Underwhelmed at best.
Appears the staff could care less if you are here or not. Â After than, the food is irrelevant. Â I was here 3 weeks ago and have no idea what I ordered so it was not memorable.
I was not aware that the DDD show had been here. Â When I found out I thought it would be great. Â Sorry Guy but you should choose better places.
Man I wanted this place to be good. My friend told me about this place and I will admit it has a great beer selection, but that is all it has going for it. Ordered a beer and it took more than twenty minutes to have the server come back and ask me what beer I want. The lamb burger I got was ok but definitely not worth 12 dollars. Took more than half an hour for the check. Not coming back
Review Source:Not sure what's up with all the hate (although coming from a bunch of Douche Fieri/DDD followers I really shouldn't be surprised) but my experience here was pretty legit. GF had a Groupon deal for a beer flight, 2 sandwiches and 2 sides and it was totally worth it, enough for us to stick around and order more food and beer from the 'non-Groupon' menu.
The lamb burger was pretty good, nice and juicy, not too 'lamby' and the tomato relish was perfect. The Cuban was superb and probably the highlight of the meal, pulled pork was super tasty and cooked perfectly. GF loved the fried green beans and the zucchini was awesome as well.
Minus one star for the staff members hanging out at the bar while other employees were busting their asses and we waited for our beer but otherwise this spot will get a return visit, especially once the GF stops dragging ass and finally moves up from San Diego.
Disappointing, that's all I can say.
We went here because it was on "Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives" and ended up getting dry, flavorless sandwiches, "Deviled" eggs that were just one step (flavor-wise) above plain hard-boiled ones, and staff whose solution to our complete disappointment with the meal was to give us a $15 coupon (on a thirty-dollar meal) to come back and eat there again...which we didn't want to do.
All I can think is that Guy must have gotten the "A" chef, and we got the "B" (or "B-", or maybe even "C") team. DD&D, you steered us wrong!
Not going back...even with the coupon...
The Kitchen was recommended as a possible party venue for a group of friends. Very friendly staff, quick service and great tasting food. I visited midweek in the afternoon to get a feel for the environment. The majority of patrons were regulars at the bar and knew the staff well. The Kitchen burger was amazing. The patty was cooked to perfection. The fresh baked bun, blue cheese and bacon flavors were a great combination. The menu has something for everyone and the prices are reasonable. It's definitely worth a visit if you're in the Oxnard area.
Review Source:I couldnt have said it better than another reviewer here, so I won't. My boyfriend and i are also Triple D victims with this place. I wonder if the original episode air date was April Fools or something because we came excited and left feeling robbed.
The service here was not the problem. Our server was a little slow but extremely nice and attentive. There was nothing the poor girl could do about our horrible food.
We didn't make it to happy hour which seems to be the reoccuring reason people like this place.
We did get an appetizer, the jalepeno wontons. Simple to make, SEVEN DOLLARS TO "ENJOY" These were decent, the sauce was what made it good, otherwise the simplicity and quality was on par with jack in the box.
I got "What Guy Ate" The Lamb Burger. First, I couldn't even taste the lamb. Second the burger was overdone and dry. Third, the bun was ROCK hard. Its only saving grace was the red pepper condiment that the burger was drenched in.
My boyfriend got the The Kitchen burger. It was also overdone, hard bun and saved by the BBQ sauce.
We both got the garlic fries with ours. Its hard to go wrong but when you are paying $14 for a meal you expect some melty action, some garlic savorization. But no, the fries were old, the cheese was thown on their, my boyfriend didn't get barely any cheese on his and the best part was the ranch.
Basically this place has good condiments and beer prices as well as beer selection. I mean the condiments were really really good. We hypothesized this must be part of the reason Triple D showed up at this place. But even so, if you are looking to quench your burger thirst and you want to pay $14 bucks, take my advice and go to Umami Burger in TO/Westlake. Thats is where its at.
We went there after watching the triple D show; the smell in the place is not inviting at all. We tried the food and:
1) the burgers were OK
2) the fried items were OK - onion, green beans etc'
3) I took the grilled vegetables salad - it was swimming in oil...very un-inviting and not tasty at all - left it whole
4) the little kids had the chicken tenders - the chicken was served raw...not a good thing at all...the 2nd batch was OK but with not taste or seasoning what so ever
Service was somewhat OK
I would not come back - unfortunately
I've seen almost every episode of DDD but somehow missed out on this one. We stumbled upon the restaurant while wandering around downtown Oxnard and decided to give it a try.
