Toast
Phone: (919) 683-2183
Craving a satisfying lunch in downtown Durham? For something on the lighter side, head to legacy restaurateur Toast for handcrafted, gourmet paninis, seasonal soups and salads. The beloved neighborhood Italian sandwich shop serves farm-fresh produce – don't skip the specials that are always delicious and based on whatever's in season.
Cuisines
- Casual Dining
- Celebrated Cuisine
- Deli/Sandwich Shop
- Farm To Fork Restaurants
- Italian
- Restaurants
- Vegan Or Vegetarian-Friendly Menu
Hours
Monday: 11:00 AM – 2:45 PM
Tuesday: 11:00 AM – 2:45 PM
Wednesday: 11:00 AM – 2:45 PM
Thursday: 11:00 AM – 2:45 PM
Friday: 11:00 AM – 2:45 PM
Saturday: 11:30 AM – 2:45 PM
Sunday: Closed
Tuesday: 11:00 AM – 2:45 PM
Wednesday: 11:00 AM – 2:45 PM
Thursday: 11:00 AM – 2:45 PM
Friday: 11:00 AM – 2:45 PM
Saturday: 11:30 AM – 2:45 PM
Sunday: Closed
Map
Google Rating
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I have seen Toast many of times but didn’t realize they offered a soup/salad/sandwich type of menu until recently. I ordered delivery during peak lunch hours. I had the herb pesto with chicken, a side salad and the brown butter cookies. When my food arrived, surprisingly was still warm. Speaks to the freshness! I appreciated the flavor of the sandwich, found it well balanced. I liked that the salad was not iceberg. Dressing tasted homemade. My only criticism is the cookies: the texture felt stale so they were very underwhelming. Overall I found the food to be yummy and a fair price. Recommended, and would eat here again.
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Toast has been on my list a very long time. I live in the county and it's harder to get in town during open hours. The perfect opportunity arose to have lunch before taking mom to see Chucago at DPAC. We got the special Crostini with goat cheese and a raspberry jam.. delicious and perfect combo. Mom got a chicken salad sandwich. The chicken salad was fabulous! It is hard to find a chunky version, but theirs has big chunks of chicken with the right amount of mayo. It was not a skimpy serving on the sandwich either which I liked. I got the rapini - sweet Italian sausage, roasted garlic, asiago fresca. Delicious and just the right size and flavors. Mom doesn't really care for sausage and even liked it. It was very busy, but the staff took good care of us as they rushed around to get everyone. I love they have both inside seating and outside. Great place for soup, sandwich or a salad. Give it a try!
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This place is awesome in that they use real glassware, silverware, plates and bowls. The venue was clean and trendy with plenty of character and located in the heart of Durham.
This is about all of the positive things I can say about Toast to be honest. We went to dine inside. Ordering was done outside prior to entering which is also fine. The gentleman taking the order was not fine. He was condescending to one of our party when she asked a question - he pedantically read the portion of the menu that answered her question and made her embarrassed. He also said to each guest "I assume you are okay to add %20 to your bill to support the servers who bill be serving you".. the tone was such that you didn't know if you should just walk away and leave or be a mouse and say "yes". It was a bad vibe.
I ordered the Rapini with Sweet Italian Sausage and a bowl of the white bean soup. While everyone has different tastes, to me the soup tasted like Honeycomb Cereal (I have not eaten Honeycomb cereal for about 40 years but still remember it). A bunch of pepper later and it was "okay". The sandwich, while looking awesome, had large chunks of gristly meat in it that in no way was in the same timezone as "Sweet Italian Sausage". It was genuinely hard to chew and I had to hork those pieces into my mouth and pretend it was something worth eating.
In hindsight I should have returned my meal and given clear feedback. This is my fault and a lesson learned for me. TBH, I was concerned it would become a debate with the staff. It is hoped that the leadership at Toast will also listen and learn that snarky or presumptuous staff is an instant "not going back" coupled with food that was far below the expectation. -
2026 June:
Toast is a delightful little sandwich shop.
They have a variety of delicious sandwiches, crostini's, paninis, and more. Go give it a shot. Pricing is on par for the area you'll probably average $12-17 for just a sandwich / sandwich soup salad combo.
If busy, there may be a wait, however you may get lucky, they seem to get through orders relatively quickly.
Parking is downtown area parking, you can Street Park and pay the meter, or there are decks, I am not aware of them validating any parking but they might?
They do have alcoholic beverages, I think all the beers are canned/bottles, no drafts. -
This cute Paninoteca was really good. The atmosphere was comfy and the decor was calming. You go to the counter and order your food then we got a number for our table and waited to be served. It was clean and the workers were friendly. We waited for our food a little longer then I would have liked but it was fresh and delicious! That’s my 2 cents now you decide.
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