Fig Cafe & Wine Bar

I am so sad to hear this place has closed! One of my truly favorites in the area. We do not have enough authentic restaurants in Wake Forest. I prefer local business over chain restaurants. Bummer!!!

Not what I was expecting from a café and wine bar. The layout of the building is very strange; we entered in through the side and into what seemed like a bakery. No hostess stand and no one around, we had to stumble our way from room to room till we found someone to seat us. That and when leaving, we stopped at the restroom and had to wait for staff to get something out of a freezer, that and looking at the register and all it clutter, was not very appealing.
The food was just ok, we had sandwiches, since it was lunch time. The staff was just going through the motions as they took our order, delivered and collected the bill. No interest or desire to be working, let alone wait on us.
The self-​serve wine is not what I expect at a Wine Bar, I want someone to pour my glass, to be able to have a discussion about the wine, to make recommendation on the wine as we order. This concept I have seen many places, but only at wine stores, when I am going to be purchasing bottles of wine and then they have someone available to help.
We basically, got pointed to the wine machine location and told that’s our wine selections. Go take a look and let me know if you need any help. That was the extent of our wine experience at this so call Wine Bar.
Had high hopes, but was very quickly disappointed once we arrived. I would recommend several other businesses around Raleigh that are actually true café and wine bars.

Loved this place! Food was excellent and the service impeccable. Kayla, our waitress was fabulous. Will definitely return again and again.

We went here on a Saturday night to celebrate a birthday. The service and ambiance were amazing. And the option to sample different wines was a lot of fun. We read all the reviews before going, so knew to expect smaller portions, and that it would be expensive. We were fine with that.
The reason for the three stars is that the main courses were kind of «meh».
I had the chicken, it was good, but not great (slightly over cooked, a little bland, served luke warm). The rice and veggies served with the chicken were tasty and fresh.
My husband had the steak… And unlike some of the other reviews, it was NOT mostly gristle. It was cooked to medium (fine with us), but had absolutely no flavor. It was a little tough to chew, and was served cold. Re-​heating it would not have helped. It was served with a mashed sweet potato side, and some green beans. The sweet potatoes had an odd flavor… Not bad, but tasted a little scorched. I *think* that they may have had a dash of Worcestershire sauce in them, which could possibly account for the odd/​over done taste.
We still had a very good time, and will be back. The appetizers were good (we had the cheese plate assortment). We also had the mixed green salad and ceasar salad. Both salads were good. The ceasar lettuce was more on the yellow color side, but that didn’t affect the taste. We shared a brownie for desert, and it was tasty as well.
To conclude, we’ll frequent the place again for a pre-​dinner stop. Or maybe just drinks or desert. For the price, the main courses were not where I would have hoped they would be — flavor wise. The portions were reasonable, despite being marketed as «tapas».

I hate to be a debbie downer, b/​c i LOVE local business! but i was disappointed in my venture to Fig.
I do not mind small servings, b/​c i think it helps you enjoy the meal without over eating, but when you’re going to do small servings, i think the price should reflect the size, but here it does not. $ 13 a plate was a little steep for what you get.
But i can be a little forgiving on price to size ratio if the quality is good… but i have to say, i found it disappointing. I have a standard when eating out, which is, ‘if i can cook it just as good or better at home, then it’s not worthy paying for at a restaurant.’ and sadly, that is what i felt like when i ate here.
We had the Hanger Steak, which was good, nothing exceptional, but none the less good, however half of it was strait up gristle and inedible. And when you only have a little steak to begin with, losing half of it to gristle does not make you feel that you’re getting your money’s worth. It came with a side of ‘greens’ which is code for salad… it reminded me of the bag mix of greens i buy at the grocery store. There wasn’t anything about the side salad that made it stand out.
We also tried the shrimp and grits. The grits were nice and creamy, but over all it was lacking something. I like a good bowl of shrimp and grits but this just made me go, eh, it’s ok, instead of wow! The gravy, although i’m sure freshly made reminded me of the jarred kind from the grocery store. There was a weird flavor in there that i can not put my finger on, but whatever it was, did not marry well with the rest of the dish.
We also ordered the tomato soup. Which again i’m sure was freshly made, but actually reminded me a lot of campbell’s with some extra ingredients mixed in.
Our waiter was super awesome, and i am very glad for good services. When we mentioned the steak to him, he said he would see if the owner would come talk to us. Owner person never showed up and instead we were offered a free dessert, which was fine. We selected the Red Velvet cupcake, but again, totally disappointed. The cake was stale and the icing was a bit on the crisco side. Some people love them some crisco, so some may love it, but i’m a big fan of cream cheese awesomeness on my red velvet and the cream cheese flavor was lost in the greasy sugary-​ness of it all.
I hate to say it, but unless i start hearing amazing things from friends in regards to this place, i’m putting it on my ‘been there, done that, no need to go back’ list. There is a lot of potential here, but sadly it falls very short. I hope for improvement though, b/​c i totally want to support local businesses!

