The content creator behind Linda Eats World shares where she goes for quick meals, special dinners and more in the Raleigh area.
by Ayn-Monique Klahre | photography by Forrest Mason

For our 2025 Guide to Where to Eat and Drink in Raleigh, we surveyed 11 people in the hospitality industry to learn where they go for a casual meal, celebration dinner, coffee fix and more. One of them was Linda Nguyen the content creator and photographer behind Girl Eats World. This food content creator and portrait photographer based in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. She moved to North Carolina 7 years ago from Austin, Texas. She’s especially passionate about noodles, matcha and international cuisine in general. For fun aside from eating and traveling, she enjoys consuming true crime stories, reading and journaling. 

Read on for her picks for where to eat and drink 2025!

Where do you go for a special-occasion dinner? 

I have a couple of special occasion spots: I love M Sushi in Durham for an important night out and East End Bistrot for a spendy special occasion. At M Sushi, the omakase is great. If we go a la carte, I am usually happy bopping around their menu, but the lobster shabu is a must-order. At East End Bistrot, I don’t have go-to orders because they change their menus pretty often, but I do have a go-to dessert there: the guava cheesecake!

What’s your go-to neighborhood spot? 

I live very close to Thai Station in Carrboro, and we go there so much. We even had our rehearsal dinner there. It’s special because it’s located in an old train station, but it has a casual vibe and price tag. My go-to orders are the pad thai (spicy) or the Tom Yum soup. They also have the best coconut cake ever, and a warm coconut rice pudding dessert that I’m obsessed with.  

What’s a great casual spot?

There is a blue taco truck with no signage on Jones Ferry Rd close to 54 (102 Barnes St, Carrboro, NC 27510). The name is called Garnarchas Rivera, but that info is irrelevant since it’s literally a blue truck with no signage. But they have amazing tacos! We get the choriqueso tacos, lengua (beef tongue) and tripa tacos. They’ll offer you either a green or red salsa, but if you are in the know and love it VERY spicy, ask for their orange salsa!

Where do you get lunch? 

Places I often crave for lunch are: ZenFish Poké Bar and Bonjour Banh Mi & Tea. At ZenFish, I only get one thing because I’m so obsessed with it: their Courageous Bowl. I go to Bonjour Banh Mi if I’m craving a banh mi. Not a lot of banh mi places have both great bread AND pâté , but Bonjour Banh Mi does. I’ve spoken with so many Vietnamese sandwich shop owners, and they admit they don’t offer pâté, a very traditional sandwich topping in Vietnam, because they feel the North Carolina demographic hasn’t developed a taste for it to justify the cost. I used to go to Greensboro to scratch that itch but haven’t needed to after Bonjour Banh Mi opened. 

Where do you get a meal to go? 

Taquería el Bajío is a restaurant in the back of a Mexican convenience store, adjacent to a gas station on Jones Ferry Rd. There’s zero ambiance, but I’m obsessed with their gorditas. Easy pop-in-and-pop-out stop for me. 

Where do you go for a drink?

I love bubble tea spots! Boba Baba’s teas are great, and they have amazing cream puffs. Tiger Sugar opened a restaurant location not too long ago next to HMart in Cary, and they have awesome fried chicken cutlets that you can get along with the bubble tea. 

What’s your go-to coffee spot?

Namu in Durham is a great coffee spot. They have a great Korean-inspired menu, too, and excellent lattes. Their specials are always so good and creative. I had one a few months ago that was ambrosia and orange flavored. Superb. 

What’s your favorite new-ish place?

Shinmai Shokudō opened in March 2024, and it’s a fantastic Japanese restaurant. We have a lot of great sushi and ramen spots, but not a lot of Japanese street food. Here you can find some ramen and a great variety of Japanese bar/street food. It’s the only place I’ve seen with okonomiyaki. It’s also women-owned! 

What are you excited to try? 

Aaktun Coffee & Bar in Durham looks amazing! The space looks beautiful, and I love that they’re an all-day kind of space – coffee shop during the day and dinner spot at night. 

What’s a spot outside of Raleigh that’s worth the drive?

How far are we talking? I’m in love with a bakery in Richmond, VA: Sub Rosa Bakery. Everything is so good there, but what makes them unique is their sour cherry pistachio pastry. It’s worth the drive to Richmond for just for that bakery! Ed note: They recently had a fire and are closed until repairs can be made.

A portion of this article originally appeared in the January 2025 issue of WALTER magazine. The full version was published on waltermagazine.com on December 30, 2024.