Fiction Kitchen

This place is amazing and they really know how to handle fake meat. I took my extremely carnivorous boyfriend there to convince him that vegan food didn't have to be disgusting and he LOVED the "pulled pork". I'm working on trying everything on the menu and so far it's all delicious! Remember to save room for dessert too because the vegan peanut butter cheese cake is to die for! The only complaint is that unless you get there right as it opens, you will wait up to an hour or more for a table, but they do take reservations on Valentine's Day!!

I went on a weekday, and was greeted by friendly servers. I had the Smoked Farmers Collective Carrot and Split Pea Soup garnished with olive oil and smoked paprika. It was a chilly November evening and so the warm soup tasted great! I also had the Eastern NC Style BBQ Pulled "Pork" with smashed potatoes and black beans with chipotle buttermilk and cilantro. The pulled "pork" was a bit too sweet from my liking but it was delicious and filling, I couldn't finish my plate!

Would recommend, definitely returning on my next visit to Raleigh, NC!

Pretty good meal. Had the fried oyster mushrooms, the seasonal risotto w/ a side of the Carolina BBQ, and the peanut butter cheesecake. The portions are HUGE, so I had to take some of my meal home. The oyster mushrooms were delicious and very flavorful. The risotto was runny, and didn't have as many vegetables in it as I would have liked. If I were to do it again,
I would get a different entree (the noodles looked amazing). The peanut butter cheesecake with pretzel crust was very good, but the pretzel crust was sticky sweet. I will definitely go back, because I want to give them another shot. The bartender was also very nice and helpful, as I was sitting at the bar.

The food is amazing! Love the vegan chicken. I agree with the reviewer that it wasn't very kid friendly. Our kids were knocking over glasses of water, antsy in their seats. The seating is limited and terrible (awkward and uncomfortable). We first arrived on Valentines Day and were turned away because we didn't have reservations. But they don't take reservations any other time of the year and it can get busy quick. The wait staff is a little snooty. But maybe because we had kids. We will eat there again though.

TLDR: both I (full vegan) and my cousin (full carnivore) enjoyed our dinner. Lots of flavor, portions large enough to be filling but not make you miserable. It is within easy walking distance of the downtown hotels. Will visit again!

Long version: I was in town for one night of a week-long company trip around the Carolinas, got in touch with a cousin in town. We met up for dinner, she asks "What are you in the mood for?" After a week of eating afterthought salads at steak joints, I asked for "Anyplace vegetarian or vegan". Turns out, my cousin knows the owners of Fiction Kitchen and thought of it immediately! We got there just ahead of the dinner rush, got a table right away. Started with the 'cheeze' sampler platter, very good. The 'blue cheeze' was about as close to the way I remember dairy blue cheese tasting as any I've had since going full vegan. The peanut noodle bowl was fantastic too, so refreshing to eat good vegan food again after so many sad little salads at meat-eating restaurants!

This restaurant represents the epitome of vegetarian and vegan fare at its best. Try the vegan biscuits! Also the root vegetables...

I feel so happy and full when I live this enclave of deliciousness. I've been several times and loved every visit, just prepare for a huge crowd on holidays.

Amazing vegan food, probably the best east of Asheville, which says a lot if you're from NC.
We're a conservative family (yes, conservative vegans exist,) and sometimes I feel uncomfortable with all to which my young child is exposed. If you are a conservative family too, be aware that this restaurant isn't, nor is it family oriented, but the food is great.
No reservations, so it can take a while to get a table. Dessert portions are crazy small- waste of money.

Updated from previous review on 2016-07-23

Quit cornbread after going vegan - finally dream come true - found the vegan cornbread here!

Had an excellent meal here with great service. Tasting plate with vegan cheeses and tempeh pate to start - absolutely lovely flavours. Then the pulled pork for main which was great too. For dessert the delicious chocolate ganache. Amazing - really enjoyed the food here. Would definitely go back.

This is probably the one thing I miss about living in Raleigh. The customer service here is unmatched to any restaurant I have ever eaten at. The brunch is off the chain. The dinner service is verging on romantic, the menu is amazing. Plenty of allergy free options, wish they were open for lunch!

so many great vegan options! loved everything i have eaten here.

Ate here on a weeknight and it was busy, but didn't have to wait for a table. My server was really nice and helpful. To start I ordered the Bread + Spread with vegan pimento cheese. It was quite tasty, along with the onion jam. Next, I had the vegan Grilled Romaine Salad. For some reason I felt intimidated by it, but once I started eating it I fell in love! For the main course I ordered the BBQ Pulled Pork Dinner. It was unlike anything I had tasted in a long time, and I enjoyed it, along with all its accompaniments. Finally, had the vegan peanut butter cheesecake and it was amazingly delicious. First cheesecake I've had since being vegan and this experience was not a let down! This was just way too much food for me but I wanted to try so many different things on the menu.

I've been to this restaurant twice, once for breakfast and once for dinner. The breakfast was good, although the serving size was a little too large for me. I had to put my pancakes in a to go box.

Dinner was pretty disappointing. This restaurant needs to get a chef who knows how to prepare mushrooms.

I got the soup with chicken of the woods. The chicken of the woods was dry and bad. It tasted like they may have used the core part of the mushroom that is tough. Even if that was not the case, the preparation needed to be improved somehow.