- Lamb burger - a bit disappointing. Didn't really taste too much of lamb. The leftovers actually tasted better than the dish straight out of the kitchen, but possibly because I had the garlic Parmesan fries first!
- Garlic Parmesan fries - so good. Definitely making these at home!
- Cuban sandwich - Okay. Nothing to write home about.
- Beer selection is good. They even have O'Doul's for those teetotalers among us.
Service was friendly but extremely slow, even on a Monday night with just 3 tables seated. What gives?
When I first found out about The Kitchen years ago I fell in love with it. I hosted a few parties there with friends even. I frequented the place about 3 times a week because I trained right down the block from it. I was in love with the pulled pork sandwich and the onion rings as well. It was something I would get just about every time.
I ended up leaving the country to do some traveling in Asia. I came back about five months later only to find that the pulled pork that once had great flavor honestly tasted like it was boiled in plain water and never seasoned. Not to mention the onion rings... My favorite thing had been taken from the amazing treat that they were to a bought in frozen pre packaged product. When I asked my waitress the first time what the deal was with them and if they were frozen she lied to my face. Upon asking her the second time and telling her I did not want to be lied to she became honest and told me that they were frozen and that the chef was, "lazy".
This place could have been great but I really think it rested on its laurels. If only they could have replaced Guy FIererererleewhatever his name is from Diners Drive Ins and Dives with Gordon Ramsay and did an epp of Hell's Kitchen I am sure we would all be getting what we paid for. Not frozen garbage.
Came here for a birthday party and all I have to say is Wow!!! the deviled eggs were awesome, mire then awesome they were pretty cute to be honest.
This resturant is a little hidden treasure in Oxnard, and I wouldnt have found it if it was not for my friend.
The reason they got four stars is that the service was pretty slow we got our food in waves, I belive my side of the table got there food when the other half was practicly done with theres, but it was worth the wait on a way, we were just there for a lot longer then we planned.
Yet another "Dine-Ins" victim. I have no idea why Guy even came to this place.
The only high marks are that the food was not poisonous, they have an excellent beer selection that belies the rest of the establishment, and the Kitchen Burger is my favorite kind of burger: western bacon cheeseburger crossed with bleu cheese burger.
Other than that, blah. Apparently a chef had walked out earlier in the day, but that's no excuse for my garlic parmesean fries to be tossed with garlic salt and kraft.
The interior is supposed to be some kind of pub/70's steak house vibe. It just looks like a tired 70's steakhouse without the steak.
Finally, it took 20 min to get our check. This is inexcusable when there are only 3 other tables occupied.
All in all, never going back. I will, in fact, actively avoid it.
This is quickly becoming one of your favorite easy eat places! Â GREAT bar and the prices are fair with a wide menu selection. It was featured on Diners Drive-ins and Dives, and has a nice feel with easy parking and friendly people. Â The food is always good, but does seem to wavier at times in cooking style from visit to visit. Â The hours are on occassion confusing so call before you go in late and ask. Â The building is located just off "A Street" and there is parking on the street or in the lot behind. I always enjoy myself as does my husband and our kids, so good for couples or the family.
Review Source:I came here because I saw the Guy Fieri TV show. I was disappointed. Will I come back? Maybe. I tried the deviled eggs appetizer, which seemed like it had been made a day before, not fresh to order. I shared the Santa Fe salad, which was great with fresh ingredients, but the dressing with cilantro was not anything special. I also had their Kitchen  burger and fries. The burger and fries were actually 5 star! Our server had a bad cold. She kept sniffling and coughing, and wiping her face... I washed my hands well and used hand sanitizer after I left. Maybe this was just a bad day to come in, but we were the only ones at lunch time. The staff was getting ready for a huge private dinner party, but this not an excuse for old food to be served.
Review Source:I'm a big fan of Diner's , Drive-Ins and Dives (DDD), hosted by Guy Fiete and this is the reason why my wife and I ventured to The Kitchen on New Year's Eve (December 31, 2012). Â Even though we still love DDD, the obvious conclusion we made during and after our dining experience at The Kitchen is that Guy Fiete had it 100% wrong with this restaurant.
I give The Kitchen 1.5 stars... the reason it actually accrued this many stars is because their Mission Brewery Blonde Ale was a great draft selection and it tasted very good. Â Given the inability to provide a 1.5 star recommendation here on Yelp!, I rounded up to two but even the 2-star rating is not warranted for The Kitchen.
