Kitchen 64
Last week I finally had the opportunity to visit Kitchen 64, located off I-64 in Richmond, VA, at the Boulevard.
This place has gotten a lot of press and friends recommended it. They seem to have priced things for a good value on the amount of food you get; the cocktail list wasn’t cheap.
On a Saturday night, there was a 30 minute wait, arriving at 5:30 PM, an unusual time for me to arrive for dinner. Nonetheless, despite the cold, we could eat in their make-shift dining room extension, a patio enclosed with a temporary “tent,” complete with a centerpiece made from an upside-down feather Christmas tree. That decoration sums-up the idea, I think of the restaurant… something familiar, but different; not trendy, but it has 10% retro flavor, 80% noisy clients, and 10% too little space.
I ultimately ordered their prime rib sandwich, served french dip style. This was not what I wanted, but they were out of the avocado sandwich. Other items ordered included the hummus appetizer, a fish entrée, the prime rib entrée, fish tacos, and a tossed salad.
We left quite full, but no one was crazy about their meal.
My sandwich was okay, but there was nothing especially endearing about it. The fries, however, were the real star: crispy with a coating (I am guessing cornstarch). Good fries.
The prime rib was huge, but I am not sure my friend liked it. It was cooked to the correct temperature, etc., but the other accoutrements on the plate looked plain: lots of squash/zucchini.
The tossed salad: “Horrible.” The fish tacos: drippy. “Not terribly appetizing.”
The fish “dry.”
The most disappointing thing was the cocktail I ordered, their take on the Manhattan. This was my first time trying this drink, and so I accept some fault on my own. But it was the worst drink I’d ever had, and I could only stomach half of it. Despite it sitting on the table, no one else dared try it.
But the entertainment of watching my face curl from each attempted sip was rather entertaining.
Kitchen 64 has potential, but nothing was over the top for us. The black bean hummus platter was likely the best thing ordered, but there was nothing especially interesting about it: you got a big lump of mashed beans in the center, sliced onion, feta, olives, and cherry tomatoes with some pita bread. It works, but that was about it.
Despite our disappointment, there were plenty of folks there, obviously having a good time. I am willing to try them again for breakfast some day. We’ll see.
3 Responses to “Kitchen 64”
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der5er
Said this on January 19th, 2008 at 5:21pm:I went for lunch one day and had a bacon-cheese burger. It was cooked as ordered, and, as you said, the fries were wonderful. I liked the fact that we had little wait for our party of four at noon, and our food was delivered promptly after ordering. The waitress was friendly, even when we asked for four separate checks.
Not the best burger in the world, but probably the best one I can get on my lunch hour and still make it back to work on time!
the rental office
Said this on March 7th, 2008 at 1:11pm:OUr office had the nachos from kitchen 64 and we all agreed they were the worst nachos we have ever had. The cheese was sparse and all toppings were plopped on the top layer. Kitchen 64 please go to Banditos and see how a good nacho plate is made- Banditos has some of the best nachos in town!
Marcia Muse
Said this on May 1st, 2009 at 10:51pm:My husband and I did not have a pleasant experience at Kitchen 64. The food was OK…but the table was situated so that anyone who passed by hit our table. I had to duck so that the bus boy would not hit my head as he moved by with the plastic bucket of dirty dishes. When I shared this with the manager (ViVi) she said that I was the first to complain about the table in 2 years. Wow…what a memory she has. How nice of the manager to say that my complaint was not valid. Now that’s great customer service. I emailed this complaint to the Kitchen 64 website…and after 3 days I have yet to hear from anyone. I guess the restaurant doesn’t need my business and so that visit will be my last.