Downtown Raleigh Restaurant Week returns with fun menu items

Downtown Raleigh Restaurant Week is back starting Friday.

The event will run Nov. 5-14 and includes more than 20 restaurants offering prix-fixe menus.

Participating restaurants include:

• Caffe Luna - The menu includes a three-course dinner for $25 that includes salad, pasta and dessert.
• Capital Club 16 - (Offering a lunch special Nov. 9-12, dinner special Nov. 11-13)
• Clockwork - check out their taco dinner special
• Cousins Maine Lobster in Morgan Street Food Hall - Their lunch and dinner special involves a free order of tots, chips or a Whoopie pie.
• Good Day Good Night - Their three Course Prix-Fixe dinner ($36) includes stuffed acorn squash and bourbon pecan pie.
• Gravy - The dinner special is $30 and includes salad/soup or risotto balls (get the risotto balls!!), a main course and their famous tiramisu for dessert.
• Mama Crow's in Transfer Co. Food Hall - They are offering a $10 meal box for lunch. It includes their a Crow burger, small Side Yard salad and tasty Crow Fries.
• Manhattan Cafe - The lunch special here featuring a sandwich made just for restaurant week. The Crack Chicken Sub features diced hand-breaded chicken tenders, lettuce, tomato and their world famous crack sauce. It is served on fresh made Neomonde hoagie.
• MOFU Shoppe - Lunch and dinner specials include a complimentary small bite for diners spending $20 at lunch and $25 at dinner. The "Angry Chicken Canape" is also a special on the menu this week.
• My Way Tavern - This special includes The Gobbler - oven roasted turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, brown gravy and cranberry sauce on a hoagie roll. You can get it with a side of sweet potato casserole.
• ORO Restaurant & Lounge - Their three-course dinner menu ($35) includes crawfish risotto.
• The Overlook at Residence Inn - Their $45 three-course meal includes a glass of red or white wine with your entree - an almond-crusted black grouper with lusty monk mustard sauce, fingerling potatoes and charred broccoli rabe.
• Parkside - The dinner menu has a three-course $30 special that includes an appetizer, entree and dessert. We recommend the stroganoff for your entree!
• The Pit - The $30 three-course dinner menu includes their famous barbecue or shrimp and grits. Plus the dessert option has a Cheerwine float.
• Plates Neighborhood Kitchen - Three courses for $35 and the menu includes their butternut squash soup. So good on a cold day!
• Raleigh Beer Garden - This place has a lunch special only. It is a fried turkey club sandwich with fries for $13.99.
• The Raleigh Times Bar - The three-course menu is $40 per person but it does include options like loaded fries, barbecue, a chicken and waffle sandwich and a raspberry donut cheesecake.
• Sitti Authentic Lebanese - The three-course dinner menu will run you $30 but it includes favorites like Salmon Kibbee, Lebanese Vegetarian Lasagna and pumpkin cheesecake.
• Tonbo Ramen - The three-course menu is $30 and includes Tonkotsu Ramen (bone broth with pork belly, ramen and homemade dumplings) for the entree.
• Tuscan Blu - A $25 three-course menu is featured including Mediterranean Sea Bass.
• Woody's at City Market - A lunch special is offered here Monday through Friday 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. You can choose from eight classic menu items, a basic side item and a soda or tea for $8.88 (includes tax).
• Wye Hill Kitchen & Brewing - Enjoy one of the best views in town and a three-course dinner for $35. Wine pairings are offered for $15 and beer pairings for $12. Also check out their brunch specials on Saturday and Sunday. Specials include a mimosa flight for two for $35.
• Young Hearts Distilling - This newly opened distillery and restaurant has a three-course dinner special that includes a pork belly entree!

See the full menus for each location on the restaurant week website.

While the week ahead looks milder, parts of the weekend will be cool, and restaurant owners hope the weather and the ongoing pandemic won't keep people away. Some of the participating restaurants, like Wye Hill Kitchen & Brewing, have outdoor dining that’s heated.

The Downtown Raleigh Alliance is hoping Restaurant Week will give restaurants a much-needed boost after a challenging two years.