Now onto the less-than-desirable attributes of our dining experience at The Kitchen:
-From our arrival, I realized I hadn't coordinated receipt of a tetanus booster that morning which was absolutely necessary due to the lack of cleanliness. Â The food debris was plentiful in the bar vicinity, the bartop was unkept as was the dust on the wine and cocktail glasses. Â These issues were nearly rectified by the creative spelling of 'Gift Cirtificate' on the bar mirror, but the filthy conditions were too much for a poor attempt of written English to overcome.
-We were at the bar for 17 minutes before we were acknowledged for service. Â We verified the hours and our 11:30 arrival time was after their published opening time of 11:00. Â This delay occurred while the kitchen and wait staff yapped outside of the dining areas, but still let patrons know they were simply being ignored. Â Dare I recommend the reader that it was New Year's Eve?
-My wife ordered a pinot grigio which, although the wine was fine, came in an absolutely disgusting class. Â Apparently a tetanus booster isn't the only medical requirement to dine here... I now would include a yellow fever vaccination to counter the bacterial and/or viral contamination poses by the grotesque glass.
Despite these misgivings, our sadist tendencies reared their ugly heads as we persevered with our lunch. Â Granted, grilled artichoke and parmesan fries are difficult to screw up, but the diligent staff at The Kitchen successfully ensured our meal was substandard. Â The 'grilled' artichoke was simply steamed (at least it was cooked) and the fries were unimpressive. Â Given the ah hem... quality of our appetizers, we elected to then cut our losses and take our discouraged appetites elsewhere.
We've had very solid dining experiences at all previously DDD-featured establishments; however, this time Mr. Fiete has it all wrong. Â If you want to: expose yourself to landfill-esque sanitary conditions; be ignored despite being a willing-to-pay customer; and consume unimpressive food then The Kitchen is for you. Â If you're not a freakish sadist then I recommend you take your hard-earned monies elsewhere. Â Did I mention it was New Year's Eve?
The Mission Brewery Blonde Ale was good, though...
Heard about this place on triple D. My fiance and I stopped here on our way up the coast. We got the deviled eggs for an appetizer. They were okay I would not recommened them. For entrees I got the lamb burger and he got the cuban. I will say I saw alot of
negative reviews for both. I thought they were both delicious and would order them both again. The service was good we neve r went with out water or empty drinks. Overall I would recommend this place for someone driving thru oxnard
I really wanted to be able to give this place a better review, but it was just OK for me.
My husband and I were back home for a day to visit some family. After visiting my aunt's art show in downtown Oxnard we decided to grab a late lunch before heading back to San Diego. There is so much that has changed in downtown Oxnard since we lived there that we didn't know where to go. My cousin made a couple suggestions and I recognized The Kitchen from when a friend had mentioned it was on that one show with that one guy who has that weird hair. I figured we couldn't go wrong so off we went.
First of all the inside of this restaurant is very strange. The seating around the bar seemed cute enough but there were four of us and all those booths are tiny. We were seated in the weird room behind the bar so we could have a table with enough room for us to eat without elbowing each other. I don't think the room had any windows and the tables and chairs themselves weren't in the best condition for the kind of vibe I think this restaurant was trying to give. There was no ambiance at all in that room. It was pretty much like a private party room at a pizza parlor in 1994.
Our waitress was attentive enough and we got our food in a timely manner (we were literally the only customers in there at 3 p.m. on a Saturday). I ordered The Cuban, my husband ordered the Meatloaf Sandwich, my mother ordered a cheeseburger, and my cousin ordered chicken wings and a wedge salad. Everyone else said their meals were really good, but I just couldn't get into my Cuban sandwich. The meat had absolutely no flavor and there was so much of it, its no flavor was overpowering what other flavor might have been present in the sandwich. That pork was probably the worst pork I've ever had, from a restaurant or anywhere else. I don't even think it was salted. The bread was really good and when I finally just pulled my sandwich apart and started picking at the individual ingredients to try to figure out what was going on inside that thing, the aioli seemed somewhat tasty as well. I just cannot get over how much bland meat they put on that sandwich. The fries were good, but totally average and everyday.
We glanced briefly at their beer selection, but since we now live in San Diego we're very spoiled by craft beer availability at restaurants and bars so what they had didn't impress us enough to order anything.
