Bar Virgile

Lots of atmosphere, lots of fun, food OK. Can get crowded and loud, not for an intimate meal. Drinks are fine. Go here to party.

Exceptional and great ambiance. The bartenders skills are great and they are fast to be making such craft cocktails. Gluten Free friendly… the charcuterie excellent and the preserves amazing. I had the skirt steak for my entrée and the flavors melded beautifully… the mushrooms are to die for. Then I found out that one of the bartenders is the owner… he was working to give his guys a night off. I will definitely be back the next time I am in Durham.

Short version: Good vibe, good drinks, ok food, overpriced. You are paying for the atmosphere. They served what they call Iraqi sweet bread. It ended up being naan with a square of butter. The crispy chicken wings were really small fried wings… super small.
The cocktail I ordered was good. Enjoyed that. My friend had lamb. It was $ 18 and they didn’t believe it was worth it.
Went here with a friend after Mateo was full. There was a wait here too. Both restaurants are similar. They have a Spanish type vibe and dark atmosphere. But the food is not as good. The menu leave lots to be desired.
It would rank higher if the drinks weren’t so expensive and the food was better.
I wouldn’t come back. But if you are looking for a romantic or dark atmosphere and don’t care much about food i would still say go to Mateo. Next time I will wait.

A new chef at Bar Virgile has meant changes to the menu but still top notch cocktails. I love the creativity and work that goes into the cocktails at Bar Virgile, it is truly now the highlight of the experience. They have a seasonal cocktail menu that changes (seasonally) as well as their main-​stay/​classic options. You’ll discover the flavor of fresh spice, sour/​sweet/​spicy combinations and egg white uses.
As far as the kitchen goes, they’ve changed their focus from fancy «snack» foods to full entrees. Prices are much higher and portion sized much larger. Although our meals were both good, they weren’t fantastic and I will say, I miss the old menu. They offer hand-​picked cheese and meat places (priced per meat and per cheese you pick) served with a complimentary fruit spread, mustard and pickled vegetable. I would recommend the cheese/​meat option if you’re hungry, portion size per price was reasonable. The Steak Asperges ($ 18) is served with asparagus and fingerling potatoes and had good flavor. The steamed PEI mussels ($ 11) with addition of «frites» ($ 5) made for a tasty appetizer but were not as flavorful as I would’ve expected. I much prefer Vin Rouge’s mussels over Bar Virgile.
Overall, still an excellent if not the best cocktail menu in the area, but no longer my top choice for a romantic and excellent dinner in the area.

Wow! Dang. .. I mean a super, duper wow! It’s a little place in a nondescript location with barely more than a half dozen tables and it is batting well above its average. (Sorry, I had to use a baseball analogy, it is Durham, NC.)
The food is just awesome. From the wide selection of cured meats to the great cheese pairings. We had a bunch of small plate appetizers and split the duck confit. It wa delightful. Super savory and very complex in flavors and textures.
This is squarely a mixologists bar — and they pride themselves on the diverse drinks. We went for the beer and wine menu — but I’ve got a bit of dinners remorse that I didn’t try one of their curated libations.
Take home: an awesome evening. Great food. Delightful service! I’ll be back for sure!

Immediately impressed at the fun vibe in this place. It’s small, and I can imagine a bit of a wait on busy nights, but we had no trouble getting seated. Atmosphere is really nice and intimate but not too serious, with dimmed lighting. Food is stellar. We settled for the burgers, a mix with short rib — hard to even describe how much flavor these had. Fries were thin and crispy, seasoned well. Cocktail selection was fun and extremely unique — check out the jalapeño margarita type drink, or the cinnamon/​strawberry swizzle. Service was good and prompt. Will definitely be back!

