Campania Cafe & Italian Trattoria

My husband and I tried Campania for the first time last night as a restaurant week choice
From the moment you walk in you’re treated with hellos and smiles. We were seated within minutes of arrival
My husband had the meatballs as an appetizer and the lasagna as an entry… very very good
For me… the ‘costoletta milanese’. There aren’t enough words to say how delicious this was. I dreamt about it and all my thoughts are of when I can go to order it again. I have no idea how a pork chop could end up tasting so good
If ever I’m offer a last meal in life this is it
We ended our night in the bar for one last drink and again… fabulous. Great bartender who customized the best espresso martini we have tried
Can not wait to go back!
(And they told us soon they’ll be hosting cooking classes … Needless to say I will be first in line for that pork chop class)

My wife and I had a date night supper here. The décor is very warm, cozy, and romantic. We were seated promptly in one with our reservation time.
The waiter was attentive, but he needed to go back and ask when questioned about a couple items on the menu. The Pinot Grigio was very crisp and cold. I believe the chef must have specialized in salads at some point in his career as they were tremendous. In fact, they were the best part of the meal.
The pasta entrees we ordered both came with a pomodoro sauce that had a slight sweet taste to it. Neither my wife nor I like sweet pasta sauces, so this was disappointing. I also thought the pasta was overcooked. All in all these were average quality entrees.
For dessert, we split a tiramisu. Although it tasted decently, I couldn’t help but think that it came out of a box.
We paid a lot for this meal, and I don’t think that it was worth it overall. However, we may still return for salads and wine.

We visit Campania often and most of the time we really enjoy it. This time it just wasn’t that great. Our meals were salty, portion of fish was very small for the price, and sides were exactly the same for 2 totally different dishes. Even the service was off. Hopefully next time will be what we usually expect from them.

Had a great time for our anniversary dinner and received excellent service. We will definitely be back!

Meh.
Food was so so. The meatballs were good but served lukewarm. Chicken marsala was again lukewarm and was over salty. Hubby’s food was not cooked correctly (he asked for salmon on the rare side and it was well done) and also very salty. Wine selections were very good.
Service was terrible. They argued with us about sitting at a round table (claimed they are only for 4 but seated the 6 of us just fine). Slow slow slow which was probably why food was lukewarm. Brought food out in weird order… Glad we had early reservations… otherwise I’m not sure we would have made the play on time.
The place is pretty and parking is good. Not in any rush to go back… least of all for dinner before something!

Romantic ambiance and GREAT service. Food was as fresh as you can get.

We had a recent work dinner at Campania after a split second decision to go here as it was close to the office. In retrospect it was a terrible decision and one we regretted almost instantly.
Our dinner unfolded like a Greek tragedy, it started okay but then descended into chaos and sadness. We started the meal after being sat in the back room by waiting… and waiting, almost 20 minutes later the waiter came back to take drink orders, keep in mind we were one of two tables at the time.
A lack of service was a theme throughout the entire meal as we had long stretches of time without any service. They did not have three wines I tried to order, a beer, and multiple menu items, specifically shrimp which is a major part of their seafood options. I ordered the «wild salmon» and asked it be served with risotto. After eating a few bites the authenticity of the wild nature of the fish came into question. I asked the server to verify for me that it was in fact wild and, after an hour and the end of dinner, I still did not have my answer. I did not finish my meal as the salmon was overcooked, under seasoned, and terrible. The risotto was also a let down, there was zero flavor and it had the consistency of loose gruel.
Our business partner who is in town ordered the pork chop which was burned and inedible. His meal also went unfinished.
Our meal took almost 3 hours. Other tables were seated, served, and left before we could get out of there. At every point in this meal the miss-​steps added up and increased our disappointment. Another colleague ordered the seafood pasta (minus shrimp of course) and most of the few clams that were in it we’re dead and closed. On the plus side the calamari appetizer was not bad and the first round of bread was good. The second round of bread was hard and terrible, the olive oil for dipping was insipid though the olives in the dish was a nice touch. The arancini appetizer was under seasoned, gruel like consistency, lacked the cheese and prosciutto referenced in the menu, and was generally lackluster.
Overall would I recommend this restaurant? Without reservation I can say absolutely not.
I will note that our waiter was pleasant, though ineffective, which may have been due to his only working there for 2 months. While I don’t like to hate on servers too much, his general pleasant attitude could not make up for the level of service we received. He did end up taking 2 meals off the bill which I thought was appropriate because they were inedible.
I wanted to like this place, its close to our office and having good options close by is always a plus, but nothing we experienced lets me ever argue for going back. Oh, one more thing, the room was unpleasantly warm which made for an uncomfortable dining experience for everyone, exacerbated by the lack of water refills.
I hope this restaurant improves and future diners enjoy it but we will not be returning.