Quite honestly I would have given this place two stars based on the interior and that sandwich, but my husband enjoyed his meatloaf sandwich and my mother said her cheeseburger was really good. I also appreciate that they offer a wedge salad on the menu because those are amazing. So for those reasons I will give them an extra star since Yelp doesn't have half stars.
I won't come here again to eat. Apparently they have live entertainment at night and my friends and family play here quite a bit so maybe someday I will come back to watch a show. Maybe I'll order a wedge salad if I do.
Also, take down the Guy Fieri cardboard cutout; it's creepy and mildly pathetic.
Ya so we visit this DDD place that Guy has filmed at and lunch on The Cuban Sandwich, Lamb Burger, Garlic Parmesan Cheese fries, and homemade Papaya tea. Â Was expecting more flavor or more punch from the meats (the pork and lamb) but it just wasn't there. Â The fries and tea over did the sandwich and burger with flavor.
Review Source:I loved this place!!!!!
My boyfriend at the time and I saw this place on Dinner,Drive Ins and Dives and right when we saw, we knew we had to go.
I had fun writing on the paper table *kid at heart* I got the build your own turkey burger with salad. He got the lamb burger. The server so was nice and helpful. When I asked if I could get a small version of the wedge she said "of course!" I don't eat any beef so when I have a burger it is always turkey and I am very particular about it. Turkey burgers are very tough to make taste really good in my opinion. The Kitchen exceeded my expectations! Cooked well, well spiced and just yummy! Although a wedge salad is simple, too much blue cheese can be gross. Of course, perfectly proportioned! I tried his lamb burger. I have never had lamb but it was good. Interesting and different, but good! The tomato relish was different but good! The beer was good, food was good everything was good!
I saw the owner, she saw me, but did not talk to me. Even as I was starstruck at her picture wall from the show and was clearly trying to get her attention to talk about the show, she seem "too busy". We went for lunch right when they opened and there was 4 tables filled and one person at the bar. SO...... Not busy. She was talking to others about it who didn't even ask. So maybe since I knew she didn't feel the need to talk about it? I don't know. I wasn't impressed with her. Other than that, the food was great! I would go back!
A solid four stars. Here's why:
The kitchen is located in downtown Oxnard, and it's a nice place with a a cool dim-lit interior. Our waiter was professional, helpful, attentive and nice.
We had a groupon deal to use which was valid for 3-six ounce beers for two and two appetizers. We were able to select the beer from a board that was valid with the coupon and we went with Sam Adams Octoberfest, white shark, and Tangerine wheat ale(which was our favorite). All were great choices for us because we like light and sweet beer. The appetizers were chose were the deviled eggs, which came with three, and the fried green beans that came with a dipping sauce.
It was a generous portion of beans and they were very addicting.
We decided to order some more food and I got the lamb burger and my friend got the "make your own burger." The lamb burger was huge, delicious, and moist. It came with pepper relish on a light and fluffy bun. The only thing I didn't love was that it tasted too sweet with not enough spice. It came with fries as a side and I upgraded to parmesan garlic fries, which I didn't taste any garlic and it was just parmesan loosely grated on top of the fries. Not worth the extra charge, but the portion was good and the fries were warm and were good, too. My friend said her chicken and avocado mini burger was flavorful and moist. The dessert menu didn't appeal to us (we were craving something with chocolate) so we got dessert elsewhere. If you use a groupon here, please don't forget to tip your waiter for the pre-discounted total. All in all, we would definitely come back.
I'm starting to think when Guy Fieri features places on Triple D, he only gives positive reviews, but not always the truth. I've gotten mixed reviews from several of my friends who have eaten at the places after he visits them.
I think this one falls into that category. I ordered the lamb burger, which the meat was good, but the tomato relish on top, just wasn't good. It's pricey for what you get and loud as heck in there!
It was busy for the most part, but I think they're riding the Guy Fieri train because honestly I wouldn't go back. Maybe they're justified to raise their prices after, but I don't think it's worth it.
The chicken wings were greasy, veggie sand was tasteless (I didn't order that) and the food took a while to arrive.
The Oxnard downtown area seemed to be renovated, but even with the hype, I'm sure you could find a better place down the street.
Yep, we saw it on Triple D. Â We were out that direction shopping so decided to try it out. Â I would definitely say it's worth a shot.
Some of the reviews knocked the service, but we had Colin who took wonderful care of us. Â Great service, no complaints there.