We absolutely love this place — especially the bar, it is a sexy, sophisticated, dimly lit, great bartenders and comfortable bar stools.
My only issue is we ordered a dinner that was served at the bar which wasn’t the best. I had their roasted chicken with fries and my husband had a sausage that was served on a bed of polenta. The chicken was not cooked all the way through and was very awkward to eat given it was a half a chicken, not cut up. The fries were delicious. My husband felt the polenta was overly creamy and rich and couldn’t eat more than half of it, which for him, is a rare occurrence. We have had their charcuterie plate in the past which is delicious, abundant serving, beautifully sliced paper thin meats and just the right amount of cheese.
Since we love the atmosphere, I will give them another try in the food department but a chicken is so easy to roast, I can’t imagine how they messed that one up …

Awesome cocktails and food at the bar. I had the best gin fizz I’ve ever tasted, and the fries and other bar snacks we ordered were equally fantastic.

It’s easy to miss Bar Virgile when driving and there isn’t much parking on the adjacent street. This is one of the best bar/​diner combinations I’ve been to in Durham and I’m glad we gave this place a try.
The alcohol selection behind the bar counter is huge! The bartenders here must be skilled in order to keep up with all of those bottles. There is seating along the bar counter, as well as some table seating for larger groups. We came on a Friday evening around 9 PM and the place was packed. While waiting for an open table for three, the bartender came to us and offered their cocktail and beer menu to order from. I appreciated the gesture and the drink made the wait seem not so long.
It’s evident that meat is a prime choice here, so I ordered the smoked speck charcuterie, as well as the lobster & sweet pea spaghetti. We didn’t have to wait long for the food to arrive. The lobster spaghetti was creamy with just the right proportion of meat and noddles. The charcuterie was served on a small platter with bread and apfelmus (German apple sauce).
This venue has a dark, modern upscale atmosphere that makes it a great choice for dates or to enjoy the evening with close friends. I wish I knew about Bar Virgile since I got to Durham!

Great vibe and interior deco. The wait for a table can be really long though. They have a relatively small bar area with maybe about 10 seats. They also have a table area with about 8 tables of 2 – 6 seats.
My group of 4 got there at around 10:30pm on a Friday and had a 30 minute wait for a table. I think there usually is an open 2 person table though, so that wait isn’t quite as long.
The Gin Fizz drink is pretty cool. There is a solid inch of foam rising above the rim of the glass. Bar Virgile is a little pricey but a little cheaper than the nearby 21C. The atmosphere is also a lot more laid back than 21C.

Very good — a little over priced. I ordered the steak and lobster with the butternut squash and my mom ordered the chicken. I asked for a medium steak and it was cooked to perfection. The lobster pieces were tiny but complemented the steak. I was expecting to have another side or more butternut because the ratio of meat to side was a little off whereas my mom had plentiful of fries but not enough chicken. The drinks are made well. The german chocolate cake was amazing — full of coconut and nuts, not very chocolatey.

Went for an early Valentine’s Day dinner after reading the reviews. What a great choice that was!
We were prepared to have to wait for a table, even on a Thursday, but I did not expect the bar to be full of diners as well. The bartender made sure to get our drink order while we were waiting in line. I had a Manhattan and my boyfriend got the maple bacon manhattan. Both were excellent. The atmosphere is so nice in there and there is so much to look at it I didn’t even mind waiting.
Even though its small in there, the tables are not right on top of each other. It’s a mixture of cozy bench seating and chairs. We started with a charcuterie board and the wings. You choose your own cheese and meat and we went with the manchego and spicy capicola. Both were very good and they are served with bread, stone ground mustard and some type of apple butter. We had to ask for more bread but our server happily brought it. The wings were excellent. Crispy and nicely sauced. The harissa ranch they were served with was soooo good.
After all that I really didn’t want a large entrée so I got a salad and side of brussel sprouts and butternut squash. Both were very good although not the most exciting choiced. My boyfriend got the short rib burger and really liked it. I stole a few (dozen) fries. I would probably go back just for those.
The service was absolutely excellent. Eleanor was our server and was so pleasant and helpful and really took great care of us. They seemed to have a lot of staff for such a small restaurant, but I am sure that keeps them continuing to provide great service.
I am not sure how often they have live music during dinner, but I thought it was a very nice touch. Not overpowering by any means, every enjoyable.
I think this will be our new date night spot! I know they change the menu a lot and there are many other cocktails I want to try and everything was very affordable. Great experience!

