Relish Craft Kitchen & Bourbon Bar
Rating
Family of 4
Roughly $80 to $120 before tip, based on typical Raleigh casual full-service pricing for a scratch kitchen.
Duration
About 70 to 95 minutes for a family meal. This is scratch-cooked full table service, and the mac and cheese skillets are made to order, so the kitchen takes real time. Weekend brunch runs longer because the room is fuller. If you have a tight window, the Sunday 9 a.m. open is the fastest you will get in and out.
Best Ages
Good across ages, and unusually good for little kids and big kids given that the name includes the words bourbon bar. The reason is the menu: made-to-order macaroni and cheese skillets and gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches are house specialties, which means the two most kid-proof foods in America are treated as real dishes here rather than afterthoughts. Weekend brunch is the family service. Friday and Saturday evenings lean adult, with the bourbon and cocktail side of the room doing more of the work.
About
Relish Craft Kitchen and Bourbon Bar has a name that sounds like a place you would leave the kids at home for, and that is worth pushing back on. It is a Southern craft kitchen in the Creedmoor Crossings shopping center, and two of its signature dishes are made-to-order macaroni and cheese skillets and gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches. Those are the two most reliably kid-approved foods there are, and here they are treated as real cooking rather than a concession on a children's menu.
That is the whole family case for this place, and it is a strong one.
The rest of the menu leans Southern comfort. Pimento cheese and shrimp and grits are among the dishes the restaurant is known for, which gives adults something to be interested in while the kids work through a skillet.
Hours matter more here than at most listings, because of one detail. Relish closes at 3 p.m. on Sunday. There is no Sunday dinner.
Posted hours are Monday through Thursday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Friday 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Saturday 9 a.m. to 10 p.m., and Sunday 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Brunch runs Saturday 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. and Sunday 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. If you are planning a Sunday family dinner, plan it somewhere else.
Brunch is the family service, and the 9 a.m. open on either weekend day is the calmest seating of the week. By 10 a.m. on Saturday the room fills and walk-in waits of 20 to 45 minutes become normal. Reservations are recommended and a waitlist is available, so handle that before you leave the house.
There is a patio, which is the seating to ask for with young kids: more room for a stroller, more tolerance for noise, and somewhere to walk a toddler who is done sitting.
A few things to verify yourself. Changing tables and highchair availability are also unconfirmed. Vegetarian and gluten-free options are reported to be available, and mentioning dietary needs when you book gives the kitchen notice.
Family meal packages are offered through the takeout system, which is often better value than four dine-in entrees on a night when nobody wants to sit still. Longstreet Park is the nearest playground in our directory and pairs well before or after.
Age Suitability
Parent Logistics
Stroller-Friendly
Limited
Nursing / Changing
Unknown
Kid Meals
Limited
Setting
Indoor & Outdoor
Rainy Day
Great option!
Plan Your Visit
Best Time to Visit
Sunday brunch at the 9 a.m. open, or a weekday lunch right at 11 a.m. Posted hours are Monday through Thursday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Friday 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Saturday 9 a.m. to 10 p.m., and Sunday 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Brunch runs Saturday 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. and Sunday 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Note the Sunday close at 3 p.m., which is the detail that catches families out. There is no Sunday dinner here. Confirm hours at relishraleigh.com or call (919) 787-1855.
Wait Times
No admission line. Table waits commonly run 20 to 45 minutes during Saturday brunch between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m., which is the busiest window of the week, and drop to near zero at the weekday 11 a.m. open. Reservations are recommended and the restaurant lists a waitlist option, so get on it before you leave the house.
Nearby Food
You are eating here, so the useful version is the fallback plan. Relish sits in the Creedmoor Crossings shopping center on Creedmoor Road, in the retail belt near Crabtree Valley Mall, which means coffee, ice cream and a backup meal are all a short drive away if the wait runs long or the Sunday 3 p.m. close catches you out. Longstreet Park is the nearest playground in our directory and is the natural pairing, either as a pre-meal energy burn or a place to send the kids afterward while the adults finish coffee.
Why Kids Love It
Macaroni and cheese arrives in a cast iron skillet, bubbling, made to order, which is an exciting thing to set down in front of a six year old. Grilled cheese is treated as a real menu item rather than a kids-menu concession, so a child can order the thing they actually want and get a version that is better than the one at home. The patio gives restless kids somewhere to be, and the Southern comfort menu means there is almost always something recognizable on the table.
Pro Tips from Parents
- Watch the Sunday close. Relish shuts at 3 p.m. on Sunday, so a late Sunday family lunch is not an option here. Saturday runs to 10 p.m.
- Get on the waitlist or reserve before you leave home. Saturday brunch between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. is the busiest stretch and walk-in waits of 20 to 45 minutes are common.
- Order one mac and cheese skillet for the table rather than one per child. They are made to order and built for sharing.
- Ask for the patio when the weather is good. Outdoor seating gives you space for a stroller and gives loud kids more room to be loud.
- Call ahead about the children's menu.
- Vegetarian and gluten-free options are reported to be available. Mention dietary needs when you book so the kitchen has notice.
What to Bring
- A reservation or a waitlist spot, especially for Saturday brunch
- A diaper changing kit you can use in the car, since changing tables are unconfirmed
- Something quiet for the table, because made-to-order skillets take real time
- A layer for the patio, which is the best family seating when the weather cooperates
- An appetite for sharing, since skillets and sandwiches split better than they solo
Cost Info
Estimated Cost (Family of 4)
Roughly $80 to $120 before tip, based on typical Raleigh casual full-service pricing for a scratch kitchen.
We could not load Relish's current menu prices, so treat this as an estimate rather than a quote and check relishraleigh.
com for today's numbers.
The variable that moves the total most is whether the adults order entrees or split the shareable side of the menu, and whether anyone at the table orders from the bourbon and cocktail list, which will add meaningfully.
Tips to Save
- Brunch instead of dinner is the reliable saving here, and Relish serves it both weekend days, Saturday 9 a.
- m.
- to 2 p.
- m.
- and Sunday 9 a.
- m.
- to 3 p.
- m.
- Order one macaroni and cheese skillet as a shared table item rather than one per kid, since skillets are built for sharing and two younger children rarely finish one between them.
- The gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches split cleanly in half, so one sandwich plus a side often feeds two little kids.
- Skip the bourbon list entirely if you are watching the bill, since a craft cocktail program is where casual dining totals quietly double.
- Family meal packages are offered through the takeout system, which is usually better value than four dine-in entrees if you would be just as happy eating at home.
