Brewery Bhavana has been all the rage in downtown Raleigh over the last several months, and for such good reason! Not only is it a brewery, flower shop, book store, and dim sum restaurant in one, but it’s also received critical acclaim and awards since it opened. Bon Appetit named Brewery Bhavana in its top ten new restaurants in the country (!!), and it’s been lauded near and far by everyone who’s visited. It’s so many of my very favorite things in one place… beautiful and inspiring story and space, flowers galore, bookshelves lining the wall, delicious dim sum and traditional Chinese food, and unique, locally brewed beers. Yes, please!

Rob and I made reservations for a fun date night downtown, and Brewery Bhavana was an even better all-around experience than we expected! I’d stopped by a time or two before, but it was our first time eating at the restaurant. We scoured the book shelves, I marveled over the beautiful, locally-grown flowers, and we sat down to an incredible meal. We started off with beers from their expansive, impressive, unique beer list, with Rob ordering the Piglette (a Belgian table beer with brett and sour cultures), and I had the Bask (a sunshine and grapefruit brunch ale). We both loved our beers, and they were excellent selections! We started off with the duck egg rolls with hoisin sauce, along with the char siu bao – Cantonese barbeque pork buns. So delicious! There were so many items on the dim sum menu that sounded so good, and our picks were amazing. We split the General Tso chicken for dinner, which was tossed in a tangy hibiscus sauce. Though you can get General Tsos from any Chinese carryout, this was far and away the best we’ve ever had – and we keep talking about how insanely delicious and fresh it was. Peeking around at all of the others tables was fun, too, as every single dish looked so amazing! The service, decor, and atmposhere were impeccable, too, and we were awed by our visit.

Raleigh friends (and anyone visiting town!), be sure to make yourself a reservation and head downtown to Brewery Bhavana for a date night or an evening with friends! Go a little early to grab a beer at their impressive bar, pop into the bookstore and flower shop, and prepare to eat one fantastic meal! We had such a wonderful evening downtown, and I’m already eagerly anticipating our next visit.