Vista Restaurant

We had a lovely meal in this restaurant. Beet salad and a delicious prawn cocktail with huge prawns to start. The pork with mushroom vol au vent was excellent as was the lamb loin with squash dauphinoise. The extensive wine list is excellent.

Dining at the Fairview is always a treat. I'm especially fond of the live piano music. Last night it was a little hard to hear because of a large, loud group sitting in the area between our table and the piano.

Service was excellent. Table settings were exquisite. The pear and goat cheese salad was delicious. My dad ordered the farmer's market omelet, which came with toast, potatoes, and bacon. It's a lot of food so I helped him eat some of it. I was surprised that the toast was served dry with no butter or jam. However, when we asked for butter and jam, it was promptly provided. Do not order the French toast as it is a deep fried greasy mess. Again omelette and the pear salad were both excellent!

Went out for anniversary celebration with family. Hoping we can get a nice quiet table but we were stuck next to a big party. They were not terribly noisy but it was still loud. Note to the restaurant manager: please put the big party table far away from others. Food was good, service was good. We enjoy our experience.

Fabulous meal and good service. The scallop entre was delicious, and the filet was the best steak I've gad in quite a while. Old school ambiance is well done and maintained throughout. We will be back!

We went to the Fairview to celebrate the birthday of a dear friend. The food and service were outstanding. Best of all was the ability to hear each other at our table of seven, without the need to scream over loud music or noise from the kitchen.

Very good as usual. Only thing was they sat us (and everyone else) at the end of the dining room by the event room which the other half of the dining room area. It's closed off none the less loud and a lot of flashes from the photographers. They could have easily sat us all toward the middle of the main dining room and kept it quieter. A little hard to hear what we were saying to each other at times. One last irk. The lighting over the curved bench seating is ferocious. They need to mute those cans lights so you don't feel like you are in an interrogation. Otherwise still love and still come.

I've been to the Fairview Dining Room several times; my latest visit thoroughly lived up to my expectations. One of my sisters was visiting from out of town and we were meeting a local sister for lunch. Visiting sister and I arrived a bit early, so we stopped in the lounge for a drink first. We sat at the bar because we're both tennis fans and Wimbledon was on the central TV. My sister opted for a mimosa. I wanted something different, but wasn't sure what. The bartender, Alejandro, suggested a French 75 - something neither my sister nor I had ever heard of. It was fantastic! (In fact, my sister said she should have got that in lieu of her mimosa.) We then met our other sister in the dining room. My visiting sister and I both opted for the Duke of Crabcake. I'd had it once before and it was just as good the second time. The other sister chose the seared salmon fillet (although medium well done!). Everyone was hap-hap-happy. Meanwhile, we were initiallly assisted by Jared. When the three of us commented on how low the chairs were (or how high the table), he offered to get us all pillows to sit on (although our local sister requested two, since she's pretty short). One sister needed helping finding a dry prosecco, while I was in the hunt for a full-bodied cab, and Lana came to our rescue. In short, this was yet another successful outing to the Duke Washington Inn and the Fairview Dining Room.

Beautiful ambiance, lovely decor! The food and service was wonderful! Took my daughter there for her birthday and she loved the food, the complimentary birthday cake was decadent and delicious! I would definitely recommend this restaurant to anyone wanting a lovely meal in a beautiful environment.

Phenomenal stay for our 10th anniversary - the restaurant was awesome. Honestly a new favorite in Durham where the dining scene is super overrated and most “good” restaurants are not actually that good. We will definitely be back here. Our waiter was Jonathan and the service was excellent.

Food was ok. Service was slow. I was with my 92-year old-old father and they would not let us sit down until our reservation time even though the place was empty. When the hostess seated us she literally threw the menus down and walked away without asking if it was ok. It as not - we were seated next to the piano which is a problem for my dad, as he is hearing impaired. Another host let us change tables. French toast tasted deep fried and a little hard. I would not order that again. My father's omelet was good. It took a long time to order and a long time to get our check. There are no bathrooms in the restaurant - they are in the lobby. So it's really not suitable for an elderly person. It's a beautiful space but the food could be better and so could the service.

Beautiful surroundings, friendly server, good wine selection, good menu selections. Our server was responsible for a large party beside us plus two other tables so service was a little slow.

My wife and I had planned this visit to the Washington Duke Inn to celebrate our 53rd wedding anniversary. Of course dinner in the Fairview Dining Room was the highlight of our one night stay. The receptionist was very pleasant and helpful in finding us a special booth. Our server was Emma who has the most beautiful smile and friendly attitude, and she knew it was our anniversary with the appropriate congratulations. She expertly guided us through the cocktail and dinner menus. The other attendants assisting her with delivering the wine and dinner plates were also so professional and helpful, and they too congratulated us on our anniversary. The total experience demonstrated that everyone was at the top of their customer service game.

I knew it would be crowded due to graduation but I still got a table to celebrate Mother's Day with my 93 year old mother-in-law. Her favorite place is Washington duke inn- the style and ambiance. Seated right away but table next to us had uncontrollable toddler. Staff was super attentive and brought our drinks and took order immediately. Drinks arrived and then appetizer and dinner and salad arrived all at the same time. A bit over whelming and our table was too small to accommodate everything. T Steak, chicken breast and pasta ragu were amazing minus the medium rare filet when we ordered medium well. It happens all the time. Personally I thought it tasted amazing. The cauliflower kebab was ok as an appetizer but not an entree. It was served barely warm and needed some protein like a bean or hummus. It was a bed of roasted cauliflower with small dollop of eggplant coulis. Needs to be more a kebab with skewered variety of veggies like peppers and onions with a grilled houlimi and hummus. berry trifle was devoured by my MIL and banana pudding like tart was ok. Bananas were brûlée and devoured immediately and tart filling was like cheesecake but crust was bland. Still all was eaten minus crust. We will always return. It was hectic time and we knew it. I always try veggie entree where I go but I won't reorder this one. Everything was good. We will be back on slow day and relax on patio. It is a beautiful and elegant setting.

My friend and I were surprised that all the customers were seated at tables/booths next to each other when there were plenty of empty tables. We could barely hear our conversation over the blowhards seated next to us. Thankfully they finally left.