the king's kitchen

i reallylovethe 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'tloveking'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.

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 reallylovethe concept of their restoration program –a five part training program to train the homeless, the poor, troubled youth, rehab graduates and other members

great food with a cause. mamas fried chicken $12; local micro-brew $5, helping the homeless while enjoying a great meal - priceless. this is a restaurant with a mission of helping those who need a helping hand. how could you notlovethat! the food is really good ~ i've been there several times. i've had a steak, mac&cheese, fried chicken, local artisan beers, and nice, friendly conversations with the staff. i'm sure that the mission of the king's kitchen keeps me coming back and even makes the food taste that much better, but that is ok with me. i'll keep coming back for more.

i really wanted to like it, but.... ...after 3 lunch visits, i just can't. i appreciate and respect the cause, but the food is just so bland, and the service is spotty at best. while i'dloveto add another comfort food restaurant to my go-to list, this just isn't it.

the king's kitchen was our target this week and although welovethe mission.. we didn'tlovethe food. ...

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 and cheese were 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, ilovewhat 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.

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' cheese or 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 gottalovethe cause.

love the food -lovethe service!. the checked out the website - it said some inetersting things about the concept of this restaurant. the "best pan fried chicken" banner outside totally drew me in!
i went in for lunch and totally loved the chicken and the sides. the corn bread is nothing like i've ever had before! the pan fried chicken is perfect - so juicy inside. i had the meat loaf next time. it was awsome! am looking forward to fried flounder next :)
the service is so gracious. i felt very at home very welcomed here. this is fast becoming my every friday ritual!