On November 13, 1986, Magnolia Grill opened in a converted health–food
grocery on the corner of Knox St. and Ninth St. in Durham, North
Carolina. Chef-owners Ben and Karen Barker are 1981 graduates from the
Culinary Institute of America and had both previously worked as chefs in
Restaurant La Residence, a French restaurant in Chapel Hill, and The
Fearrington House, Pittsboro, N.C. Ben is the executive chef and Karen
the pastry chef of Magnolia Grill. 
Although the food and the overall dining
experience at the award–winning Magnolia Grill are anything but
ordinary, the restaurant maintains the understated feel of a
neighborhood bistro. Featuring bare wood floors, utilitarian tables and
chairs, and paintings on loan from local artists, the restaurant has a
casual atmosphere. The open kitchen is important to Ben, so guests can
view the work in the kitchen and he can keep his eye on the dining room.
The Barkers' culinary mantra, Not Afraid of Flavor, is reflected in
the complex layering of flavors, the distinctive combination of fresh
regional ingredients, and the melding of traditional Southern cooking
with other wide–ranging influences that have become the hallmarks
of Magnolia Grill cuisine. Now, over 13 years later, Magnolia Grill
still packs them in. In fact, people will drive a hundred miles just to
eat here.
Magnolia Grill is the restaurant where visiting VIPs are taken.
Celebrities such as Michael Jordan, James Taylor, Ted Koppel, and
Gregory Peck have enjoyed the Barkers inventive cuisine. Author Reynolds
Price, who frequents Magnolia Grill, describes the restaurant as "the
best source of public cooking, not merely in the Triangle area, or the
Tarheel state, but in fact in the whole United States."
Although the
menu changes daily — depending on Ben's creativity and what fresh
ingredients are available — the guests at Magnolia Grill can always
expect honest cuisine based on top–notch ingredients.
See a sample
menu.
Magnolia Grill — Open for dinner
6:00 p.m.-9:30 p.m., Tuesday–Thursday
5:30 p.m.-10:00 p.m., Friday and Saturday
1002 Ninth Street
Durham, North Carolina 27705
For dinner reservations, call 919–286–3609
