We miss their outdoor under the canvas seating. Venable always has excellent food and drinks and great service. Recommend the sides of mashed potatoes or green beans and the calamari, which is not deep fried but sautéed.Dietary restrictions: Well marked GF items.
We’ve been to Venable many times. Last night’s experience was not good, and after other mediocre experiences I won’t return. Service: we arrived early for our reservation and took the suggestion to walk around to the back bar for a drink and they’d call us. Our reservation time passed with no call so we walked back over. There were open tables and it seemed clear they had forgotten about us. A while after placing our order (10 minutes?) the waitress returned to say the special that one of us had ordered was no longer available. Disappointing. Presumably this contributed to the long delay in our food arriving. We did not order an appetizer and were definitely getting hangry. Our waitress was rarely seen and seemed oblivious. We flagged her down and asked for bread (which isn’t on the menu) which arrived about 1 minute before our meal. Food: the Cobb salad was pretty good, fried chicken with a mountain of arugula on top and Brussels sprouts just ok and the vegan version of bibimbap cold, bland, and skimpy on ingredients other than rice.Vegetarian options: Google has no category for vegan, which is what I am commenting on.Dietary restrictions: Not vegan friendly. While some dishes are “AVG” ( available vegan), the chef/kitchen puts little thought or care into making these options tasty or enjoyable. The vegan bahn mi is often good but it’s about the only choice. This restaurant hasn’t updated its menu in years and years, if ever. I keep going back hoping for some innovations, but have given up.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 2
Service: 2
Sine Thieme
I found Venable when looking for a Saturday brunch place in Chapel Hill, and we couldn't have been happier. Really nice setting right by the window, our waitress was lovely, and the food was excellent. You won't often find potato pancakes on a brunch menu, so that was an extra bonus. The French toast and the Banh Mi were also delicious. We will definitely come back!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Alexandra Morris
Delicious brunch food. Can get noisy inside.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Kristi Brubaker
We had such a delightful meal here. We sat at the bar and had top notch service with Christian. He was super attentive, suggested and prepared great cocktails and gave great food suggestions! The food was amazing! Highly recommended!
Food: 5
Service: 5
Ken Schardt
Delicious food, well crafted cocktail, with warm and gracious service...had an absolutely spectacular meal. Looking forward to getting back here next time in town. A new favorite!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Gregory
Service was great. The food was amazing (chicken tiki marsala) Staff were very friendly and accommodating. Will be back for another meal.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Steve Snyder
Excellent service. Both meals were delicious. Also a good beer. Definitely recommend.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Julie Cordora
Modern space with excellent service. The menu has quite a nice variety, and the flavors are well worth the visit. The lamb quite literally fell off the bone. We will definitely be back.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Mopieintheeye P
Woo!! This was great! My first time at Venable and I am impressed. I walked around downtown Carrboro a bit after an appointment and stumbled upon Venable in Carr Mill Mall. I ordered the Vegetarian Benedict with a side of apple-smoked bacon. I also got some orange juice and black coffee. I love me some eggs benny and Venable did not disappoint!! My eggs were perfectly runny and satisfying, and the sauce was rich without being overwhelming. The orange juice was fresh and exactly what I needed! I enjoyed the coffee, too! My server brought a French press to the table, and I pressed it myself. This was also a first for me!I had a great experience at Venable! I will definitely go back and try more dishes!