Ventured here again last night for a weeknight dinner to celebrate our 8^th year anniversary. I wanted something low-​key, local, and of course something revolving around wine.
We chose to sit in the main dining area, which after about an hour, became a bit crowded, but not overly so. Our server was amazing. He recommended dishes for us on the tapas menu, informing us that it was their last night with their current menu, and that the spring menu would debut the next night. So, if you are reading this, check out their website for the new menu, because it has most likely changed.
We started with the wine card option rather than the server getting our wine because I like to do smaller pours of many wines so I can try new selections. This is a great option if you love wine tasting. If you are set on one kind of wine, then the server getting your wine for you is the best option.
We started with the cheese flight, $ 4 per cheese so we opted for the asiago, the port wine, and the balsamic. It came with a mini-​loaf of bread and was a great starter for the palate while we enjoyed our wine. we then opted for salads– for me, the Caesar and for hubs, the mixed greens. I have to say that hubs’ salad looked and tasted MUCH better than mine. His greens looked fresh, were tasty, and had an overall superb appeal, my Caesar was disappointing. It tasted OK, but the problem was that my romaine leaves were yellow. As in, it was as if they took all the «too ripe» parts of the romaine head and put them in my salad, or perhaps they were all the romaine hearts– either way, I did not like it, and it was not advertised on the menu as romaine hearts. It definitely tainted the taste, and with the large portion, simply was a waste as I did not eat it. (Deduction of 5^th star).
We both settled on the idea of having the caprese flatbread which had fresh mozzarella, tomatoes, basil, and balsamic vinegar on top. It was very good, and had a great presentation. We took some of it home, and were too full for dessert.
Overall, Fig did not disappoint (except for the romaine debacle) and is still a great wine café and tapas dinner restaurant. I agree with other reviews that the menu is limited, but for me, it is better to have a great menu that accompanies the wine, rather than too much that overpowers the atmosphere of it being a wine café.
We’ll definitely be back-​especially to try out the new menu.

After reading Greg Cox’s review in the News & Observer, decided to try the place this past Saturday evening. Arrived around 7:30, were asked if we had a reservation (called at 6:15, told we didn’t need one), got seated at a great corner table in the wine area. Ordered wine, and my boyfriend had started to go into low blood sugar mode. I asked if there was bread or something he could have while waiting for our food. They had none. We finally got our starters — bruschetta w goat cheese mousse and port wine steeped figs and cream of tomato soup with cheese. The bruschetta was very tough to chew and the soup was too thick. For entrees we chose Chicken Marsala and Shrimp & Grits. The former was just OK, it lacked oomph, plus when the waitress told me it was a chicken breast, I assumed it would be boneless. Never assume! The shrimp & grits was soupy, just as the review had stated. A spoon was used to finish it.
All in all, disappointing, and a little overrated on Unilocal.I guess it’s OK if you don’t know how to cook, but we both do, so…

We had a very nice dinner, if a bit pricey. A previous review referred to the fare as «farm to table» but the veggies are from Florida and doubtless the proteins are even more widely sourced. Despite this everything was fresh — both in tasting and thinking.
We started with the pimento bruschetta which was quite tasty. I had the shrimp and grits which lived up to the expectations created by other reviewers, and is definitely worth ordering again. My wife got the shepherd’ pie (really cottage pie since it contains beef, not lamb). It was a very hearty and rich little bowl which turned out to be surprisingly filling.
Sampling from the wine dispensers added another fun dimension to an already delightsome dinning experience. We’ll be back.

