At the beginning of the school year, Nate and I decided to get together and make a weekly lunch date due to the fact his schedule would not allow us to eat dinner together on a nightly basis. Friday we decided to go to Garland Raleigh. You may or may not recall my post about the Moroccan-Inspired Chickpea Bowls I made back in early September, don't worry, I put in a hyperlink so you can refresh your memory! Anyway, these bowls were inspired by a single bite of Garland's Moroccan "Hummus". Since I had the single fateful bite I've thought about going to the restaurant for a heaping plate of my own and I finally did it!
Truthfully, prior to learning Garland was a restaurant, I would walk by it on my lunch hour and assume it was a nightclub. Garland is only open for lunch Wednesday through Friday and the exterior of the building is covered in mirrored glass. I think you can understand my confusion. Fun fact: their upstairs neighbor "Kings" is actually a live music venue. Garland is located at 14 W Martin St, Raleigh, NC 27601.
Garland Raleigh
Decor: the inside of the eatery was beautiful and rustic. A lot of dark woods and unfinished fixtures, two large windows provide natural light and the walls are adorned with large murals and paintings. It's the perfect combination of eclectic and chic. Walking into Garland you'd think you were in Chicago or New York - not Raleigh. We were seated toward the front of the restaurant but it definitely appeared to be larger than you'd think. I may be wrong, but it appeared there was another room off the main dining room. The bar was also beautiful and I plan to go back there for a drink very, very soon.
Food appearance: food looked good but I wouldn't necessarily say it was groundbreaking presentation or anything.
Food taste: I ordered the Moroccan "Hummus" and Chili Peanut Cucumber Salad lunch combo for a whopping $11 and was frankly shocked at 1) how much food I was given and 2) why I've never eaten here before! The hummus was served warm with the chickpeas whole and tasted utterly magnificent! I can't even identify the spices used other than they were spicy and there was definitely clove. Everything was tied together with house-made crema and fresh cilantro! The "hummus" is served alongside crisp tortilla strips but I just scooped mine up with a fork and eat the tortilla strips by themselves with a squeeze of fresh lime juice. The salad was a mix of lettuce, cilantro and mint tossed in a chili-lime vinaigrette and topped with crushed peanuts. I've never had a salad that left me salivating before, but this one certainly did. I'd order this massive amount of food again at first chance!
Nate ordered the Garland Pork Tacos which were the marriage of Korean BBQ meets Mexican street food. He was shocked that 3 small tacos filled him up so much.
Service: our server was a little less attentive toward the end of our visit but I will attribute that to it being the end of service and her trying to leave after her shift on time. I'll give her the benefit of the doubt.
Cleanliness: again, it was the end of service so there were a number of dirty tables and place-settings at the bar, but I attribute that to it being the end of the lunch hour.
I would love to return to Garland for lunch and again for dinner, drinks and a Sunday brunch. Their menus are diverse and sound scrumptious.
The hummus and tacos were both great, and I'd definitely go back here.
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