The Best New Restaurants Opening in Wake Forest This Summer

Wake Forest has quietly become one of the Triangle's most exciting food scenes — and this summer is proof. In the past six months alone, we've seen four new independently owned restaurants open their doors, and there are three more on the way before Labor Day.

The Ramen Spot Everyone's Talking About

Tucked into the new mixed-use development on White Street, Tanuki Ramen is the kind of place that makes you feel like you've been transported somewhere else entirely. The broth is made from scratch daily, the noodles are house-made, and the space — warm wood, low lighting, a long communal table — feels completely out of place in the best possible way.

Owner Kenji Watanabe moved from Raleigh specifically because he wanted to be part of a community, not just a restaurant scene. 'Wake Forest feels like it's on the edge of something,' he told me over a bowl of tonkotsu. 'I wanted to be here before everyone else figured it out.'

Farm-to-Table Brunch Has Arrived

Sunday brunch in Wake Forest just got a serious upgrade. Field & Table, opening on July 15th on South White Street, is sourcing almost everything from farms within 40 miles. The menu changes weekly based on what's available — which means you might show up for shrimp and grits one week and find sweet potato hash the next.

The space seats 60, has a full coffee program from a Durham roaster, and — most importantly — takes reservations. Given how fast word is spreading, you'll want to book ahead.

Worth the Drive: What Else Is Coming

Still in the pipeline: a Korean-Mexican fusion spot from the team behind Chapel Hill's beloved Dos Tacos, a wood-fired pizza restaurant from a local family that's been in the restaurant business for three generations, and a specialty tea house that's been in planning for two years and is finally almost ready to open.

Wake Forest's food scene isn't trying to be Raleigh. It's becoming something entirely its own — and this summer might be the moment it tips from 'up and coming' to 'fully arrived.'