Calvert's Kitchen

Calvert’s Kitchen in Columbus, NC is an absolute gem! The food is always fresh, flavorful, and made with care — true Southern comfort at its best. The service is top-notch every time, with friendly staff who go out of their way to make you feel welcome. What really sets this place apart is the owner, who is always there during lunch, greeting customers with a smile and making sure everything runs smoothly. You can tell he truly cares about the experience and the community. It’s rare to find a place with this level of consistency, quality, and genuine hospitality. If you’re in the area, Calvert’s Kitchen is a must-visit. Five stars all the way!

We are delighted to discover this gem. Southern Cooking and hospitality, great comfort food and lots of it without the quality/quantity tradeoff of most similar places. No frills, just clean, retro, Americana with great specials great basic menu, take out, fabulous sides, very nice people conveniently located with parking out front. They take credit cards with a small fee to cover the processing cost but if you pay cash you get a free iced tea with the specials. Everything we had was great - food and service. Highly recommended! Update: back again several times. Each time better than the last. Great changing specials!

I had to drive up to Columbus to our office there. My wife and I stopped by for lunch. She cannot stop telling everyone how good the flounder she had was and my Chicken was absolutely wonderful. The service and atmosphere was awesome as well. We will be back.

This is a wonderful place to have a quick bite to eat! The food was extremely good!!! The hamburger was actually a hand patted patty! This is something that is very unique in this day and age. My grandmother loved her hamburger. I had the large fried catfish! The onion rings, french fries, and catfish were really good! The hushpuppies were premade I believe but really good! Thanks for a wonderful meal!

The food was DELICIOUS and came so FAST! there are different specials on top of the menu to keep it fresh. I wouldn't hesitate to return, the detour was well worth it!

Portions were huge. Lots of extra grease in seafood at no extra charge. Enjoyed being here. Folks nice. Would NEVER order the seafood again...unless my dipstick shows me a quart low.

Ok so services were exceptionally good food was great and plenty of moving around the table could be done. Sitting area can’t speak enough about it. Most of the time when you get to a restaurant you are having to sit on top of each other. The reason for the 4 star is parking outside the restaurant is roughly where handicap would run into issues. It’s a typical old town parking right off the street and tight. Grub shop sit right off the main road coming in so use caution parking or leaving could be tricky. Other than that hell of a country dive with old spaghetti western on the tv. The menu is excellent much more to pick from than u can imagine. Just wished I had taken a picture to share but as I said service was great fast and well mannered. By the time my drinks were showing up the food was not far behind and listen nothing comes between me and my plate lol. So apology for no pictures maybe next time I am sure there is definitely going to be another trip soon.

Had a great dining experience recently at this awesome local business. This place has great food and stellar service. Plenty of seating is available and the restaurant's layout is very spacious. The tables have plenty of room between them, so you don't feel stacked on top of other tables. It's conveniently located in downtown Tryon and there is ample public/free parking available. I would highly recommend this local business!

I found this while we were traveling through North Carolina. We were hungry for dinner and had to get some grub to fill up. The order was made to-go and it was ready about 10 minutes after arriving. I got the grilled chicken tenders with mashed potatoes and baked apples along with a piece of cornbread. Everything was good and was glad to have a decent meal. Even though I had to wait a little bit for our meals, it was worth it. I can't speak for the service eating there and I saw they were busy with customers coming in and out. The lady behind the counter packaged everything well and thanked me for coming in. The prices are reasonable and it was a nice small town find.

The reviews are on point. You will not be disappointed. It's not a chain and appears unassuming as you drive by. Please seat yourself and service is there immediately. The owner took my order and such a friendly gentleman. Ordered country fried steak and mashed potatoes. Comfort food at its finest. Go if you're in the area!

the flounder dinner was terrible! The coleslaw was just as bad. There was something else on the plate that was deep fried. I don't understand the raves.

This my favorite restaurant! We travel from Greenville to eat here and they never let us down. I always get the fried catfish and it always comes out hot! You will see the owner helping the busy waitresses at the register, taking orders, filling tea, and cleaning the tables. And he always asks you if had enough and if you want tea to go! The only negative is they aren't open on weekends. Please never close!

