LOCATIONOn West Davie Street in Raleigh, close to Nash Square.
DETAILSHoused in a beautifully restored 1930’s meatpacking warehouse, The Pit is a spacious venue with bare-brick walls, mahogany tables and chairs as well as booth-style seating out the back. There is a feature wine-wall at its heart, where rows of handsome bottles gleam under amber light.
FOOD & BEVERAGEAlthough the setting may be snazzy, the cooking is unabashedly traditional – a hypnotic combination of wood, fire, smoke and meat. Young adult pigs are cooked on a 182cm x 122cm barbecue fuelled by wood cinders and charcoal for up to 12 hours giving the famed North Carolina pork its rich, robust flavours.
Executive Chef Darrell Brown offers contemporary twists to Southern favourites like Southern-Style Deviled Eggs with sweet relish and paprika, and Brunswick Stew for starters. There are also the famous plates of Texas style brisket, baby back ribs, barbecue turkey, Southern-fried chicken (the best in town apparently) and even a barbecue tofu dish, that seems out of place in a restaurant like this (but is probably a welcoming relief for the less carnivorous amongst us). There is delicious irony in our modern day fascination with the world’s oldest cooking technique – roasting food over a hot, live flame.
FUNCTIONS The Pit has select spaces that offer the perfect place to host a private party. The Back Room seats 26 guests at one long table, whilst The Front Room seats 50 at tables for 6-8. The room can also be divided for up to 38 guests. The Side Room is the largest space, accommodating up to 67 guests in a range of room layouts.