The Best Restaurants in Raleigh, North Carolina | Bon Appétit

"Mandolin, an elegant neighborhood fave, is a two-minute drive from where I live in University Park, but it takes my husband and I on a new and deliciously unexpected journey every single time we enter the dining room. The menu features seasonal produce that’s sourced directly from proprietor Sean Fowler’s family farm. The pickled octopus dish will always be our go-to appetizer, featuring a peanut sauce that leans into the salinity of the octopus. And no matter how much I try to switch it up, there’s just something about a steak—exceptionally cooked, with farm-fresh veg and black garlic demi-glace—on a date night that’s always a match made in close-to-home heaven."