Cookout Raleigh NC: Menu Prices, Hours & Locations

Cookout Raleigh might be the most important phrase in a NC State student’s vocabulary after “finals week.” You’re in the capital city, it’s midnight, the library just kicked you out, and your stomach is staging a protest. Cook Out is the North Carolina-born drive-thru chain (founded 1989 in Greensboro) that built its entire reputation on feeding people exactly like you: a full meal for about $7.69, served until 2 AM or later. The Raleigh area has several locations across the city, and this guide covers all of it.

This Cookout Raleigh guide walks you through the menu and current prices, typical hours, how to find the location closest to you, and what to order so your first (or fiftieth) visit goes perfectly. Quick honesty note first: cookoutmenu.today is an unofficial fan guide. We’re not affiliated with Cook Out, so prices and hours can vary a bit by location. Everything below is current as of late 2026, but the menu board at your local spot always has the final word.

Why Raleigh Runs on Cook Out

Raleigh is a college town wearing a capital city’s clothes. NC State’s campus sits right in the middle of everything, with tens of thousands of students who study late, party late, and eat late. Then you’ve got the Research Triangle Park crowd, the downtown Raleigh nightlife scene, and Durham and Chapel Hill just a short drive away. It’s a city that stays up, and a city that stays up needs food at hours when most kitchens are dark.

That’s the niche every Cookout Raleigh location was born to fill. The concept is almost aggressively simple: keep the drive-thru open until the early morning hours, and sell an absurd amount of food for very little money. The tray is the centerpiece. One entree, two sides, a large drink, about $7.69. For a student budget, that’s not just dinner, that’s dinner and tomorrow’s lunch if you order smart.

There’s also something poetic about it. Cook Out started in Greensboro, North Carolina, so eating at a Cookout Raleigh spot means supporting a homegrown NC chain rather than another national franchise. The Wolfpack faithful figured that out a long time ago. On any given Friday night, the drive-thru line is half students, half everyone else in Raleigh who knows what’s good.

Cookout Raleigh Locations

Several Cookout Raleigh locations serve the city and the surrounding Triangle area, from spots near the NC State campus to locations covering the suburbs and the corridors toward Durham. The lineup shifts over time as new restaurants open, so rather than printing street addresses that could go stale, use the map below to find the Cook Out closest to you right now.

Fair warning about the format: Cook Out is built around the drive-thru. Most locations have little to no dine-in seating. That’s deliberate. Fewer tables means lower costs, and lower costs are exactly why a full meal still costs $7.69. Plan your Cookout Raleigh visit as a drive-thru run, eat in the car or take it home, and you’ll love the experience. Show up expecting a dining room and you’ll be confused.

Exploring the rest of the Triangle? Our Cookout Durham guide covers the Bull City side, and Cookout Charlotte has the Queen City covered.

Cookout Raleigh Hours

The hours are the whole reason this page exists, so here they are. Most Cook Out locations stay open until 2 AM Sunday through Thursday, and until 3 or 4 AM on Friday and Saturday. That pattern holds across the Raleigh area.

Now the honest fine print. Hours vary by location, so your nearest Cookout Raleigh restaurant might run slightly different times. Holiday hours can change things too. And the weekend late-night rush near campus is genuinely intense. When the bars on Hillsborough Street let out, half of Raleigh seems to converge on the same drive-thru lane. The line looks scary but moves fast, and the food coming out of the kitchen at 1 AM is as fresh as it gets.

General rule: before 2 AM on a weeknight, you’re golden. On weekends, you’ve got even more room. Just check your local spot’s hours before you make the drive.

Restaurant exterior at night with lights on

The Cookout Tray: Raleigh’s Best Deal

If you learn one thing from this Cookout Raleigh guide, let it be this: order the tray. About $7.69 gets you one full-size entree, two sides, and a large drink. It’s the best value in fast food in North Carolina, and Raleigh students have been surviving on it for years.

The regular tray entree lineup: Big Double Burger (330 Cal), Regular 1/4 lb Burger (330 Cal), Regular Chicken Breast (380 Cal), Cajun Chicken Breast (380 Cal), Spicy Chicken (450 Cal), BBQ Char-Grilled Chicken (380 Cal), 3 Chicken Strips or a chicken sandwich (660 Cal), Barbecue Pulled Pork (370 Cal), 2 Hot Dogs (520 Cal), or 2 Quesadillas (440-520 Cal). Ten options, and you still haven’t picked your two sides yet. The side list runs from fries and hushpuppies to onion rings, coleslaw, chili, nuggets, cheese bites, and a bacon wrap.

The upgrade that changes everything: swap the large drink for a milkshake. A Regular Milkshake adds about $1.00 to your tray, a Fancy Milkshake adds $1.00 to $1.60. A full meal plus a 40-flavor shake for under nine dollars. In a college town, that’s not a meal deal, that’s a lifestyle.

