K&W Cafeteria

This is good food. I like going for lunch – it is quick and there are a variety of items on the menu, and I am satisfied with the price point.

Usually I thoroughly enjoy my visit here but today was terrible I would not feed this to my dog. I went in 10 minutes after the opening and my chicken tenders tasted like they had been cooked honestly two hours earlier. My egg custard pie I’m not sure what happened but tasted bland and I swear it was the sugar-​free version.

The food is ok. The hamburgers are too spicy. The employees are not good at all. Parking is tight. The desserts are good. When wanting salad. The females who work at the salad area. Walk away from the female’s who want some .Have to wait while they come back to get food. The cashiers walk in front of females and block the walkway. And try to step on the foot. And have to wait to get food ring up. They start gossiping and have to wait. Until they finish to get food ring up. And walk away in the middle of wait on. The female’s near the salad. Throw ice on the trays of females. The tall african american males who help customers at the eating area. They walk in front of female customers. Block the walkway. And try to step on foot. They walk away from customers who want help. And walk away in the middle of wait on them. and not come back. The décor is plain. The desserts are good. A full plate of food on the plate. The parking lot is small and narrow.

In the world of cafeterias, K&W is THE place to go in the Carolinas. I had seen seniors float into the K&W at Cameron Village for years and finally worked up the courage to try it myself. I’m not really a cafeteria guy but the online reviews looked promising. And who can resist some good pie?!
I popped in on a wet afternoon which probably kept the crowds down. There was nobody in line so I did a drive-​by on the buffet before committing. The food comes fast and furious as you push your little tan tray down the line. Nice serving folks ask if you’d like anything at their station as you move along. I grab some baked spaghetti, broccoli with cheese, yam mousse, and some apple pie.
For $ 11 you get a LOT of food, you get a tab on the way out but pay later. In the dining room, I’m one of the young pups (hah) amongst some silver-​haired folks. I dive into my food and it’s all tasty and well prepared but SOFT. As in sorta mushy. But from a comfort food standpoint it works fine. And the pie is quite good, definitely a thumbs-​up there. I’m not sure when I’ll be back to K&W but it certainly hits a specific spot in my stomach. If you’re up for some down-​home food in a mellow surrounding, you can do far worse than K&W…

Thank you K&W for opening up during Thanksgiving and offering a wonder menu for $ 7.49. The line was long, but so worth the wait. This will be my yearly spot. It takes away all of the hassle of hustling and bustling.

I’ve been eating at this K&W for years, but unfortunately, the food continues to go downhill lately. The chicken pan pie used to be delicious with a flaky crust and lots of gravy; now it’s got dry crumbling crust and too little chicken filling. The small chopped steak has shrunk substantially. The quality of meat in the country friend steak has changed – now it is mushier and not as tasty as it was for years. Even the mac & cheese, which used to be a favorite of mine, is not as good. Less cheese than it used to have and more greasy. I don’t know if someone new is running the kitchen or if they are attempting to increase profits by ordering lower quality food. Either way, I won’t be dining here often since it’s become so hit or miss.

I wanted what they had and they delivered! Speghetti, string beans & soft roll… OMG. It hit the spot just like I needed it too. Customer service is good (a couple were over the top). They would do better if there wasn’t so much unnecessary chit chat over the food… that’s never a good thing. Oh, and I did get chocolate cream pie for afternoon delight… lol No worries; it’s always good.

Ok for a place that might remind you of your grandmother with comfort food and lots of it for inexpensive prices this is the place to go they are fast. The food is hot. The people are soooo nice and they don’t rush you at your table. Refills on tea. Great desserts. Fried okra. Fried chicken livers.

Great soul food. I would def recommend this place to anyone in the area. Very reasonable.

About a 15 minute wait in line on Sunday, but well worth it. Great southern comfort food and friendly service. Also very clean and comfortable. Better than other K&Ws I’ve been to.