Another Restaurant close where I go to the back dr. This restaurant kind of had a diner feel to it, nothing fancy. Some locals came in that they knew. Wasn't sure what to get so ordered a Sliced turkey club sandwich. I think it was the special for the day. ( I did have some photos but they didnt save to my cloud, sorry) Sandwich was ok , typical sandwich nothing special. The people that worked here we're not too friendly another one of those places I think if your a regular it would be different. Would we go back? Maybe to try something else someday, but I'd rather try some other places that maybe in town. I did find the menu on line so I could share what kind of things they have. #560th

We stopped in here because our previous destination was closed on Tuesdays. Great decision! Definitely a local place. I had the fried catfish. I got 2 fillets in small order with baked potato and onion rings. Don't judge! The cat fish was very good. Lite breading and fried perfectly. The rings were a bit over fried but still good. My husband got mushroom swiss burger to which he added grilled onions. It was a very generous size and he said delicious. Because of the quality, variety of choices, quantity Nad price and can see why they do a very brisk business. Our waitress was very nice. Wouldn't hesitate to eat here again if back in the area. The restaurant itself is clean and open.

The food here is good. It's not great but it's good. The prices are cheap. I recommend the potato salad. The service was good considering how busy they were at lunch. The atmosphere is bland. It's a restaurant in a small town. No frills but worth the time to go. I recommend this place.

This is a wonderful place... the food, the friendly staff ... they have a wonderful selection of food and you feel right at home with the owner always sharing a kind word with his customers and staff making sure everyone is taken care of ... you won't be sorry trying this gem !!

Great southern food. Free drinks with some menu items if you pay with cash. Service was quick and friendly.

This was an accidental but pretty good find! We were on our way to another place that ended up closed so we tried out Calvert's. It is your typical small town (population 1000 maybe?) southern country cookin' type or restaurant with a regular menu and daily specials. The burger was great, as was the shrimp and flounder combo. The cole slaw was much different than anything we'd had before but was also very tasty. If we are in the area again sometime, we may stop back in.

Great home style cookin at good prices. My wife loves the bbq sandwich. The burgers are great. Hard to beat a meat n 3 though. Read the specials board. Support local businesses.thanks for always being open....even through Covid, you were there. Thank you!

This is a local mom and pop blue plate special kind of spot. If you are seeking fancy, this is not it. The atmosphere is no nonsense and the food is southern comfort. The servers are friendly and they know the regulars by name. If you are wanting a meat and three they have it. Check out the grilled chicken salad with homemade ranch dressing - it is excellent.

Really had high hopes for a true southern spot. The chicken tenders were almost brown , means fried in super dirty oil - the taste backed that theory. Popcorn shrimp was okay - it is the 2 star savior Tried every single side: nothing was truly impressive. All just - on par. Tea was good and desserts were good. Overall I would say that I imagine this place is alive due to the simple fact that there is no other competitors in the area, this is more of a "needs covered" spot , than "wants" , I tried the Bojangles chicken sandwich because I was still hungry after -and it was Miles better than the chicken here

I haven't ate there in a year or so. When I did I was going or picking up 3outta 7 days most if the time. The cheeseburgers are so juicy. Their veggie plates are great as well. Service was almost always great.

If you're hungry and ambience isn't your focus, this is the place to eat. The food was very good,, service was good and portions are large and price is good! The menu is similar to Cracker Barrel but much better food, service and price. My favorite was the cucumber and tomato salad. My husband enjoyed fresh perch We'll be back!

If I could give this place 0 stars I would. Options are limited in Columbus, so we tried this place by default. I'm sure it's good if you're local, but being from out of town we were ignored. Sat for 45 minutes and finally left. Nobody ever came to check on us and we never got our food. if you're looking for something as a tourist, go literally anywhere else

Love this place. They're always nice and all the food I've eaten has been good. The hot dogs are really good, and the fish and shrimp plate is huge and really good. It's the most affordable place to eat in Columbus other than the Mexican restaurant down the street.

Very good food! Reasonable pricing and friendly service make Calvert's Kitchen one of the top places to eat in The area. We had heard from some local folks that Calvert's is the best. We have to agree. Tonight we tried the Flounder plate, a fried Flounder sandwich plate, a grilled chicken sandwich meal, and a BLT meal. All was served hot and delicious! The fried Flounder is fantastic and the French fries are amazing.

Wonderful pizza, quick service, and a great place to take the family, meet friends for dinner, or just to grab a quick bite.

Looking for home cooked food on a long drive home. Not much open on a Monday. So glad this was. Yummy. Great service.

