Comments on: The Word on Kitchen 64

By: jake

jake — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 14:37:49 +0000

I went one thursday night to have some drinks with some friends. Things were going well till about 10:30 when the whole staff started to clean (and break 4 glasses). I mean the whole staff. They cranked the music up, turned their backs to us…. We could not get a drink, we could not get our check. I finally tapped one of the works who was ignoring us and asked if we could get a drink and our check. With 10 people standing around and our bartender 5 feet away, he said “I will have to see if I can find someone to help you.” I really hope they train their staff better or hire new ones!

By: Geo

Geo — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 01:56:34 +0000

They make a great mojito! (Which is saying a lot since last week the bartender at Norther Grill tried to serve me for a mojito made with Sweet and Low because they “ran out” of simple sugar.)Service was excellent even though it was quite busy Fri night crowd. I suspect I should have ordered the items the staff suggested but either way the food was good and the portions large. Yes it is busy and noisy and full of life and the great noisy smells of a busy home of good cooking. I will be going back to this NON-SMOKING establishment.

By: Samone

Samone — Mon, 20 Aug 2007 13:41:39 +0000

Northside Grill

One word will sum up my experience … DISAPPOINTED! Disappointed in the
service, food and ambience. I was with a party of 7, so between us, we
had ordered a good sampling of the menu. The meatloaf special was more
like brick & mortar. The crab augratin was canned crab, at best, with
melted, processed cheese. The wings tasted like they the were microwaved
and forgotten … the breading was not crisp, nor were they cooked
throughout. Our drinks (ice tea and soft drinks) were not replenished
and 2 of our guests ordered something from the bar and were told that
they bartender was behind (there was only a handful of people in the
entire restaurant) and she came to our table 3 times with no drinks …
unacceptable. The highlight of the evening, other than a bunch of
friends enjoying each other’s company, was the crab bisque. It lacked in
spice (which I tend to like on the heavier side anyway), but consistency
and flavor were good. Nutshell: not a restaurant I would go back to nor
recommend.

By: Zen Camel

Zen Camel — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 02:16:10 +0000

Here is a snippet from a recent blog entry on my site, Food for Thought

Kitchen 64: The latest from Johnny Giavos is a great addition to the northside. He has taken a very mediocre restaurant that Zippy ran, and after a major face-lift and attitude adjustment, has breathed fresh life into that space. And the food is good too. The menu is larger than it is inventive, but there are some new variations on old favorites. On several visits I have tried the Manolito ( a nod to Manny down at Kuba Kuba and a nice sandwich but not as good as the orginal- the bread at Kuba is better). Hunks of pungent high test feta cheese dressed up a burger one day for lunch- divine. And the fries are some of the best in Richmond. One dinner visit found us on the patio yucking it up with some newly-made friends- I had a nice “northside steak” with a peppercorn sauce. Hats off Johnny and Katrina. Welcome to the hood.

For the full story, visit me at
http://inmystomach.blogspot.com/2007/07/northside-musings.html

By: Chris

Chris — Mon, 23 Jul 2007 14:25:42 +0000

I give every new restaurant I patronize up to 3 strikes before I write them off. Kitchen 64 already has 2 in my book. Like many Northsiders I eagerly awaited the opening and couldn’t wait to get in there. Sadly both my visits have been sullied by an unprofessionally run restaurant. Both times my appetizer appeared after my dinner. On my first visit it took 1 hour and 9 minutes to produce a cobb salad. Both visits had me having to visit the bar to get tea refills. I ask coworkers and friends their experiences and they all have the same experience with the apps and refills. This place needs to get it together or change it’s name to Kitchen Closed!

By: Collin Hoskins

Collin Hoskins — Sun, 08 Jul 2007 14:00:10 +0000

R: “K-64″ and the Northside Grill

We have been back to Kitchen 64 twice recently, our fifth and sixth visits, and found the service still excellent, the noise level still high, and the food excellent, perhaps better than before. Seems any kinks are being worked out, despite being “slammed” with crowds every night. It is an exiting place, not designed to be an intimate, quiet, romantic spot. It is more than just a restaurant, it is a phenomenon.

On the other hand, the Northside grill was a huge disappointment – mediocre at best diner type meals at too high a price. That is the one that may not last 64 days! It is too bad, since there was a good crowd; that is another location that is ripe for the right kind of restaurant.

