Everything here is absolutely delicious. They make everything in house and the quality really shows. The reuben sandwich is other-wordly! I am a self-admitted reuben snob and this place just knocks it out of the park. I really enjoy their soups as well.
My one gripe, if you can call it that, is that because they have odd hours (only lunch) and serve incredible food, the lunch rush is intense and getting your food takes a long time. I have learned to avoid this by calling in my order ahead of time.
If you haven't been, go! Call ahead and order if you're short on time.
Carving Board is exactly how lunch places should be: focused menu, delicious food, friendly service and consistently pleasant experience. Â
I agree that during the lunch rush service can be slow, this is a symptom of high quality food that is made to order. Â If you want pre-prepared meals or fast food this isn't your place. Â The longest I've ever waited is 15 minutes and typically the wait is 5-10 minutes.
Awesome sandwich place. Â Place importance on making good quality sandwiches, without caring about fancy components that other Cville sandwich shops seem to focus on. Â Make straight-forward, awesome sandwiches. Â Ingredients are high-quality. Â Also, owner is extremely nice and will go out of his way to make sure you are satisfied. Â Only complaint is that it is located too far up 29. Â But I still make the trek at least once a week.
Review Source:I love the chicken salad at the Carving Board, which is why I am a repeat customer. In fact, the chicken salad at the Carving Board Cafe is my Charlottesville favorite. The soups are all homemade and great, too. The food here is fresh and perfect for lunch, and there is something for everyone on a large menu. The food is the reason to go back for more at this restaurant.
However, I have a few issues with this place, and here they are:
1. Slow service during the rush: The service here is much slower than it should be when there are a dozen or more people in line to buy lunch. It is nice that the proprietors enjoy chatting and small talk with customers, but a little less talk and a little more action during the lunch rush would be a better approach.
2. Seating: The seating area is small and there are never enough tables or places to sit. Many people end up spending a good part of their lunch outing uncomfortably standing around with their Styrofoam-encased lunches (see below), waiting for an open chair or table to sit down. More tables, please!
3. Wasteful packaging: A big problem with the Carving Board Cafe is that the food is delivered wrapped in lots of Styrofoam, which makes me feel bad in contributing to the mountains of polystyrene foam packaging tossed into the restaurant trash bins on the way out the door. Perhaps this place could switch to washable plates for customers eating in the restaurant? I am sure that dish washing is a pain, but I can't imagine that hauling all of that barely used Styrofoam to the landfill is an easy task, either. Plus I get a little sick at the thought of all that stuff, which is not biodegradable, sitting in the Albemarle County landfill a million years from now.
So enjoy your visit to the Carving Board Cafe. The food is fresh and delicious, but you may want to take a book to read while you wait to place your order, a folding chair if you like to sit down during lunch, and your own washable plate and utensils if you dislike the option of using Styrofoam for 30 minutes before sending it to the landfill for an eternity.
We went searching for a tasty, inexpensive lunch place in the 29 North area and came across this little cafe. There's only about 10 tables inside so it's not really somewhere to come and gather with friends, but it met our purpose of finding a fresh, efficient meal. My Reuben was awesome, and my bf's BBQ sandwich was pretty good. The BBQ sauce itself was very tomato-y, which wasn't to our taste. I did like the frizzled onion on top, nice touch. And we spent $17 for two sandwiches, fountain drinks, and a brownie, so definitely within budget. I'll be going back again to try more sandwiches.
Review Source:Food is consistently very fresh. Owner is delightful. Local goods used as much as possible....loving "Buy Local". Always busy but don't let that deter you, the line moves quickly. Only thing...would love if they would brew their own iced tea and make fresh lemonade. Prices are reasonable as well. Awesome salad with bleu cheese and candied walnuts...yum! Wish they were open until 5pm so I could pick up some food for dinner on the way home, and on Saturday for lunch. Presently they are Monday through Friday until 4pm.
Review Source:I had the Ruben (yes, that is my photo.) It was quite tasty and big enough for my appetite, although a little too much butter on the bread made it a tad greasy. The place is clean but small, so during lunchtime it can be hard to find a seat. Some CVille related framed pics on the wall and a nice mural of the Blue Ridge Mountains, but the ambiance isn't much. I would go back to try other sandwiches though.
Review Source:For certain restaurants, I am the lame person that gets the same thing almost every time. In the case of Carving Board, that is a good thing -- I think some of their menu items are better than others and when you have 45 minutes for lunch, it's best to stick with what you know.
I usually get the Turkey Italian (no mayo) and in my opinion, it is one of the best sandwiches you can get around Charlottesville (yes, I am also a fan of The Market, but not so much Baggby's). The turkey is always smoked very well, the salami is ok, but the italian dressing they use (homemade?) is fantastic. It's on the creamy side, but has some kick. Â They also put shredded lettuce and tomatoes on the sandwich. I usually get mine with the sub roll. Â If it was another type of bread, I doubt the sandwich would hold together as I was eating it because they do NOT skimp on the amount of turkey. Â :)
I've also tried their potato salad, which is on the mustard-y side (for me, anyway, I don't like mustard).
The fries are always HOT but yeah they are somewhat greasy. Â They are seasoned, so if you order, don't be surprised.
I only have a few issues this place (all non food related). One has been mentioned by a reviewer -- the styrofoam. Â 2nd: they serve Hunt's ketchup, not Heinz. Â I just think Hunt's ketchup tastes really funny -- not like ketchup at all. Â Yeah, I know. Â Weird.
The third is that the joint is pretty small and there is very limited seating indoors and none outdoors. Â Don't expect to go during weekday lunch and get a seat unless you get there at 11:30.
Overall, a great workday lunch place. Â Candice, the cashier, is quite possibly the friendliest person ever.
Went back again to try their "famous" crab sandwich about a month ago. Â While service was just as friendly, the crab cake left much to be desired. Â The speciality sauce was way too salty (and this is coming from a salt fiend) which unfortunately overmasked any crab flavor. Â The sandwich also felt greasy since they apparently buttered the bread before toasted which left my hands with enough grease to make me lose my appetite.
Portion was perfect and service was friendly. Â Just not sure it's worth the full four stars. Â If only yelp would let me half star it.
You definitely need to try the Carving Board Cafe's Crab Cake Sandwich!
It is super delicious, but also super filling. Â A huge crab cake, with cheese on top, on sourdough bread, toasted on the outside. Â MmMmm.
The other sandwich I tried was average. I'd recommend going there for the crab cake! It's seriously delicious.
The young, gutsy couple that owns this place is doing a stand-up job. The meats are prepped inhouse (smoked, ect) and the food is very popular.
My mom digs this place for its salads. I liked my reuben. There were business types, health club types, soccer moms, you name it, in a very long line for lunch. The woman at the register thanks everyone with a sincerity and cheer that sticks with you during the day.
Only issue I have = every order's packed to go in styrofoam containers & plastic bags. But many, many people sit and eat in the cafe. That's a lot of wasted to-go containers. I've been preaching in many of my reviews about this... I realize it's money-saving & life-saving in the tumultuous new-restaurant sea but there must be another way!?
...Just have to say: the business guy across from me had ordered a paper lunch bag hemmoraging with grease. I kept staring at it wondering what was leaking. Finally he tore it open to reveal a pile of glistening fries. Made me think of the Simpson's episode where Bart rubs a burger wrapper on the wall of a fastfood store and the wall becomes transparent... :)
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