Went to my first ever K & W around the Cameron Village area. First of all, parking is terrible around lunch time during the week. People are waiting around and stalking people as they head towards their cars. We went there yesterday around noon and almost gave up trying to find a parking space. After 3 loops around the parking lot, we were able to stalk a person who parked across the street. K & W is located in the Cameron Village shopping,
As for the food, it is not buffet style, rather a la carte. They cater to southern type of foods such as fried chicken, fried fish, chicken casseroles, rolls, greens, etc. For the amount of money, it is FAR BETTER than eating at a fast food restaurant. This lady at the start of the line was AWESOME! She was completely outspoken, calling people «honey», «good looking», «sweetheart» and it made everyone’s day as she acknowledged you. So much yummy food to choose from. For around $ 7 – 8, I had more than enough of roast beef, fried okra, rolls, mash potatoes and gravy and a drink. I saw that they were advertising customer appreciation day next week. You get an entrée, two side items, beverage and a roll for $ 4.99. Can’t beat that at a fast food drive through.
Their food is not for those who are on a diet. The waiter (I think his name was Freddie) was extremely attentive. He kept making sure our beverages were full and table clean from empty dishes. My biggest issue was that we were not able to put a tip in the credit card so bring some cash.

As long as you stick with the hearty stuff – mashed potatoes and gravy, fried chicken, etc. you won’t be disappointed. The food is definitely geared toward people called «Grams» but if you are in Cameron Village and want to eat for real for under $ 8…
Since I work in CV and can’t always wait or be spendy, K &W has always been my go to. Baked spaghetti, chicken and dumplings, mac and cheese, and mashed with gravy are always 100%. I would sell secrets for that brown gravy recipe. Dang!
The folks in the take out section keep it moving! They can clear 10 people in under 5 minutes and always show the goods before you pay for it. Take your Gram. Get your boy some take-​out.
Deviled eggs. I forgot to mention the deviled eggs.

If you want to kick it old school in Raleigh, there aren’t many places more retro that the K&W! Tucked away in a corner of Cameron Village, it’s a traditional cafeteria where you can order everything from salads to rolls a la carte or choose the plate of the day (typically a meat-​and-​two, bread of your choice, and drink); all comfort foods and American diner classics here, with somewhat old-​fashioned pricing as well — definitely a good choice if you want a quick, filling meal on a budget. The staff were very helpful, going out of their way to accommodate my hearing impaired father-​in-​law and readily pointing out which vegetable were prepared with meat as soon as I asked.
Servings were quite generous (so glad I have the spouse around to deal with excess eats!), and I quite enjoyed my sauteed cabbage, mashed potatoes, and macaroni and cheese — felt like a kid again, only this time I got to have dessert without parental bargaining! The coconut cream pie was the stuff of pure Southern nostalgia and while I felt the lemon chess pie my husband chose could have been more tart, I sort of feel that way about most things short of an actual lemon.
The dining room décor is quite the throwback as well, teetering on the edge of the 1980s in a way that just might be fashionable again before long. Here the staff were also very helpful, both quick to greet customers and offer assistance, and I noticed several customers greeted by name when we were there. While K&W is certainly popular with the older crowd there was definitely a diverse set of below-​AARP folks ranging from businessmen to younger women in scrubs all enjoying their meals. It’s not hip, it’s not going to cater to the diet trends of the moment (vegans *might* be able to get away with a carefully constructed meal, but don’t expect ‘gluten-​free’ food substitutes here), and it doesn’t pretend to be anything it isn’t, so if you’re feeling the need for a little old fashioned cooking head out to the K&W!

We’ve been wanting to come back to this chain for a while and were really happy when we saw this place. Service is really friendly here and the place is pretty clean unlike the other K&Ws. I had the Chicken Stew Dumplings and liked it. Daughter had the Mushroom Steak and Mashed Potatoes and turnip greens thought it was pretty good. Hubs had the Fried Fish with Hush Puppies. Had a great time here. Will definitely return.

