Tip Top Restaurant

Excellent food excellent service excellent waitresses always busy quick and friendly service for A very reasonable price. I love this place!

A local old time favorite of many, this is a «real» diner with breakfast all day. It’s diner breakfast so not gourmet but the food is good and plentiful. Tip top is ALWAYS busy at normal mealtimes. Prepare yourself for the slight sense of chaos and limited parking although they have increased their parking lot. Making a left in and out of this lot from or on to 250 east can be a challenge at busy traffic times.
I have eaten here on and off for years and finally decided to review after a not so great take out experience. After reading more reviews it seem my service and food experiences are not just in my head. Tip top used to be the tip top of service with waitresses calling you «hon» and «sweetie» and very fast attentive service.
My «beef» recently is, I decided to take out lunch for me and my wife. This really is the best «reasonably priced» restaurant in Pantops (this area, for you out of towners), but that’s not saying much. The restaurant choices here are marginal at best, but some good fast food places, fast casual and one sort of upscale place.
They got one of our orders wrong, so I got all the way home and discovered I had flavorless chicken breast on top of soggy pita triangles instead of the gyro platter I ordered. I called, informed them, they verified my order should have had a gyro (at least they can do that by name) and I told them I would becoming back the 30 minute 20 mile each way trip to get the meal I ordered.
My disappointment was, all they did was re-​make the meal. They should have offered me a refund so it was free, or a free dessert or something. The lady told me «we just re-​did the whole thing» which meant another salad I didn’t need and tzatziki I had already ordered and PAID extra for an extra for. When you make a customer have to come back, you should make the meal complimentary. It’s not the customers fault, its your fault.
Also, they have no clue how to package take out food. This irks me at many places. The people are not sharp enough to realize when you pack fries and hot food in Styrofoam and close it up, it steams everything making everything soggy and lose its crispness. Simply poking holes to vent the Styrofoam would help this. Also, as with other places, they do not bag cold stuff separately. Any person with half a brain cell knows if you bag a cold salad and other cold stuff with the hot, it makes the cold stuff warm and the hot stuff room temperature more quickly. This is takeout 101 stuff, not «rocket surgery».
When I went back for my replacement meal, I asked for another bag and container and was looked at like a nutjob as I repackaged stuff right on the counter.
BUT…they dont really care. They are so packed with business, they can hardly keep up with it anyway.
So…the food. Some good, some just OK. I mentioned breakfast. You will not get a better basic down home diner breakfast anywhere. No fancy schmancy concoctions like at the major breakfast type chains, but solid, old school food for a fair price and a good portion… almost too much for me sometimes for breakfast.
We’ve had good meals here. The gyro and souvlaki platters are very good and the Greek salads that come with them are loaded with great feta cheese. The pizzas are not bad either.
The Gyro sandwich is not what it used to be. Last time I got one was the last time I sat down for lunch here. I will not sit in a hustle and bustle noisy active diner and get heartburn from the stress for just marginal food… I’d rather eat in my vehicle than do that. But the gyro was weak, lacking on guts and left me hungry. There are much better Gyro sandwiches in C’Ville. The gyro dinner platter on the other hand is filling because it comes with fries, salad and much more meat.
This is a Greek owned place with Greco-​Italian food. The basics are good. lasagna and all that. However I got the stuffed grape leaves once and they were pathetic and flavorless. Nothing but rice filling, thankfully their tzatziki has good flavor to dip them in. (I make stuffed grape leaves at home, so I have a reference of what is good and not).
So, my advice to the out-​of-​towner (locals know the deal):
1-​Avoid the most popular times to eat here unless you dont mind waiting and a noisy hectic diner atmosphere. Also parking is hectic during these times, not that you wont find a space but the building is up close to the road and there can be a traffic jamb in the parking lot of cars coming and going even though there is ample parking in the back. The geniuses that designed and or zoned/​approved the improved lot did not provide a rear exit/​entrance to the lot.
2-​Get the gyro platter not just the gyros, the souvlaki is very good, breakfast basics are as good as you will get at any old school diner and the Italian staples like lasagna are good.
3-​Check your food before leaving! If takeout.
Otherwise this is a decent place to eat. It’s a solid «diner».

