The Raleigh Times

People come on now.. The Times is not known for the burgers and saying ""used to be awesome before it got known"" is well just showing your inner hipster. The Times is a classic Raleigh spot. It's right in the heart of the true downtown scene and right where you want to be. No I don not work there nor have I ever. I have been going to The Times since it opened. Yeah the nachos are great and they were better when they got the meat from The Pit (Pitmaster Ed Mitchell). But still that's not what this place is known for. I think that in my humble opinion it's the people. No not the people that work there. While they are pretty cool it's you and I that make The Times so great. There are no strangers at The Times. I have had drinks with everyone from the Governor to a homeless guy named Styles there. It's family. So take my advice.. don't come in with expectations of great food or unreal beer selections. Come in rather for the spirit of The Times. Once upon a time the Times brought neighbors together by spreading the news all across Raleigh.. let that continue and enjoy! more

Best nachos in town! Be sure to get them with pork. Great atmosphere and beer selection! more

we drove in to see some friends and headed down to The Raleigh Times for dinner.. What a mistake!! I ordered fish and chips and got 90% chips and 10% fish.. I also ordered fried pickles.. tasted great, but got 8 whole sliced pickles, not spears, just sliced.. .. that more

If you like to drink great beer, eat awesome bar food and hang out with your friends in a great atmosphere then you will probably like Raleigh Times. If you don't then you should go get your head checked because you can't' wrong with the times!!! more

I had read that Raleigh Times had the best burgers in downtown. Went there to pick up a business lunch order that we called in. We were told it would be ready in 30 minutes. We get there and the bartender says our order is not ready. We wait about 15 minutes and he comes over and asks the name again. He then turns around and gives us our order that had been there on the bar when we arrived, so it was now cold. He did not even apologize or offer any discount. I ordered a med-well burger that was so red in the middle, I could only eat around the outside. Not what I expected for a $9 burger. To make it worse, I sent an email to the manager about this. Still no response. more

Raleigh Times Bar (RTB) impressionably is the center of the universe, if that universe is downtown Raleigh. I came to this conclusion during Hopscotch Music Festival when RTB hosted its own unaffiliated, day-long block party and it resembled the festival itself. I?ve eaten many meals, as well as, kick-started or ended many late nights here. more

I love going to Raleigh Times. Their beer selection, though somewhat pricey, is really creative. They offer some of the most unique and interesting brews. The food here is also excellent. I am really sad that they took the Pit bbq sandwich off the menu, though. more

I enjoy the Raleigh Times because it is one of the few ""hot"" spots downtown that hasn't starting asking patrons to chop off an arm in exchange for a beer and a burger. With $3-$5 adult beverage options and $8-$14 meal options I eat here every time I visit downtown. I like that they allow you to taste a beer before ordering and the bartenders always recommend beer based on what you like/don't like after sampling. Also, bonus points for ALWAYS having a clean restroom! more

We've been to the Times twice in the last few months and can't wait for each return. Service is friendly, the burgers are perfection, the Belgian beer selection is mind-boggling. This is a great place to bring out-of-towners for a great pub experience, A+, we need more places like it! Pros: Outstainding burgers, great people watching, friendly servic more

This bar is still great, but it's packed on Friday and Saturday nights with hipsters and fancy dressing young professionals. What happened to the t-shirt and jeans crowd? Nevertheless, you can't beat the BBQ nachos and the $6 pitcher and $2 pint PBRs. Good place to try for lunch, weekdays or after midnight on Friday and Saturday. more

My husband and I used to frequent this restaurant once a week and sit outside with our dog. We liked it so much we had the rehearsal dinner for our wedding here a couple of years ago. We like the food and although the service has always been slow, slow, slow the staff used to be friendly. Now when we go inside we cannot hear each other over the loud, loud music. The space does not have good acoustics so the music bounces all around making everyone shout to be heard. We have asked for the music to be turned down a bit but it never makes a difference. We have stopped going as often and I do miss it. I just wish they management would realize that not all patrons enjoy the loud atmosphere and would enjoy actually being able to sit and have a conversation over dinner without shouting. I would like to recommend the chicken salad wrap with chips, the chicken fried chicken and the shrimp burger. update: They have changed their menu and removed the chicken salad. How disappointing Pros: Food, outside seating, location Cons: slow staff, loud music more

I moved here from Michigan about five years ago and this bar still remains my favorite. Within these five years, I have yet to receive a bland or common meal. The changing menu is unique which leaves desire; consequently, returning business is inevitable. Furthermore, the beer selection is something amazing in itself. Pros: laid back atmosphere; excellent food Cons: sometimes too busy for my fav. seats up at the bar. more

