Exchange Cafe
Exchange Cafe — photo 2
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Exchange Cafe

5359 Spotswood Trail, Charlottesville, VA

★★★★★4.8(260 Google reviews)

Crema's Take

This Charlottesville gem pairs locally-sourced, thoughtfully-prepared food with a full coffee menu in a relaxed setting perfect for lingering over breakfast or lunch. The kitchen shows real skill with standout dishes like their famous fried potatoes and eggs Benedict, while the staff strikes that rare balance of being genuinely friendly without rushing you out, and occasional live music adds to the welcoming neighborhood vibe. Just know the quality and local ingredients come at a premium price, but regulars swear it's worth every penny for the care that goes into every plate.

What to expect

Traditional drinksSignature drinksMeetingsSlow sitLight foodSpecialty drinksFull breakfast

Google Reviews

Galen Reed
★★★★★2 months ago

Delicious food from the grill. The fried potatoes bravado was incredible!! Staff was extremely friendly and provided quick service. The live music was very nice, not loud and boisterous. Honestly really impressed with this place, excited to come back!

michele durham
★★★★★2 months ago

Fantastic! We stopped in for dinner and immediately impressed with the local organic ingredients they showcase in describing dishes on their menu. . They offer a full coffee menu along with sandwiches, soups, and entrees. Wine and full bar beverages are also available. We enjoyed our meal - had wonderful service and surprised by live entertainment of mellow acoustic guitar. Divine spot! We will be back!

Megan Licata
★★★★★2 months ago

The food here is incredible. The staff are great. I’m quite the foodie and this place knocks it out of the park. Eggs Benedict. Crab cakes. Great drink menu. You will not be disappointed. I come here every Sunday for brunch

Kenny D
★★★★6 months ago

Very expensive for a counter sales place. At the time we ate there, their online menu created sticker shock at the counter with some items $4 to $8 more than we expected. My wife had a salmon plate that was not on the online menu. A tiny piece of salmon for the $24 but was cooked to perfection. I had the Pincho (skewers) platter, steak and chicken. Both were cooked perfectly and you could really taste the wood smoke. The chimichurri was very good as well. I wanted the Churrasco but wasn't going to take the risk at $32 on a place I had never eaten at on a preparation that is traditionally skirt steak. If its done as well as the skewers I'm sure it's delicious but still pretty steep for a counter sales type place. But hey, they are catering to people with money like the winery and distillery tourists who are ready to blow a wad of cash. The sides were fine and the bread they serve is good. The bad reviews must have been an off-day. We were expecting a real sit-down restaurant but its more like a fast casual counter sales place. Like a convenience store/deli that just happens to serve top notch food. VERY nice and helpful people and the food was ready very quickly (it was middle of the afternoon and not busy). The seating area inside is no frills...and no cushions. They do have outdoor seating as well. We came here as a destination because we bought a coupon/certificate that saved some money and we hadn't been here. I dont think we will go out of our way to come here in the future (cost and ambiance) but if in the area otherwise would not hesitate to eat here again. It looked like they had more sandwiches on the menu than they show online. I forgot to take a picture of the menu and prices but my guess is, if everything else has gone up, so have they. I'll bet they are all tasty though. The drink menu seems reasonable, but I got the Old fashioned at $10 and it was OK...I got maybe 4 good swallows out of it though, so, not much to it. Paid for a pour of the bourbon from the distillery next door and again got maybe 4 good swallows out of it for $16. While it had an outstanding aroma, it wasn't worth the money taste-wise and we didn't go next door and buy any because I'm sure they are "very proud" of their bourbon and charge accordingly. It was better to spend the $16 to know rather than learn the hard way buying a bottle blind. It looked like a well appointed space catering to that aforementioned "tourists with money to spend".

Gabriel Garcia
★★★★10 months ago

Exchange Cafe is right next to the distillery and has a very impressive cocktail selection. The fireman’s chicken is phenomenal. The squash was a little undercooked this time but perfect the last time I had it. The dining area can use some work, looks like gas station dining and the ac was broken, I believe anyways cause it was a bit uncomfortable temperature wise. The food is great so it is worth a visit.

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