1841 Cafe

This is the place where «everybody knows your name!» I have loved this restaurant ever since Vicki and Rebecca became the owners. They are friendly, charming and always helpful. And they are always slammed! It just goes to show that a good restaurant does thrive in Lenoir! We love .50 wing Wednesday’s and the yummy nachos that will feed two hungry people by themselves. Most of the time there is live music too. Keep it up girls! You have built a little empire in Lenoir and we love you!

We waited over an hour for our appetizer. When we finally got the hummus it was horrible. So bad we sent it back thinking something must have been wrong with it. They gave us a new order and it was exactly the same. They can’t be tasting their food. The entrees were ordinary at best. At least not as bad as the hummus.

Great food. Great service. Vickie rocks. So far my favorite dish is the Chicken Marsala with the fried Oprah as a side. Out of all five of the restaurants in Lenoir, this place has the best grub, hands down.

Good food, AWFUL SERVICE, every time I’ve eaten there.
I’ve eaten at the 1841 about 15 – 20 times, once when it was packed with a lunchtime crowd where I was taking someone special out to lunch, and the rest have been by myself at times when I may be one of three customers — yet ALWAYS the service was incredibly poor. I can understand the waitstaff being overwhelmed during peak periods, but when I’m one of 2 – 3 customers? There’s absolutely NO excuse for that. The staff are always very friendly, but when you spend $ 2 bucks for an iced tea, it should not only be on the table ASAP, but it should be topped off without having to get up, go to the cashier, and say «could I please get my tea — or a refill? Even with water. I eat out all the time, and ALL the places I eat here in Lenoir, the waitstaff are constantly checking up on customers — don’t expect that to happen at the 1841… Although I eat out in Lenoir all the time, I’m on a tight budget, and mainly go to the 1841 when I feel like splurging a little, and let’s face it, they’re the only ‘high end’ restaurant in downtown Lenoir. It’d annoy anyone when they’re sitting there in a near empty restaurant, with an empty glass while you’re thirsty (having had to wait 10 minutes for the first drink) while watching 2 – 4 employees standing ten feet away, blabbing with each other at the cashier table, while NO ONE ever looks your way, and asks you if you need anything. I’m FAR from a cheapskate, and if I dine out, I more than take care of whoever’s waited on me. I no longer work, and what I love most about living here are the people — who are mostly like me, where they’re always polite, caring and incredibly considerate. I loathe big cities with a passion, but somehow the service at the 1841 makes me feel like I’m in some uppity-​staffed restaurant in Charlotte. IMO, the 1841 gets no more than ONE STAR FOR SERVICE, and sadly, it doesn’t have to be that way. When you have to consistently spend SO much time trying to flag-​down some help, it can easily ruin an otherwise good experience going there.
End of the negative review, now for the positive…
The food is almost always great. They get 4-​stars there. I’m a big meatloaf fan, but whatever seasoning they put into theirs, trying to be unique I suppose, makes it an entrée I won’t ever order again. But all the burgers and sandwiches are really good. I’ve not tried everything on their menu, but I’d bet it’s all pretty darn good. I feel the 1841 Café is a definite asset to downtown Lenoir, and I hope they can manage to stay there.
If the waitstaff were as good and as proficient as the cooks, I’d go there a lot more often. They certainly pack ‘em in during lunchtime especially, but management, who I really blame for their 1-​star service, needs to seriously get on top of their waitstaff, and change their way of uncaring and lazy waitstaff conduct. I know a lot of folks around here that all say the same thing about the totally lackluster service.
MANAGEMENT, ARE YOU LISTENING?

Ate with friends while at a dance competition. .all was great… in to much of a rush for pics…

Very friendly server! Nice combo of traditional dishes with cool fusion food. We shared the Carolina egg roll stuffed with pulled pork and greens, which was tasty and was actually two egg rolls. The fried green tomato blt was great, and the side of grits were bland but generously buttered. My husband loved his build-​your-​own burger which he ordered with bacon, a fried egg, and bleu cheese on top. Great garlicky mashed potatoes on the side. It looks like they have a lot of great music. The décor is a little weird, but certainly won’t prevent us from going back.

I was in luck today. It finally thawed a bit, so the hubz and I decided to do some antiquing and try a new restaurant we had heard about. Upon walking in we were greeted warmly by Rebecca whom sat us, and was also our server. She was very friendly and gracious about guiding us not only through the menu, but through the local beers as well. We started with the Spinach Artichoke dip, as recommended, with the warm pita points. Very fresh, creamy, and the pita points were fresh and warm. Not overly cooked at all. My husband ordered the pulled pork sandwich, and I the turkey on croissant. Rebecca recommended the croissant as it was baked fresh daily there, and the turkey had a nice touch with the granny apples and brownsugar mustard. It was a hot sandwich with swiss, and a fabulous surprise, by all means! I would never have thought of the apples, but that with the hot swiss, and the buttery croissant sent me over the moon! What was even better was the look of pure love my hubz had over his pulled pork. Not lying here! He loved that sandwich, inhaled it, and left nothing on that plate! The fries were shoestring style, hand cut and perfectly cooked and seasoned. The pulled pork was smoked to perfection, Carolina Style, and truthfully needed no sauce. It was THAT good. Rebecca was great, very friendly, told us about events in the area, and great places to try as well. The atmosphere was fun, clean, not cluttered and had a great eclectic feel. The other patrons were also fabulous, as everyone there is just very welcoming and telling you great places to try and see. This experiance is what makes Lenoir great, and reminds people of the little gem here in nthe mountains. I hope 1841 is here to stay, as I can see now, this will most definitely be our Go To spot to dine. Will I try the hot croissant with turkey again? Yes, not for a while though, as there are so many dishes I want to try to! The shrimp and grits looked devine, and I cannot wait to try the Ribeye Sandwich. The breads are locally baked, again another great reason to love this place! Local businesses supporting each other, and a local community wanting to support their Gems in the Mountains.