Disappointing!!! Very! !! !!! Three Unilocal stars based ONLY on our One visit! MOST of the Food had a Very Good Flavor worth 4 Unilocal stars! Most not all! What was wrong could have been easily fixed though it was NOT! Our Server was very pleasant and did a great Job! It seems Management could have done better! Our Server said he would talk to the Owner!
Tomato Soup was good enough for 4 stars and was my favorite part of the meal!
We were the only ones dining here and the meal could have been timed MUCH Better! My Steak came out Cold, though it was cooked as I ordered it… Rare!
Shrimp and Grits, Wonderful Flavor very Creamy, probably 4 Unilocal stars, also could have been hotter!
Hanger Steak Rare had Very Good Flavor and was cooked Perfectly though half of it was inedible because it had so much gristle! When I say inedible WE DID NOT EAT IT ! ! ! IT WAS LEFT ON THE PLATE!!! We were offered dessert.
Red Velvet Cupcake the icing was very Good probably because it was kinda old the Cake was stale, Needs work!
First Impressions are important to me, this House Looks Great, has a LOT of Potential and I wish them the Best!

Had a Living Social to use up… opted to try a Saturday lunch here, and it was a very pleasant experience. It was a cold, rainy day, so the lit fireplaces were very welcome! Also warm and welcoming… the wine «machine», and the GIANT cups of tea and coffee.
We started with unsweetened iced tea for Husband, and my choice of a berry hot tea. We shared a caesar salad, which they were kind enough to split for us. It was very light, with a tangy dressing and crunchy but simple croutons.
This was followed by «creamy» tomato soup with a grilled sandwich of housemade pimiento cheese with a hot pepper jam on grilled ciabatta. Husband got the turkey «rachel»: shaved turkey, white cheddar, napa slaw on marbled rye.
We shared the sandwiches, but Husband wasn’t interested in the soup, so I only did a little of the rachel. The soup was excellent. Not sure why it was called «creamy» though. I didn’t detect cream. It was thick and fresh tasting, warm and soothing. Loved it. The pimiento cheese was rich and yummy. We both thought it was excellent. Also very much liked the rachel. Both were served with store-​bought kettle chips that Husband really liked. I would have preferred something house-​made, but no big deal.
For dessert, Husband went with a giant cup of coffee, which he said was very good. We were both tempted by the homemade baked goods in the lobby area (where you can just walk in and purchase them to go if you want) But we were both pretty full.
So, I decided to drink my dessert… went with a $ 10 wine card, so I could attack the wine «machine». For $ 1.50 per one ounce, I was able to sample 6 different very nice wines. Fun! Delicious! And I still have a dollar left on my card, so I’ll have to go back!
Big plus: The owner came out and let us know she appreciated us being there, and wanted to make sure we liked everything okay.
We were told that dinner is much different… looking forward to trying that out as well.
Note: The menu changes.
TIP: If you’re by yourself, this is a perfectly comfortable place for you to have a cup of coffee and a sweet treat… a big juicy bratwurst on a pretzel roll… or a glass of wine. The «parlor» type area in particular, seems perfect this.