I also got the fried oyster mushrooms. There was something off about them that made them less than enjoyable. The breading that was used to fry them did not have a good consistency. It seemed like the mushrooms may have been dipped in breadcrumbs. In any case, the breading was grainy and hard while the mushrooms inside were not fully cooked. The oyster mushrooms were also grey, when usually they are white. I don't know if this was a result of the frying or what.

I went here on Mother's Day earlier this year, and ate here a couple other times. It's almost always crowded here. I've had brunch here before which was alright--I had pancakes here which had too much cinnamon in them. The vegan / gluten-free quiche here wasn't the best either, it kind of had a funky taste..but everyone has different taste buds, so don't write this place off just because I personally didn't like some of their food options. Their food is pretty good overall. They'd pretty much be an all vegan restaurant if they didn't carry eggs , milk, etc. as options for brunch/ breakfast foods. I don't like how they're trying to cater to people who are still contributing to cruelty at a restaurant that is mostly veg to begin with. At least the majority of their food is vegan so that's a plus if you want to look at the positive side of things. They also have a pretty large variety of gluten-free foods as well. I like the set-up of this restaurant-- the art on the walls mainly depicts non-human animals / has something to do with animal liberation which is fitting. It can be noisy if there's a large crowd of people together, since the tables are pretty close together and the restaurant is very spaced out, but all places have 'noise' / get noisy with large crowds so that's to be expected. It is a little on the pricey side--I wouldn't say expensive, but moderate. All in all, I'd check this place out--the food is pretty good (mostly vegan) with variety on their menu, and the set-up is pretty neat.

I have to start off by saying that I've loved every single thing I've eaten here. My favorite has to be the chicken and waffles - I never had it before I went veg, but all my friends who've gone with me (veg and omni alike) have tried it and loved it, too. This is really the best thing about Fiction Kitchen - there's something for everyone!

While I love the food, and the service is wonderful, I'm not a huge fan of overcrowded spaces, which describes Fiction Kitchen to a tee. Sure, long waits mean that the food is just that good, but the noise level and the bustling atmosphere just isn't my scene. If I'm craving their food, I'll brave the line, I'll even sit at the bar, but it's enough of a bother to me that I don't go there as often as I might otherwise.

I'm a college student in North Carolina, and a vegan. After a month of eating cafeteria food, I was so excited for parents weekend and a trip outside of the small area my school is in. I found out about this restaurant here on HappyCow, and was excited to try, although a bit nervous because I had never been to an all vegan restaurant before. This place was amazing. The vegetables were perfect, fresh, and not too heavily dressed, and the tofu was filled with flavor. The chocolate ganache dessert was indescribable. It was the first dessert I've had as a vegan that was so rich and so delicious. As someone tired of trying to find good vegan options on regular menu's, this restaurant was a refreshing change in ease and taste.

I have dined st The Fiction Kitchen on three separate occasions during overnight visits to Raleigh. My first visit was for the Sunday brunch with two relatives and my daughter, the second visit was dinner with my wife and daughter, and the third visit was dinner as take out for my wife and I. The brunch was absolutely amazing, and everyone was happy. The second visit was equally great. We arrived a little after 5pm on a Friday. My wife has celiac disease, and my daughter is four years old, and my wife and I are both vegan. Our server was very accommodating with all of this, including offering to make a half-order of waffles for our daughter (it would be great to see one or two kids meal type items on their menu, the waffles were cool but my daughter rejected two side dishes we got in hopes to add some variety to her meal). I called ahead for my third visit to take out dinner for my wife and I. I was initially disappointed to be told that the kitchen wasn't accepting carry out orders and that an exception wouldn't be made. I decided to call back and ask for a recommendation for another restaurant that could accommodate my vegan/celiac wife and my own vegan diet. I was very happy that my request for a recommendation prompted the server to make a special appeal to the kitchen to make an exception for my wife and I (the server let me know she couldn't think of a restaurant in Raleigh that she could recommend for my wife in particular). Our meals were once again delicious. We were so happy that the restaurant worked us in on a busy night. Several reviewers say the prices seem a little steep. However, I disagree. The meals are so well presented and so delicious that I find the prices reasonable. I agree with another reviewer that it would be awesome if the brunch menu was offered more frequently. My wife and I have dined in vegan restaurants up and down the east coast from Athens Georgia to Portland Maine and numerous points in between, and I've dined in quite a few vegan restaurants elsewhere in the USA, and I have to say this has been my favorite vegan dining experience of them all. Not to be missed if you are in Raleigh and appreciate vegan/vegetarian dining. Worth a detour off of I-95 too!
Updated from previous review on Friday June 19, 2015

Updated from previous review on Friday June 19, 2015

Updated from previous review on Friday June 19, 2015

I was thrilled to find a restaurant that had so many vegan options. I really love the vegan tasting plate, curry bowl, homemade root beer, and vegan peanut butter cheesecake. The place is noisy and quite open-- I do wish they had a quieter place with perhaps more booths for a little more privacy. It is a very busy place and hard to hear, and you can expect a fairly long wait. But the food is great. Would love to see more oil-free vegan options. Would love to see their brunch items offered at other times of the day/night. But overall I enjoyed it and will definitely go again. I wish they'd open a restaurant in Apex!