As registered dietitians who live in Raleigh and Durham, NC, we love talking about the food scene here in the Triangle region of North Carolina.

Many of our clients live in the Durham area, and they often ask us about our favorite health restaurants in Durham, NC. This is a tough question to answer for a couple different reasons.

First of all, as non-diet dietitians who specialize in eating disorder treatment, we firmly believe that “healthy” means something different to everyone, and that no single food is inherently “healthy” or “unhealthy.” Instead, we encourage our clients to eat a wide variety of foods from all the different food groups, and we help make sure that they’re getting enough nutrition overall.

Second, there are so many great places, with good food and great service, in Durham that it’s hard to choose. Truthfully, the best healthy options are the ones that YOU find delicious, and that make you feel good.

The Durham, NC restaurants listed below offer everything from tasty small plates and filling sandwiches to colorful kale salad bowls and fancy cheese plates. Some are fantastic for a grab-and-go lunch, while others are the perfect place to dine out with friends.

11 of the best healthy restaurants in Durham, NC

From a market with tons of vegetarian options on Durham-Chapel Hill Blvd to a restaurant inside a popular bar with tons of outdoor seating downtown, there’s something for pretty much everyone on this list.

Remember when you’re looking through the options that “healthy” means something different to everyone, depending on your relationship with food, your goals, your food preferences, and more. All food can be healthy food, it just depends on the circumstances. We don’t all have the same food needs and wants, and that’s OK! Actually, it’s what keeps life interesting.

3 best healthy breakfast restaurants in Durham

1. Monuts

We’ve been going to Monuts for years and years, and we love how their menu has a mix of amazing donuts, hearty breakfast sandwiches made with local ingredients and seasonal veggies, and creative brunch plates that you don’t see everywhere. Go early (like, before 10 AM) to avoid a wait, and note that they’re closed on Sundays

• Location: 1002 9th St, Durham, NC 27705
• Google rating: 4.6 stars
• Our top menu picks: the menu changes every season and most things are only available for a limited time, but right now we’re loving the Heirloom Summer (an open-faced bagel with yummy heirloom tomatoes, pesto and cream cheese) and the seasonal granola bowl that’s made with fresh peaches.

2. The Refectory Cafe

Slightly outside of downtown Durham on Durham-Chapel Hill Blvd, this all-day restaurant serves a great breakfast with lots of warm, classic options. You can choose something traditional and fun like ricotta pancakes with a fruit topping, or go for one of their savory meals like smoked salmon benedict or the quiche of the day with a side of veggies. They also have a wide range of drinks to choose from, as well as salads topped with grilled chicken and other proteins, and breakfast bowls that include a vegan tofu scramble.

• Location: 2726 Durham-Chapel Hill Blvd, Durham, NC 27707
• Google rating: 4.4 stars
• Our top menu picks: Signature lemon ricotta pancakes, vegan black bean burger topped with pickled onions and cashew aioli

3. Bull and Bean

A hybrid bakery, cafe, and wine bar, Bull and Bean is a great place to go for weekend brunch with a group. They serve breakfast all day, and the menu spans from loaded vegan hash browns to a colorful acai bowl, and many of the options are gluten-free . They serve a great cup of coffee, but also have a full drinks menu to choose from if you’d rather something else.

• Location: 3710 Shannon Rd #100, Durham, NC 27707
• Google rating: 4.2 stars
• Our top menu picks: Brazilian Açai Bowl, Caro’s Quinoa Bowl, New Yorker Bagel

4 best places for a healthy lunch in Durham

4. Happy and Hale

This local mini-chain has several locations across the triangle that serve up a mix of cold salads, warm grain bowls, and tasty smoothies. Our favorite location is the one on Ninth Street in Durham, just off of W Main St and near the Whole Foods (although we give their North Hills location an honorable mention because it’s spacious and right next to one of our favorite yoga studios, Midtown Yoga). Pop in at lunch time and build your own bowl with a variety of roasted veggie, grains, greens, and a protein topping (we love their falafel). Or, go for a kale salad topped with grilled protein or roasted buffalo cauliflower.

• Location: 703B Ninth Street Durham, NC 27705 (and a few others around the Raleigh and Durham, NC)
• Google rating: 4.3 stars
• Our top menu picks: Hale Caesar (a hearty vegan bowl with buffalo cauliflower and nut-based dressing), Coco Curry Bowl (a warm bowl with chicken, kale, and fantastic Thai curry sauce), Chimi Steak Bowl (a mix of seared steak, rice, and lots of veggies)

5. Bul Box

Another spot with locations across the North Carolina triangle region, Bul Box is one of our favorite healthy restaurants Durham, NC, especially for a quick lunch of a takeout dinner. There are different meal options, including warm grain bowls, cold poke bowls, and a make-your-own bowl where you can select your base, up to six toppings (including one protein), and various sauces and garnishes. If you’ve never been before, stick with one of the menu items — when you taste how well the flavors mesh, you’ll be glad you did. Many of the bowls can be made vegetarian by choosing tofu as your protein.