I have been here numerous times in the past for lunch.
First time here for drinks. They were short staffed and would be a 30 minute wait for table service. Hostess informed us that Tuesday night is $ 5.00 Martini’s for any kind listed on their regular drink/​cocktail menu. They have drink special practically every day.
One of the staff came by to check if everything was okay. Hostess was really efficient and sweet. They even brought up a bread plate with olive oil blended with balsamic vinegar. So tasty.
We ordered an appetizer listed on the menu as Napoleone di Melanzane alla Caprese-​Thin slices of roasted eggplant, fresh mozzarella & tomato, topped with fresh basil, drizzled with balsamic. Fresh and tasty.
Nice getaway if you are in the Davidson. There is an outside patio too.

I just don’t know. I guess if your not Italian or Sicilian and grew up on this food ya might think its good. I am. Eggplant parm is always an easy choice and it was just ok. Bland meh waiter wasnt knowledgeable at all. Prices are sky high but it is Davidson. Décor is cliché. The bar area is nice. Cocktails are watered down almost virginal. meh got me 1x. Gave it a shot.

We used to frequent Campania and enjoyed it most times (minus the previous review). Stopped by going through town recently and we couldn’t believe how far they had fallen.
Food, service, etc… was just horrible. Tomatoes were gray, food was cold and had no flavor, service took forever, etc. Way to ruin a nice place.

Decided to give them another shot, and the food was warm and fresh this time although the meatballs are still loaded with rosemary, to the point where there green but some folks may actually enjoy that, just not me. Glad I have them another shot

My husband and I came from LKW for our anniversary because CIAA was in full swing… meaning we did not want to try to get a reservation in Charlotte. Although I mentioned it was our anniversary when booking, there was no mention of it on the night. They seated us at the «front and center» table, making it difficult for me to make out with my husband at dinner, but it was kind of ok because I looked so damn good that night.
Surprisingly for an Italian restaurant, there were only one or two vegetarian items on the menu, so I asked them to prepare a simple vegetarian pasta dish — which ended up consisting of spinach and a few pieces of the broccolini that you would normally throw away. It was OK… only OK. Unfortunately, it pains me to say that I have had better food at Olive Garden, which is depressing. My husband’s lasagna was on the cooler side of room temperature. He said my lasagna was better, but I am a master of lasagna. The wine and bread were great, though!
I would not go back and I certainly would not recommend this place for a «special occasion» meal such as an anniversary. It’s a good place for a casual meal if you are a local, I suppose.

This place is really good… The calamari was very fresh (they must change the frying oil often because there was no after taste). Their spaghetti n lasagna is to die for. Did I mention their sauce? Wow!!!

3 of the 4 entrees served were brought to the table and found to be barely warm.
Waiter was missing for long periods of time

My wife and I went here for restaurant week. I was disappointed that the option that you see on line is the full menu, which was not the case. I didn’t lower points for this though as having a full menu would be pretty trying during restaurant week. None the less the food was pretty good. I had the veal and calamari– my wife had the eggplant and wilted romaine. We both had chocolate torte. I was stuffed when it arrived but somehow found a new will to eat when it arrived, melting in mouth with each decadent bite it was excellent.
Overall I thought this was a good value. The shortcoming: The veal was slightly overdone and the calamari was a tad greasy. The potatoes we dubbed potatoes and marzipan, as they were a sticky and lack luster.
The service was very good. The waitress checked twice as we were having our appetizers to ensure the entrée didn’t arrive while we were still eating.
I had a hard time deciding between 3 and 4 stars. The overall evening and experience was excellent, but there is some attention to detail of the meal that should be addressed.

Crown Pork. I could end this review with those 2 words. The atmosphere and staff was great. The crown pork was amazing. The sides were green beans and potatoes, unfortunately they were average. Love the local beer selections.

Really good… like really really good. The Italian Meatloaf is a different take and was spot on. Not too spicy or peppery and the sauce was good but needed to be a little more moist.
The lasagna was as big as my head so I snagged some off my wife’s plate and it was delicious. Surprisingly also not very spicy but more rich and buttery/​cheesy.
I’d definitely go back if we ever in the area again.

What a great place to find! We came to the Campania Café because of the positive reviews here and, I must say, we were not disappointed at all.
We ordered the lasagna and the fettuccini with shredded spare ribs in a creamy marinara sauce and loved both. I would order the lasagna again and agian… It was just that good.
The tiramisu was delicious and quite a treat. Some of the best I’ve had in North Carolinia.
All in all, a very good dining experience. The service was a bit slow, but they were very attentive and made us feel special.
I’ll be coming back for more.

I had to bump my previous review down from a 5 to a 4 simply because their valentines day menu was completely different this year. Although their food was still fresh and tasty, their menu wasn’t pre-​fixe like it was last year. I was a bit disappointed because we drove 45 minutes to come here for the occasion and was a bit taken back. I hope they post their valentines menu up in advance on their website like they did last year for next valentines day.

Tried this place for the first time after reading the great reviews.
We did take out. Order was not ready when I arrived. No big deal.
I was not that impressed with the food, neither was my husband. Food did not have much flavor. Prices are high for the quality. Spent 38.00 for two takeout spaghetti and meatballs without salads and drinks. Just seems a bit much for it being bland.
Will keep looking for a good Italian place.