The Leaning Tree

Went here with a friend and didn't have a reservation. They luckily had one table open (make sure you call ahead and reserve bc it's starting to get popular!). We both had the weekly specials: seafood risotto and wild mushroom ravioli, along with the pear Gorgonzola salad and tiramisu for dessert. They split the app for us. The service is incredible, the atmosphere charming, and the food spectacular. I was also impressed by the pricing, especially since the food was far better than that of Italian restaurants I've had in downtown Raleigh with much higher pricing. The restaurant is in the middle of nowhere and in a renovated house, but it is a gem! So worth it!

Unique house style restaurant in the small town of Bailey NC. Pleasant, friendly, relaxing, and tasty.Always have had great food and drinks here, have come here multiple times for business dinners with out-of-town guests and they've always been impressed. Great selection of delicious meals and very attentive staff.My boss from out of state always asks if we are booking the Leaning Tree for team dinners. It is well known far and wide.

Great, authentic Italian food...just lika momma made! Desserts (limoncello/tiramisu/chocolate) were to die for!

Family owned business where the owners are present and there to make sure you're taken care of. Cool atmosphere in an old house I think. Anyway. Good authentic Italian restaurant.

It has all the stuff that can make it great, it just isn't unfortunately. Friends referred it to us so we decided to see for ourselves. There's no parking spots exception two that is the "homes" driveway. See, it's an old southern historical home in a neighborhood , kinda. It's been converted into a restaurant which seems pretty nice but it wasn't. Parking is across the road at a bank. The owner a nice lady greeted us as we stepped up onto the front porch where she was sitting back , smoking and enjoying the night air. We walked into a small parlor area where a little booth was for greeters. We sat down and ordered two glasses of sweet tea and my tea had a bug in it. I told the waitress and she chalked it up to bugs liking sweet things and brought me another one. Asked specifically if they used fresh fish and when was it delivered? Was it frozen? Etc. I was reassured it was "fresh" and never frozen. Since we live inland I expected this to be a lie. See, we lived minutes off the coast of Florida and are used to fish being caught just five or six hours earlier. So I got frozen fish which was loaded with large chunks of half cooked garlic. Very potent to the senses. The food was not good, the plate was sloppy and the ambiance of the place was loud and uneasy. If a chef hand delivers your food then it's either because you are very respected and well known or because they messed it up and talked out what to do and the choice was to check and see. Maybe they'll like it spite the ten cloves of raw garlic chunks in it? Not sure but it was a let down when one thing after another happens. Overall we had two dinners and two glasses of tea minus a bug, and they charged us $72 before tip. My tip should've been, leave the garlic and the bugs out of our dinner but the only half way decent thing that night was the one staffer and honestly she couldn't do much. Overall a disappointing night but the drive there was nice. The ceiling had food on it and it was in grungy shape. The table adjacent to ours had several drunken and obnoxiously loud folks loading up on liquor a la owners friends I guess. The sitting area is in a narrow and long room and the tables and chairs were rather cheap camping type of chairs. House is great on the outside with a nice picturesque back yard with fountain and stone paths. Small but well designed. I get the feeling they are just going through the day to day paces and have long since given up on above and beyond with everything being lackluster and semi sad. The fires long since extinguished in the employees hearts and it reflects abysmally in the final product as well as the atmosphere.

Cute spot in Bailey of all places. Wine list pairs well.Fa venire l'acquolina in bocca!

The food, service and atmosphere were absolutely wonderful. The prices were very reasonable. We will definitely be back. Parking it is not at the facility, but at the bank behind the Mexican restaurant across the street.

Outstanding food! The menu offers great Italian dishes prepared perfectly. Beautiful dining area with outdoor seating, weather permitting. My wife grew up in an Italian home and her mom's a great cook as well, she was impressed.

Nice place in a small burg half hour from Raleigh. Hidden gem. Good food, service and atmosphere

I'm giving them 2 stars only because the food was good and waiter was very friendly. HOWEVER, my friend and I will never go back. While we knew there would be an extra charge to split a salad, we should have read the tiny print on the menu more carefully. They actually charged us 20% to split a check. It was added to both of our checks. Now, what exactly does it cost a restaurant to write up 2 checks? It's not like there were 10 people at the table that wanted their own checks. There were 2 of us . When we questioned it, another waitress quite rudely pointed to where it said in the small print about splitting a check. I've eaten all over the world and am mew to NC. This is a crappy way of treating customers and I will share this miserable experience with as many people as are willing to listen. BTW, my friend and I BOTH tipped the waiter nicely because he was pleasant. Like I said, I cannot say the same for the rude waitress who treated us like we were 12 years old. With so many restaurants struggling to stay open these days, I'm still sitting here SMH. Maybe she thinks she's working at the Learning Tree and her customers are stupid.