Death & Taxes

Death & Taxes is a wood-fire restaurant in downtown Raleigh, North Carolina, and a centerpiece of chef Ashley Christensen's acclaimed restaurant group. Opened in 2015 at 105 West Hargett Street, the restaurant is named after the only two certainties in life, and its culinary mandate is similarly elemental: nearly everything that comes out of the kitchen passes through fire. The open hearth and wood-burning oven dominate the dining room, radiating heat and smoke in a way that makes the cooking methodology the defining atmosphere of the space. Whole chickens are roasted until lacquered and crackling. Pork chops absorb smoke low and slow before finishing over the flame. Whole heads of cauliflower are roasted until caramelized throughout. The beef tallow cornbread, baked in cast iron and enriched with rendered beef fat, has become one of Raleigh's most discussed bread courses. Vegetables receive the same attention as proteins here — the whole-roasted and smoked preparations often coax unexpected depth from seasonal produce. The dining room is warm and dramatic, anchored by exposed brick, dark woods, and the ambient glow of the open fire. The beverage program includes a well-curated wine list and seasonal cocktails. Reservations are strongly recommended and can be made through Resy; the restaurant books solidly on weekends and during peak Raleigh events. Death & Taxes occupies a space distinct from Christensen's other projects — more primal, fire-forward, and focused on the oldest cooking technique in human history.