Every combination is broken down on our Cookout Tray guide.

The Jr. Tray for Lighter Appetites

The regular tray is a serious amount of food. If you’re not that hungry, or if you’re ordering for a kid, the Jr. Tray at about $6.49 is the smarter play. Same format, smaller entree portions: Small Burger at 1/8 lb (240 Cal), 2 Chicken Strips (440 Cal), 2 Corn Dogs (440 Cal), BLT Sandwich (400 Cal), 1 Hot Dog (260 Cal), or 1 Quesadilla (220-260 Cal).

Honestly, plenty of adults should be ordering the Jr. Tray and don’t because of pride. There’s no shame in it. The food is the same, the price is lower, and you won’t need a nap afterward. Details on our Cookout Jr. Tray page.

Double cheeseburger served with crispy fries

Burgers and Styles

Cook Out grinds fresh beef and cooks it char-grilled, which already puts it a tier above the frozen-patty chains. The size lineup is straightforward: Small Burger at 1/8 lb for $1.99 to $2.99 (240 Cal), Regular Burger at 1/4 lb for $2.99 to $3.99 (330 Cal), Huge Burger at 1/2 lb for $3.99 (520 Cal), and the legendary Big Double for $2.99 to $3.99 (330 Cal). The Big Double is two patties priced like a single. The math doesn’t make sense and I love it.

The styles are where a Cookout Raleigh visit gets interesting. Cookout Style means homemade chili, coleslaw, mustard, and diced onion for an extra $0.95 to $0.99 (130 Cal). Cheddar Style is sharp cheddar, crispy bacon, grilled onion, and mayo for $0.99 more (240 Cal). Out West Style brings BBQ sauce, crispy bacon, mayo, pickles, and onion for $0.75 to $0.99 (210 Cal). Steak Style adds A1 steak sauce, grilled onions, lettuce, tomato, and mayo for $0.59 to $0.69 (100 Cal). House Style is quesadilla sauce with shredded lettuce, tomato, and onion for $0.49 to $0.59 (65 Cal). Nacho Chili Style is nacho cheese sauce with homemade chili for $0.99 (100 Cal).

First visit? Big Double, Cookout Style, on a tray. It’s the order that made the chain famous. Dig deeper on our Big Double Burger and Quarter Pound Burger pages.

Chicken, Hot Dogs and BBQ

Don’t sleep on the non-burger half of the menu. The chicken sandwiches come in six styles, all $3.69 to $4.85: Original Style (390 Cal) with honey mustard, lettuce, tomato, and mayo on a toasted bun, BBQ Style (380 Cal), Cajun Style (380 Cal), Club Style (500 Cal), Cheddar Style (560 Cal), and Homemade Style (490 Cal). Three chicken strips go for about $4.99 (660 Cal), and a grilled or crispy chicken sandwich is around $4.49 (about 450 Cal). Full details on our chicken sandwich page.

Hot dogs are priced like it’s still the 1990s: plain at about $1.99 (260 Cal), chili dog at about $2.49 (330 Cal), chili cheese dog at about $2.99 (400 Cal), slaw dog at about $2.49 (310 Cal), and corn dog at just $1.49 (220 Cal). Two hot dogs also count as a tray entree, which might be the best dollar-per-calorie deal in Raleigh. See our hot dog guide.

And the barbecue deserves a special mention because, well, North Carolina. Regular pulled pork BBQ is about $3.99 (370 Cal), BBQ char-grilled chicken is about $3.99 (380 Cal), and the BBQ sandwich with pulled pork on a toasted buttered bun is around $4.49 (about 450 Cal). Cook Out’s Greensboro roots show in the BBQ. Our BBQ page has the full story.

40+ Milkshake Flavors

The shake menu is the stuff of legend. More than 40 Cook Out Creamery flavors at any Cookout Raleigh location. Regular shakes run $2.99 to $3.99, fancy shakes run $4.49 to $4.99, and calories land between 510 and 900 depending on how indulgent you go. These are real ice cream shakes, thick enough to fight the straw, and worth every penny.

The hall of fame: Peanut Butter Banana (864 Cal), Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup (894 Cal), Oreo Mint (853 Cal), Strawberry Cheesecake (800-900 Cal), and Banana Pudding (781 Cal). Then the deep bench: Banana Fudge (772 Cal), Blueberry Cheesecake (700-900 Cal), Butterfinger (700-800 Cal), Cappuccino (555 Cal), Caramel Fudge (677 Cal), Cherry Cheesecake (925 Cal), Chocolate Chip Mint (834 Cal), Heath Toffee (701 Cal), M&M (755 Cal), Mocha (620 Cal), Orange Push-Up (638 Cal), Oreo Cookie (802 Cal), Peach Cobbler (790 Cal), Peanut Butter Fudge (765 Cal), Snickers Bar (720 Cal), Walnut (853 Cal). Keep an eye out in summer for the seasonal Fresh Watermelon shake (645 Cal), available July and August only.