• Location: 3105 Shannon Rd #103 Durham NC 27707 (plus other locations in Raleigh, Chapel Hill, Garner, and Morrisville)
• Google rating: 4.3 stars
• Our top menu picks: Malibu Poke Box, Thai Box, Seoul Box

6. Foster’s Market

One of our absolute favorite places to find healthy food in Durham, Foster’s Market is an old standby. Go at lunchtime and you can choose a sandwich off their menu, or opt for a plate of three ready-made salads and sides. These change regularly, but they often have things like sweet potato fries, Greek salad, and grain salads with toppings like goat cheese and dried fruit. Many of these options are gluten-free, and it’s easy to add something like a protein or roasted veggie to a menu item.

• Location: 2694 Durham-Chapel Hill Blvd, Durham, NC 27707

• Google rating: 4.6 stars
• Our top menu picks: One of the grilled cheese sandwiches (these change, but we love the one with pepper jelly, as well as the one with apples), or one of the ever-rotating salads behind the counter

7. Farmside Kitchen

Located in Research Triangle Park (RTP), Farmside Kitchen is the perfect lunch choice for anyone that works or lives nearby. They serve what they call “farm bowls,” which is really just their name for a grain bowl or hearty salad, but the flavors are delicious. The restaurant itself is casual and has plenty of outdoor seating, and the meal choices are limited to just these signature bowls. Still, there are plenty of options, from vegan and vegetarian choices to bowls topped with meat and cheese.

• Location: 5431 Page Rd, Durham, NC 27703

• Google rating: 4.6 stars
• Our top menu picks: The GOAT, The Pitchfork, or The Root Veggie Bowl

4 best healthy dinner spots in Durham

8. Luna Rotisserie and Empanadas

We love the variety of flavors at Luna, and the fact that it’s so easy to get a mix of hearty carbs, perfectly cooked proteins, and bright, fresh veggies. (And, that this is a great place to take anyone who’s vegan or gluten-free because of the multitude of options.) The empanadas are good, but we love their arepas even more. And don’t sleep on the veggie-packed appetizers like the Luna caesar salad, the chili-lime cauliflower, or the sweet potato and bean dish.

• Location: 112 W Main St, Durham, NC 27701

• Google rating: 4.5 stars
• Our top menu picks: Camote Chimichurri, Arepas, Pollo a la Brasa- Peruvian Chicken

9. Parts and Labor (inside Motorco)

You might not think that a counter-service restaurant inside a patio bar would show up on the list of the best healthy restaurants in Durham, NC, but let us enlighten you. Alongside bar food staples like loaded fries and sliders, Parts and Labor has a pretty extensive vegetarian menu that includes things like a tofu bahn mi, eggplant chapati, and vegetable samosas. We love going here on nights out with friends when we know we need to eat but don’t want to spend a ton of time (or money) at a sit-down restaurant

• Location: 723 Rigsbee Ave, Durham, NC 27701

• Google rating: 4.4 stars
• Our top menu picks: Tofu Bahn Mi, Scallion Pancake, Bulgogi Rice Bowl

10. Zweli’s

Durham’s only Zimbabwean restaurant, this place has been a go-to for us since it opened pre-pandemic. We love coming with a group to order all three samosas on the menu (beef, veggie, and sweet potato), and to order meat dishes that are a little harder to find elsewhere, like braised oxtail and stewed goat. All of the sides are vegan and most are veggie-centric, so it’s easy to fill your plate with a variety of flavors and textures here.

• Location: 905 W Main St Suite 19C, Durham, NC 27701

• Google rating: 4.5 stars
• Our top menu picks: Braised Oxtails, Stewed Goat, Sweet Potato Samosas, Currried Cabbage

11. Thai @ Main St

Right in the center of downtown Durham, this simple Thai restaurant gets overlooked way too often. The dishes include everything you’d expect, from crunchy papaya salad to rich Thai curry to stir-fried noodles. But everything is done well, the service is friendly, and the food is perfect for when you’re tired of eating the same thing at home every night and just need a little something different.

• Location: 317 W Main St, Durham, NC 27701

• Google rating: 4.3 stars
• Our top menu picks: Green Curry with Tofu, Poa Taek (Thai Seafood Hot Pot), Pork Larb, Duck with Ginger Sauce

Offering compassionate non-diet nutrition support in Durham, NC (and beyond).

At Ruby Oak Nutrition, we’re a group of dietitians who love food and believe that what’s “healthy” varies from person to person. Through nutrition counseling, we create a safe space for kids, teens, and adults of all backgrounds and identities to improve their health while working towards food and body peace.

We take an identity-affirming, Health at Every Size®-aligned, non-diet approach to nutrition and eating disorder recovery. It’s our pleasure to work collaboratively with our clients to find ways for them to overcome disordered eating behaviors, feel confident in their food choices, and eat without guilt or shame.

Go here to learn more about nutrition counseling for kids, teenagers, and adults, in-network with most major insurance companies and offered virtually to clients in North Carolina and over a dozen other states.

Ready to book an appointment? Click here to book online.

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