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 andcheesewas 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!!!!

i ordered the ravioli special which was filled with a delicious pesto-likecheeseand 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 andcheesewas 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.

my selections were mac n' cheese, mashed potatoes, and green beans. all three were very good. the mac n'cheesewas the standout. as for the chicken, it was good. i wouldn't go as far as to say it was amazing...but it was very good.

i had heard great things about this place. however our experience was not as great. i ordered grilled chicken with mashed potatoes, cabbage and mac n cheese. my chicken was cold, undercooked and the only flavor that it had was burnt. i set it back, got undercooked, burnt chicken again. i didn't eat it. sides were great. mac ncheesewas very light and had a very different taste. everyone elses food was good. i tasted the meatloaf, which was grilled which i didn't care for, chicken tenders were great, hamburgers were good. biscuits and cornbread were the best part.

fantastic dinner; great cause!. the kings kitchen was the answer to my "where to eat after our quickie wedding" prayers. the owner of the restaurant, jim noble, has a few other restaurants in charlotte. i've eaten at one of them. noble's, and it was fantastic. but a bit pricier than i wanted my new husband to have to deal with. i saw a link to the king's kitchen, and after checking out the website, i was in love. the food was very southern, but i was immediately drawn to the salmon and what they do for the community. so, i told my husband about it, made the reservation and anticipated a delicious meal.

after our short & sweet wedding, we headed downtown for dinner. we had reservations, but they weren't incredibly busy, so we probably would have been fine without one. we were seated quickly and our server greeted us promptly. he took our drink orders, came back and we ordered a few appetizers for the table. we ordered the deviled eggs & the pimento cheese. i can't comment on the pimento cheese, since i don't care for it and didn't try it, but the eggs were delicious. he also brought out two plates of biscuits with homemade strawberry jam and cornbread. everyone raved about the cornbread. i had a biscuit with some jam and it was delicious, but nothing special.

the entrees came out quickly and everyone was more than pleased. i had the salmon with the pea risotto, which was fantastic. the salmon had a lime butter on top and the risotto was perfect. and the color was gorgeous and interesting. i was very pleased with the flavors of this dish (the salmon was some of the best i've ever had).

several members of our table ordered the pot roast. i had a bite of my husband's and it melted in my mouth. i've never had a roast that was that tender and had such great flavor. my new mother in law had the fried flounder. i had a bite of that and it was incredible as well.
everyone loved their side items (the mashed potatoes, creamed corn & macaroni andcheesewere huge hits), and almost everyone was pleased with their entrees. my new brother in law ordered the fried chicken, and while it looked delicious, he said their was so much grease it actually became unappetizing the more he looked at it.

other than the fried chicken, the dinner was a huge success, and a fantastic evening was had by all. and while i loved my delicious dinner, i love what the restaurant does for the community and that just makes me want to go there over and over again. anyone in charlotte needs to try it out.

on top of everything, it serves great food. it specializes in familiar southern specialties and local food. for our appetizer, my husband and i shared a localcheeseplate and the deviled eggs.

good southern grub. biscuits are heavenly - light, fluffy, not like b*jangles and you can tell somebody with good hands are making them back in the kitchen. corn bread is on the sweet and pudding-y side, and is ok.

the porterhouse pork chops are phenomenal! pricey, but is a good dish. highly recommended.

shrimp and grits is a big hit. somehow they describe it as "tomato based gravy" which was a turn off for me, but i tried it and it was perfectly done. (they should instruct the staff to describe it differently, as it turned off several of my dining companions from this fabulous dish) shrimp was grilled to perfection (charred at the tail and extremely moist), grits nice and creamy but not too cheesy, and the brown "gravy" had a little bit of kick. no chunks of andouille or red peppers, which is a bonus for me.

flounder po' boy - disappointed. the fish is good, but come on, a plain old hot dog bun for a po' boy?? even though it had grill marks on it, i consider it a total rip-off for $13. i should have gone for the "meat and three" for an additional $1 and got their gooey mac n'cheeseor the crispy sweet potato fries.

on the topic of sides, they are quite good. creamy corn is what it should be - creamy, sweet and filling. fries can be a bit uneven. they are thin and skin-on crisp. a little too much salt.

the pan fried chicken is fair. the serving is plenty. a little salty.

overall, extremely quick and attentive service. casual and relaxing atmosphere.

and you gotta love the cause.

good food for price. the price is good given the uptown location, but found the service too slow during lunch hour and the mac &cheesewas cold.

i've been to king's kitchen several times for lunch, and am really pleased with the food, service, and prices. while the fried chicken with gravy is good, i'm a huge fan of the meatloaf. they prepare it so uniquely - after baking it, they slice it into large pieces and grill it to add crisp. it's really delicious with the mashed potatoes and mac andcheese(double order of that, of course)! lately, they have gotten busier for lunch, and i suggest you go early. it's definitely worth a wait, however!