Six Plates

Closed! So sad… It was one of my favorite places in Durham.

Six plates is definitely meant for a couple or max 3 people. I went as a group of 4 and our table was full of dishes. The food was great, but the ambiance was just not for us. LOVED the Lamby Joe’s. Not many vegetarian options at all, just the black bean sliders, which were dry.
Regarding the concept: You have to order food and drinks at the bar, get your own drinks, sit back at your table and they bring you the food. However no one came to bus the table after we started finishing the plates, unless they were bringing another plate. So eventually, I started bussing our table and taking our dirty plates to the bar.
I was trying to close our tab, so waited at the bar for 10 minutes before someone even walked up to give us the bill. Laid the credit card with the bill on the bar and no one closed us out until I walked back up there to tell them to. Maybe it’s me and I don’t understand their concept, but it was all a little off to me.

The location and the set up of the restaurant is awesome. Nice vibe to it. My favorite item on the menu would have to be the truffle frites. They were AMAZING. I’m only giving it 3 stars because the menu is very limited. Portions are super small and overprices. I don’t think it is worth the money that we paid for our meal.
This place would be good if their portions were a little bit bigger and they had a variety of options as well. Overall good concept but needs some revamping!

One of my favorite spots for girls night out! This hidden gem of Durham will thoroughly be missed. Your truffle fries are the best in town and the wine list impressive.

Nice vibe, good food. Chillaxed and warm environment featuring 6 daily plates (lg. tapas style) as well as a list of everyday items.
We enjoyed the mezze plate with sweet and spicy pepper jelly, white bean paste and smoky pimento cheese,
Also loved the flavorful sliders and truffle fries.
Affordable ever-​changing wine list as well as cocktails. It’s a great place to meet friends or have a casual date-​night.

My goodness, I gave it 3 stars but I don’t think I’ll ever go there again… If you are looking for food and do not care about drinks, don’t go there.
The place is so dark and the portion is also small. I ordered a beef shoulder entrée and the cheese plate, the entrée is just ok and the cheese plate oh boy, never wanna do that again. Well one of my friend did enjoy the cheese plate actually so I guess it’s not bad for ppl who can appreciate real cheese.

Great tapas at your own pace
My wife and I have been on a shared plates kick lately. We’ve been to Mateo and Taberna Tapas, but I remembered this one was around before those. We finally went there this fall.
First and foremost, it’s a wine bar. They have a small menu, 6 appetizers, 6 rotating small plates, 1 featured plate, and 4 classic plates. You order your food and drink at the bar and they bring you the food as it’s ready. Our appetizer came out after our first entrée, so they mean it. It also means you can pace your food to be as fast or as leisurely as you like. No waiter to pressure you for the table. All the small plates and the feature have a suggested wine pairing. There are additional wines by the glass available at the bar. They had a large selection of ciders.
We had some great small plates. The Port Braised Beef Shoulder was superb. Great combination of tender beef with sweet potato bread and apple jam. Fancy Joes were another great plate. A better version of the classic sloppy joes with ground lamb and smoked pimento cheese. Messy and delicious. The Arancini were a little too salty on the outside, but the texture was good. The cheese plate was nice, but pretty standard.
I’d definitely come back to this place. It had a great relaxed vibe. Good for a date or just hanging out with friends. The dining room music played a cool mix. I heard an interesting take of a Coldplay song and a classic Michael Jackson song.

We have come 3 times — twice with my in-​laws at their request. I can’t remember all the dishes we have tried, but we have not been disappointed by any of them. The best night to go is Sunday for $ 12 bottles!

Went here for a double date night and we had a fantastic time.
Very good wine with lots of choices.
The food was very delicious being four of us we got more than six plates and every one we had was delicious definitely suggest going with a group so you can try more things.
For a starter the sampler of pimento cheese, apricot pepper jelly, and bean purée I loved the jelly and I’m a huge pimento fan.
For main courses I thought the pork belly was also delicious and came with mini jalapeño cheddar biscuits. My personal favorite was the fancy joes which were ground lamb and chorizo with with taleggio, chipotle aioli, and pickled red onion. Can’t go wrong with any of the choices I enjoyed every one we had and we tried 7 different plates not including dessert.
On to dessert if you go here you must get the marshmallow one. Ours had a chipotle strawberry drizzle and it was to die for, they rotate menu items but whatever flavor the marshmallow is you have to try it.

