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The Nasher Café - Durham

3.9 (75 reviews)
ModerateNew American
Closed 10:00 am - 2:00 pm
Updated 2 weeks ago

The Nasher Café - Durham Photos

THE NASHER CAFÉ - DURHAM ATMOSPHERE

What's the vibe?
Casual
Classy
Moderate noise
Outdoor seating

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Recommended Reviews - The Nasher Café - Durham

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Tiramisu cake and affogato IG: michelleliphoto
Michelle L.

Cute brunch spot within walking distance of Duke campus, located inside a free museum. Both indoor and outdoor seating are available. I've visited twice now! I loved the large portions, especially the Farmer's Omelette--fluffy and packed with veggies. The tiramisu was a standout dessert. Would definitely return.

Inside seating Nasher Cafe
Leslie H.

Make your visit to the Nasher Museum complete by stopping by the Nasher Cafe to eat! We made reservations for a late Sunday lunch/brunch at 2pm but arrived earlier and was able to get a seat about 30 mins before. The hostess marked us as arrived but advised to go see the art galleries (which is FREE) while we waited to be seated. The area for seating is small but offers plenty of light from the outside. When weather permits, they also have patio seating as well. They do make the most of the space to accommodate as many people as possible. The cafe seemed to be buzzing and popular amongst Duke students, staff, Durham locals and others from around the Triangle. The brunch menu offered a variety of egg Benedicts , salads and other light fare. There were some featured fall cocktails(I enjoyed my Fall Mimosa) and a nice selection on the wine list. Service was pleasant and food arrived to our table quickly. The portion of the rainbow trout surprisingly offered two pieces of fish and so we share it and also split the Burratta salad which was also delicious. Save room for dessert because the warm apple galette with vanilla gelato was everything!

Smoked salmon Benedict
Nicole N.

I heard is a thing at Duke to get brunch at Nasher's so I went to try it out!! I got the smoked salmon benedict and it was pretty solid. Loved the generous serving of smoked salmon and how the hollandaise sauce was creamy but not too egg yolk heavy. Wish the poached eggs were a little larger but still tasted good over all. Also got to try the salmon omelet which also had lots of cooked salmon and cappers. This cafe is tucked inside the Nasher museum but it was spacious with lots of natural light and seating in/outdoors. Definitely try to get a reservation ahead of time or you can also call the morning of your visit to see if there are additional open spots. If you roll up without one you can also join the waitlist and check out the museum in the meantime. The lady in the front was super nice and friendly but servers were a little busy throughout our meal. I wanted to get some black pepper but no one checked in and I wasn't able to get anyone's attention until I was done with my food.

Smoked salmon sandwich with pasta
Kyle R.

I was at the museum today and decided to come by and check out the cafe located inside. I'm glad to have tried it since it was delicious! I shared meals with a friend and got half of the lamb burger and half of the smoked salmon sandwich. WOW! Both were absolutely delicious and I'm glad I could try both. Very filling. Highly recommend trying out the cafe if you are visiting. The service was great and it was fun dining in the museum!

Tiramisu
Sikoya A.

I'm a bit biased but I love the atmosphere here. It's a great place for a lunch meeting or quick snack. I also love that professors still take their classes here to have discussions over coffee. This time I just came for the dessert and they didn't disappoint. Tiramisu had a bit more cream than I was expecting. But it wasn't too sweet and a lovely afternoon snack. I was fortunate to have the person who creates their menu serve me that day and she gave great recommendations for food options that I might be interested in. Other waiters were also attentive and friendly.

Salmon Benedict
Sevana W.

Such a lovely brunch spot on the path between Duke's East and West campuses!! I've been here a couple times this semester and my food and drinks have been consistently top-notch. I highly recommend the salmon benedict and the iced latte! And if you want something sweet for dessert, the apple tart is delicious. Flaky, warm, and complemented perfectly by the vanilla bean gelato. Definitely worth a visit if you're spending an afternoon on campus.

Steak Benedict with arugula salad
Lori T.

Scrumptious brunch menu. So many delicious sounding items. We ordered the Steak Benedict and the Italian Hash. Both items were prepared well, and had perfectly blended flavors and generous servings. The Hollandaise sauce was very good with a rich, creamy consistency. Serving staff were friendly and extremely attentive. Very bright, airy and modern setting. Strongly suggest reservations, as it seemed more people came here to eat than to see the art galleries.

vegan portabella + side salad
Emily Z.