Great diner centrally located. We went for comfort food after spending some time at a nearby hospital and left feeling satisfied. Great Italian and Greek staples. My usual order is the gyro which is always good but tonight I decided to try something different. When I placed my order for the souvlaki platter, the waitress said it was the best thing on the menu. After I tasted it I’m inclined to agree. The seasoning and tenderness of the meat was delicious! The only thing I would change next time is to ask for the salad dressing on the side. It was very tasty but a little too much on the mini salad for me. Overall, fast service, good food at reasonable prices!

Good diner type food, friendly service, & clean, what more could you ask for? I had French toast, eggs, & bacon… great on chilly morning.

This is not fine dining by any means, but everything I’ve ever had here has hit the spot. So, if you’re in the mood for diner food — this is the place. If not, go elsewhere.
My favorite has become the chicken slouvaki dinner. For just under $ 10, you get a large platter filled with greek salad, chicken, pita, and fries. A side of tsatsiki sauce comes along as well. Delicious!
Service gets a ding here and there, but it’s a diner and I know they have to put up with a lot of crap.
This is the best diner to go to in town for a non-​pretentious diner meal.

It’s been a long time since I’ve had a diner style breakfast out & this place hit the spot. Local friends of ours suggested this for an afternoon breakfast & I was blown away by the delicious smell of maple syrup and coffee as you walk through the door.
We were seated in less than ten minutes on a busy Saturday afternoon. Our waitress was friendly & fast. I couldn’t believe how affordable this place was. 4 adults breakfast meals & drinks for $ 35…you can barley do that at fast food anymore.
The maple syrup aroma in the air prompted me to order the two piece French toast with scrambled eggs & bacon. It was delicious. Everyone else at the table ordered pretty similar & we all left with happy & full bellies.

Tremendous consistency of service and very reliable quality food. The best breakfast place in Cville. Good for lunch and dinner.

Old school diner-​style, but yummy food! I took the kids for dinner and they enjoyed some spaghetti. I had a fabulous lamb gyro with Greek salad… amazing lamb and pita! I also appreciate that the restaurant has no TVs… difficult to find these days.

Very very fast service. Waitress came right over. Food took less than 10 minutes, all cooked to perfection! Chocolate chip pancakes were great!

Very solid diner. I had steak & eggs… the steak was surprisingly good. Very well seasoned and nicely cooked, and the potatoes were delicious. I was surprised. I expected very mediocre food but it was quite yummy, and it didn’t sit in my stomach all day like a stopwatch.

This is my favorite breakfast place in the town of Charlottesville.
The first time, I happen to go there since it was very close to DMV. Luckily, Vicki was our waitress; she was so nice and cool that I kept coming back.
The food is very affordable and the quality is decent.
I absolutely recommend this place to anyone who’s a fan of good food and congenial atmosphere!

This place is so mediocre. I’m not sure why I saw a million old white people waiting outside to get in this place on a Sunday morning… actually, that might explain the quality of the food.
I’m pretty sure my crappy campus breakfast food is better than what’s served here. Thank god the prices are cheap – you really pay for what you get at this place. Save yourself the trouble and go to, at the very least, iHop.

I have been going to this place forever, and it will forever be an option in my mind, no matter how I feel about it on average. It really is not that cheap of a place to eat after drinks and everything get factored in, and with relatively bland food being the majority, and service leaving a lot to be desired, you may wider what you paid for. My opinion of it has been slightly decreasing recently each time I have been in there, not because of the food, but because of the service.
One of their claims to fame is their breakfast all day. I will tell you straight up and down that nothing savory on their breakfast menu is worth ordering, other than toast – it will all come out bland. Whether you order an egg sandwich, eggs, potatoes, or meats, it is all just average. The waffles are a step up from everything else, and then the pancakes are worth ordering. They come in so many different ways, and they are some of the best pancakes you will ever eat. They do serve breakfast all day, so a craving for these pancakes could be satisfied at any time.
For lunch and dinner, I am going to have to say the same: most of the food on this menu is bland. It will come out looking as simple as possible with not much flavor, and even the fries leave much to be desired. They do have some of the best salad dressing around town if you are looking for a salad, and their pizza is pretty good as well. For a while I would go and get a salad and their cheese breadsticks (pizza without sauce). My girlfriend has great things to say about the hummus plate as well. I ordered vegetarian spaghetti the other night, and it definitely satisfied my appetite (I have also had their baked spaghetti and feel the same).
They have baklava for desert that should definitely be tried (not because it is the best, but just because when in Greece…)
I have just as much to say about specific instances of service, but luckily they all fall into a general heading of average. A lot of the times, you will get an aggressive server, the «what’re you having?» type, and that is an abomination to me. I do not like when servers scare me by coming out of nowhere, rush me along, or make assumptions on my behalf (that I would like more to drink it the worst, what a waste!). A lot of the time, they are eager to take thins from you, as if they are trying to get you out of the door. I can somewhat understand this, as they do rotate through a lot of business when things are busy, but maybe asking before just taking would work better. A lot of times, the owner will be hosting and he will figure out how many people are in your party and get you to your table so impersonally, leaving you with a sense of confusion and frustration. There have been a few times when he almost seems upset at you for being there, leading you to want to leave as soon as you come in the door.
I understand that they are busy a lot of the time, but I host at a small restaurant downtown, and even in the busiest of times, it is not about seating the customers and bringing them menus, and in turn having servers take their orders, but rather bringing them home and sustaining that feeling of being at home the entire time.