Started with the Stuffed Deviled Eggs and the Jalapeno Wontons. Â The eggs were presented beautifully, unlike I'd ever seen. Â They were basically hard boiled eggs with the tops cut off, and then the top portion deviled. Â Yummy, but the real winner was the Jalapeno Wontons. Â They weren't on the regular menu, they were a starter special, but they should make them permanent. Â I would go back just for those.
Hubby had the meatloaf sandwich (hot) and I had the Cuban. Â They were both really good, I think mine needed a little salt, but the flavor was good. Â OH!! Â The fried green beans!!! Â Get them, they are AMAZING!! Â Not greasy, well seasoned, crisp. Â I dipped 'em in ranch, you should too.
Checked in from the yelp app and got 50% off our second drink! Â I had the house pinot noir, I can't remember the name of it but it was good. Â Hubby had the 805 beer which he enjoyed as well.
Yes, there were fruit flies everywhere, but that won't keep us from coming back again if we're out that direction.
Good service, decent food
I heard about this place from "DDD" so me and my 3 friends paid them a visit. The waitress sat us down and was very helpful with the menu. I had there pulled pork sandwich and although cooked well, i wasnt impressed. I think its because DDD referred this place so i got my hopes way to high.
My husband and friend decided to head out to try The Kitchen after hearing it was featured on Diners, Drive Ins, and Dives on a Sunday afternoon for lunch not realizing that they close at 3 on Sundays. The owner was gracious enough to allow us as well as a few people to still come in and dive despite the fact it was past their closing time. She scored major points right there.
Pros: We ordered the cuban sandwich, lamb burger, and kobe beef burger. All of which were great. The craft beer selection here is also very good. They have quite a few local beers on tap which is always really nice to see.
Cons: We also ordered fried zucchini which we all agreed was a bit too breaded for our tastes. Also, everything was just a bit heavy handed on the salt.
Overall we were very happy with our meal and will be back next time we are in the area.
4-26-2011: Went for lunch. Parking on A Street was fine. Store faces A street, but walk around the corner to it's right, you'll see the entrance. Wasn't lost because I read the reviews :)
Got what everyone reccommended: Cuban sandwich, fried zucchini, grilled cheese with tomatoes/bacon & also ordered fries.
All were great!
The fries stayed crisp til the last one! Both sandwiches were good, the bread were fresh and soft, not hard where they hurt biting into it. Their tropical green tea was refreshing. Their fried zucchini - freshly made! Still has that little crunch right in the center.
Would have given 5 stars if there weren't so many nacks (those flies that flies in a square, not sure of the spelling) at the entrance, very close to where we were seated.
When visiting for the second time around, the service was very S....L....O....W. It took probably about 30 minutes to recieve our drinks (thank goodness for the paper mat for coloring to keep us some-what busy). Food wasn't as great as the first time. I'm torn between giving this a 3 or a 4 star.
Yelp, Can you allow "half" stars? Because I want to give this place a 3.5 stars.
I recently stopped in here on a lark looking for a casual dinner spot. I can't say that my experience left me either impressed or disappointed.
On entry to the restaurant, I was struck by the odd layout which included a small bar area with adjoining tables, separate slightly elevated main dining area and a private back room dining area. The unifying decor elements are cheesy formica top tables covered in butcher paper and cheap metal chairs with vinyl upholstery. No Feng Shui at work here.
The dinner order consisted of an appetizer, build to order burger with side, entree of the day, house chard and craft beer. The food was decent. The drinks grossly over priced (think $10 Firestone Pint). Service provided by an edgy wait staff was just OK. Out the door for food, beverage and tip @ $75. Not even close to a good value based on the overall dining experience.
I sense this establishment has unrealized potential. I strongly suggest that you follow some of the other Yelper's recommendations related to sampling Happy Hour prior to commiting your dining $'s.
The verdict: lackluster to say the least.
A couple coworkers and I went to The Kitchen after one of them saw it featured on "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives." I don't place much stock in what Guy Fieri says seeing as how I've eaten at his bland and boring establishments before, but I thought, why not just see what the buzz is about...
The food: I ordered the Cajun Tilapia po'boy sandwich with fried green beans. When I hear Cajun, I expect a serious hit of flavor, but that is not what I got with this fish. The breading was soggy and there was no spice at all. The bread, while delicious and homemade, was way too thick for the piece of fish my sandwich was sporting. The best part of the sandwich was the chipotle aioli, and there was not enough to save it. Overall, the sandwich was pretty tasteless. The green beans were delicious, but how can you screw that up?
