Cooks in: Beef tallow (fries); rest of menu not confirmed
Distillery, bar, and Mediterranean restaurant at Seaboard Station (713 Seaboard Station Dr). A Triangle food-press review confirms "Beef tallow french fries at Boatman Spirits Co." as a named dish (topped with Lebanese za'atar, sea salt, and sumac ranch). No broader seed-oil-free claim found on the restaurant's own site.
Cooks in: Extra-virgin olive oil, grass-fed ghee, and grass-fed butter only; zero seed oils
Downtown Raleigh café at 7 W Hargett St serving cold-pressed juices, poke bowls, and avocado toast. Their own FAQ page states directly: "What we do use: extra virgin olive oil, grass-fed ghee, and grass-fed butter," and rules out seed oils explicitly, "not in trace amounts, not hiding in a sauce, not as a carrier oil." A whole-kitchen policy in the restaurant's own words, built into the menu since 2013.
Cooks in: Tallow-roasted, confirmed for one dish
North Raleigh neighborhood Italian restaurant at 8450 Honeycutt Rd. Their own dinner and lunch menus name one specific dish, the Balsamic Brussels appetizer, as "tallow roasted." Nothing on their site states a broader kitchen-wide oil policy, so this is scoped to that one dish rather than the old copy's blanket "beef tallow and traditional fats" framing.
Cooks in: Beef tallow (fryer); butter and olive oil (other cooking, sauces, dressings)
Burgers, wings, salads, and pizza in Downtown Wake Forest (19 miles from Raleigh). Their own site states directly: "We are working towards limiting seed oils from our products and are currently using Beef Tallow as our fryer oil along with Butter and Olive Oil in other cooking methods, sauces and salad dressings." Their own phrasing frames this as an in-progress shift, not an absolute seed-oil-free guarantee, so the listing reflects that.
Cooks in: Avocado oil and olive oil, whole menu
Fox Restaurant Concepts' wellness-focused chain. True Food Kitchen went 100% seed-oil-free chain-wide in February 2025, exclusively cooking with avocado and olive oil across all locations and its full menu. Check their locations page for the Raleigh/Durham area.
Cooks in: 100% beef tallow (fryers, chain-wide)
Steakburger chain. Steak 'n Shake switched its fryers to 100% beef tallow chain-wide and publishes a dedicated transparency page documenting it, covering fries, onion rings, and other fried items. Raleigh location at Millbrook Road (a separate Duraleigh Rd location has since closed).
Cooks in: Beef shortening/tallow (fryer); most wet sauces contain soybean oil
Wings and sports bar chain. Standard US sit-down locations have fried in beef shortening (100% beef tallow) since 2017, confirmed in the chain's own allergen documentation. The wings themselves come out of the fryer seed-oil-free; most wet sauces (Buffalo, Honey BBQ, Asian Zing) contain soybean oil, so naked or dry-rub orders are the clean choice. Knightdale location, just east of Raleigh (standard sit-down, not the takeout-only BWW Go format at the North Ridge location, which uses soybean oil).
Cooks in: Extra-virgin olive oil and avocado oil (roasted proteins/vegetables)
Salad and grain bowl chain. Sweetgreen switched to EVOO and avocado oil for roasted proteins and vegetables, per the CEO's public statement and reporting. Dressings and toppings aren't confirmed under this claim. Multiple Research Triangle locations.
Cooks in: Olive oil (Crazy Feta dip only); falafel/pita chips/pita crisps fried in canola oil
Mediterranean fast-casual chain. Cava's own 2017 statement to the Vegetarian Resource Group confirms falafel, pita chips, and pita crisps are fried in canola oil. The only item Cava's current published ingredients page names olive oil for is the Crazy Feta dip; hummus, harissa, tzatziki, and the grilled proteins aren't broken out by oil type in anything Cava has published. Multiple Raleigh/Durham area locations.
Cooks in: Grass-fed beef tallow (fries), rest of menu unconfirmed
Raleigh-based food truck. Their own menu page states directly: "Thick-cut Idaho potatoes fried in grass-fed beef tallow with salt & pepper." That's the only cooking-fat claim their own site makes; nothing states the cheesesteaks or other items are seed-oil-free. Mobile operation with no fixed address (base is Raleigh, NC 27612); check their site's daily-locations page or socials for where to find the truck.
Frequently asked questions
Are there seed oil free restaurants in Raleigh?
Yes. Raleigh Raw Juice Bar & Cafe's own FAQ page states directly that they use only EVOO, grass-fed ghee, and grass-fed butter, with zero seed oils anywhere on the menu. Over the Falls in Wake Forest fries in beef tallow and uses butter and olive oil elsewhere, per their own site. Farina Neighborhood Italian and George's Authentic South Philly Steaks (a Raleigh food truck) both name tallow for their fries specifically. True Food Kitchen and Steak 'n Shake made chain-wide 100% seed-oil-free commitments. Buffalo Wild Wings confirms a specific claim (tallow fryer, but soybean-oil wet sauces).
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