By: Karen Hardison

Karen Hardison — Sat, 30 Jun 2007 18:48:37 +0000

I guess I am fairly surprised by the overall negative tone/experiences that have been reported about Kitchen 64 on this site. I have eaten there any number of times since they opened…weekends, week nights, bruch, carryout…there have been several consistent factors in my visits. 1) The staff has been friendly, helpful, courteous, and prompt. 2)There are always great choices on the menu for everyone in my family including the 22 month old & the vegetarian. 3)There are a lot of people there and if you arrive after 6:00PM you are probably going to wait a while. If you eat inside it is most always going to be noisy. 4)They are drawing an ecclectic mix of folks & that makes the meal all the more fun. 5) It is great that the inside is somoke free. Would love to see the patio smokeless as well, especially with the number of children who are there. 6) If you live within walking distance, do everyone a favor and stroll on over as the parking lot does fill up in the evening & anyway, the walk will do you good after eating a really good meal!

By: Food Lover

Food Lover — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 14:48:11 +0000

After reading several hits and/or misses regarding Kitchen 64, we thought we’d give it a try. We’ll, try we did. The two of us arrived on a Wed. around 6:30pm to find the place packed–no shocker there, and we were ready for that based on prior reviews. However, the entire front patio was conspicuously empty of diners, while the inside was standing room only. There were plenty of tables outside, and it was nice evening, so we asked the hostess if we could sit at one of the many empty tables, to which she simply replied “Nope” and turned away. We were totally thrown off. Again, we approached as asked if any of the numerous empty tables were available, to which we were informed that the patio was closed because it was going to rain. Since the sun was shining and there was NO sign or rain anywhere, we were totally confused. She never really explained beyond that. We asked, then, if we could get a table inside, and she replied that it would be over an hour wait, and again walked away. No offer was made to take our names for a waiting list or, “feel free to get a drink at the bar” Nothing. We honestly felt like we were being run off, so run off, we did. As we were sitting in the car and about to drive away, we saw her turn away 4 other couples at the door in a matter of minutes. Guess Kitchen 64 isn’t really looking for any new business since its policy seems to be to turn away customers when the restaurant is busy.

By: adam rose

adam rose — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 18:18:43 +0000

My wife, son and I tried brunch last saturday. seemed like over half of patrons had kids. a good thing in my book! we sat outside – and had great service. My steak and eggs were fantastic! real steak, nice home fries, good bread – and big portions — i actually couldn’t finish, which is rare for me! very accomodating to kids as well. i could see parking being a problem, but wasn’t bad when we were there. pancake was decent, but sorta dry and crumbly — hard for a toddler to eat. my wife’s meal was also very good. and tasty biscuits. based on a few reviews i was expecting the worst — long waits (like at the old dot’s and that organic hair salon place up lakeside) and not so good food (like zippy’s), but was really pleasantly surprised! Friends have gone there 2x time at lunch and enjoyed it as well. welcome to the neighborhood!! And BTW, we ended up here when we tried to go to northside grill and saw a sign that said no brunch on saturday’s. i tell you, is richmond particularly hard to operate a restuaruant in? I am not from here, but scratch my head at some of the weird restuarant goings ons that seem to plague the city.

By: Jacob Hathaway

Jacob Hathaway — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 01:21:17 +0000

i tried kitchen 64 two nights ago. i was promptly seated inside around 7 o’ clock, and began to browse the menu for some eats. i decided to go with the mussels (the night’s sauce was a extremely tasty white wine & garlic), and the 14oz ny strip special topped with portabella mushroom demi glaze. wow. the mussels were absolutely fantastic, bursting with flavor, and an extremely generous portion, they were served with 3 crostini’s, great for dipping in the leftover sauce at the bottom. the steak was equally as wonderful, absolutely tender and the portabella demi glaze had just the right tang to it. let me also mention my steak was served with macaroni and cheese and sauteed veggies. it was completely down home, blasting with flavor, and wonderful. sure the wait was a good 45 minutes, but I understand with a new restaurant that has some kinks to work out. i wish i had enough room for dessert, there is a revolving dessert case with all homemade desserts that looked divine. the interior is absolutely smashing, i definetely felt very refreshed and clean. i will definetely be back with my family. kitchen 64- a job well done!