I have been driving by this place for some time and have been wanting to go. I was invited to a happy hour for KB homes at fig tonight from 6 to 8pm. It is in a good location in an old refurbished house with wood floors. It is very charming I like the atmosphere. Our happy hour party was in one room with a few stand up tables, and KB homes paid for wine and some finger food. The hors d’oeuvres were very good, and the spinach dip was fantastic. If this food is a showing of what a full meal is like at Fig I cannot wait to come back for dinner one night. i did take a look at the menu and it has very little on it, so I would check the menu on line before you go to make sure there is going to be something you wish to eat.
The wait staff was friendly and kept our drinks and food refreshed very quickly. Since we had a buffet style sitting for our party and the room was kind of small it was good that the wait staff was really good about picking up our used plates and glasses.
The reason I did not give a 5 was the wine service was really weird. They had the machines where you put a credit card style card into the machine and put your glass under the nozzle of the wine you wished to drink, then you press how many ounces of wine you want. Then the machine takes that amount of money off your card, and pours that much wine for you (see pictures of the machines attached to this review). It was a cool concept, and I’m all for technology but in this case it did not work. It ruined the whole atmosphere of the place by having this really charming old home converted into a wine bar very dim lit with candles on the tables and in the corner was this very brightly lit machines to dispense wine from. When I go to a wine bar I expect the waiter to come to my table with the towel over their arm and pour the wine for me, not a self serve computer dispensing wine from a machine. And as I said having all this technology and lights lighting it up just ruined the whole effect to the charm of the old world home. Also it is self serve and not a lot of people can be there at one time so every one stands around and waits their turn. Also everyone in line with me had never heard of any of the wines in the machine so no one knew what to get. So I pulled out my handy dandy IPhone with my Vivino app and took pictures of the bottle labels and pulled down reviews for people as we stood there. So i had to use technology to figure out which wines we wanted in the hi tech dispensing machines.
OK so there is one funny story about the wine machines that is funny. This one women went to the front desk and purchased a card so she could use the machines to get wine. She took 10 min to figure out what wine she wanted then put her card in the machine, and picked the number of ounces she wanted, and watch it pour all over the floor and her shirt because she did not realize she needed to put her glass up to the nozzle. I tried not to laugh but when I looked up and realized she was blonde I could not help myself — LOL
All in all great experience but get rid of the machines and have the wait staff pour the wine and it would be perfect.

Love the ambience, food and people who work here. It is a nice place to go for dinner or to hang out with a friend and drink a cup of tea.

Based on the other reviews, I had this place built up pretty high in my head. I was looking forward to using my living social deal and was prepared for a great experience… but that quickly crashed and burned upon walking in.
I went with two friends and we’re a pretty easy to please crowd. We were escorted to a table that was literally in the very center of an empty room which was just… awkward…and we asked to sit elsewhere. We were point into a room that didn’t seem very formal and there was only one man sitting in the room with a beer, but fine, we sat. After sitting and waiting for a solid 5 minutes, we noticed that there was someone (manager? owner?) escorting a young couple around, explaining the restaurant, the different rooms, etc. We made it painstakingly clear that we were there for lunch, but appeared to be sitting in the wine bar/​pub type area. Everyone else (with the exception of the man with his beer) was in the other room, where there were low tables, napkins, and sunshine. It was… weird.
Once our server got to us (clock was at about 7 minutes after sitting down) she stated she’d be right with us. She ended up coming back about 2 minutes later and we had been eyeing a lovely 4 top table bathed in natural light in the other room. When we asked to sit in the dining area, instead of seating us at the more obvious 4 top table, she cleared and cleaned a 3 top table which added another couple minutes onto our experience. The 3 top was a 2 top with an extra chair which didn’t leave much room for elbows and knees.
We reviewed the lunch menu and were rather surprised at the minimal selection. When our order was taken, we were told that they were out of one beer. After my friend requested a glass of zin, we were told they were out of that as well. Okay… two drinks. No big deal. Well, there was a great looking soup on the menu (squash, apple butter, goat cheese mousse)…we were excited to each get a bowl, but guess what?: out of soup. Alternatively, I ordered chili (meh) and my friend ordered lentil soup which she neither raved nor complained about.
Our sandwiches eventually came out and I was a bit disappointed as I noticed an orangish mayo based spread on my sandwich. It wasn’t advertised on the menu anywhere, and I would have requested another sandwich or at least new bread, but our server went MIA for about 10 minutes. I scraped as much off as I could and proceeded to eat what turned out to be a rather «blah» café sandwich.
When offered dessert, we asked to hear the selection and placed our order for an apple tart and a brownie to share as a group. Disappointingly, they were out of brownies and we had a chocolate pecan pastry instead. The apple tart was quite good, the chocolate pecan pastry was decent but nothing out of this world.
Overall, the experience was just not what I would have expected from a place who prides themselves on «farm to table.» It was mediocre, the service was quite slow (maybe some teamwork would help? There were three different girls that we saw, but only 1 was serving about 5 tables), and the ambiance, while charming, was somewhat lost on us due to the rest of the experience.

Great shrimp & grits! Cozy atmosphere!

