Aperitif

This is our second time here, and we love the atmosphere, drinks, and food. Highly recommend.

I came to Apertif repeatedly on Thursday nights for trivia night (you had to go to certain locations to qualify for a tournament). First, I want to highlight the things that I liked:*The food is really good. The Mt. Stowe was my favorite but everything I tried was good and the desserts look amazing.*The drinks are also great! I really like that they have weekly specials so that going out for cocktails doesn't have to break the bank (like at some places in Durham). *The shop itself is very cute with nice views and a good patio. However, the inside of the shop itself is fairly small. This would not be a good place for a large group, but it works well for intimate conversation or reading a book. However, at least on trivia nights when there was an influx of people, the service was repeatedly poor. It was as if each staff member had one task that they stayed on even if the bartender fell behind or the waitress couldn't take care of all the tables at once. I would say that I cannot recommend going on a Thursday night, but I learned that they are no longer going to be hosting trivia. I plan to return on another night to see what it's like when its not as crowded.

I've wanted to come here for so long and yesterday I finally did! There was a good amount of indoor and outdoor seating, and my friend and I decided to sit inside since it was pretty busy outside. Our waitress/bartender was very nice and attentive. She informed us that the Saturday special was $7 Spritzes, so naturally my friend and I each chose a different one to try. I got the Goodbye Earl which had gin, blackberries, and lemon, and my friend got one of their seasonal options (can't remember the name - but it had cider, vodka, and vanilla). Both drinks were good, but I ended up liking my friends better since mine was kind of sour and had a pretty strong lemon flavor. I think if it had been a tad sweeter and tasted more like blackberries then it would've been a 5/5! There were a bunch of other drink options on the menu that looked delicious, so I will for sure be back sometime to try them out!

This place popped up in Yelp, so I came here to try their desserts. I got the pumpkin cheesecake - they have a rotating seasonal selection. Texture was good (lightly fluffy) but it had a strange candle-y aroma and I got a headache later.They also had the indoor seating reserved for a party, so we sat outside in what became a wind corridor. I'm sure there are other better desserts on the menu and it's more pleasant in warmer weather, but it's not for me. Service was great though.

What a cute spot! My friend and I wandered over after a hot yoga class next door and were pleasantly surprised by the $5 wine special on Mondays. We were also intrigued by their seasonal cocktail menu, so we started with those, which were delicious! Jason, the owner, happened to be working that night, so he was super helpful with food suggestions for us. We tried the deviled eggs (the Baja with tajin were our favorite!) and they were so good that I forgot to snap a picture. Whoops. We were having a great time, so we decided to have a glass of wine, split a sandwich, and upgraded the side to a house salad (pictured). Jason was so kind in splitting everything onto two plates for us and making it look cute. We had a wonderful time, stayed for a few drinks, and can't wait to come back!

Cute place for a drink and a bite. We tried the White Dove and Espresso Martini, both delicious. Also had a 5 item charcuterie board that included soppressata, wagyu, a soft and hard cheese, and tapenade. Servers were attentive and friendly but not over the top. Would definitely return here.

This is a really cute dessert and cocktail bar in Durham. They're located on the second story, so you can enjoy your food sitting on the covered balcony. Don't worry, there is also plenty of indoor tables and cozy chairs to sit at. The overall atmosphere is refined but relaxed. This is the perfect place for a girls night or a date. The menu has cocktails, sandwiches, canapes, charcuterie, oh and the best desserts! The prices are very reasonable for what you get, and everything was very tasty. The only bad part is that a good section of the menu is seasonal, so if you find something that you like, it might not be there the next time.

I had an offline coupon for this spot, so met a friend there one evening for drinks and snacks. The place is very modern, very open, and yet very welcoming. We sat mostly at the bar but moved to the deck and some more comfortable seating as the evening progressed. For food, we split the charcuterie board, with several cheeses and meats. Each item was a good size for sharing, not just a small dab on the board. There was prosciutto, drunken goat cheese (one of my faves!), and a softer cheese, along with loads of crackers, chips, mustard, and pickles (maybe house-made?).Drinks included a Last Word (do you even know how rare it is to find a bar that still has Chartreuse?), and a house specialty called "I Can Buy My Own Flowers." This has an ice cube molded into the shape of a flower blossom. According to my friend, it was very tasty.The staff were very friendly, even though we were there late into the evening. I will be going back there again as the summer progresses.

I was really looking forward to checking out this dessert bar after reading all the great recommendations on Yelp and hearing good things from our friends. I really wasn't blown away, though. We ordered the Seasonal Crème Brûlée and the Boozy not Bougie Tiramisu for dessert. The Crème Brûlée was orange flavored and good but not anywhere close to the best crème brûlée I've ever had. The Tiramisu was good and had a nice kick of rum without being overwhelmingly boozy but also just ok for a Tiramisu.In terms of dessert cocktails, I ordered an espresso martini. The espresso martini was a major let down. It was totally watered down. Luckily, I informed the server and my drink was quickly replaced with the S'moresgasmic cocktail and that one was very delicious! Not as sweet as I was expecting which was great since that is the reason I hesitated to order it in the first place. It was very creamy and beautiful with the marshmallow decoration on top. Overall, the place is a great spot to grab a drink and dessert with a friend or a group but the desserts and drinks themselves probably won't blow you away.

I brought my partner here for his birthday dessert because we had heard a lot about it. However, the cocktails were pretty hard to get through. They looked pretty but were heavy on the liquor flavor and not so much the cocktail flavor. The desserts themselves are not pictured but were only okay. I could've definitely made something of the same quality if not better. Overall, I was pretty disappointed in my experience.