I always enjoy my meals here, so I was really excited to visit again for another brunch now that they are opened again. The revamped menus don't have as great of a selection as they did pre-pandemic, but the menu still offers good vegetarian/vegan options, sides, alcoholic drinks, and desserts at reasonable prices. My table got two orders of the Vegan Portabella panini and a Red, White & Green panini. Both turned paninis were really good with great seasoning and complementary sauces/spreads respectively. I'm not vegan or vegetarian, but the Vegan Portabella was definitely my favorite because of how well the avocado chimichurri paired with portobello caps. For dessert, we had tiramisu and their molten lava cake. Both were a good portion size for dessert, and I'd say that the tiramisu was the table favorite because of how great the coffee flavor was. The service experience was exceptional as well. Waiters checked in on us multiple times throughout the meal to ensure that we were happy with our orders, and they were really accommodating with splitting the bill for us. Overall, Nasher is an ideal brunch spot with a good menu and great service!

Frutti di Mare
JJ C.

Atmosphere: The Nasher Cafe is a clean, modern cafe-restaurant at Duke's Nasher Museum. There is a nice big window that gives the space lots of light. The outdoor seating is also great when the weather is warm! Service: We've had a reservation every time we've been to the Nasher, and we were always seated immediately. The service is pretty decent -- on one occasion, one of the utensils at our table was dirty, but our server identified the issue immediately and was proactive in giving us a new, clean set of utensils. Food: We have been to the Nasher Cafe several times and have tried the Panko Salmon, Frutti di Mare, Lemon Linguine with Shrimp, Southwestern Panini, Rustic Berry Tart with Vanilla Gelato, Molten Lava Cake with Vanilla Gelato, Raspberry Italian Cream Soda, and Iced Latte. Our favorite items are the Panko Salmon and their desserts! The Panko Salmon comes with a delicious mustard lemon sauce that brings the salmon to another level. The desserts are always presented well and are a satisfying end to our meals. However, one thing to note is that their Molten Lava Cake doesn't ooze with chocolate when cut into like other lava cakes, which we were disappointed to discover our first time getting the dessert. The other items we have tried were good but not anything super special. In particular, the Lemon Linguine with Shrimp had a good variety of vegetables and decent shrimp, but the overall dish was pretty bland. Overall: We give The Nasher Cafe a 4 star review given the fact that we have been able to purchase our meals there on food points (Duke's currency for student dining). If we weren't splurging excess food points at the end of the semester, we would say that The Nasher Cafe isn't quite worth the steep prices. The ambiance and service is nice, but the food quality and flavor does not justify spending an average of $25 per person.

Veggie Benedict
Jacqueline L.

We got there a bit early so we had to wait a few minutes before they seated us. Once we were seated, it took a while for the server to come take or orders. It seemed like he was the only server for all the tables. The manager seemed to be helping as well but there were too many tables for just 2 people. I ordered the veggie Benedict and my mom got the southwestern omelette. It took a really long time for our food to come out too. The salad that both the omelette and Benedict came with was delicious, however, the potatoes were definitely too pepper-y. My eggs were cooked perfectly so that the yolk ran a bit but not too much and the pesto sauce with the mozzarella and spinach was delicious! I thought the English muffin was a bit hard but the rest made up for that. I probably won't rush back here in the future because the service isn't that great and the price is a little high but I'd say it was a good meal overall.

Dark Chocolate Lava Cake
Grace Q.

They just reopened after covid and I was so excited to try it out! Make sure that you double check their hours though because they're not open on weekends, I believe. Also not open for dinner. The food was amazing! I couldn't decide what to get so I just got both the turkey and smoked Gouda sandwich and the red, white, and green sandwich. The RWG sandwich was alright, the sauce is really runny though which made the bread soggy. It was just a mess to eat, but the flavors were really good! The turkey and smoked Gouda sandwich, though was on another level: the photo does not do it justice. The flavors just went so well together: the turkey, cheese, green apple, cucumber, sauce, etc. I will definitely be coming back for this sandwich! Service was a little slow as they are understaffed, but it was definitely worth it. I also tried the chocolate lava cake which was great with the gelato!

Ambiance shot
Jonah S.

This is my favorite brunch place to go to. Sometimes the menu changes but usually it's just one or two things on the menu. The artisanal cheese platter is a classic to get to share with everyone (I personally go for the Brie, St. Andre and the Chèvre) as it comes with fruits and nuts. Any form of eggs Benedict is a classic here and well worth it (The smoked salmon variant is the best in my opinion). However the omelettes are the game winners in my book. They offer a nice mix of eggs along with veggies and meats such as the southwestern omelette which is finished with a chipotle aioli sauce that tastes amazing. Also get the warm apple tart or molten lava cake to finish off your meal, you won't be disappointed. 8/10 Best Brunch place on Duke Campus

Seafood omelette with side of potatoes and salad.

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3 years ago

Thoroughly enjoyed the experience. Cafe is good, go for the brunch menu on the weekend.

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2 years ago

The food and the service was amazing! The ambiance really see the tone for the creative dishes that were served.

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11 years ago

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3 years ago

Excellent food by chef enrique salinas and staff!!! Great coffee!! Excellent table service!!

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Ask the Community - The Nasher Café - Durham

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The Nasher Café - Durham - newamerican - Updated May 2026

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