Fosters American Grille Resurrects in Cameron Village
There once was a time, just before Glenwood South really took off, that Clarence Foster’s Raleigh branch was
the place to go
out in Raleigh. If you went around Christmas, you’d just about see anyone you ever knew. Times moved on and the owners got itchy to retheme the site. After an extremely expensive overhaul, the restaurant reopened as Nelson’s, aiming at high-end seafood lovers. The concept fell short of expectations and after an reorganization of ownership and modest renovation,
Fosters American Grille
quietly opened on May 8.
The new menu packs in much variety at prices directly aimed at the Village Draft House’s market. In addition to predictable appetizers and salads, there is an excellent selection of sandwiches, pastas and entrees. The restaurant also offers delivery service to a reasonable area (call 821-5969 for details)
It remains to be seen if Fosters’ nightlife will ever return to pre-Glenwood era levels, but you never know. For now, though, it seems the restaurant is finally addressing areas much-needed by the family audience that cannot support fine dining.
8 Comments
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June 26th, 2008 at 10:46 am
Good luck to them. Will be interesting to see if the heavy competition that’s sure to occur between Fosters, Draft House and now Cameron Grill, will allow all three to thrive.
June 26th, 2008 at 10:59 am
Right, Rob. While I haven’t eaten at Fosters yet, I’d probably put them in the middle, between Cameron B&G and Village Draft House. When we’ve been to the latter two lately, they’ve been very crowded. While CB&G is just a little more expensive than VDH, the food is in every way better. They have limited seating, though, so maybe people will discover Fosters midpoint by spilling over from the other two.
The demand for a restaurant where I can feed my family for a reasonable price is so overwhelming, that I think all 3 will do well. I don’t think I’m the only one who is tired of $15 entrees on every menu I see.
We went to Royal India last week, which is basically in the middle of a lot of Capital Blvd yuckiness, and saw that the entrees have climbed to $17. Add mulligatawny soup and nan, and you have $20-$25 a head - in THAT part of town!
June 26th, 2008 at 11:31 am
Dana, it seems like you experiences at CB&G were very different from mine. I’ve only been there once, but everyone I was with described their food as mediocre at best. Mine was rather blah. We all had either sandwiches, soup or burgers. Maybe the Italian food is better?
But for burgers and a good reuben, I’ll still choose the Draft House. (Haven’t tried the new Foster’s yet.)
June 26th, 2008 at 1:23 pm
Ah, I missed the Foster’s meat market back in the day. Alas, now I am too old for that scene.
June 26th, 2008 at 3:47 pm
My first experience at CB&G was great, the 2nd… not so good. The bread and salad weren’t even as good. Like Jenna said, everyone thought the food was mediocre the 2nd time around. I hope it was just a bad night, and maybe a bad waitress as far as the service goes.
June 27th, 2008 at 12:00 pm
I have eaten at the new Foster’s several times and each time the experience has gotten better. The food is wonderful and I think the atmosphere is clean and cool. The Drat House pales in comparison and although I am a fan of Tiramasu and the pub in North Raleigh, I have been disappointed in the food at Carmeron Bar and Grill. I put Foster’s at the top of the three Cameron Village restaurants, by far!
July 9th, 2009 at 12:39 pm
I ate at Foster’s just the other day and was absolutely disgusted with the food. After having waited for a long time I was at least expecting it to be decent. The crab dip was soupy and the pasta entrees were almost unrecognizable. The meal was truly the poorest quality. On top of that the service was practically non-exixtent. I really was appalled that we were still presented the bill after talking to a manager who failed to please. Don’t waste your time!
July 16th, 2009 at 3:40 pm
Cindy, I am shocked you would say that because the menu has changed and there is something for everyone on the menu. They just hired Curtis Floyd back as the general manager and he takes care of everyone who comes thru the door. I think that Fosters new menu and staff’s attitude is great. I urge everyone to visit them and ask for Curtis if you have a problem.