Carolina Dining Room At Pinehurst Resort: The “Best Breakfast In Golf” Review

Carolina Dining Room At Pinehurst Resort Breakfast Review

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When I was looking up the Carolina Dining Room, I saw there was a dress code for dining. Men were expected to be in golf attire (collared shirts and slacks, no open toed shoes, no shorts, no t-shirts) and women were to be dressed similarly.

I told my mom, who was going to be dining with me.

“So, I can’t wear shorts?” she asked. I said no. “What about colored shorts?” 

“Those are still shorts,” I said.

But, to double check, I called the Carolina Dining Room. A lovely woman named Margaret returned my call.

“My mom and I don’t golf, so we don’t own any golf clothes,” I said. “Do I need to buy a golf shirt and skirt for breakfast?” 

 Margaret laughed. “It’s breakfast. There isn’t a dress code except you can’t wear a bathing suit or bathrobe.”

“So my mom can wear her colored shorts?” I asked, just to double check.

“Yes,” she said. “She can. And you don’t even need to bring golf clubs.”

I asked Margaret if she thought the breakfast was worth the $40 a person price tag. She told me it absolutely was. She also told me if she gets the chance to eat the breakfast, she likes the grits best. So I made sure to make a note of that.

I did end up wearing a dress to breakfast because I had already had that outfit in mind before talking to Margaret. My mom wore her white shorts (which are the ones she kept referencing).

The resort, which has been around since 1895, just underwent renovations and is stunning. Absolutely stunning. It’s gorgeous and high end and as soon as you walk inside, you just feel fancy.

There’s been some discourse in the area about how the renovation took out the history of the hotel, and while I can understand it, I only stepped foot inside post-renovation and was blown away by it. Later in the day, I checked out The Holly Inn, the oldest hotel in Pinehurst, which has all the wood and charm and smell of history. But, side note: The smell inside The Holly Inn is amazing. A company comes in and pumps a scent through the vents and it’s incredible. Go there just to breathe.

Anyway, back to breakfast.

You walk in the hotel and straight back to the Carolina Dining Room. You can’t see the diners it from the lobby, just the entrance.

Inside the formal dining room are tables draped in classic, white tablecloth. Behind them are rows and rows of breakfast offerings. And behind that is a man playing a piano.

Guys. There’s live piano music as you dine.

I didn’t get the piano player’s name because, well, he was working and not available to chit chat. But I did get to mouth to him that he was amazing and I asked if I could snap his photo. Because really, live music while you dine is an indication that you might just be at the best breakfast in golf.

If I’m at a buffet breakfast and there’s an omelet station, I’m on the line. That’s a guarantee. I love love love a good omelet. So, when I saw the omelet station in the Carolina Dining Room, I made a beeline for it.

It was, hands down, the best omelet I’ve ever had in my life.

I’m not even gonna slow roll to that sentence. The omelet was phenomenal.

Like any other omelet station, you choose your fillings, I picked bacon, mushrooms, green peppers, and tomatoes. But, unlike any other omelet station, the toppings aren’t cooked in a pan first. Instead, it’s a flat top griddle. The omelet fillings are cooked, then the thinnest circle of egg is cooked on the flat top with it. I mean, it’s crepe like thinness. 

The toppings are placed in the center and then the sides are folded over, like a burrito (unlike a traditional omelet station where the eggs are cracked or poured into the pan with the toppings).

Why do I tell you all these details? So you can try to recreate this at home. I told Bo, the chef behind my favorite omelet, that I was gonna try and steal his omelet technique. He told me he’s made about 100,000 of them. So, maybe there’s no hope for me. But I wish there was because you guys, it was so good.

If you don’t want made to order omelets, you still have so many options.

There’s a section of fresh fruit, with different fruit than you normally see (that was my mom’s big comment).

There’s bacon and eggs and corned beef hash and biscuits and gravy. I took a polite spoonful of gravy and really, I should have taken enough to fill a Styrofoam cup with it because it was incredible. I wanted more of it to dip my perfect biscuit in.

And then, of course, there were Margaret’s favorite grits.

My mom ate hers plain and absolutely loved them. I stirred in a little bit of cheese and topped them with green onions (because, when in the south, right?) and they were light and creamy and would make My Cousin Vinny proud.

And then there’s the bread section. Flaky croissants, muffins, English muffins, and bagels (of course, with lox nearby) with pastries drizzled in chocolate.

And waffles.

Let’s chat about the waffles. Because I read somewhere online that they were freshly made. And maybe they were, but they seemed like ones you can make at any hotel with a waffle maker. But — BUT — this is the difference. There was hot syrup next to the waffles with these tiny personal carafes. That just felt fancy.

I mean, the whole thing has these tiny touches that make you feel like it’s worth the price.

The service is worth the price, though. Our waitress Mimi was the biggest ray of sunshine. She was so happy, so bubbly, so incredibly kind.

She topped off our coffee numerous times and stopped long enough to ask us if we wanted her to take our photo at one point. And when we were chatting with her about her usual wake up time and breakfast of choice (which included peach juice, a surprise since we were in town for Peach Week), she gave us the full attention of our time, making us feel like the only diners in the restaurant.

Do you know those people who are just exactly where they should be in life? That’s Mimi. Of course, I had to tell her that. But, I wasn’t the only one.

She said someone came with a daughter who didn’t speak to anyone. But, before she left breakfast, she was hugging Mimi. And another customer dined at the Pinehurst Resort a year ago and remembered Mimi.

I’m sure I’ll remember her by next year too.

So, is it really the best breakfast in golf? I don’t know. It’s my best breakfast in golf because it’s my only breakfast in golf.

​Maybe there’s a better one out there. But I’d be hard pressed to find a better omelet than the one Bo made. And it would be hard to find a waitress better than Mimi.

If you’re golfing at Pinehurst, the breakfast buffet might be part of your meal plan and so of course, you should go. But, if you’re like me and staying off property but staying in the area, just go. It’s worth the money. Then, if you’re really on a budget, there are some very affordable breakfast options for the rest of your trip.

Would I go back? I don’t know. Honestly, it’s out of my general budget for breakfast. I’m usually the “book a hotel with a complimentary continental breakfast” type of person. So $40 for breakfast is a lot of money. But it was delicious. And the service was amazing.

So, would I go back next time I’m in town? I don’t know. But am I glad I went once? Absolutely. And you should absolutely go once too.

Carolina Dining Room: Frequently Asked Questions