June Good Dinner: Private Kitchen

From the President:

I was excited to try Private Kitchen.  It had received excellent reviews from various food writers around town.  When we called to make the reservation we learned that food was purchased and prepared fresh every day which I figured our group would really appreciate.

Private Kitchen is located in a strip mall.  Parking was easy and the exterior was fairly nondescript.  The decor inside is nicely done but nothing elaborate.  It is much nicer than the exterior would indicate.

Diners gave Private Kitchen 3 1/2 stars for a fairly nice atmosphere.

Because we had to order in advance things were a little difficult making arrangements for our entire group.  We ended up getting two entrees and one vegetable.  Dinner is served family style.  This is something I do not prefer but I know some feel it makes a dinner at a unique restaurant like Private Kitchen easier to enjoy.  We were a large group split between two tables so I imagine service was difficult as Private Kitchen is run entirely by the husband and wife team per the previous reviews we read.  Some diners felt there was a staffing issue that impacted our service.

Diners gave Private Kitchen 3 stars for fair service.

I thought the food was absolutely excellent.  I basically chose the menu so it is of course no surprise that I was really happy with what was served.  Everything had great flavor.  We had drunken chicken, a shrimp dish and a stir fry broccoli dish.  Diners complained that the drunken chicken was too cold but everyone raved about how perfect the rice was.  In general, the restaurant was lauded in the reviews for having really authentic food.  I think that it was a little too authentic for most of our group's taste.  Diners complained that the shrimp was not deveined and did not find the presentation replete with head and legs very appetizing.  Diners really enjoyed the chinese broccoli.

Diners gave Private Kitchen almost 3 stars for having fair food.

While the average numbers of our diners rated Private Kitchen with less stars than I agree with, it is important to note that among the 10 diners who reviewed the restaurant they seemed to either love it or hate it.  I think the more adventurous diners will not want to miss out on such delicious food but if you prefer your shrimp shelled and beheaded then this is probably not your spot.  I also think that not being able to order what each diner would have preferred if they could have ordered individually polarized the diners' opinions.

Overall diners gave Private Kitchen almost 3 stars for being a fair restaurant.