Had a great experience here on Friday. We got there around 5:30ish on a Friday. It was full, but we only had to wait about 15 mins. Perfect timing to get a cocktail while waiting. Cocktails are on point, and bartenders friendly.
We sat for dinner and had two cheeses and a meat for starting, then the short rib burger, carbonara and the tomato/​egg dish (whose name escapes me). Everything had great flavor.
We got the crème brûlée and cookie for dessert and both were great as well.
Service was mostly great. They came and suggested another round of drinks, but they were quick to remove plates when we weren’t complete done with our starter.
Atmosphere is great, but I wouldn’t come for a dinner you want to linger at, there are very few tables and I would feel guilty staying after paying.

Food: 3
Drinks: 4
Service: 3
Stopped by for dinner on our way out of town at the recommendation of a local. Sat at the bar, bartender was great — attentive and friendly.
Mr Beffrey had a PDT Ol’Fashioned and loved it. Amazing bacon-​y aroma and taste. Mr Beffrey (unsurprisingly) ordered the burger (made it a double), sadly it came out definitely a near-​gray-​in-​the-​middle medium, instead of medium rare. Bartender was great though, took the burger right back and the kitchen whipped up another one that was the right temp. Fries were pretty good. The shakshuka was tasty — a fragrant, peppery tomato sauce, a decently poached egg (though slightly too much un-​cooked egg white for Ms Beffrey’s liking), and a good amount of perfectly salty shaved ham.
Would come back to try more on their menu, looks delicious!

This place is nothing short of amazing with everything they do, they do exceedingly well. The atmosphere, the staff, the food and drink is done to the nines. This is a joint where you order a mixed drink because bartenders like Danny know what they’re doing. All seats in the dining room and bar area are first-​come, first-​served and they do not accept reservations. If you come on a Friday or Saturday come early, between 4 – 5:30 and the wait should be minimal. To the chef and partners of BV, don’t change a thing.

Previously every time I have tried Bar Virgile it has been super crowded on a Friday or Saturday night and I haven’t bothered trying to fight for a drink or wait for a table. Last night, however, I learned that there is a very good reason that people come here– because it’s got good food, drinks and ambiance. When you walk in you are greeted by a well stocked bar and then there are a few tables in the back. The lighting is dark (but not too dark) and it definitely has a classy, old world feeling. It almost felt like I wasn’t in Durham anymore but had been transplanted to a classy bar on the Upper East Side.
On a Monday evening there weren’t many other patrons and the bartender was friendly and attentive. It was great to sip a cocktail and have a conversation (and the Duke game was still on in the background). I had a cosmo and my husband had a manhattan and both were very well made. Cocktails are all around $ 10, which seemed fair to me for a well made drink. I didn’t know that Bar Virgile had food (but it does), and it all looked great! My husband and I shared a charcuterie plate and it was delicious. On Mondays there is a special for a burger and a beer for $ 10 which I definitely will be back to try.

This review is for the bar and atmosphere only, unfortunately due to the wait we didn’t get a chance to eat here.
So for more on that it gets busy and its a small place, maybe 10 or so tables and on a Saturday at 6pm it was a 1 hr wait. Keep in mind it was the night of a DPAC show so maybe thats not normal but they dont take reservations so keep that in mind. The bar is first come first served.
The drinks were incredible here and I had a really good gin fizz here called the Ramos that id would for sure recommend my wife also loved her gin 2.0 drink.
Food looks good, hope we can get a chance to check it out next time but we will for sure stop here for a drink every time were in the area.

Great food and drinks. It’s on the swankier side of a bar; the mixed drinks (False Hour is delicious) are to die for and the bar food is pretty great. I am such a fan of the spiced pecans and dried cherries appetizer. Also, the lobster roll entrée with shoestring fries is quite nice as well. I also tried their frisee salad with apple (normally, it’s pear, but they didn’t have it then), which was probably my favorite thing that night — lovely combination of taste and texture (with hints of bacon and pecan).

