District at 410

Today, my company had reservations for a noon service and I would like to provide my view on our group of 8’s experience. I also want to start by saying that my wife and I used to run a food group in PA; where we attended several student run restaurants with groups larger than 8.
Let me talk about the food. I ordered the Lg plate District Burger sliders, mousse dessert and lemonade. The lemonade was just a tad too sweet for me, but I added some water and it was OK. The burger was done very well and served with an appropriate amount of sides and toppings. When the mousse came, I was very surprised! The cookie was great and the chill and consistency of the mouse was awesome. I would definitely want that again, if it was available for takeout!
Now let’s talk about the service which our service lasted 2hrs 30mins. The start of the service started with water being poured; which took our waitress 3 trips to the kitchen in order to fill all our glasses. Tip to staff: have a larger pitcher/​bottle available for pouring water or an additional person holding another pitcher/​bottle of water.
Next, the waitress took our orders. She did a great job asking what each person wanted and how it should be prepared. Two of us ordered lemonade and two ordered coffee. Our drinks did not come to our table until 20 minutes into service, then we also got some bread/​rolls shortly after that.
Unfortunately, I did not time hold long it took for our food to arrive but I am sure it was around 1hr into service. Now when it did come the servers had no clue who had what and this was a bit disturbing; because I did notice that the waitress put a seat number next to each order on her tablet. Tip for staff: tray food based on seat number and ensure server knows where to start serving. Also, we had to ask for plate corrections several times prior to everyone getting what they ordered.
Four members of my group ordered the small Pork Belly plate; which I did not order. Looking at all four I noticed that they were all inconsistent. Three of the four cuts were large and one was small. Three of the four were garnished, but inconsistent; where one had 6 pieces, another had 4, and the third had 8.
After lunch, the dirty plates were removed and dessert was served. The only issue I had with this course was that mousse was missing, but was brought shortly after returning to the kitchen.
Finally, it was time to take care of our checks. Yes, the poor waitress had to deal with 8 different checks but many restaurant servers deal with that. So, this part was interesting as many of our checks were wrong with either too many or incorrect items. Not mentioning all the errors, but I had to have my check corrected 8 times before it was correct. Another issue I had was that the wait staff had to enlist the head chef to get our checks correct and cashed out. This part of the service took just over 45 minutes to complete and some of our party left their cards with us as they had meetings to attend.
Overall thoughts… would I attend another service? Probably not. A tip I would provide would be to allow students to sit through their own service to see how customers experience their service… or, record your services and provide a review to allow students to see what went wrong and provide valid feedback!
I gave this two-​stars because the food was almost great, but was hindered by a lack of good service.

I visited on a Thursday. The food and service were exceptional. A bit slow but worth waiting for. The price was very reasonable, 13.95 for an all inclusive 5-​star meal. The atmosphere was very elegant, and the servers very attentive and willing to please.
The food. Ah, the food. A real treat for the pallet. I’m used to vegetables cooked a little softer but experts tell us that we should eat food as close to the way they grow as possible so I guess they have something there. As I saw other dishes come out of the kitchen I thought I should have gotten that but when mine arrived I knew I made the right choice. I just have to go back more often. If I go every week I can sample everything before the menu changes the next month. Now that’s a plan.

This restaurant is a culinary school student run restaurant. The menu changes every month and they offer specials. The restaurant is open on Thursdays and Fridays from 12 noon to 2 PM. The servers and waitstaff are students along with the students in the kitchen cooking your meal. The food is delicious, the experience is fun and it is worth the value. Come and support the students. The restaurant is very nice on the inside and the campus is beautiful. They also take credit cards.

Ditto the previous Unilocaler… reviewing this place is difficult because it is at a school.
The food was OK. And the service was also OK-​I had read the previous review so I was prepared. We went with a Living Social Deal but there seemed to be too much confusion on that. The appetizer was delicious but the meals were OK. It tasted like a student cooked it. My husband got the fish of the day, sea bass and it was seared too long so the seasoning burnt. But the service is slow which we expected so we didn’t have the time to return.
Just remember the service is slow and it’s at a school and it’s worth visiting at least once.

I have eaten at The District three times and had three exceptional meals. Most recently I ordered the roasted salmon with vegetables in a fennel cream sauce and it was exceptional. Try this place because you will not believe the quality of the food.

Rating the District at 410 is very difficult.
I’ve had lunch here 3 times, and my experiences have been consistent:
–Great food
–Slow Service
So, here’s the deal, you’re going to get a great meal for a reasonable price. The gourmet meals feature fantastic ingredients and a lovely presentation, however the service is very slow. Given that it’s part of the trade off that it’s a school and you’re getting a great deal, be prepared to wait. On average it takes 1.5 hours for lunch (and that’s from when you walk in to walking out), with 2 – 3 courses. Make sure to block off enough time to enjoy a lunch. Be sure to make a reservation (call in), although that’s been inconsistent. Between loosing a reservation and not having my name or phone number saved, it’s been a mixed experience. Since they have very few tables and are only open thursday/​friday — you want to make sure you have a reservation before going.
Overall: worth the experience if you have some time to spare and a bit of patience.

Everybody has to start someplace and when you’re talking about the culinary arts in Durham, you’re talking about the District. Located in the ATC building, the District is the student-​run restaurant and arm of the Arts Institute of Raleigh-​Durham. So how did these budding chefs do? Read on and learn more!
Located on the ground floor of the building, the District is a bit tricky to find. And toss in the fact that they are only serving lunch on Wednesdays and Thursdays (until June), you’ll need to make an effort to eat here. It’s a small dining room with a window into the kitchen, the menu is nouveau American but I’m guessing it changes quite a bit as the classes move on.
We started off with some lobster bisque and a hummus appetizer. The bisque was decent but had some bitterness and could have used more creaminess. The hummus app was quite good: grilled, seasoned flatbread and a trio of hummus. My only recommendation is to present the hummus a bit differently, the ice cream scoop makes it look too much like, well, ice cream! My main dish of crab cakes was tasty and well prepared.
Service was well-​meaning and attentive, a plus there for the students. Our lunch came out to $ 40+ so yeah, the service needs to be good. All-​in-​all I think the students did a fine job but the food was a bit uneven. The appetizer can set the tone for the meal so they had to work their way up to three stars for me. If you’re at the ATC and want to support these students, definitely stop on by for a meal at the District…

******* Update 4÷27÷2010
The District now opens only on Wednesday and Thursdays 11−2pm.
Friday is no longer available. Call at those times to book.
*******
This is a new lunch restaurant run and planned by the students of the Art Institute of Raleigh-​Durham. It’s a bit hidden away. The best way to describe it is that it’s downstairs next to Mellow Mushroom at the Baseball stadium. The menu changes over time and even the servers are students. It’s only open on Thursdays and Fridays from 11 – 2. Make sure you call ahead to reserve a table.
The food was pretty good, and so was the service. There are some flaws. The best part of the dining was that it is an interesting experience. You obviously come with a different expectation and you even root for the students and hope that they do well.
This is likely to fuel the foodie fire of the lively Durham food scene!