Park 51 Cafe

Consistent diner food with good service. Not winning any awards for creativity or wonderful dishes, but you’re guaranteed to get exactly what you ordered.

Small little café tucked away in Park 51 shopping center. There are really great food choices and excellent service. Breakfast choices are typical eggs and such with extra items like Belgian Waffles and homemade French toast. The food is fresh and prepared well for a small café. The room is small but comfortable — I would definitely say it’s a option for breakfast !
Try it — you’ll like it !

If you are looking for traditional southern faire, this is the place for you. No fancy décor. Booths can feel crowded, small. Popular after church hangout. Prices affordable for family. My kids loved it!

The food is delicious and the staff is awesome here. The restaurant has a nice private family atmosphere. It’s a great place to take the kids and a great place to go when you don’t want to be at a big chain restaurant.

Great food and great prices! We just went there for lunch and it was a fantastic dining experience. The homemade vegetable soup was as good as you can get. It was loaded with fresh veggies. every salad dressing is homemade. They put tons of feta cheese on the Greek salads and the Greek dressing is amazing! I had the chicken souvlaki plate and it was so good. The pita bread was locally baked. The other person I was with had the marinated chicken tenders on rice. Once again, muy delicioso!!! The fried squash was tender on the inside and crispy on the outside. The prices were equally as good. 8.50 for the Chicken plate (it came with a Greek salad, pita bread, and one side of your choice). 7.25 for the marinated chicken tenders (2 sides included). Both meals came with complimentary soup! This was our first time dining there, but we will be eating there again very soon!

This really is a great little café! I took my parents to brunch on a Sunday morning. We arrived around 10:30am and were immediately seated. Good thing we got there when we did because the place filled up fast. The server was great even when the restaurant was slammed and the food was delicious and the prices were very reasonable! And I was impressed by how great the grits were bc most places are bland. I will definitely go back.

Very upsetting! Park 51 café is under new management. Some of the new staff not near as friendly. Norman, who has been there over 20 years is gone. He was always quick to fill tea and bring out food if the waitresses were busy. My husband and I started coming here when we were dating. Now we need to find another breakfast place.

Good ol’ fashioned diner food with friendly service. Though they could use better coffee from a local roaster.

I’ve been coming to this place for years, and finally got around to writing this review. This is my go to breakfast place in Charlotte. They are usually quite busy on the weekends with minimal space, but they keep things moving. The food is consistent and cheap, for what you get. The coffee and tea is delish. I feel like all the other breakfast places are very overpriced when compared to Park 51. Sometimes the service is a little lackluster but I understand sometimes things are just busy, and they are understaffed. I always take my out of town guests here to eat. Breakfast food rocks!

Unfortunately I didn’t even get to try their food as I was ignored when I entered by I’m guessing the manager or host woman. I stood there as she looked at a phone after helping another guest. Then some guests entered behind me and she said hello to them immediately and then looked at me and said, have you been helped yet. I said no and she gave me a menu and told me to seat myself. They were full except one table that the guests behind me quickly claimed. She offered no further help and I offered no further business. Would’ve been so simple to just acknowledge me and offer some service.

I got the club. Being as though I am from Jersey and our club is turkey without ham the sandwich was ok. I feel that kraft singles do not belong on any sandwich whatsoever so I was taking that off my club. The fries were horrible. They reminded me of when BK changed their fries to that weird crispy and then over cooked. French fries should be easy… dont get cheap on the fries and dont put kraft singles on sandwiches. Judy is a great waitress. She was extremely friendly.

That’s good coffee.
Had some blueberry pancakes and eggs. Best pancakes ever!

Ordered a spinach omelet and got some hot chocolate. It’s a good place for breakfast and its cheap. Folks are friendly and the food is decent. That’s all that matters really. They used to be open for dinner but apparently that didn’t work out too well. I’m glad that there’s an alternative to iHop for when I want breakfast when I get off work.

I believe I was the first Unilocaler to give this place a 5 star review. I used to love this place and came here every time I came back to Charlotte from the west coast. However, the last time I ate here back in May, something happened that ensured that I’ll never come back.
I ordered calabash shrimp, turnip greens, and coleslaw. About 5 minutes into my meal, I took a bite of greens and felt something really sharp in my mouth… and pulled out an ~1 inch-​long razor sharp grarled piece of metal… I’m pretty sure it was from the can lid the greens came from. Anyway, had I swallowed it, it would have ripped me up inside.
I told my waitress and the owner. «Oh we’re so sorry. Can I bring you something else?» My stomach had turned at this point so I said «no.» At this point the brain-​dead owner handed me the check and went to the register so I could pay!
Rather than argue, I figured here’s a guy that has seen me in here for over a decade. All the waitresses know me and stop by and talk. If he’s so freaking stupid to want to charge me for a meal I didn’t eat and that was contaminated with a piece of metal that could have sent me to the hospital or worse, I’ll pay for the meal and let you guys know to steer clear.
AVOID THIS PLACE IF YOU VALUE YOUR HEALTH!