Service, Food and Management were superb. Will return. Get the tips and grilled chicken with shrooms.

I have a regular meeting with some friends. In inclement weather or cold, our place of choice is Calvert's Kitchen. The menu (with specials) give enough choices that choosing is easy. All of the food is well prepared and nicely served. This is a very good place to eat.

It has been many years that we have traveled to Columbus. Never knew about Calvert's Kitchen. We just recently stayed in Columbus and i had heard of this resteruant so we gave it a try. We thought it was really good. In the four days we were there we ate there twice. The employees were really great with the customers. There prices for entree's were reasonable. They run daily sepcials. If we are in the area again we will eat there.

Good food and great prices! Love this classic mom and pop's restaurant. Perfect fit for this cute small town.

Good service. Not a bad atmosphere. The food was average. I ordered the country fried steak with mashed potatoes and baked apples. It came with a biscuit. The biscuit was the only true disappointment. It was a frozen biscuit that tasted like it had been reheated in a microwave. Mashed potatoes were great. Baked apples were a little undercooked for my taste. Country fried steak and gravy was the same as you can get at a waffle house or huddle house. Again, it was a good meal, but I won't drive out of my way to visit.

Calvert's Kitchen is the textbook definition of small town restaurant. You walk in and can either turn left and go to the small game room or walk straight and head into the restaurant. The kids immediately made a b line for the games. I'm not a picky eater by any stretch of the term so I thought the food was OK; however, if you're not a fan of fried food or beans from the can, this place may not be for you. The fried flounder was alright but if had considerably better at other restaurants. The squash casserole is savory vs sweet as a heads up. The green beans look like they came right out of the can. There aren't many other options in the area though for those passing through.

Absolutely Love Calvert's Kitchen! The wait staff are so friendly and helpful. The food has never been any anything but excellent! I recommend this Kitchen to everyone!

Gave me a fiery butthole, felt amazing. 5 out pf 5 would recommend getting a fiery butthole not the food.

Home cooking and family-like service cry at its finest. Pay with cash and save a bit. The specials are always delicious and a great value. Service staff remembers you and takes care of you ie. they remember the nuances of your order. The owner has a quirky sense of humor. Be prepared to be entertained by his jokes or guitar playing during lunch. Clean, easy to navigate menu, stuff aight forward, and a fair meal.

The food at Calvert's is southern cooking. I've been there twice, and I can tell you that they make a decent burger. The service was moderate, in terms of speed. The price was more than fast food and less than Outback, and the portions were large enough to fill up the tank. They do use cheap lettuce and cheap tomatoes, which gives their hamburgers a somewhat cafeteria taste. The beef wasn't amazing, but it was good enough to not merit any complaints on my end. They are a good lunch place, in terms of atmosphere, as the eating area itself is pretty void of classy decoration. All things considered, it wasn't too bad, but it's right close to where I used to live, which made it easy and convenient for me. I'd recommend it if you were in town, but it really is only a three star place.

Stopped in for lunch on the way back from camp. Good southern cooking. Burgers, fried flounder, etc. Friendly staff. Quickly served. Reasonably priced. Stopped in for lunch on the way back from camp. Good southern cooking. Burgers, fried flounder, etc. Friendly staff. Quickly served. Reasonably priced.

This is a great home_cooking restaurant. I highly recommend it to anyone. It is family friendly and is reasonably priced. Quality of service and food is great. Come on out, you will be glad you did.

Good food, reasonably priced! Ribeye sandwich was perfectly cooked, burger was a good size, but light on toppings.

This was my first visit to Calvert's. There were 4 of us, and we arrived at 1 pm. It was not crowded at all. We were seated and ordered 3 teas and 1 water, which promptly came. However, we it took about 30 minutes to get a waitress to our table, and only after asking twice for someone to help us. It took another 35 minutes to get our food. Our orders were from the menu, so there was nothing difficult about our meal preps. 3 hamburger steaks and one cheeseburger. The food tasted great, which is why I gave it 3 stars, instead of 1. It's why I'll also probably return.

I recently went back to try this place again. I stopped for lunch. Who I think might be the owner took my order. He was really friendly. I had the chicken fried chicken with mashed potatoes and mac n cheese. The chicken tasted good, it had the white gravy which was pretty good. It was better than other places I've had it at. The mashed potatoes were ok and the mac n cheese was average. It wasn't a bad lunch for the price 7.95. If you could give half stars I would of said 3.5.