Stopped in for drinks and dessert last night with my bestie. Had a very different experience this time. I was immediately greeted at the door (still not by a hostess actually) and told to grab a menu from the bar. We had drinks (a daiquiri and a side car) and dessert (sea salt chocolate truffle, a rose chocolate truffle, and a blueberry tart) All of which I would recommend again.
I’m sure we will be back again.

The PERFECT spot for a long, intimate date night or fun couples date night! I’ve been hearing about Six Plates for so long, it’s truly shocking that my first visit only occurred last night! Thanks to Lisa W. and hubby for the double date and food sharing, I feel that I have been treated to a sampling of the menu and only want to go back for more. There are a couple tips you should know pre-​visit!
–enter through the velvet curtain. I distinctly remember the first time I tried to peer into Six Plates and noticed the closed, red velvet curtain directly behind the front door. My first thought was the restaurant was closed, however this is an added layer of the «romantic», «exclusive» atmosphere that Six Plates gives off.
–Visit on Sunday and Monday’s for select $ 12 bottles of wine {usually one red and one white}
–Order from the bar! There is NO table service, EVER. No one will refill your water, ask you how your meal was or if you want dessert. This is PERFECT if you’re looking for a spot to get to know someone uninterrupted in a romantic, dark and quiet atmosphere. Highly recommend sitting in the BACK on the restaurant at one of the tables or on the sofas; gives your evening an even more intimate feeling.
–Eat at your own pace. This is a tapas bar and food comes out fairly quickly. I highly recommend ordering a bottle of wine and over the course of your evening placing additional food orders, one-​at-​a-​time.
Food recommendations: truffle frites are delicious, salty and full of flavor (although SKIP the odd tomato sauce «ketchup»), beef sliders are incredibly flavorful albeit a little pricy. For $ 9, you receive two small but bold sliders ($ 4.50/piece) with seasonal ingredients: ours had fresh basil and peaches along with their house-​made buns, incredible flavor! The only disappointing thing from the meal were the chips served alongside the sliders: cold and over-​seasoned. Regardless, Six Plates is without a doubt on the top of my list for a long, special evening for either a girlfriend, significant other or group of friends. They even have a handful of outdoor tables if you’re looking to enjoy the weather. Six Plates will easily become a long-​standing date night spot for me.

One of my favorite places in Durham. Amazing ambience, great food and selection of beer and wine. Highly recommend it!

The décor and ambience surely beckons a mention. The staff were friendly and did help us understand how the menu works and why this place was called six plates.
They have a six speciality small plate dishes which changes often and these dishes are paired with wines. We ordered the Flat bread and Crab cake with their respective wine suggestions. Flat bread was a big disappointment but the wine was really good. The crab cake was refreshing, however I would have expected the portion to be a bit bigger. It was smaller than what a small plate could hold :)! It’s rose wine pairing was a misjudgment.
Fried green tomatoes had nothing special to it except for the dipping sauce that came with it. This place is definitely way too pricy.
Bottom line: Nice ambience (even a 11 month old liked it) at a price.