One of my co-workers ended up getting some interesting roots in her salad as a 'bonus' and the service was less than stellar. The décor is strange; dark, chunky, and confused. I was not impressed at all with The Kitchen and don't see a reason to make a return trip.
Cost: My iced tea and entrée totaled $15.84 without tip. Way to pricey for what I got.
This place was pretty darn good. We made it with five minutes to spare before happy hour ended and the waitress made sure any orders after that were still under their great deals.
Pros:
Delish stuffed eggs for appetizers. I guess they change daily and the ones we got (bacon, herb, and jalepeno) were wonderful. I wish we had ordered more!
Large beer selection!
Large selection of condiments! I love me some dipping sauces and I plan on going back to try alllllll of them.
Every night features a different themed "special"- Tuesdays are mac n'cheese, which oddly enough we did not order because the burgers were so tempting. We'd love to try Thursdays: Southern night
Cons:
Not a fan of the fries. They're the tiny ones and were salted with a heavy hand.
A wee hard to find. Now we now where it is....sooooo, can't wait to go back!
The real deal!! Here for the second day in a row for lunch. Â Yesterday was the chicken drumettes and split a Lamb Burger and a meatloaf sando with my bro. Â Those were all top notch. Â Today I ordered the Cuban and starting with an artichoke (which looks insane on the yelp pics)
Here we go...
Artichoke - good
Cuban - get it!!
I am going back for happy hour or dinner soon.
Our 2nd stop for restaurant week. Love this pace and we will go back for sure.
I completely abandoned the restaurant week menu, though tempted by the Kobe burger. It was Mac & Cheese night! Who knew? The mac and cheese was the best and came with a choice of salad, a deal at $11.95. They have great happy hour prices on draft beer and wine and a big selection of $3 appetizers. We had the jalapeno won-tons. My darling husband had the Tilapia from the promotional menu, it could not have been better. The servers were all charming and we were never wanting for anything. We sat in the bar area booth, quite comfy and cute. They have a bakery and we took a red velvet cupcake home for later. It was a tad dry but the icing was abundant, so I will give it a "yes, please!"
The regular prices are insanely low, especially for Happy Hour, I hope this place makes it, I will do my pat and return soon.
Hands down, the worst dining experience I have ever had, period. Â Let me explain. Â I would never waste my time writing a silly review about a restaurant - but my experience was so bad, I felt it necessary to do so. Â
Upon arriving at The Kitchen,, we were greeted by what came to be our server. Â Me and two others sat ourselves and ordered our drinks and food. Â Before which, we waited over 10 minutes to place our drink orders and the place was D-E-A-D. Â I could understand if it was busy; however, there was absolutely no reason for the wait. Â Any who, once attended to we order our drinks and food. Â We specifically asked for our soup first and received them over 30 minutes later. Â We sent them back since we waited so long. Â Downer. Â It also took the same 30 minutes to receive a lime for a Modelo Especial and glasses of water. Â Totally unnecessary being that we were sitting in the bar area. Â I could of actually gotten up and served my table waters and some limes in 2 minutes flat. Â
At last our food came and one of the dishes was wrong. Â We sent it back. Â Downer. Â Very disappointing and worst of all - the waitress didn't seem to give a crap. Â She seemed dead behind the eyes and just casually wisked away like nothing. Â Didn't apologize or didn't even acknowledge anything. Â Horrible, horrible service. Â Nobody seemed to give a damn at this place and i'll never ever be back. Â All we heard was the bartender talk about brewing beer and his love for beer with some dudes sitting at the bar. Â He was super annoying and we should of left based on how silly he sounded. Â I've seriously had better service from Denny's at 2:30am. Â
To wrap it up, I don't care what the food taste like when the service sucks so bad. Â I would rather give my money to restaurants that actually care what type of service they provide. Â You're only as strong as your weakest link - so, regardless of if this experience was due to waitress', slow cooks or lack of floor management - it ruined a couple folks Saturday and nobody attempted to do anything about it. Â I would recommend not going to this establishment if you care about service or the way you are treated.
I am in love with this place and so are my friends and family. Â We have come back many, many times over the last months and everything is always so delicious.
As time goes on The Kitchen gets better and better.
I love the mini cuban sandwich with fries ($4.50), it is a deal of the century and for the price it really fills you up. Â I also like their happy hour specials, many appetizer items only $3.00 and select pints of beer three bucks as well. Â I have tried the meatloaf platter, bacon grilled cheese, steak, wedge salad and I can say that everything has been amazing.
