Hummingbird

"Chef Coleen Speaks was one of the first people to take a chance on a newly emerging destination district set among old auto repair garages and commercial warehouses, and since then Hummingbird has become an anchor in the Whitaker Mill Road area. Drawing on her New Orleans heritage, Speaks serves craft cocktails and Cajun-inspired Americana eats for brunch, lunch, and dinner. There’s gumbo, smoked deviled eggs, and even Viet-Cajun spring rolls, po’ boys, deep-dish pizza, and more. The cocktails are a big draw, and weekend brunch will find patrons digging into plates of crab Benedict and biscuits and gravy." - Matt Lardie

"At Hummingbird, chef Coleen Speaks’s brunch menu is eclectic and approachable. The Peacemaker po’boy with fried oysters and shrimp is a nod to Speak’s grounding in the New Orleans restaurant scene. The gin-cured salmon gravlax is served with caper-chive cream cheese, pickled red onions, and pea shoots atop toast from Boulted bread. The banana bread French toast is a sweet way to start the day, but the sticky bun with bourbon butterscotch glaze, pecans, and Maldon salt is even sweeter. There’s a brunch burger, oysters on the half shell, a grilled chicken banh mi, and shakshuka — truly a little bit for everyone." - Matt Lardie

"Coleen Speaks’s restaurant in Dock 1053 has oysters a few ways — charbroiled with lemon, Parmesan, and herbs (sop up the leftover liquid with toast). There’s also smoked oysters, served like a dip alongside fried saltines and pickled onions. A nod to her New Orleans roots, Speaks’ classic po’boy, a mix of fried oysters and shrimp, can round out the evening." - Catherine Currin

"Coleen Speaks, owner of Hummingbird, a trendy spot serving American fare in Raleigh, turned to her other side of the business, PoshNosh Catering, to offer an additional menu of family-style meals." - Jenn Rice

"Opened: November 2017 The nature theme continues in this space, where cheerful colors fill the decor, from mint tile and hummingbird sketches on the walls, to red brick flooring, to bright yellow stools at the bar. Original cocktails include the Hummingbird Fizz, the Let it Bee and the Kiss from a Rose. A small-plate food menu stretches from breakfast (with items like the open-faced mortadella sandwich), to lunch (hello, banh mi with mushroom pâté) to dinner (yes to the cacio e pepe). Try: I Hate to See You Leaf with Brazilian rum, passion fruit, Benedictine, Licor 43, lemon, and egg white." - Katie Toussaint