Element Gastropub

 

Located at 421 Fayetteville Street in Downtown Raleigh, Element Gastropub serves vegan cuisine, craft beers, and cocktails from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday-Thursday and 11-10 Saturday and Sunday. Food specials change regularly and there’s a brunch on weekends. Online ordering, outdoor seating, group reservations, and catering are available.

 

Conceptually, a plant-based gastropub screams “trying to be trendy,” but Element has been alive and thriving long enough to evade charges of faddishness. Its location — across from the City Center Marriot and a short walk from the Convention Center – is both a blessing and a curse: its proximate to everything but also in the thick of a restaurant-heavy area. Granted, none offers exactly what Element does, but unless you are specifically seeking vegan fare, it may not top your list.

 

Should you forgo the patio, Element offers an interior that suits its concept well: green trim (for the plant-based menu) and a “beer”iodic table graphic that add to a casual (read: seat yourself), comfortable atmosphere. There’s also a wall of taps, which looks impressive but may not include every draft advertised (it took my wife three beer requests to find one they weren’t out of).

 

Element’s menu is classic pub fare – apps, salads, burgers, and sandwiches – though the specials may get a bit more adventurous. My wife and I opted for a Carolina BBQ sandwich and a Nashville Hot Chickn sandwich, respectively, both with fries as our side.

 

As other reviewers noted, the kitchen here is a bit slow. The wait for our food wasn’t ridiculous, but it was long enough to be noticeable. The fries, however, were worth it. Element does them in a malt vinegar powder, and they came out perfectly crisp and addictively good. Ask for a side of ranch, and you’ll get a delicious, herby (mmm…dill) homemade concoction. The BBQ sandwich will raise the hackles of smoke-seeking purists, but it was perfectly tasty in its own right.

 

In lieu of a Nashville Hot sandwich, however, I ended up with a plain crispy chickn: no pickles, no sauce, no heat. The texture – faux meat is often hit-or-miss – was fine, but flavor was lacking. Our apologetic server offered a replacement, but having already taken a bite to confirm I wasn’t hallucinating, I opted to simply apply some Texas Pete.

Element’s atmosphere and location score points in its favor, and as a meat-eater, I didn’t find myself missing the real thing eating here. That said, I would probably only return for the outstanding fries.