I walked into this place worried that it might be a little snobby, but it’s not at all; it’s very chill and really just a beautiful quaint atmosphere. Here’s the deal: this place is a wine bar, but they have tons of craft beers (including a bunch from NC), cocktails, and this is (of course) a tapas bar! The menu changes frequently, they use local ingredients, and a lot of the dishes have that wow factor for sure! There are no servers, just bartenders, so your seat yourself and go to the bar to order whatever you want. Like I said super laid back, but the service is absolutely top notch. For the type of food they have here I think you’d be doing yourself a disservice to have anything besides wine with your meal. I found the bartender to be extremely helpful with wine recommendations (and food recommendations). He even let me try several reds after I told him what I like to drink. I was honestly taken aback by his final suggestion… a Spanish wine with bold tart red fruit flavor and a crisp spicy finish, so awesome and perfect with my food!
As for the food, it is very unique and amazing. What stood out to me is every ingredient, every item in a dish pops, everything I had holds its own and is very satisfying. I started with the Southern Mezze Plate because I was dying to try the smoked pimento cheese. The cheese was the best, the smoke made it stand out, although the baguette and apricot pepper jelly were very tasty. I had to try the Heirloom Tomato Caprese Salad because of the rave recommendation from the bartender. It was so flavorful and fresh, it even had balsamic pearls instead of just dressing. On top of that the tomatoes, mozzarella, brioche, and basil were all outstanding and in perfect balance. I finished off my meal with the Grilled Bavette Steak and the steak was cooked perfectly! The dish also came with a chedder habanero quesadilla that was surprisingly spicy… just how I like it. As if that wasn’t enough their were dollops of smoked tomato foam on the plate… so flavorful and light, can’t think of anything else like it. My experience here was amazing and I’m gonna watch there menu much closer now!

Went here with a friend and had a blast. The wine pairing here is fantastic and the small plates of food you an order are amazing. Don’t come here expecting a substantial meal; it’s more a place for conversation and drinking. The truffle fries were on point. We also got a scallop and asparagus dish as well as a sweet potato arancini dish. I preferred the former — the scallop was so juicy and tender and the asparagus was seasoned very nicely. The arancini was a bit dry for me. The interior is very swanky, with its ornate furniture and dimmed lighting. Pretty loud inside. Good fun hangouts with groups.

Need a place to meet some friends for drinks, hang out, and maybe grab a small bite? This is the place! It’s perfect for when you’re not starving but want to have a small bite and some drinks. You seat yourself and order at the bar so there’s no pressure of needing to turnover the table or being bothered by a server. They bring out your food and you can order as little or as much as you want! Few big tables for big groups. Easy to start your own tab and not worry about splitting checks. They change their menu all of the time so you’ll never get bored and can always try something new! They pair wines on the menu to the dishes which is helpful and have a huge array of cocktails/​beer/​bourbon if wine is not your thing. Definitely check this place out!
Side note– I have to eat gluten free (celiac) and there are definitely options here. Some of the plates are already gf and some can easily be made gf. They even have gf crust for the flatbread. Nice!

This place is more for wine and convo, versus a full on meal. No doubt you can leave the place full as their menu is pretty extensive for a wine bar. However, the seating is not conducive to a nice sit-​down meal. More so good for a quick bite, a gathering, or you want a glass of wine for conversation.
We ordered sliders, truffle fries, and housemade sausages. The housemade sausages were clearly the winner, as the mashed potatoes on the side was really well done. Other than that I wouldn’t say that the other 2 dishes were exemplary, though they were good.

For durham standards I guess it’s okay. Was not impressed.
The sweet potato arrancini… Tasted like nothing but fried. Was super unimpressed.
The lamby Joe’s were okay. The mezze plate came w pimento cheese, a pepper jelly, and white bean hummus. The best thing all night. All three balanced well w each other.
Got another fish dish which was also just okay. Mmm would probably not go back unless I wanted to grab a drink and didn’t want to travel far.

I can’t believe I haven’t reviewed this place. Hands down, top 5 places in durham for a good drink, excellent meal, and ever welcoming service. Not to mention, this is probably the only business establishment that has nicer toilet paper than my own home. Big points for that.
Six Plates is a great place for after work or after dinner or dinner or all meals practically. The ever changing menu always has me coming back. I can’t wait to see what they come up with next. Incredible dishes with ingredients you would never think to put together.
You will never lose if you get the parm truffle fries to share. Food is excellent, wine selection and info excellent, even cocktails are aplenty if you just ask.
What truly makes this place incredible is the staff. They’re a tight knit group that are incredibly friendly and welcoming. Definitely no sense of hoity toity wine bar snobbery AT all. If you don’t know what you like, they’ll give their best recommendations and they’re always honest too!
I love coming here and so should you.

So I love beer, a lot, but am trying to get in to wine. This place helped for sure!
I went with my sister-​in-​law on a Groupon whim, so glad we did! It’s a nice place to go with a friend, not a large group or a date to enjoy the pairings and really great food!