Raleigh-specific advice: the Oreo Mint is the perfect post-exam shake. Something about the combination of stress relief and mint chocolate just works. Browse everything on our classic milkshakes and fancy milkshakes pages.

Thick milkshake topped with whipped cream

Sides Worth Ordering

Your two tray sides matter more than you think. The lineup: french fries at about $1.99 (350 Cal), onion rings at about $1.99 (130 Cal), hushpuppies at about $1.99 (300 Cal), homemade coleslaw at about $1.49 (100 Cal), homemade chili at about $1.49 (170 Cal), chicken nuggets at about $1.99 (150 Cal), white cheddar cheese bites at about $1.99 (190 Cal), and the bacon wrap at about $1.99 (420 Cal).

My ranking for a Cookout Raleigh tray: hushpuppies are the mandatory first pick. They’re a Southern classic and Cook Out nails them. Second side depends on the night. Fries for the classic combo, onion rings when you want something a little different, coleslaw when you’re pretending to be healthy. The chili is sneaky good as a side too, especially next to a plain burger. More on each: hushpuppies, french fries, onion rings, and coleslaw.

What to Order at Cookout Raleigh

Three orders for three kinds of Raleigh nights.

The broke student: Jr. Tray with the small burger, fries and corn nuggets as sides, large drink. You’re out the door for around $6.49 plus tax. That’s less than a fancy coffee, and it’s an actual meal. This is the order that gets freshmen through their first semester.

The study session fuel-up: Regular tray with the Cajun chicken sandwich as your entree, hushpuppies and onion rings as sides, and upgrade to a Cappuccino or Mocha shake. Caffeine plus sugar plus actual food. You’ll make it through the night.

The Triangle road trip: Big Double tray, Out West Style, with chili and cheese bites as sides. Eat it in the car on the way to Durham or Chapel Hill. Some of the best memories in the Triangle are made in a parked car with Cook Out.

Late-Night Tips for Raleigh

A few things that’ll make your Cookout Raleigh run smoother. First, remember it’s drive-thru first. There may be nowhere to sit, so plan to eat in the car or take it back to the dorm. The food holds up well on a short drive.

Second, the post-bar rush on Hillsborough Street is no joke. If there’s a big game or a big night out, expect a line. It moves faster than it looks, and honestly, people-watching in that line is half the entertainment. Third, know your order before you reach the speaker. Entree, two sides, drink, style. The menu is enormous and the crew appreciates decisiveness.

Finally, be kind to the late-night staff. They’re feeding half of Raleigh at 2 AM. A little patience goes a long way, and you’ll get your tray faster when the whole line cooperates.

Cookout Raleigh FAQs

How many Cook Out locations are in Raleigh, NC?

Several Cook Out locations serve Raleigh and the wider Triangle, including spots near the NC State campus and the surrounding areas. Locations open and close over time, so the map above is the best way to find the Cookout Raleigh restaurant nearest you. As an unofficial guide, we don’t list street addresses that could go out of date.

What time does Cookout Raleigh close?

Most locations are open until 2 AM Sunday through Thursday and until 3 or 4 AM on Friday and Saturday. Hours vary by location, so check your specific Cookout Raleigh spot before a late run, particularly around holidays.

How much is the Cookout Tray in Raleigh?

The regular tray is about $7.69 with one full-size entree, two sides, and a large drink. The Jr. Tray is about $6.49. You can upgrade the drink to a regular milkshake for about $1.00 more, or $1.00 to $1.60 for a fancy shake. Prices vary slightly by location.

Can I swap the tray drink for a milkshake?

Yes, and you absolutely should at least once. Any regular milkshake can replace the tray drink for about $1.00 extra, and fancy shakes run $1.00 to $1.60 extra. With 40+ flavors, the hardest part is choosing.

Does Cookout Raleigh deliver?

Select locations offer delivery through DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub. Cook Out has no official app for online ordering, so third-party apps are your only delivery option. Availability depends on the location, and delivery prices are higher than drive-thru prices.

What’s the best late-night order at Cookout Raleigh?

The crowd favorite is the Big Double tray with hushpuppies and a shake upgrade. If you want maximum food per dollar, the 2-hot-dog tray entree is hard to argue with. And if you’re feeding a study group, order a round of Jr. Trays and a few extra shakes. Nobody ever complained about too many Cook Out shakes.

That’s everything on Cookout Raleigh: prices, hours, locations, and the orders worth your money. Heading elsewhere in North Carolina? See our Cookout Charlotte guide, the Durham locations, or start from the homepage for the full menu. Road-tripping out of state? We’ve got Atlanta, Nashville, and Columbia covered too.