My 1^st visit was a disappointment (see earlier review). Julie enjoyed her 1^st meal so we returned to explore more of the menu. I selected the breaded pork chop and Julie ordered the Pulled Pork Plate. We were both pleased with our selections. The chop was breaded in corn flake crumbs and pan fried. Very tender and great flavor. The pulled pork is recommended but maybe not the best in town.
We continue to have hope that the beer menu will improve. They just have too many brands of the same type of beer. Next less duplication and more selection of types.

Great late lunch today allowed us to get to know Vickie and have a few cold beers (½ price today!). I tried the Carolina egg rolls (pulled pork with greens!) which were excellent and the Granny Smith croissant which was very tasty but Vickie suggested the Onion Rings which really iced the diet for the day! Wife had the small nachos with fresh salsa which she enjoyed. Best part of the meal was spending time with Vickie, learning the story of the restaurant and how much pride she has in the place. By the way, she has many cakes to choose which you gain weight just hearing about them.

Great choice for lunch. Started with the jalapeño pimento cheese — awesome. Had the fried okra — hand breaded like my mom used to make — as my side with my Granny Smith turkey croissant. Will definitely come back if I make it back to Lenoir.

This place is great. Vic, the owner I believe, ran the bar. There were quite a few people in the restaurant on Tuesday night with a private party as well. They serve a great selection of canned and bottled beer included the local Howard brewery beers, which made up for no draft selections!
The appetizer of spinach and artichoke dip with pita slices was homemade and delicious. Vic recommended the shrimp wraps which had fresh and tender shrimp and spinach with sides of okra and mac & cheese. Everything was fresh and delicious and the service was attentive, comedic and pleasant. Cannot wait to go back!

I was walking around in the area and went in for pick up. I can only comment about the quality and taste of food as I did not eat in. I ordered portobello sandwich and expected it to be a healthy. Well, when I received the meal — I realized this was the real south! The sandwich had generous amount of cheese along with the mushroom. I had a side of vegetable medley with the order as well.
The meal was huge and delicious. I didn’t like the sandwich bread so I avoided most of it and cleaned off the rest. Overall for the price of 10 bucks, it was a great meal. Check this place out if you want a filling, yummy meal. (Just don’t expect it to be really healthy but worth the occasional splurge)

What a nice, unexpected find. In Lenoir for a family event, we wanted a light bite before heading back East. This filled the bill. We ate the Caesar salad with a generous portion of blackened salmon astride ($ 10). Also, the large garden salad. All of their dressings are home made; we sampled several. The apple vinaigrette was outstanding — if they sold it by the bottle, we’d have brought it home.
A nice dining experience to which we hope to return.

Wonderful restaurant in beautiful downtown Lenoir, great selection for lunch and dinner. Burgers are great. Looking for something lite order a «Charlie Salad» named after famous local artist Charlie Frye. Nice stage area in a seperate room features great local bands on Friday and Saturday nights.

Better to go during lunch than dinner. It is busier during lunch but better service. We made the mistake of going to the Café for dinner once and ordering steaks (med rare) to treat ourselves for a date night. We waited for 10 minutes for a server to bring us a menu, then 10 to take our drink order, including water, and 45 minutes after ordering for med rare steaks. Had to ask for silverware, and water repeatedly. I ordered a wine and husband a beer, and we got the beer after 30 minutes and it was warm but never got the wine, so we had to ask the server to take the charge off the final bill. We hung in and didn’t leave b/​c we want to encourage restaurants in Lenoir, but this was ridiculous. Lunch has good sandwiches, and more attentive service.

So the wife and I came here for a quick lunch. In viewing the outside we were excited as it looked like an cool unique Resturant.
Much to our dismay, the food was at best bland and the service was incredibly slow. I will however say that the hummus was really good, spicy but delicious.

Great local flavor in downtown Lenoir. Friendly staff and unique menu. This place is a welcome change from the chain restaurants that are your other options in Lenoir.

This place was entirely empty on a Saturday at lunch as was the rest of downtown Lenoir. I came here with my husband and another couple as we had decided to explore downtown Lenoir after staying in a cabin the night before.
We sat down in a booth without any cushions that was fairly uncomfortable after about 10 minutes. We were greeted by a young waitress who took our drink order. They have a pretty good beer selection including a couple of ciders.
I picked the Apple Ginger Woodchuck to drink for $ 3.50, which I think is a very reasonable price for cider so I was pretty excited.
3 out of 4 of us ordered the 1841 burger with fries, while the 4^th ordered the bbq with potato salad.
The 1841 burger was very good. I had it with swiss because they did not have cheddar. I also had bacon on my burger which made it pretty much perfect. The fries were pretty good, shoestring and piping hot.
The only thing that was a little weird, was everything seemed to be mixed with sugar. The bbq sauce was very sugary, the bacon was coated in sugar. I thought everything was great, because I love sugar, but if you are sensitive you might want to avoid either the bacon or the bbq.
Overall great little place that needs to be frequented by more Lenoir locals and visitors!

New management, new menu. No changes, really, except in the range of the menu and the specials. It’s a step up in range as well as flavor, plus there now are vegetarian options. So far so good.