Aaktun Coffee + Bar

Review summary

1. P

   Phillip VIP

   Raleigh10 reviews

   5.0

   Dined 2 days ago

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   Very good food. Exceptionally flavorful with both our meals and dessert. Will definitely be back to try some of the other dishes.
   

   Is this helpful?

2. c

   cristy

   Orange County1 review

   5.0

   Dined 3 days ago

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   My first time here for a lovely brunch with my girlfriends! I will definitely make a point to come back again. The ambience, food, cocktails, service were top notch! I felt like we were transported to a Mexican Riviera. Do not let the picnic tables and cafe in the front fool you. This was great for those needing a quick informal bite. Make the effort to make reservations for the sit-down dining and be transported away to a Mexican seaside resort! We all had a tropical passion cocktail to start. Shared appetizers of the pan y butter, grilled romaine and ceviche served with plantain chips....yum! I ordered the tropical shrimp and grits, my mind and taste buds were blown away! It was a large entree, enough for leftovers! Selena, our server was attentive. Give this place a shot, you will not be disappointed!
   

   • 
   • 
   • 

   Is this helpful?

3. M

   Matthew

   Raleigh2 reviews

   5.0

   Dined 4 days ago

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 4
   4. Ambience 4

   Food and drinks were great!. The service was excellent! Noise was very loud so it was difficult to hear everyone at a 4 top. The cave seats are best for avoiding the noise but they only seat large groups there.
   

   Is this helpful?

4. J

   Jo

   San Diego1 review

   2.0

   Dined on March 30, 2025

   1. Overall 2
   2. Food 3
   3. Service 2
   4. Ambience 3

   The food was ok and our waiter was very sweet, but navigating a large group reservation was a nightmare and definitely not worth the money.
   

   Is this helpful?

5. B

   Brendan

   Raleigh12 reviews

   5.0

   Dined on March 30, 2025

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 4
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   A go to brunch spot. Chorizo sando and tots don't miss. Great matcha latte as well.
   

   Is this helpful?

6. J

   Joy

   Raleigh2 reviews

   4.0

   Dined on March 29, 2025

   1. Overall 4
   2. Food 4
   3. Service 2
   4. Ambience 4

   The food was very good. Maybe not quite as interesting as the server described in his introduction but it was very tasty. Inside vibe definitely cool, high energy and loud. We were with kids and found outside patio a better fit. They were very busy and clearly need to work out some kinks with their service. Drinks came after our food arrived. Each person in the party’s food came at randomly separate times. They messed up our checks not once but twice. It’s a nice addition to Durham’s dining scene and hope they can improve the service end.
   

   Is this helpful?

7. M

   Michael

   Raleigh2 reviews

   5.0

   Dined on March 29, 2025

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   This was my first time dinning at Aaktun and I will definitely go back. The restaurant is beautiful and the staff was very welcoming. Everything was explained well and the service was excellent.
   

   Is this helpful?

8. M

   Mike

   Raleigh15 reviews

   4.0

   Dined on March 29, 2025

   1. Overall 4
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 4
   4. Ambience 5

   We really wanted to love Aaktun. We went three times, each time hoping our experience would be better, but it wasn't. First of all, most of the food is excellent, the ambiance is great, and the wait staff is pleasant and eager to please. What keeps this from being the experience that it ought to be is: the wait staff has clearly been instructed to give long, tedious descriptions of the food and to push certain items, which is annoying; some of the dishes are great, but others aren't; the cocktails come in fun glasses but are mediocre (and some of the glasses are very difficult to drink out of); the temperature of the room is too cold; and, strange to say, the portions are too large! The first time we went, we were eager to try a number of small dishes but had to stop at two. Last night, we ordered the tasting menu, which was a real mixed bag. Three of the dishes (the crudo, the romaine, the salmon) were great, but the other three weren't, and the timing was way off. One of our second dishes arrived when we were still eating our first dishes, and the other one arrived much, much later. The main dishes were good, but much too large. And the dessert was ridiculously big. The timing was uneven and unsatisfying throughout. We love Little Bull, so we were rooting for this place, but the combination of bad timing, lousy cocktails, and badly directed waiters (not their fault!) makes us unwilling to return. (We do love the decoration of the room! And we love that this is part of the growing East Durham scene.)
   

   Is this helpful?

9. G

   Gail

   Raleigh36 reviews

   5.0

   Dined on March 29, 2025

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 4
   4. Ambience 5

   What a great dinner at Aaktun! We ordered the 4-course meal and it was all delicious! Nice staff and wonderful background music although a tad loud. Ambience at dusk was quite lovely. Seating design offers proper spacing between tables for privacy. Well done Aaktun!
   

   Is this helpful?

10. H

    Heather

    Raleigh7 reviews

    5.0

    Dined on March 28, 2025

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5

    As expected from Oscar Diaz-everything was top tier. The passion fruit tiradito was the best thing I’ve eaten in months-perfection!
    

    Is this helpful?