Best Authentic Restaurants in University City

We love Dean’s. Tonight they were a little off w the temperature of the steak. The NY strips were spot on but the filet mignon that was ordered medium came out rare. We kept that one for the table, didn’t want to cause any problems, and ordered another one medium. After everyone else was finished with their meal, it came back, again, rare. Sent it back and it came back (same steak) rare. We gave up. Not sure what the issue was. Not sure we’ll be back.

The food was amazing! The staff was amazing! The steaks were so juicy and tender, the flank steak and the Cajun ribeye were phenomenal! The smoked cheese with chimichurry was over the top! The salad bar has great options. The cinnamon pineapple was the cherry on the top! The crème brûlée and the sundae were amazing. We had a wonderful celebration dinner with absolutely zero complaints!

Owner of Orosoko here. Had a large party birthday dinner last night and everyone enjoyed themselves. Great food (the empanadas were stellar!) and the servers and hostesses did an excellent job on a very busy night. The live music was a great touch. Glad we’re neighbors!

We found the Fug Tree on Open table and a travel blog recommendation and it was exactly what we were looking for! We had a fabulous time celebrating my daughter’s 23rd birthday trip from Los Angeles -- and met others celebrating their anniversaries. We shared 2 apps, a salad, 1 main, and ordered 3 drinks (2 different cocktails and a glass of wine) — and unfortunately didn’t have room for dessert which we were looking forward to — but they still brought some homemade chocolates on a plate inscribed Happy Birthday with a candle, which was lovely! The wait staff were very personable and took great care of us including splitting shared dishes without being asked. The cocktails were unique and yummy. The food was a fantastic mix of flavors and cooked to perfection. The house was tastefully decorated for the holidays. Compared to LA prices it was at least 50% less expensive than a similar experience — but we did tip a lot more than we usually would since service was fantastic and min wage in NC is about 1/4 of that in CA.

This is a true authentic Italian restaurant. Very cute and cozy. The food was amazing. The service was great. The tiramisu was the best I’ve ever had!