the king's kitchen

karen d. had really high hopes for a restaurant run by a high end chef and serving such a good cause. wrong! the food was just plain bad. the chicken was so dry i nearly chocked on it, the macaroni and cheese was so dry it seemed to have been made days ago and not even warmed, and the squash and cabbage were greasy (really greasy). thought you couldn't mess up strawberry shortcake, right? wrong again! dry, dry, tiny biscuit topped with what probably amounted to two small sliced strawberries and a little dab of whipped cream. really? and they get $7.50 for this? the server, while friendly enough, had to be asked several times for the tarter sauce my husband had ordered, and he didn't return to fill our drink glasses until he brought us our check. he wasn't overwhelmed with customers either, as there was only one other table that he was waiting on at the time. we will not be going back!!!!

so i told my friends that i was going to bring a date here and they highly advised against here, but i went anyways. i was pleasantly surprised at the food and of course the concept is what really drove me to the place.  i would recommend it to others, but maybe not as one of the top three restaurants to eat at in uptown.

i ordered the ravioli special which was filled with a delicious pesto-like cheese and was surrounded with fresh squash, mushrooms, and benton's bacon. my wife had the shrimp and grits, and she was equally satisfied. the flaky biscuit i had with my meal was one of the best i've ever had. we had the lemon meringue pie with blueberry compote for dessert. it was complex, not overly sweet, and really flavorful. overall, the food was flavorful and layered, the service was personal and kind, and restaurants proceeds go to feed those who need it. great experience, and we'll be back.

i really love the philanthropic concept of king's kitchen; however, the food and service were both just average at best during my visit.
we started with an appetizer of sweet potato fritters, and to be blunt- they were awful. they were way too salty and had way too much ginger and cloves; did not taste like sweet potatoes at all. if you like honey, they became edible by dipping them in the sweet honey sauce, but i would still definitely avoid them.
for my entrée, i ordered the pot roast meat and three with mac & cheese, collard greens, green beans, and a biscuit. the pot roast was exceptional - so tender and flavorful; you didn't even need a knife to eat it. the mac and cheese was pretty solid as well. it was baked custard style which i like but wasn't that cheesy. the collard greens and green beans were okay but nothing special. the biscuit was dry and crumbly but according to our server is a lot better than the cornbread. my girlfriend ordered the pork chop, but unfortunately it came out overcooked and a bit burnt on the one side. it was certainly edible, but not something you'd want to pay $25 for. her side of "fondant sweet potatoes" was 5 slices of very thin sweet potato baked and with little seasoning or flavor. that leads me to my biggest disappointment- the portion size. my girlfriend isn't a big eater, but she was still hungry after her small pork chop and even smaller side dish. when i think of a classic southern "meat and three", i'm thinking that i'm going to be absolutely stuffed full of food and/or have some to take home, but the portions were really small. all three sides were small portions, and the pot roast was maybe 4-5 ounces of meat.
our server was a friendly guy, and i respect that they help the homeless recover by offering them jobs, but he did not check on us much at all once our food hit the table, and he seemed very confused every time we ordered, although luckily everything was correct. he also spoke very quietly so it was almost impossible for us to understand what the specials were or what he asked us that wasn't obvious.
i'm disappointed that i didn't love king's kitchen since it is such an awesome concept but the food, service, and portion sizes were all letdowns for a $50+ dinner without drinks.

outstanding!!!. i had not been to king's kitchen for a long time and forgot how good it is. i had the best shrimp and grits i have ever eaten in my entire life. the other people in our party were as blown away as i was by the food, service and atmosphere. keep up the good work! i will be going back very soon.

...with a mission to help and feed our city’s hungry and homeless, brought it all back home with his melt in your mouth biscuits and sasauge gravy. kings kitchen is now open for breakfast and these biscuits are featured on the breakfast and lunch menus.

love it here. really enjoy the atmosphere and food itself. staff is always friendly as well. a place i always take family to when they come to town... now they insist on coming here to eat.

community focus. the food is good but the purpose of the restaurant is better. i've been to the kitchen several times without disappointment and will continue to support their mission.

we ate at kings kitchen for the first time since our first wedding, about 2.5 years ago. their menu had obviously changed, but the meal was fantastic and did not disappoint.

i bring that little story up is because one of the things that attracted me to the king’s kitchen is the fact that they are a non-profit restaurant. for me this is such a unique idea and something i hadn’t heard of! the restaurant donates 100% of their profit to feed those that most need it in charlotte and around the world.

whit more expensive than i expected, but this is one of the few i've been too that the food justifies the price. the profits go to charity as well! the entrees were flavorful and well presented. the service wasn't quite there, but the mission is a training facility as well. the molten chocolate cake is well worth trying. it is not an off the shelf version you get most places. rich and melt in your mouth light, it deserves a second trip all by itself.

a few months ago, a flyer on a bulletin board in the break room at work caught my eye. it was promoting a restaurant in uptown, the king’s kitchen, but upon further glance, it wasn’t any ordinary restaurant. the flyer talked about a non-profit restaurant that donates 100% of its proceeds to feed the poor in charlotte and the greater region. beyond that, it talked about employment opportunities for those in search of a new beginning. i knew this was a restaurant that was doing good things and i had to check out. the king’s kitchen is managed by jim noble restaurants (of rooster’s fame ) and serves up hearty, soulful, delicious southern food (it features chef jim noble’s “new local southern cuisine” ). beyond that, the restaurant’s goal is to feed a higher purpose. the king’s kitchen’s mission and vision are inspiring; and i really love the concept of their restoration program –a five part training program to train the homeless, the poor, troubled youth, rehab graduates and other members

while walking in the downtown area a friend and i started to get hungry and wanted to try a "new" place. we stumbled across this restaurant and said sure. we notified the waiter that it was our first time at the restaurant and he failed to notify us of the concept of the restaurant. so we had no idea it was actually a way to help the community. the good was bland and portions were too small for the price. not enough variety but the waiter was nice.

good. we started with fried oysters with bacon vinaigrette. he had the spare ribs and they were enough that he had to take some home. i had the fried catfish with okra, and the catfish was very nicely breaded and fried. i could have stood a bit more seasoning. the carmel cake was to die for. service was just okay. 10 mins to seat me as servers just rushed by. maybe they were understaffed; we had to flag down our server. overall, good place, though.

on my final night i checked out the not for profit kings kitchen and had the best food of the week. all of the money raised by the restaurant is used to feed 'the poor' in charlotte and the staff they hire are looking for a new beginning...