Brightleaf Square

So it’s pretty cute — especially near the holidays with the Christmas lights and nutcrackers, but the restaurants and shops aren’t too inspiring. Wish that the restaurants lived up to the architecture of the square!

If you are bright, leave out Brightleaf Square on your next Durham visit.
Judging solely based on the exterior design, Brightleaf Square would easily earn stars for its commitment to Durham brick. But aside from Morgan Imports across the street, the stores within the square are a bit dingy and average in quality.
Highlights include a jewelry/​antique store, a gelato place outside the nearby, mediocre Italian restaurant Quattro, and the Little Dipper for a pricey fondue. It’s also rather pretty to walk through at night. Other than that, there is not much else that is worth checking out. Personally, I would recommend visiting more of the downtown Durham area.

The Brightleaf Square was on my list of things to see while in Durham. While it’s an upscale shopping and restaurant warehouse conversion, which I think is really cool, the prices in the shops are really high and I chose to eat down the street so I can’t comment on the restaurants. I recommend coming Friday evening during the summer when they have live music and you can drink wine out in the courtyard; that looks very fun!

Very pretty street and I love the overhanging lights. On Fridays this summer they had an outdoor concert with local bands that was fun to listen to. I think this square attracts mostly and older crowd, which doesn’t bother me. There’s really something rather uneventful about the square in general that makes me give it 3 stars. It seems like it should be a go-​to street but I never want to be there. It needs something. I don’t know what exactly but I’m thinking something along the lines of The Parlour. :)

Brightleaf Square is a great place to hang with friends, grab a bite to eat, and shop for some unique items and clothing. This is a very clean and maintained area, equipped with security to ensure a safe environment.

On a recent trip to Durham I was dissapointed to find much of the city to be run-​down and unappealing. We discovered this cute little shopping/​restaurant area with more of an upscale feel. Brightleaf is VERY small, however. There isn’t much space to walk around. It is as large as a city block.

Brightleaf Square has been around for a long time. Longer than any of us, probably.
Having historic origins in the tobacco heyday, Brightleaf Square has survived many incarnations and still thrives with offerings to satiate most human desires.
Food
Clothing
and…well…
Jewelry.
(I know what you were thinking!)
This is the place to come when you want to be unchained.
No best buys or nobel barnes here, no crates and barrels.
Just good local shopping.

If you’re in downtown Durham with a little time to kill, you are in for a treat if you find your way here. We had no problem killing time in the music store, the bookstore, the antique/​jewelry store… an enjoyable way to spend time (and money!)
The parking lot says to get a ticket validated, but this most recent time that we’ve enjoyed perusing here, was Labor Day and we just parked, no tickets needed.
It’s been awhile since we’ve been here, but boy have they kept this square up well. It’s looking mighty clean and fine. Much enjoyed!

Reminds me of Brookstone in Winston Salem (I haven’t been to any BIG Cities to compare it)… Cool though small and not a lot to bring me back, Gelato/​Bakery and that it is kinda cool! Validated Parking across the street was VERY Smart!

We seemed to have been there at a time that some new stores are moving in, because several were not open. There are a few neat stores (arts, books, antiques, etc.), but that was all we got to experience. The area itself is nice, and there is other shopping nearby.

Very nice area to walk around. It’s filled with lots of interesting and unique shops and restaurants. I highly recommend to visit all year round!

Nice area to walk around in and I think the parents really enjoyed the atmosphere. We stopped in a nice music shop that’s devoted only to music (so surprising in this day and age) and I also discovered a nice local bookstore that I can’t wait to really dig into and explore. It seems that on Friday night there is outdoor music and the place was packed. I think I will have to come back before the weather turns cold to experience this with some friends.

Well, it LOOKS super cute. But I wish the shops were a little more varied and interesting. We only came here after the people at Parker and Otis said they couldn’t validate (for the lot directly behind the restaurant… weird). We came here to try and buy something so we could ask for a quick parking stamp and be on our way. It took about ½ hr, and we finally just asked a shop owner to validate without buying anything.
There is a cute bookstore, a nice but overpriced antique store, a record store, a fancy jewelry store or two… but nothing jumped out at me. Normally I love shopping when I see a cute area but everything seemed very standardized. There was no street life (we were the only people there) and nobody really seemed interested in us when we walked into their store.
That being said, warehouse conversions are awesome and this was a beautiful block to walk through. I’m just not sure I would come back.

Not too far from downtown, this area is filled with restaurants and shops. Great to roam around for any visitor. Don’t be worried about parking. There are two big lots which are easily accessible and put you right in the middle of the area.
I loved how they converted old tobacco buildings into these retail and restaurant places.

Brightleaf is a cool little commercial center in what was once mostly tobacco-​warehouse wasteland on the West side of downtown Durham. Over the years the area has come up to support Brightleaf, and in recent years it has begun to seem like it’s all meshing. The Brightleaf is definitely the classiest and most enjoyable part of downtown Durham.
Still… there’s no grocery store, and most of the shops are just little boutique type things (like Carr Mill Mall in Chapel Hill). If some practical shops would move in, Brightleaf would be an incredibly cool center of commerce for Durham. As it is, it’s mostly just a restaurant complex — but a pretty good one.

I think Brightleaf Square is the best part of the downtown Durham area. All of the restaurants here are 5-​stars and some of the best in th Raleigh/​Durham area. It has a throwback feeling of old warehouses with stores and restaurants inside, and is a nice place to walk around or sit for a while on a nice day. The parking lot nearby has always been free when I’ve visited, but the posted signs make it seem reasonable. I highly recommend checking out Brightleaf Square on your next trip to Durham.

Brightleaf is very cute to walk around in, with cobble-​stone streets and brownstone-​like brick faces. They have a good number of restaurants to choose from with cuisine ranging from pub fare to Asian to Greek and beyond. There’s also a handful of shops and a bunch of offices within. Parking is easy in the lot across the street, but depending on the hour you might have to pay. Unfortunately it lacks a little something that the Tobacco District has. I wouldn’t come here to spend a whole evening, though I would come to eat and then move on elsewhere in Durham for nightlife or live music, etc.