I have eaten at many a K&W through the years, including this location in Raleigh’s Cameron Village. Actually, I stopped eating at this location a few years ago, due to low sanitation scores, but a recent review of those suggests they’ve cleaned up quite a bit (literally).
The line was short, and moved quickly. I got good food that was very reasonably priced. After this, I made my way to my table and sat down for my meal. Now, for what impressed me so much that I wanted to write a review about this place and give it 5 stars — the service.
Now, you don’t come to K&W for the service. It’s not a full service restaurant. Because I drink a lot of tea, I usually try to sit in close proximity to the tea refill station. On this visit, it didn’t matter. There was a gentleman there to refill my tea as soon as it was empty. He refilled my tea (even getting me more ice) several times during the course of my meal. I never waited too long. I made sure to give him a good tip (and I normally wouldn’t consider this somewhere you would leave tip). If you eat out, you know that good service is hard to find, and this was certainly an unexpected surprise!

Food was mediocre at best! The real problem was the server serving a toss salad in a hot bowl and telling us that was all they had! Really, poor food, poor service, and poor attitude of the employees!

The Cameron Village location for K&W Cafeteria is pretty solid as far as the chain goes. I was originally under the impression that these were buffet style restaurants, but actually everything is offered a la carte. Additionally, I don’t think I’ve ever seen as many canes in one place!
There are certainly plenty of dishes to choose from, although you might struggle if you’re looking for anything particularly healthy. Several other Unilocalers have referred to this as «comfort food» and I’d have to agree with them on this point. There are a lot of desserts, lots of mayo, lots of bacon, and lots of fried food. If you haven’t been here before, you should consider taking a quick trip up the line to scope out what items are available before you grab a tray and start making decisions.
This place definitely packs in a lot of people during the lunch hour, so parking may be a little on the tough side. As I mentioned earlier, K&W is also seemingly very popular with the elderly crowd, but we didn’t have to wait due to the cafeteria-​line setup. Service was quick and responsive, the employees were courteous, and paying for your meal is easy too. Generally, if you’re craving the cafeteria experience for whatever reason, K&W isn’t a bad place to go. It feels reminiscent of cafeterias on most campuses.

I know, you think it’s just a cafeteria, but it’s not…
I was born and raised in North Carolina and I know my southern food. This place has some EXCEPTIONAL items on the menu, and the staff at this location knows how to cook. They are polite organized, and always serve the food piping hot.
A few of my faves are:
Macaroni and Cheese (casserole style, Mmmmmm)
Sweet Potato Casserole (sweet and topped with marshmellows)
Mashed Potatoes (from scratch, no mix)
Fried Okra
Turnip Greens (soooo delicious)
Fried Chicken (for a splurge)
Grilled Chicken with onions
Baked Spaghetti
Country Style Steak
You must at least go once to enjoy it, if you haven’t been! Even my husband (who is from NY originally) can’t get enough of this place.
And, did I mention it’s CHEAP??? It’s fantastic!!!

I go to this K&W often for lunch and love it!
The food is consistent and varied. Love the fried chicken and the 7 layer salad, macaroni and cheese and the roast beef among other things.
The price is right too and the service is great — everyone who works here is very friendly and helful to everyone!

Two words to describe K&W: comfort food. While it isn’t necessarily the best it’s very good and consistent. Other cafeterias sometimes seem to suffer from inconsistency in the taste or quality of stuff they’re serving every day, but K&W doesn’t have that problem. For example the green beans taste exactly the same every time I go, which is great because they’re tasty. My other personal favorites are the country style steak, baked spaghetti, and the chicken tenders. Throw in a warm buttery soft roll and some tea to drink then get ready for comfort food bliss. I don’t usually get dessert, but it’s always a bit of a struggle to make it past there without grabbing one… or two.
While they don’t always seem overly excited to be there, the staff are generally friendly. The line can be pretty line at peak hours, although lately I’ve been pretty lucky to hit it when it’s not too bad. Regardless, make sure to get a look at the selection before starting down the gauntlet because the servers are ready the second you hit their section.