Not So Good Restaurant Review: The Kitchen American Bistro
6 hours ago
On a chilly autumn morning, my husband and I sought a hearty breakfast in Boulder, Colorado. We decided to go to The Kitchen American Bistro (Kitchen). Hearty was not what we got.
As usual, any Kitchen restaurant is full of customers on weekend mornings. I had never eaten at this particular Kitchen. I usually go to the overcrowded Kitchen in Union Station, Denver. The only reason I go to that establishment is we are looking for breakfast before boarding a train or are in the Downtown Denver area in the early morning. The Kitchen American Bistro chain has several restaurants. Chicago, Denver, Boulder, and one coming to Austin. Comparing the menus online they all seem to have the same menu and signature dishes. Such as the Churro Doughnut and Lobster Roll.
In the Boulder establishment, we were there at brunch time. For brunch, I felt the menu lacked breakfast items. Along with choices that were appealing to us. My husband is easy, give him eggs, bacon, potatoes, and toast and he will be happy. It is a little harder to feed me because I am gluten-free. I chose the gluten-free option of the “Benedict.” Which is poached eggs, creamed spinach, oven-roasted tomatoes, hollandaise, parmesan frico, and an English muffin. At a whopping $21.50. My husband ordered the “Farmer’s Breakfast” which is farm eggs, breakfast potatoes, bacon, sourdough whole wheat toast, and preserves. That was at the hefty price of $17.50.
For some reason, my husband’s food came out first and left me sitting there with no food. So he gave me a bite of his potatoes. I ganged because there was so much salt on the potatoes. I have to spit them out into my napkin. I asked him if he added the salt and he said, “No they came out of the kitchen like that.” Sitting there with nothing to do while waiting for my food, I noticed how sparse his plate was. Hearty was not the word I would use to describe his plate.
Finally, our waitress noticed I did not have my food. She approached me and said, “I will go see where your food is.” She walked five feet and stopped to talk with another waitress and never went to the kitchen. About 5 minutes later my food arrived. My plate was sparse too. Those “oven-roasted tomatoes” they described on the menu were this dot on my plate. The hollandaise had no flavor whatsoever. As for the price, I was greatly disappointed but did not say a word about it. Although I must say the presentation was top-notch.
It wasn’t until we were driving home did my husband asked, “What did you think of your meal.” I answered, “Underwhelmed.” He said, “I was too, I expected it to be a lot better for over $60.” You got it, we spent $51.80 + tip on two underwhelming breakfasts and a beer. Needless to say, I am done with The Kitchen restaurants and will not be returning.
In addition, can you explain to me the 2% surcharge on my bill? According to the internet, "In Boulder, Colorado, a 2% surcharge on your bill likely indicates a credit card surcharge, which means the business is adding a fee to cover the cost of processing your credit card payment, as allowed by Colorado state law that permits merchants to charge up to 2% for credit card transactions; this fee should be clearly disclosed on your bill."
I am curious, have you had this same experience? What do you think of The Kitchen American Bistro chain? Kindly let us know in the comments.
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