Nelson's

Always a pleasant experience with superb customer service and very knowledgable wait staff (excellent wine selections and recommendations). Great Martini specials and wonderful entertainment. Large variety within one restaurant--oyster bar, outdoor balcony bar, dining room. more

Had a party of 5 at the oyster bar, food was great; the service and atmosphere outstanding.\r Check this out for any occation more

Great menu selection. Choose from casual to haute cuisine. I love the grouper and the grilled guryere cheese sandwish with spicy tomato soup. Excellent wine list and great martini specials on Thursday nights. The loft bar is as trendy as it gets in Raleigh. Great crowd on weekend nights. Pros: Ambience, food, service. Great selection of food. I love the new bar menu! Cons: Any kinks since reopening have been worked out. If you haven't been to Nelson's in the last couple of months, you need to try it again! more

Went to Nelsons and loved the new menu. I sat at the bar and ate a couple appetizers with my friends. They now had live music and the martinis were only $4. The place felt like the old Fosters. The age group varied and everyone had a great time. My girlfriends and I can't wait to go back. This is a great spot to see and be seen.... Pros: $4 Martinis Cons: None to name more

ove over downtown restaurants, there's a new kid in town! Nelson's (formerly Foster's American Grill) has a new face and takes first place for it's upscale contemporary decor and warm ambience. Set in warm vanillas, low (but not-hard-to-read-the-menu) lighting, wood and luxurious marble countertops. This place says come on in and stay awhile. Nelson's has a non smoking environment although smokers can venture to the second story patio bar and enjoy acoustic music, the outdoor weather, fun people and do their smoking there. The service was great and friendly. Smiling Padrick was our server and was very helpful with the menu and wine sampling. The restaurant offers an Oyster Raw Bar with four selections of oysters and their geographical stories, harvesting, etc., Whet Plates (appetizers), Small Plates (tapas), Main Dishes, Sweet Plates (desserts) and an array of domestic to fine wines. All ABC Permits. Pricing is moderate to expensive, depending on your tastes and appetite. My dining companion and I ordered the Nelson Rockefeller Oysters (wonderful), She Crab Soup (a meal in itself with large lump crab in every bite), Salad Frisee and I had the Asiago & Cilantro Encrusted Baked Chicken in a balsamic reduction and steamed asparagus...and it was to die for. The asparagus were steamed to a perfect tenderness. A party for the palate! The dishes they were served on were works of art themselves. Portions are entree and a side and tend to be on the smaller side as most gourmet restaurants present. The soups, salads (they have a ice berg wedge salad that looked fabulous) and deserts are large. It is all about the experience and the taste. A bar menu is also available for the patio bar. If you like the finer and more sophisticated restaurants, this is one not to miss! I'll be back, as Arnold says! The Social Light Pros: Everything was wonderful more

As I've heard and seen in the community , this ""spot"" has had a few rough reviews . However, I think if you look at this establishment as a whole , there isn't a more "" complete experience"" in the area. If you like a raw bar, outdoor bar ( top floor no less) , fine dining , and a metropolitan bar atmosphere , you need only take a few steps anywhere inside NELSONS. The staff is courteous , helpful, and has a great working knowledge of the menu. The owners are always present so , any feedback and concerns are instantly addressed. There are new bar features , as well as menu refinments that add to this aready outstanding establishment. There is no need to have any other notion about patronizing NESLONS other than to say the food , nightlife, and overall experience will be one that will keep you coming back for more . I highly reccomend it for any occasion and hope that Raleigh will continue to support this exciting new ""concept"" and have it be the ""place to be"" for the triangle area .......\r \r Pros: great food, upstairs loft bar, overall atmosphere Cons: none to say more

The first time I ate at Nelson's the food and staff where good and on their way to being great. However since than everything has gone to the dump. The food is below average. The service was appalling. I don't know what has happened since this place opened but it has defiantly taken a turn for the worst. Pros: None more

My wife and I had eaten at Nelsons previously...we had a wonderful meal and conversation with the wine director, who recommended the perfect wines with our meals, not only making the experience wonderful, he added a personal touch to the event. We returned this past weekend, with the hopes of finding yet another spectacular matching and experience, and instead we were dissapointed. We learned that the previous wine director was no longer with the restaurant, and while his predecessor was nice, it wasn't the same. The whole ambiance of the place seems different, like the energy or something has left the building. The service was still good, and the food, the same; however, from start to finish, it just doesn't seem like the same place we visited a couple of weeks ago. Maybe they are still finding their identity? Pros: Good wine and food; good service Cons: Depressing environment more