Love this place! This is where i go when I get a craving for Flounder. It's about 3 or 4 minutes from the house. Staff and food have always been nothing but great

This 3 is not really bad... only because they were definitely not ready for a Friday lunch crowd. Ordered nothing unusual... for me grilled chicken tenders, veggies- listed on their daily menu. Hubby hamburger steak with same veggies... should not have taken so long... run of the meal US Foods products. Nothing home cooked.... but its better than fast food... a PLUS for them, they did not add sugar, salt or fat! Not sure we will stop here again... but for the locals it is probably a good place. And... the staff was friendly.

Randy and staff are very accommodating. They have a loyal customer base that appreciate the home-cooked atmosphere.

Good country cooking, great ole fashion hamburgers! The owner-manager cares about good food and good service.

Wonderful meal, friendly and attentive service. Good country cooking. Burgers were excellent. If my family of five picky eaters could all find something to love then it will likely be good for you too.

We love the food here, especially the catfish and chicken lovers. Absolutely down home delicious. Highly recommend.

I had their barbecue plate. I had to use my knife and fork to eat the sandwich it was so large. It was quite tasty as barbecue goes, satisfying. I had stewed okra and tomatoes as a side. They were about the best I have ever tasted, including what I make at home. The green beans were well seasoned, but not over seasoned or over cooked which is what I consider a fault with most 'southern' cooking. The unsweetened iced tea was top notch. The restaurant itself was quite plain, as another reviewer mentioned, but it's spacious and looks clean (has 17 ceiling fans to add comfort). The restrooms were also clean. They have a 'specials' board and offer free tea with any special when paid for with cash. There is an old fashioned looking sign saying 'cash accepted here'. They do take plastic, but no checks. I recommend Calvert's for a good dinner experience.

Thursday's the best! Chicken and dumpling's!!!!! Home style cooking at its best. Service is excellent.{;-)

My wife and I drive about 50 miles one way to eat at this place--about once a month. Just a great low key place to kick back and get a great home cooked meal. We are pretty picky with our food and we have NEVER been served a bad meal here. We ate there today--and guess what? The owner waited on us because he was short on help. He is always there making sure everything is good. Just a sleepy country town with this little place in the middle. Checkered table cloths, home made iced tea, real mashed potatoes, great catfish, chicken fried steak, apple pie, fried chicken, burgers and hot dogs--fried okra--I could go on and on-and all prepared right in the back of Calvert's kitchen. I can just see my own grandmother back there working away and she was the best cook I ever saw. Prices are reasonable and if you pay cash, you get free tea! Just another little "homey" touch. Try it. You won't be sorry.

I love Calverts because you can get a vegetable plate with different options written on a board every day. Depending on what you choose, you get a decent sized meal to waaaay too much food. If you want the best bang for the buck, choose the salad (counts as 2 veggies), onion rings, potato wedges or pinto beans. All of those are big portions. The cole slaw and tomatoes & cucumbers are the smallest portions I have seen. I'll choose those when I'm not super hungry. Onion rings are my favorite, but I don't get them very often because I imagine they are high in calories and I can't leave any on the plate. One neat thing about the place is if you get a lunch special and pay in cash, your sweet/unsweet tea is free. Too bad that doesn't apply to the veggie plate. Prices are very reasonable. The staff are pretty friendly, the owner is super friendly. The decor is nothing to brag about, but they do have several funny signs hanging around. You might have trouble finding a table at lunch - this is probably the most popular restaurant in town.

Great place to go. Wonderful service. Terrific amount of fans. Food was excellent. Feels like you're at a good old country place. You cannot beat the price either. Would recommend this to anyone traveling to Columbus.

A wonderful family place to eat for inexpensive filling meals. We enjoy their fish, hamburgers, and they have the best country fried steak n gravy I have ever had in my life! Portions are huge especially for the price. Not a date place, not fancy whatsoever but a great family casual friendly atmosphere that is affordable...oh and they make some KILLER sweet tea!

Occasionally (now) visit this restaurant. They just do not EVER change their vegetable menu. NEVER I may add again. Just not another "family style" restaurant anywhere around that one can get to for lunch. Very unfortunate for the area. We don't need another Mexican restaurant either!

We drive about 50 miles one way to eat at Calvert's. If Gregory thinks this food is tasteless, all i can say is that his taste buds are evidently in decline due to old age!