Poole's Is North Carolina's Best Diner 2024, According To Our Readers

Diners can often feel frozen in time, but while Poole’s in Raleigh features retro chrome edging and red artificial-leather stools and booths, you won’t find the waitstaff wearing old-school uniforms. Instead, tattooed servers shuffle around the horseshoe-shaped counters to Phoebe Bridgers music.

They’re happy to walk you through the long list of craft beers or to help decipher the handwritten chalkboard menus. Chef and owner Ashley Christensen offers thoughtfully modern takes on comfort food, be it roast chicken or potato salad. There’s not a speck of iceberg lettuce or a sticky Heinz bottle (dating back to who knows when) in sight.

“My dad was a truck driver and went to all these different cities. A diner was a place where he always felt like he spoke the language and would be welcomed,” says Christensen.

Poole's Modern Familiarities

Although Poole’s is more hip than the places her father frequented, it appeals to all ages. Its welcoming air is just one of the many reasons our readers voted it the best diner in North Carolina during our 2024 South's Best awards. Everyone can find a bit of comfort at Poole's, from young couples sitting at the counter scrolling Zillow listings to families sharing mountains of Macaroni Au Gratin (Christensen’s famous version of mac and cheese, shown below).

While the dish might sound fussy, it hits all the same notes as the classic but with calculated refinements, like using Jarlsberg and Grana Padano cheeses in addition to sharp white Cheddar. She also broils it so the top becomes an irresistible caramelized crust. Over the past 16 years, her food has evolved, but the core mission has not: “Meet people at a place of comfort, but then take them beyond that.”

Poole's Southern Hospitality

Aside from redefining homestyle diner staples, Christensen has her own perspective on Southern hospitality. A rainbow mural adorning the side of the building reads, “All are welcome.” And that’s not just a platitude. Painted by Poole’s bartender and mixed-media artist Luke Buchanan (who was Christensen’s first employee), it reflects her goal of creating a business where the doors are always open to everyone.

A colorful window decal by the entry proclaims, “Don’t forget kindness.” During the contentious 2016 election, an earlier iteration said, “Don’t forget to vote.” Some may say that food and politics don’t mix, but at Poole’s, they come together to create a space where strangers turn into fast friends and regulars become supporters of not just the business but also the artists who moonlight as bartenders there. Like the menu, Christensen pushes hospitality beyond the status quo, and her restaurant is all the better for it.