Manger greated us soon as we walked in, with a smile. So did the waitrest. The soup that came with the meal was Campbells i’m sure. :-/
I got the spaghetti and meatballs with garlic bread and side of baked mac and cheese.
Was yummie!

The Man probably the Manager/​Owner working the door greeted me as if I were their Favorite new customer. I noticed the staff knew all the regulars (most everyone there by name) and the place was packed. After I sat down there were no empty tables left. The customers who arrived later, were also regulars and knew when the «lunch crowd» vanished. I arrived about 12:45 today. The place was cleared out by 1:15. This is one of those places my friends say «now Boy were going to be the youngest ones in there is that ok with you Boy and you get Free Soup too Boy»! Yes I have friends that speak exactly like that!
When ordering Spaghetti and Meat Sauce my waitress told me I had a choice of getting something instead of a Salad (I LOVE when they do this). I said «How’s the Mac& Cheese» she said «it’s Baked»! I had a feeling this was going to be Great! It Was! ! ! I’ll rate this Macaroni and Cheese 5 Unilocal stars!
The Spaghetti with Meat sauce was a Tuesday Special and it warmed my Soul and no I did not spill it on my «Bling, Bling» (I do not wear bling, nor own any). It warmed my Soul not because it was the special either. It warmed my Soul because it was so HOT and because it tasted good. In my world of Pasta and Tomato Based Meat Sauce or Marinara there are high expectations and many disappointments so when i say this one is good I’m giving it more than 3 Unilocal stars, though under four stars. Still this Meat Sauce beats a lot of other Meat Sauces including most fancy Charlotte area Italian Restaurants (which unfortunately is not saying much). The Pasta was the usual for these «Diners» overcooked and soaked though the Dish was NOT watery, which is a BIG plus! The Garlic Bread was good too!
When writing reviews I consider the type of place it is and do not want to compare this type of «Diner» to an Upscale place where you get less food (much less) though usually of a better quality and an equally (sometimes unequally) greater price tag! I enjoy the taste, quality and overall experience of each. Each kind of place has the potential of being a romantic experience with combined elements of: company, service, décor and taste of the food, probably anywhere can be something special!

Fridays I am usually on my own for lunch so it’s my chance to try something new because some of my coworkers are less adventurous.
I’ve been eying Park 51 Café for a while since I frequent other businesses in the area. So I venture in.
Like others have said, it’s not a fancy place. In fact you feel like it’s a small step back into time when you enter. It’s also a bit confusing. The sign says seat yourself but do you take a menu with you or do they bring one out to you?
I hit it during the busy Friday lunch hour and it was full when I got there except for 2 tables. I picked the closest booth. I waited a good 10 minutes before someone took a drink order and then came back with a menu. I saw other people take menus with them when they sat down so maybe that is the way to do this.
Anyway, the menu consists of many options… sandwiches, wraps, italian options and then the lunch specials menu which is your typical meat and 2 veggie menu.
A good test for places like this is the meatloaf. It’s a staple at places like this so that’s what I went with. It took a while for my meal to come out. not sure why because other people who were seated after me got served quicker but when it came out it was piping hot and when it entered my mouth, I forgot all about the wait time.
The meatloaf was very flavorful. I could taste the herbs used and it was nicely seasoned and not overly salted like many meat and ²⁄₃ places do it. The mashed taters were perfect — great consistency with bits of potato and nicely seasoned. The turnip greens were flavorful as well. And the unsweetened iced tea also had a nice flavor to it. The meal also came with free soup which todays choices were vegetable and chicken rice. I chose the vegetable which was also tasty with bits of squash in it.
My server was a sweet southern lady who kept me updated on my meal’s status and constantly kept checking back on me. Despite some initial service flaws, she still got at 50% tip.
The moral of this story: Hole-​in-​the-​wall places almost always have the best food. Park 51 is no exception.

I had breakfast here this morning, while waiting for Firestone to change my oil and rotate my tires. I was so happy that it was within very short walking distance from the tire place, saving me from a fast-​food breakfast.
I did the gyro omelette with hash browns and a biscuit.
The food was great, the service was great, and the diner ambiance in this place is great! It wasn’t very crowded; I was surprised at how quiet this place was. I had a great experience, and I’ll definitely be back.

My favorite breakfast stop in Charlotte, by far. Park 51 is a little small, but has a great old-​school diner feel to it. Their menu is diverse (with a few Greek items for color!) and cheap, whether you’re going for breakfast or lunch. The waitresses are friendly, attentive and efficient, and the food comes out fast.
If you’re looking for a wholesome southern meal, Park 51 hits the spot!

«So many friends, so few seats…» is the slogan for Park 51. This is a very cozy joint that feels more like a diner than a café, which was comforting considering I haven’t found anyplace like this in Charlotte as of yet. The servers are all friendly and comfortable, not just the over enthused and over trained servers in many of the restaurants in the area, but fun waitresses that seem to enjoy interacting with the people who dine there all day long. You will feel warm and welcomed when you enter.
They offer a wide range of dishes from pitas to Italian, burgers and sandwiches to desserts, and they have one of the best cups of coffee I have tasted since I moved down here. Truly a one of a kind place.