West End Wine Bar

What it is: No this is not an entry about a place to take your kids, but the West End Wine Bar is another great location for a moms' or parents' night out.  There are actually two locations, one in downtown Durham and one in Chapel Hill on Franklin St.  The one that we went to was on Franklin St.  The Stir Crazy Moms needed to head out to celebrate my birthday (Thanks, girls!), so we headed out after the kids went to bed.  West End Wine Bar was a great place to sit back and have a night glass of wine.  We enjoyed our bottle of Prosecco with a sampler of cheeses and almonds.  There were other small snack items such as hummus that could be purchased as well as different flavors of truffles! Yum!  There were couches for comfortable seating, and it wasn't too loud for a nice conversation.

On a side note, we headed a couple doors down to Tallulah's afterward for a little music and also had a great time.  We had a great hidden booth by the window, delicious food and cocktails, and fabulous jazz music!  Two great stops in on night!

What are your favorite stops on Franklin St?

What we liked: We loved their selection of wine that you could get by the bottle or by the glass.  We also liked that, while they didn't have an extensive menu like Six Plates, they did have munchies available if you needed them.  In addition, their location on Franklin St. means that there's plenty of other places to stop by before or after your drinks.


What we would change: Both locations call themselves private clubs, so one person in your party must pay the membership fee of $1 and fill out a brief form, but it's not really a big deal and I think it's just a technical requirement.  In addition, while we went to Franklin St. while the students were on vacation, is can get crowded which can lead to difficulty finding parking.  The nearby valet is only there until 11pm and the lot across the street can fill quickly.

Website and other important information: 

Website: http://www.westendwinebar.com

Address: 450 W. Franklin St., Chapel Hill, NC  or  601 W. Main St., Durham, NC

Phone numbers: (919) 967-7599 (Chapel Hill), 381-4228 (Durham)

Hours: Sunday-Thursday 5:00PM-1AM, Friday & Saturday 5:00PM-2AM (Chapel Hill), Sun-Mon 4PM-1AM Tues-Sat 4PM-2AM (Durham)

Photos: 

1. Our dark view from the back of the wine bar