My wife and I chose Nelson's for dinner this past weekend while entertaining her parents and mine. Boy did we make the right choice. From the time we came in and sat down to the time we left, we had nothing but a good experience. The oysters were fresh and delicious, the service was well timed and not overbearing, and the most important part, the food, was out of this world. We enjoyed all of this while in one of the most shiek settings you will find in Raleigh. We finished the evening with a round of desserts and each one was better than the next. Now don't get me wrong, you are going to pay for the great food, service and surroundings but it is well worth it and Nelson's really pulls it off. For your next special occasion or celebration, or just for a nice dinner out, pick Nelson's before you think of anywhere else, you won't be sorry. Best dining experience I've had in a while in Raleigh or beyond. My in-laws who were here visiting from PA agreed and they travel and dine out quite a bit. Trust me, check this place out. It is great, start to finish. Pros: Location, setting, good wait staff Cons: Expensive if you are on a budget more

Very solid food, the best oysters and very detailed and warm service. My favorite aspect is the wine list. The wine manager, I think his name is David, has the most approachable and smartest list I've seen in Raleigh. Take your time and look through the list and ask questions. You will not find many of the wines anywhere. Quite a nice fellow also, he remembered the sparlking wine my wife enjoyed and greeted us with a nice splash last time we were in. \r Ask for a quiet spot however, I've noticed a few loud drunks in there who must be looking for that old Fosters crowd. Shame that, very nice place. Pros: Service and wine list. Cons: Dumb drunks more

Great place, great wines, great food, elegant decor, feels like a New York Restaurant, we will definitely be back!!! \r Pros: Service, Oysters, Upstairs bar is fun! more

What a restaurant. Wow. Ambient, cosy, elegant, welcoming. Lots of indulgent little touches that invited us in. Make no mistake, Nelson's is definitely not based just on design it gorgeous design alone; the menu is sure to please as well. Thus even on a weeknight the restaurant was alive with the satisfied murmurings of neighbouring diners. Once seated, we were immediately presented with a menu repleat with savory culinary temptations and it was hard to resist not choosing all of them. Though the service was a little distracted, they were not rude or in any way disrespectful. I heard through the grapevine the owners may be considering a revolving menu, and if they can match the inventive cuisine they already have, then they will skyrocket! I think with time this stand-out restaurant will surpass all the other ""nicer"" restaurants in Raleigh. Well done to the owners. more

I have been to Nelson's four to five times since it opened. My husband and I have eaten in the dining room twice, and the oyster bar twice. If you are trying to stick to a budget, eat at the oyster bar. It's definately cheaper and you can get giant shrimp with their unbelievable bloody mary cocktail sauce. Also, the oysters are fantastic! The food in the dining room is great too-- although our service there was not as good as at the oyster bar. We waited forever for our meal and our drinks. Overall, this place is good- they just need to up their level of service in the dining room. The wine menu is long and there are great selections to choose from. Pros: Seafood is fresh, drinks are great! Cons: service is so-so more

I had heard that the price was a little expensive and was expecting an exorbitant bill when I entertained around 12 people for dinner last week. What I experienced was just the opposite. Our table drank several bottles of wine, had cocktails, appetizers, entrees, espressos and deserts and the bill was around 70/pp... I have been to numerous restaurants around the triangle and have generally paid 125-150/pp for a meal like this. This is my new spot-Great job-Great service-Great everything. I have recommended your restaurant to all of my colleagues and friends... Thanks for being unique. Pros: A little bit of everything Cons: None to name more

great to look at, but i found the service and food lacking in such a upscale restaurant. Pros: beautiful to look at, nice location Cons: quality, hovering staff more

I have been to Nelson for both dinner and Sunday brunch. Each time I have had a great experience. Since no one has commented on brunch I just want to let you all know just how fabulous it was. So many delicious things to choose from and the variety of foods is worth a thousand words. I highly recommend treating yourself and family or friends to a nice Sunday afternoon at Nelsons or at any time for that matter. more

Most superb seafood in town!! Fresh everyday from the coast. Delicious drinks, including my favorite Absolute Summertime!! Atmosphere provides a variety from being upstairs, outside, overlooking the Raleigh Skyline, to inside, downstairs where you could choose to sit at an oyster bar, or private cozy dining room! Pros: fresh seafood, knowledgable staff, hip atmosphere more

Staff has worked out most of the kinks. Unobtrusive servers, fresh fresh oysters, Kobe beef, two bars, less-formal post golf/work atmosphere at upstairs bar, view, fire place,Dining room(s) food is good, great steaks, salads, deserts very fresh, espressolacking. No hats no t-shirts, $$$ Pros: fresh seafood, great deserts, atmosphere Cons: a bit pricy, ltd parking more

In general, we enjoyed ourselves here. The bar upstairs was really cool and i don't know very many places that have something like it. I thought it was worth it just for upstairs. It was really hard to get a table because we didn't have a reservation, but otherwise it was a nice experience. more

Not recommended paying for the ambiance and not for the meal. Service could be better recommend sitting at the raw bar for best time! The overall value is not worth the cost. I would rather have less décor and receive a better dinner!!!! A bar menu and catering to surrounding area would help in their success!! Pros: ambiance, food Cons: value of meal more