This place is only friendly for ""artsy"" (emo) types with too much money and not enough taste. The waitress was rude--I guess we didn't have enough tattoos and piercings to occupy her time. I had a pretty good salad--made bad because of the price. The bartender with the black mullet was downright rude. Pros: Cool interior/decor Cons: Patrons, waitstaff, beer selection, price more

I've never been to a worse place in my life. The bar stinks and the bartenders are complete jerks. I had two male bartenders that evening - both of them were cocky and rude, and had the worst attitude I've ever seen. Pros: Your underage friends can drink easily Cons: rude, bad service more

Seriously...Greg, you're killing me with the talent in that place. (No offense to Katrina or any of the other wonderful ladies walking around that I can never have.) Even the dudes are cool as hell and willing to tell you anything about the latest effort from Thom Yorke. (Which is probably crucifying some hipster patron's eardrums right now...) more

We have a question. And, apparently, we are not the only ones wondering this. What happened to that smokin' hot bartendress??? She always worked on the non smoking side and we rarely went over to that side of the bar but when we did, she always made it a point to help us with the crazy beer list and introduce us to stuff we never would of tried. The bar is still great, I love the Times, but she always had a way of making of her rounds and making us feel awesome about being there. The pork nachos are amazing and the beer selection is off the chain! We will definetly be back but would love to know where that adorable bartender went! Pros: Food Cons: Missing a fun bartender more

This is my first time ever reviewing on citysearch -- and I'm only doing it because no one at Raleigh Times made eye contact with me after I got up from our table and stood at the bar to wait and wait and wait to explain in person why my friends and I were going elsewhere. So: I have worked in several restaurants over the years and I was a huge fan of RT when Ashley and her staff were still there. In the last year or so, I have been repeatedly disappointed in the food quality, atmosphere and staff professionalism. First, the food: buns are consistently stale, and the sides -- what is up? They are terrible! It's almost like a joke, that pasta salad is so bad! As for the atmosphere, I have to say that someone did finally straighten the slanting framed newspapers in the second room. Good work. But why does the music have to be so loud at dinner time? And for the staff: I was there Saturday night, and our waitress was totally sassy and really subtracted from the experience. I don't need much, folks, just a professional attitude. I went again on Sunday evening -- my boyfriend and I brought a friend visiting from out of town -- and we waited at the table in the window by the bar for about 15 minutes. It was not busy. A server said something unintelligible to us in passing, but she never came back. We got tired of waiting (and we were embarrassed to bring our guest there), so I thought I'd politely explain that we were leaving because we had been ignored. The bartender never acknowledged my presence. Ya'll, it's just not going well from a serving standpoint and the place did NOT start out this way. It's really a shame and I hope you get your act together because Raleigh Times used to be so awesome. Bartenders, acknowledge the people standing at your bar. You'll make money. Servers, act like you give a damn. People in the kitchen, reality check those sides because they are bad. I'm not mad, I'm really disappointed and would love to see improvement. Pros: Great location, good ambience, independent vibe, great place in the past Cons: Staff lacks professionalism more

The first time I went to Raleigh Times was so bad that I vowed not to go back. And I am still upset that I returned. Pros: good beer selection Cons: rude staff more

I love, love, love Raleigh Times! Working downtown, I go there for lunch at least once a week! They have the best burger I have ever tasted (even compared to home cooked!), I also enjoy the cheese, tomato and avacado sandwich - it is delicious. Great fries and chips too. The best thing that I get every time now is the Chop Salad with Garlic Ranch Dressing - I want to lick my plate when I am done, it is the best salad around! My only complaints are the lack of space - not enough seats, the high ceilings make it very noisy in there too, so you have to yell sometimes to be heard. The only other thing is that the water is horrible. They must use city water (which many other downtown restaurants do) and it is awful. I always have to end up getting a soda (which I don't want to do), since I can't drink the water. I wish they would use filtered water. I highly recommend eating here - it is worth the weight and everything on the menu that I have tried is so good and so fresh. more

We had tickets to a show nearby and were meeting another couple downtown for supper before the curtain. An hour and a half seemed a perfectly reasonable amount of time for pub food. More than 45 minutes after ordering we had to ask the waitress if our food would be out soon. 15 minutes after that she casually asked us ""Oh, it's STILL not out?"" like we were the ones to ask. She oh-so-generously offered to bring us our check right then, which we took her up on. Our food came out with just a few moments to scarf it down, sign our checks, and dash. I wish I'd had the stones to not tip her, but without any explanation I hesitate to hold a server responsible for what could just as easily be an understaffed or disorganized kitchen. Pros: Food, beer selection, location, history Cons: Service more