with their walls and ceilings that change colors, seats, etc. I also like that it's really open and not cramped and stuffy.
I liked the breads: some chocolate thing and a lemon rye. Apparently they got a new menu. The prosciutto and fig and mushroom pesto pizzas were both really yummy, and pretty sizable too. The mustard pork tenderloin was great as well but a little pricey. Burger and fries were good: burger was thick and fatty and fries were crisp and seasoned.
I didn't get to try the salmon tartare, but it looked a little smaller than expected... I think it was about half an inch tall at most. Also I didn't think the yorkshire pudding was really worth it; the pastry was small and not very flavorful.
They have a daily special for beer. $2 for what would normally be around $5.
Great ambiance, pizzas are totally worth it, so I'm a fan!
Very trendy, very hip restaurant tucked away off Shannon Rd. Â From the open kitchen, modern chairs, and glowing bar, G2B has the right ambience to showcase some great food. Â Love the monitors over the open kitchen, reminiscent of a European train station that show dishes ticking through, removing them when dishes run out. Â Very cool. Â Not to mention the tablet bar menu, that allows patrons to click through G2B's site while choosing their beer or wine.
As for the food, it's outstanding. Â Shepard's Pie to die for, great wings and yummy desserts! Â Will definitely be back!
One of the best dinners I have had in the Triangle in awhile. Â I went with some business associates for restaurant week, wanted to try a new place but only had moderate expectations. Â The atmosphere is very trendy wannabee, it is what people think would be in NYC or San Francisco who have not been there. Â It's nice but feels forced, and I was worried so would the food. Â Luckily, I was very wrong.
I ordered from the fixed price menu for restaurant week not for the value but because the options sounded good. Â Started with a duck confit salad that was fantastic. Â A nice size piece of duck (boned) which was prepared perfectly and the accompanying greens were very tasty (a little duck fat goes a long way), to the point where I actually ate a green food.
The main course was braised short rib, again excellent. Â A tasty tomato salsa and pureed sweet potatoes created a tasty dish.
Finished up with a pear poached in wine tart and sweet potato creme brulee. Â Again, quite good. Â Also, the portions were not overwhelming but more than filling, the perfect size.
Also, I was pleasantly surprised by a very nice wine list. Â We tried a bottle of a South African Shiraz and it was one of the nicest wines I have had and a great value.
Will definitely go back.
A+ for atmosphere: Â Uber-modern decor with lighting that progressively changes the color of the otherwise white curtains and walls along with projections of pac-man or similar old-school video games on one wall with red lounge chairs that are strangely tipped forward give this restaurant a very European flair. Â Now for the crazy part...it's on the first floor of an office building in the middle of Durham!?! Â I have yet to get accustomed to Durham's way of hiding fun venues in strange strip malls or buildings.
The bartender is very knowledgeable and generous with his pours of hard liquor. Â He seemed to figure out our group's taste pretty quickly and made relevant suggestions afterwards.
The bar snacks were great! Â Ordered and enjoyed every single one! Â Everyone seemed to love their food - our only regret was that they sold out of their pork entree. Â We celebrated a birthday and they were really good at figuring out the "signal" regarding the birthday boy and the "topping" Â (aka candle) we wanted on the dessert.
All-in-all, an unexpected modern haven in the heart of the Dirty D.
Stacy and I were looking for somewhere new to try and without a GPS I would have never found G2B as it is in the bottom of an office building. Â Really cool setting and atmosphere once you get in.
They have some quirky differences that make them standout from other spots in Durham like having their menu on a Vizio Tablet. Â I thought you would be able to order from the tablet but it's really more for show. Â However, any restaurant menu that I can play Angry Birds on is A O.K. with me.
Stacy went with the old standby of Guinness but with an extensive  beer menu, I tried some new stouts out.  Stouts out.  Say that five times fast.
Stouts out
Stouts out
Stouts out
Stouts out
Stouts out
I guess it wasn't as hard as I thought? Â
Anyway, Stacy and I decided to split several of their "small plates" which are actually decent sized portions. Â We went with mussels (obviously...I mean look at me), wings and a burger. Â All quite tasty. Â We thought we would finish off with one of their dessert milkshakes but we accidentally ordered the Apple Tart instead. Â Not a bad mistake. Kind of like me to my parents.
If you're still reading, I would suggest giving G2B a go and tell them that Jon sent you. Â They don't know me and you're more than likely to be met with this face (O_O) but go ahead and tell them I sent you anyway.
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