Perfectly imperfect! Menu is on a note pad, and not totally reflective of what is offered or what they have. If you’re like me and like to plan ahead via menus on websites, that’s not something we can do yet with the fairly new Bar Virgile. And that’s okay because they’ve obviously been busy collecting quality ingredients and the expertise to execute them properly instead of building a website. (note, they are on FB though)
What exactly is a Spicy Italian anyway? We know it comes with caramelized onions and peppers, but is it a sausage? Salami? Pepperoni? Well yes, we could have asked, but by the time we ordered the Spicy Italian we had already had two perfectly concocted drinks… a Manhattan for Husband (who said it was possibly the best one he’s ever had), and a creamy, citrusy Ramos Gin Fizz for me. Gin? Me? Not my usual thing, but all I can say is wow! Combine that gin with some frothy egg whites, and several freshly squeezed citrus juices, and I was sold on this protein-​packed creamsicle!
We had also already enjoyed Grilled Asparagus with Chorizo and an Egg, which surprisingly arrived full of mushrooms as well. Pleasant surprise for Husband… would not have been a pleasant surprise for me had I not had Husband to eat those ‘shrooms. But boy was it good! Meanwhile we watched others around us eat terrific-​looking lobster rolls with shoestring fries, and some rich-​looking fried oysters and salads. (must go back to try them!)
Spicy Italian turned out to be a wonderful housemade Italian Sausage with onions and peppers on a roll, with a mound of those addictive shoestring fries. Seriously good sausage! Easily up there with the best I’ve ever had, and I’ve had plenty in my Italian life.
By now I had switched to a Hess Chardonnay and Husband was doing a dark brew that was very rich. The whole time we were expertly attended to by one of the owners himself, Daniel… who couldn’t have been more welcoming. I would plunk down on one of his bar stools any day! We enjoyed watching him pour out his obvious passion for crafting cocktails (even discarded one that looked perfectly lovely to us, but apparently he had done something ‘wrong’). And his enthusiasm for what they’ve obviously put so much work into was very contagious.
Not perfect… they were out of the spiced pecans with cherries that we ordered. Offered popcorn on the house instead. Nice, and popcorn was decent, but we did get charged $ 3 for it. That’s okay, it was worth it.
Note that this bar/​restaurant is quite small! We sat at the bar and were totally comfortable there, but we also went early on a Saturday night. By the time we left, folks were hugging the wall waiting for a spot. Perfectly understandable.

Wow what an amazing experience at Bar Virgile. I’ve been dying to check this place out and what better time then during Full Frame Festival. The place was busy but we were the lucky two to get the last table in the dining room. The place is very small so be ready to wait on busy nights. I loved the atmosphere and the set-​up of the restaurant. You walk in to a cozy dim lit bar and walk through to the small dining area. You definitely get that French bistro feel walking in.
We were greeted by our friendly server, I should have got her name because she was terrific. They just launched a new spring cocktail list with some unique drinks. My friend ordered the jalapeño margarita and I had a rum drink that of course I can’t remember the name but it sounded especially sweet when I read the description but the waitress let me know it actually wasn’t too sweet. She was right the drink was perfect and presented beautifully.
Now let’s talk about the food. They give you cards with a pencil (sorta like ordering sushi) and you pick what you want and they come by and pick it up. There is a large selection of cheese and Charcuterie to choose from I would have ordered them all they looked so good. We decided on one cheese and chorizo. They served it up on a nice wooden cutting board with little pickles, dijon mustard, and a fruit jam that was divine. Plenty of bread was served along with the cheese plate to enjoy as well, I always appreciate that.
All of the food we ordered was delicious there wasn’t a single dish that disappointed me. If I had to pick a favorite I’d have to say the lamb sliders OMG so good with the shoestring fries don’t miss out on these. I also really enjoyed the housemade pretzel and the charred octopus.
I thought the pricing was very reasonable for the amount of food you received as well. The restaurant is very convenient to DPAC and any festivals in downtown — so bookmark it if you don’t live in Durham and make sure you get out here and give it a try.