Charlotte Restaurant Review: Greenway Restaurant at CPCC

One of the hardest restaurant reservations to score in the Charlotte area isn’t at award-winning restaurants like Kindred or Supperland – believe it or not, it’s at Central Piedmont Community College.

Greenway Restaurant is a student-run contemporary restaurant on CPCC’s Central Campus, where students in the culinary and hospitality programs gain hands-on experience – and patrons have the chance to enjoy a three-course meal from up-and-coming student chefs for only $15.

That is, if you can score a reservation.

[Note: Greenway Restaurant is not currently in operation]

Greenway Restaurant is only open to the public four days per semester. With just nine tables in the dining room, reservations book up very quickly for this experience. Curious about how to snag a seat at one of these coveted tables? Read on for all the reservation information you need, and my full review of the dining experience.

This post is not sponsored, and I paid for this meal myself

MAKING RESERVATIONS FOR GREENWAY RESTAURANT

A well-lit dining room with tables set for fine dining service — With only nine tables, these reservations get snapped up quickly

Greenway Restaurant reopened for public seatings in February 2023 following a three-year closure due to COVID. The announcement preceded the reservation period by just a week; after checking the restaurant website daily for at least a year, a small note was added to the page with four available February dates. I scheduled an alarm for the reservation window opening and logged on a little bit early – just in case.

Thank goodness I did, because reservations were already open and nearly fully booked before the official start time. Once the system allows you in, the booking process is straightforward – you simply choose a table from the remaining dates and the seating time options (there are two seatings per day) and indicate how many guests will be seated at your table (each table can accommodate between two and four guests).

An email instantly confirms your reservation, and that’s it! All that’s left to do is work up an appetite and wait for your luncheon the following week.

GREENWAY RESTAURANT DINING EXPERIENCE

Entrance to Greenway Restaurant in Charlotte — The Greenway Restaurant is located upstairs in the Philip L. Van Every building

Greenway Restaurant requests that all diners arrive on time for their reservation, but in true “us” style, we were running a little behind.

But what was a minor, five-minutes-late thing turned into nearly a quarter of an hour ordeal as we were unable to locate the designated parking lot for visitors of the restaurant (it turns out, there is no Lot 31 – I recommend parking in CPCC’s general visitor parking lot, Lot 5).

Thankfully, the team at Greenway Restaurant seemed unfazed, and swiftly took our coats and led us to our table.

The dining room interior is simple and elegant, with floor-to-ceiling windows on either side – one facing the large, industrial kitchen with students hard at work preparing the meal, and the other facing the skyscrapers of Uptown Charlotte.

The tables are all draped in white linen and laid out in a formal setting, and before you know it your student server is introducing themselves and pouring glasses of water and iced tea (accompanied by a carafe of simple syrup – a gentle reminder you’re in the South).

Collage of all items served at CPCC Greenway Restaurant — Virginia Peanut Soup | Spinach and Artichoke Cannelloni | Bibimbap | Cheesecake

The three-course meal includes one starter, a choice of entree, and one dessert. The menu varies based on the curriculum of the student team in the kitchen; for this visit, the menu featured international flavors and complex dishes as the kitchen staff was nearing the completion of their program.

Unless declined, all diners begin the meal with the same soup. The Virginia Peanut Soup – a regional variation on a classic African dish – was a perfect bowl of comfort and impeccably spiced. The garnish of chopped peanuts added a delightful extra layer of texture and a charming flourish.

All five entrees on the menu hailed from different corners of the world, which made choosing just one a challenge. Having a dining partner who’s game for sharing is a huge help, and always allows us to order two different meals. We finally settled on the Spinach and Artichoke Cannelloni for Michael and the Bibimbap for me, each featuring wildly different flavors and cooking techniques. Each dish was very well executed, and I was certainly impressed by the forethought the housemade kimchi must have taken.

The menu simply listed “Dessert of the Day” and I truly had no idea what to expect. What arrived was an airy cheesecake and a strong cup of hot coffee, an absolute indulgence in the afternoon.

Although we tried to dine at a Goldilocks pace, we were the last to finish our meal. The restaurant takes a very American approach to settling the bill, with the students asking if you are ready for the bill rather than waiting for the diners to request it. In any case – true to its word, the final total price for our restaurant meal was $30 plus tax, a steal for such an experience. As the restaurant is a classroom lab, any gratuities left are directed toward the college’s scholarship programs, and we were happy to contribute.

FINAL THOUGHTS ON DINING AT GREENWAY RESTAURANT

There’s something astoundingly civilized about being able to take a break at midday to sit down and enjoy a three-course meal, and as a diner, the fact that it comes at an accessible price is even more astounding. But besides the difficult-to-obtain reservations, you should know there are a few other things that set the restaurant apart from other dining experiences.

To start, the restaurant is unable to accommodate any dietary restrictions or allergies – if there are ingredients you are unable to come in contact with or consume, it would be best to choose somewhere else to eat. And while there technically isn’t an age requirement, the experience may be challenging for children (also, the restaurant doesn’t provide high chairs or booster seats).

It may seem obvious to state, but just in case: the Greenway Restaurant is operated by students who are still learning the ins and outs of fine dining, not highly-experienced servers who have been honing their craft for years. This means you may encounter some hiccups during your visit – say, a dish served from the wrong side or a utensil left behind. Personally, I find a lot of fine dining customs outdated, but if you’re the type to become upset about an “error” in service, please stay home. The students are out on the floor serving after just weeks of practice and are rightfully a little nervous; please be kind to them.

As often as I’d like to treat myself to a nice lunch out on a weekday, the restaurant only allows diners to make one reservation per semester. So – here’s to scooping up a reservation next time. Cheers!

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