I’m good with 3 stars here but with notes. I’m not that picky of a person. I tend to let a lot of things go. It’s mostly just not worth it. So. 3 stars.
Here’s the deal. We walked right in and were promptly seated. Party of 5. Three got utensils/​napkins. Four got menu’s. No biggie. The menus were for lunch and dinner though this is a diner and says serving breakfast lunch and dinner. So this question reached the waitress. She says breakfast is available and brought back three breakfast menus… ok… Two got breakfast. Three got lunch. My father’s chicken salad club was brought as a ham and turkey club and this was questioned with the waitress. She was very apologetic. She meant it. She offered to take it back and my dad said that this was his second choice so he kept it. Food was good. establishment was clean but for a diner, it had absolutely no character. Waitress was at the counter eating and was smoking outside before serving us yet she was very nice and attentive.
If we were in another and smaller town. I’d come back, but Charlottesville is bursting with good business. Gotta stay competitive.

How about putting some times on your page. CLOSED AT 2100 on Sunday. Drove 10 mins out of the way to get here.

Northern hospitality but not quality of northeast diner
The food was slightly above average. The servers were not that friendly or attentive. As a NYer I’m used to very efficient, but not very friendly servers. Here the server was neither. The prices were good and the grits were good

Ten years ago I could have eaten at Tip Top EVERY day. In the past three months I have been so displeased with service and quality of my food, it makes me sad.
Somehow three of the five last visits we had the same server. This poor woman must really hate her job.
Breakfast is subpar, most dinner entrees are good. IF I decide to order my standard Fried Calamari and Eggplant Parmigiana dinner, it’ll be by phone to-​go. I can’t stand the atmosphere anymore. :[

Good for brunch. I called ahead and asked about «seating NINE inside an hour»…Greek voice said «we do this». Did not want my name. We showed up ten minutes late, line out the door. He seemed to know I was «the nine top» and we felt like Goodfellas, escorted to our table, envious daggers in our backs.
They have two tables that can seat ten+. The room is packed and the din is a bit much for the hungover, not that I would know.
The food is nice and you can do breakfast or lunch. The prices tag is easy and you can treat friends.
This is not Houstons on Sunday but it will do.
Parking is plentiful and that is almost worth a half star. I like the fact that it is a bit away from crowded grounds on Sunday and so close to I-​64. Say goodbye to weekend guest… Here is the highway!
In short, Food equals 3 stars, parking and great service adds another star for four total.
I had the gyro which what straight from Athens but ask for extra T sauce

Adequate breakfasts. Strangely, they claim they serve breakfast all day long, but they stop serving waffles at noon (there is no indication of this on the menu).

Cutting up with a sassy server is a rite of passage at a greasy spoon, yes? We had an experience at Tip Top last week that was by far the best I’ve ever had.
I noticed our server (who hailed from Long Island as it turns out) asked us if we «wanted some caw-​fee», and I immediately asked her where she was from. we totally bonded over the New York thing and it was love all the way from beginning to end.
Our food was stellar breakfast fare, and everyone in the joint was super nice and fun.
I was also convinced that the Long Island Medium gal had beamed herself to Charlottesville because she was a dead-​ringer for Teresa Caputo. Take the trek to Tip Top if you’re in town — highly recommended.