My boyfriend and I have been talking about trying this place for forever and we finally went tonight. And what a disappointment it was.We walked in without a reservation on a Friday night and got a table right away. Excellent. Service is fast. The server came up before we’d had a chance to look at the menu and told us about the specials. Great. My bf ordered a black walnut old fashioned and I got a rye sour ($13-14 each). Both were excellent. But the cocktail list was very limited. And they have more wine on the menu than food. We got the bacon-wrapped cheese-stuffed dates which were the best part of the experience, however we got 7 bite -sized dates for $14. We ordered another round of the same drinks while we waited for our food which was taking a long time. My bf got the special (sea bass on rice) and I got the honey Chipotle salmon on wilted spinach and mashed potatoes (~$32 each). (I’ve never seen food take longer to come out.) Mine was okay but not worth the money. His was unbelievably disappointing. The sea bass had no flavor and tasted like it wasn’t seasoned at all. And the portions were small. Neither of us were full at the end. The bill was $140 before tip for 4 cocktails, 1 appetizer and 2 entrees. (The server got 20% because he was great.) That’s what I would expect from a fancy restaurant. This isn’t that. My chair felt like it was about to fall apart under me (I’m a women’s small/medium… so…) The restaurant is on the smaller side. Not that many tables. But the acoustics are awful. Sound bounces off of every surface. It sounded like we were in a restaurant 10 times as full. The minute we stood up and walked outside, I got the worst stomach ache I’ve had in a very long time. I’m surprised we were so disappointed because we went to B Side for a company Christmas party and the food (mostly endless appetizers, including the bacon wrapped dates) was to die for. We won’t be going back to Venable.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 1
Service: 2
Dan Zabinski
I've only had brunch here, but I've gone back for brunch multiple times. I've never had the same thing twice and everything has always been fantastic, I couldn't recommend a better dining option.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Jane Mellin
Magnificent food and excellent service in a delightful ambiance.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Marie Parker
Found some very good vegan options at this little gem! The bibimbap is phenomenal! As is the service. Never disappointed.Dietary restrictions: Vegan options
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Bibimbap
Marco Hernandez
I remember Venable being really high quality and good food for the price. I was disappointed on my last visit. The service is always phenomenal but the food has become not so great. The food my partner and I ate made both of us ill. The food is also a bit pricey. I ordered the “prime” strip steak and was surprised when it had pockets of fat and was very thin. Ordered it rare to med rare, it was so thin it was basically med well. Had a bit of an off putting taste. Potentially my fault for not asking for the sauce on the side but the meal was drenched in butter making it a bit gross. Overall, having “prime” on the menu is a bit scammy if a cheaper cut of meat is served. I was gonna leave it be but getting sick from a dining experience is quite annoying.
We miss their outdoor under the canvas seating. Venable always has excellent food and drinks and great service. Recommend the sides of mashed potatoes or green beans and the calamari, which is not deep fried but sautéed.Dietary restrictions: Well marked GF items.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Mashed Potatoes, Fries, Calamari
We’ve been to Venable many times. Last night’s experience was not good, and after other mediocre experiences I won’t return. Service: we arrived early for our reservation and took the suggestion to walk around to the back bar for a drink and they’d call us. Our reservation time passed with no call so we walked back over. There were open tables and it seemed clear they had forgotten about us. A while after placing our order (10 minutes?) the waitress returned to say the special that one of us had ordered was no longer available. Disappointing. Presumably this contributed to the long delay in our food arriving. We did not order an appetizer and were definitely getting hangry. Our waitress was rarely seen and seemed oblivious. We flagged her down and asked for bread (which isn’t on the menu) which arrived about 1 minute before our meal. Food: the Cobb salad was pretty good, fried chicken with a mountain of arugula on top and Brussels sprouts just ok and the vegan version of bibimbap cold, bland, and skimpy on ingredients other than rice.Vegetarian options: Google has no category for vegan, which is what I am commenting on.Dietary restrictions: Not vegan friendly. While some dishes are “AVG” ( available vegan), the chef/kitchen puts little thought or care into making these options tasty or enjoyable. The vegan bahn mi is often good but it’s about the only choice. This restaurant hasn’t updated its menu in years and years, if ever. I keep going back hoping for some innovations, but have given up.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 2
Service: 2
I found Venable when looking for a Saturday brunch place in Chapel Hill, and we couldn't have been happier. Really nice setting right by the window, our waitress was lovely, and the food was excellent. You won't often find potato pancakes on a brunch menu, so that was an extra bonus. The French toast and the Banh Mi were also delicious. We will definitely come back!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Delicious brunch food. Can get noisy inside.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
We had such a delightful meal here. We sat at the bar and had top notch service with Christian. He was super attentive, suggested and prepared great cocktails and gave great food suggestions! The food was amazing! Highly recommended!