What a wonderful place! This gem is the place to go Monday — Saturday! Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner. Besides the comfortable and cosy aesthetics the food is amazing! From Shrimp & Grits — beautifully appointed and delectable to Grilled Cheese (warmed Ciabatta bread and pimento and peppers cheese) that should be renamed as it is not an ordinary grilled cheese sandwich. You will not be disappointed with the food or the Fig! Did I mention the desserts yet? I succumbed to the Red Velvet cupcake with a cappuccino. Decadence! Tried a Cabernet from Spain and was impressed with the knowledge of the staff and owner who is very accessible and very sweet. Please visit this gem. You will not be disappointed!
My new place to be!

Back again to Fig Café and Wine Bar and well worth it. The menu has grown some since our last visit so that was great.
We sat on the patio because the weather was so nice — we knew the traffic would be a little noisy but didn’t care. These kind of Fall days in NC make it worth it!
We started with a Chilean Cab Sav and a small cheese plate… one white cheddar with a hot pepper jam and one blue with a drizzle of honey and a warm baguette… YUM
Then dinner was the lamb… med rare and perfectly done. You could cut it with a butter knife. The other meal was the pork belly and just as tasty but very different than the lamb. We would order both again and again!
We had warm apple tart and ice cream for zert.
This is just such a gem to have in Wake Forest, so tired of the same olé same olé! We will be back again soon.

Amazing food, great service, and friendly owners.
First time here and the food was top notch. It is a small menu, but everything is made from scratch with fresh, local ingredients (except the lamb, but if you know lamb, you know New Zealand has the best).
We bought a wine card and enjoyed sampling the many great varieties for only $ 1.50 each. Didn’t even end up buying a bottle because we enjoyed the different samples so much.
Serving sizes are perfect. You can have some drinks, a small appetizer, an entrée, and a dessert and not feel uncomfortably full. For those looking for really large portions, the Golden Corral is right down the street and may better suit your palate.
The owners introduced themselves and were very friendly. The waitstaff was excellent and serviced the table at a perfect pace. Not too fast, and not too slow. Always seemed to appear when we needed something.
Can’t wait to go back again. One of the best places in Wake Forest/​North Raleigh.

This is a great addition to Wake Forest. Fantastic upscale food at reasonable prices. Farm to table restaurant. Great wine. All wine enthusiasts must try the wine bar. You can sample all different kinds of wine. The bread is amazing. The dessert choices are fantastic. Love this place. Its in a beautiful large house.

The atmosphere was brilliant and the food & food presentation was amazing. Will definitely go back again soon!

After much anticipation over Fig Café opening, I found out today that they finally opened after seeing a review on Unilocal.I am so excited Wake Forest now has a farm to table restaurant. We went today for brunch and it was everything I hoped for. The food was fresh and made from local organic ingredients. We were greeted by a friendly barista when we came in. One of the owners then came out and greeted us, gave us a tour, and explained their concept. It was obvious to us that the Owners really care about their restaurant and the food they produce.
We chose our seat in the more formal seating area which had a warm and inviting atmosphere with dark wood floors, exposed beam ceiling, light lime green furniture and clean polished accents. The menu was a Sunday brunch pre-​fixe menu where you could chose an entrée, salad or fruit, and a drink including Bellini’s, mimosas, tea or coffee. I chose the croque-​monsieur which was very tasty, fruit, and a peach Bellini. My sandwich was served open face and had thicker cut ham, a smooth guerrier cheese sauce, on a nice piece of toast that had a slight crunch to it. Hubby had a chicken sandwich, salad and iced tea. The chicken on his sandwich was so savory and was complimented by a mild tangy caper sauce and was served on a crusty baguette. A basket of bread, muffins, and banana bread, fresh butter, and homemade peach preserves were also served with the meal. We almost fought over the banana bread it was that good.
The service was refreshing. All of the staff was friendly and helpful. They really seemed like they cared about the restaurant. The prices are on the high side ($ 15/​pp for brunch), but I thought the quality and experience was worth it. The other couple in the restaurant seemed to agree as they were already asking about the lunch menu for Wednesday as they wanted to come back.
Overall the restaurant exceeded my expectations and is a welcome addition to the somewhat average fare available in Wake Forest. I cannot wait to come back for dinner and to sample their wine bar!