Hummingbird

I’ve been to this place several times, the food, cocktails, and the friendly staff always keep me coming back. The welcome is always warm, the food is just reminiscent enough of New Orleans to hold me over until my next trip.… Seating: I’ve made a reservation a few times inside and out, but I prefer to just be seated at the bar. . Staff: The staff is friendly I’ve only had one lackluster experience and everyone is allowed an off day. Erin the owner is always friendly.. the bar staff are always on point. Check this place out, you won’t be disappointed.

Hummingbird is a welcoming home away from home. Always great to just go for a cocktail and a snack (sometimes to work a little more while at the bar) or a lovely place to take a group you want to impress. Brunch here is a no brainer, excellent and reservations are important to have, they fill up fast. Staff is like family and the food is always perfect. Highly recommend no matter the occasion. But around the holidays, it is so cozy and decorated beautifully!! We actually got to see the grinch as well when we were there!! There was a market & event next door at their sister location at the time,Whitaker & Atlantic, that looked so fun!!!

I am not a brunch person, meaning I find breakfast/brunch to be overpriced for what you get. So I didn't have high hopes when coming here. I was pleasantly surprised, I absolutely loved my shrimp and oyster po boy(worth every penny), fresh made chips were great, even if lacking salt. Wife had steak and eggs with grits, and the grits alone were delicious, savory, and perfect with my chips. The bartender was super friendly and recommended the fat washed peanut butter and muscadine drink as being the last sweet drink on the menu. Would go back just for that. I dinged one star for a simple reason, as we were waiting at the host spot, 3 employees walked by and didn't greet us or say "the host will be with you shortly". I worked in restaurants in the front of house and this was never allowed. It was almost unwelcoming and weird, like we had shown up after closing. Then again they may have been dealing with something related to the kitchen etc. Will go back and try again.

Very unique decor, great bar and side room with cozy seating. Art everywhere. Pleasant ambiance and music. Fantastic brunch menu. Everything from shrimp and grits to oyster Po Boy sandwiches, gravlax and toast and steak & eggs... went for the shrimp and grits. Beautiful plating, but my dish was salty and overly sauced. I generally prefer spices over salt, that is my palate. Most Americans like more salt so you will no doubt love the menu and vibe for a chill brunch. I will come back for the Po Boy for sure. One last thing... if you like coffee, maybe go for an Americano instead of coffee. The latter is a little sour, so Americano likely would be better.

On September 29, I attended a surprise birthday party for my wife, hosted by her adult children, at Hummingbird. The bill was about $1,100. The food and service were fine. When I returned to my car to go home, I had received a $50 parking ticket. The parking lot serving Hummingbird and two or three other retail establishments holds roughly 160 spots. It was completely full when I arrived ahead of the guest of honor. I could find no legal and safe place to park after driving roughly 1/5 mile to the next major intersection. From my understanding, another female guest had to walk ALONE to/from her car, some distance from Hummingbird, in the dark on her return to car, along a relatively deserted stretch of Whitaker Mill Road. I wrote Hummingbird management and suggested they need to give customers guidance when their lot is full, such as by means of permanently posted instructions advising what to do in this circumstance. In response, I was offered a $50 gift card to dine again at Hummingbird, but I declined. My goal was not to get a free meal. In fairness, there was a wedding reception at Hummingbird at same time, which surely contributed to the parking overflow. But that circumstance would likely have occurred before, perhaps many times, and thus would be expected to recur. I waited several days to give Hummingbird a chance reply again before I posted this review, but I received no further communication. Remember that this is not skyscraper-locked NYC. This is Raleigh, and there ARE options for solutions here.

Food was great. Prices were alittle high but quality of the food was worth it. I had the devil eggs, steak and the ice cream sandwich was big enough to share. My friend had Shrimp and roasted cauliflower. Everyone from the host, wait staff and chef were very friendly. I would recommend to this to any one who has a few extra dollars to spare.

We had a Sunday reservation and we were seated promptly in their “main” indoor dining space. The area is very very small and you can hear employee conversations. I asked the hostess if there were any other seating options and she shared there was the bar and outside but it was too hot outside. We decided to stay put. The service was friendly, the food was good, and the drinks were large pours. The oysters were good but very small considering the price we paid.

I finally made it into Hummingbird for dinner and loved it. Brunch is great and dinner is better. My wife and I came in with another couple and we bought too many things and had too many drinks and I regret nothing! The service was amazing and friendly. The chef stopped by our table, she was gracious and patient with all of questions about technique and ingredients. And the food, every bite was delicious. Arugula salad, dressed perfect, melon and cheese, paired wonderfully elevating the flavor. The shrimp creole was rich, salty, with a tiny hint of heat that kept you coming back to it. The au gratin squash might be my all time favorite squash dish. Stand alone squash as comfort food, who knew? The BBQ chicken, also perfect. Dripping with juice, the meat was flavored from skin to bone, paired with the best fried okra I’ve ever had. Finally the bread pudding was straight magic. I’m not sure where Hummingbird is in my personal best restaurants of Raleigh list but it’s in my top three. Totally looking forward doing a lot more research here so I can make up my mind! I left my original Brunch review below if you’re still reading… Brunch on a loading dock. :) Hummingbird does a good job elevating their section of the loading dock (it’s still a loading dock) but let’s face it, you’re here for the food and cocktails and both are very good. The watermelon and arugula salad, like many dishes here, is better than the sum of its delicious ingredients. Well balanced flavors. The chicken and waffles are very good but there are at least three other places in Raleigh doing this better at similar or better price point. And the Pavlova is inspired. I lack the adjectives to describe this lovely and delicious creation that is lightly sweet and crispy/creamy/melty. Just mmmm. House cocktails are tasty and more boozy than most brunch places so you’ve been warned. I expect to be back to do brunch again and do dinner sometime soon too. If so, I’ll update my review.