The employees are always friendly and helpful and it's also a place I even feel comfortable bringing my 14 year old daughter.
Ok so this place was so bomb 4-5 months ago but I don't know what happened it has gone way downhill. The food isn't great anymore it has no flavor as it use to when it first opened.
The beer is still good and they have a great selection but food I wouldn't order here again it was just disappointing since the first time the food was great, 2nd time was a-ok, and the 3rd it was just blah my artichoke came out ice cold with nasty butter.
I've moved on from the Kitchen.
Our third outing here as a couple and my fourth visit proved that it is hit and miss with this place.
1st time was meh. Â I had the Cuban sandwich which was ok, but the meat was rather tasteless. The fried green beans were recommended here on Yelp, but they were frozen then deep fried - not what I enjoy.
 The bartender, cook, and server were all busy texting on their phones between getting my food.
2nd and 3rd visits were not too bad. We did like the Parmesan fries and the mini burgers.
Maybe Friday nights are not when you should expect good food....
Anyway we went Friday night for our 3rd visit around 6 and chose the deviled eggs, chicken Florentine, and a ground steak burger medium rare with cheese and grilled onions.
The deviled eggs were like rubber and left an ammonia after taste. Our glasses of water smelled like fish, and the chicken Florentine had been cooked several times. It looked like a reheated left-over when it came out.  It was so hard and dried out that it could not be pierced with a fork or cut with the supplied butter knife. (I showed this to one of our three servers) We had to use my razor sharp Spyderco  pocket knife to cut it!  We each took one taste and we knew we would have to go some place else for her dinner.  My medium rare burger was quite rare and dripping red juice. I ate most of it!
We had three different people serve the table so each one got a snippet of the situation. Â The guy that cleared the plates tossed the food before the manager could check it out and he received a reprimand in front of us. The manager offered dessert, but my girl needed to eat an entree so I asked we be charged for the appetizer and my burger.
We ended up going to Jersey Mike's for a nice pastrami sandwich.
The kitchen is still budding into their full potential, but their cuban sandwich literally brought me to tears it was so amazing. The inner fat-kid in me can have a very emotional bond with great food. Hands-down the greatest find in the Ventura/Oxnard area for quite some time. Highly recommend this place.
Food was executed very well, and was very reasonably priced. Awesome value. We had the chicken drumettes (awesome flavor, and great texture), deviled egg of the month (chipotle & bacon - had high expectations, filling was slightly more viscous but good flavor), fried green beans (fantastic flavor and amazing texture), cuban sandwich (like I said before AMAZING blend of flavors, texture, balanced perfectly), and grilled cheese with bacon (good, but after The Cuban is a tough act to follow).
Beer selection when we went wasn't bad (it rotates constantly), but after reading some of the earlier reviews, I will say that I was expecting a little more of a variety. Not much of an alternate drink menu (yet), so expect beer. Hopefully some interesting drinks (other than beer) can make it on their menu too soon. Great to see beer pairing recommendations with their weekly specials.
Service was great, (as long as you aren't easily offended by a sometime abrupt sense of humor). Our waiter had me laughing, but his humor would go right over the head of our friend, who thought he was kind of rude. But after mentioning something to him, he quickly turned it around.
This was one of the best dining experiences I've had in a while, and easily competes with fine-dining restaurants in the area (as far as execution of their food). If you live in Ventura / Oxnard and are looking for something new/good you owe it to yourself to check it out ASAP.
The Kitchen has garnered a bit of a buzz thanks to a nice piece in the Star a few weeks ago, and a place in the Oxnard Restaurant Week.
My wife was participating in a Gift Boutique at the Kitchen, so I came to offer moral support, from the well appointed bar. 2 Fat Tire Ales ( at a $3 happy hour price) and a Cuban sandwich later my support was assured.
The Cuban was a very nice sammy. A large French Roll, with Asiago cheese, pulled pork, Ham, garlic Aoli, and a few strategically place dill pickles. I loved this sandwich! We had some fried zucchini,. it was apparent that the zucchini was fresh, breaded on site, Â and not frozen and popped in the fryer.
This was some very decent pub food. Â The staff was a little green, but the prices were decent. Â I would add some live music, or at least turn the music they had up, loud, this is a pub after all and there should be a substantial din present, other than people talking.