Food: 5
Service: 5
Delicious food, well crafted cocktail, with warm and gracious service...had an absolutely spectacular meal. Looking forward to getting back here next time in town. A new favorite!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Service was great. The food was amazing (chicken tiki marsala) Staff were very friendly and accommodating. Will be back for another meal.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Excellent service. Both meals were delicious. Also a good beer. Definitely recommend.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Modern space with excellent service. The menu has quite a nice variety, and the flavors are well worth the visit. The lamb quite literally fell off the bone. We will definitely be back.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Woo!! This was great! My first time at Venable and I am impressed. I walked around downtown Carrboro a bit after an appointment and stumbled upon Venable in Carr Mill Mall. I ordered the Vegetarian Benedict with a side of apple-smoked bacon. I also got some orange juice and black coffee. I love me some eggs benny and Venable did not disappoint!! My eggs were perfectly runny and satisfying, and the sauce was rich without being overwhelming. The orange juice was fresh and exactly what I needed! I enjoyed the coffee, too! My server brought a French press to the table, and I pressed it myself. This was also a first for me!I had a great experience at Venable! I will definitely go back and try more dishes!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
My boyfriend and I have been talking about trying this place for forever and we finally went tonight. And what a disappointment it was.We walked in without a reservation on a Friday night and got a table right away. Excellent. Service is fast. The server came up before we’d had a chance to look at the menu and told us about the specials. Great. My bf ordered a black walnut old fashioned and I got a rye sour ($13-14 each). Both were excellent. But the cocktail list was very limited. And they have more wine on the menu than food. We got the bacon-wrapped cheese-stuffed dates which were the best part of the experience, however we got 7 bite -sized dates for $14. We ordered another round of the same drinks while we waited for our food which was taking a long time. My bf got the special (sea bass on rice) and I got the honey Chipotle salmon on wilted spinach and mashed potatoes (~$32 each). (I’ve never seen food take longer to come out.) Mine was okay but not worth the money. His was unbelievably disappointing. The sea bass had no flavor and tasted like it wasn’t seasoned at all. And the portions were small. Neither of us were full at the end. The bill was $140 before tip for 4 cocktails, 1 appetizer and 2 entrees. (The server got 20% because he was great.) That’s what I would expect from a fancy restaurant. This isn’t that. My chair felt like it was about to fall apart under me (I’m a women’s small/medium… so…) The restaurant is on the smaller side. Not that many tables. But the acoustics are awful. Sound bounces off of every surface. It sounded like we were in a restaurant 10 times as full. The minute we stood up and walked outside, I got the worst stomach ache I’ve had in a very long time. I’m surprised we were so disappointed because we went to B Side for a company Christmas party and the food (mostly endless appetizers, including the bacon wrapped dates) was to die for. We won’t be going back to Venable.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 1
Service: 2
I've only had brunch here, but I've gone back for brunch multiple times. I've never had the same thing twice and everything has always been fantastic, I couldn't recommend a better dining option.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Magnificent food and excellent service in a delightful ambiance.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Found some very good vegan options at this little gem! The bibimbap is phenomenal! As is the service. Never disappointed.Dietary restrictions: Vegan options
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Bibimbap
I remember Venable being really high quality and good food for the price. I was disappointed on my last visit. The service is always phenomenal but the food has become not so great. The food my partner and I ate made both of us ill. The food is also a bit pricey. I ordered the “prime” strip steak and was surprised when it had pockets of fat and was very thin. Ordered it rare to med rare, it was so thin it was basically med well. Had a bit of an off putting taste. Potentially my fault for not asking for the sauce on the side but the meal was drenched in butter making it a bit gross. Overall, having “prime” on the menu is a bit scammy if a cheaper cut of meat is served. I was gonna leave it be but getting sick from a dining experience is quite annoying.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 2
Service: 4