Serena Restaurant and Bar

This evening, I met some friends for dinner at Serena Restraurant and Bar, in Durham, near RTP. The atmosphere is very airy and hip, with rhythmic eletronica music playing. It looked as if most people were getting drinks after work, but several groups were dining. We sat inside, but they have a very nice patio area.

I ordered the gnocci, which I'd been looking forward to after examining their menu on-line about a week ago. It had applewood smoked bacon, dried cherries, loads of garlic, spinach, a thin slice of parmesan and potato gnocci pasta. It came with a piece of garlic bread. It sounds perfect, right? Well, it probably would have been, but it was just too much grease for me. The garlic bread, which had a lot of garlic and loads of butter, was wonderful, but I might have actually enjoyed it more with plain bread to soak up some of the Spanish olive oil that they used to sautee everything.

Serena is open all day, from 11am to 9pm, and they have free WiFi. The next time I go, I'll want to try either their Strawberry Salad or their Blackberry Salad. Both have goat cheese! Also, I should clarify that, despite the proximity to the Park, I suspect the second salad is made with actual fruit, rather than blended RIM devices.