2 ⭐️ I have been coming to Open Kitchen for awhile now & I have never had a bad meal. They always have good food, quick service, & friendly staff. I also love the atmosphere & the old style on the inside. BUT On my last visit I noticed not ONE but TWO roaches in the dining area when I was eating. One roach was on the booth table & I then moved to a different table & noticed another roach crawling on the wall !! I couldn’t believe it. It pretty much tainted my view on Open Kitchen. I enjoy the food but after seeing two roaches in the dining area its hard to imagine what’s “behind the scenes.” Its now hard to go back & eat here knowing its not the cleanest. Very disappointing.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
K P
Great food, can get busy at times especially weekends.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 4
Paige Petty
I typically don't leave reviews, but my experience at Open Kitchen was absolutely disappointing. My party and I waited over TWO HOURS for our food, and it got to the point where we had to ask multiple times if we were even going to receive our dinner. To make matters worse, other tables who arrived after us were served before we were — and when we asked the manager why, he claimed it was because they had reservations. We were left feeling completely disregarded and unimportant.
The manager was extremely rude and dismissive, offering no apology or explanation for the delay, and clearly not interested in addressing our concerns. I understand that things can get busy, but the complete lack of respect for customers is unacceptable.
I won't be returning, and I would highly recommend finding somewhere else to dine if you value good service and respect for your time.
There’s better family-owned Italian spots around Charlotte, so I wouldn’t recommend this place to others.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 2
Janell Williams
I hate to leave this 3 star review because this isn’t my first time eating at this restaurant, although I had a different meal. I ordered the chicken Barcelona because the way it was described on the menu I thought it would have been very flavorful. I was disappointed to find my chicken not tender but very dry and overcooked (maybe yesterdays chicken) and the noodles were also dry until I reached the bottom of the dish to find out that those noodles were just watery. The whole meal lack flavor, however I did try the chicken Alfredo the first time and it was delicious! I am willing to give this restaurant another try because the service is good and I think maybe someone dropped the ball on this meal. It’s worth another try.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 2
Service: 5
Veronica Clayton
They will give you food poisoning! Do not eat here
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Mickayla Page
They will give you food poisoning
roni c
I got food poisoning here! Never eat here
JustSay Jackie
Brought my family here for my Dad’s birthday at his request. The staff was friendly and welcoming, and the decor has its own charm. However, the food was kind of disappointing. None of us thought the food particularly nasty, but it wasn’t good. Based on the reviews, I thought I was in for some really good pasta, but everything tasted bland. The food at Italian chain restaurants have more flavor. My family had the baked ziti, ravioli, lasagne, and chicken parm. All of it bland and lackluster. My mom had a lot of leftovers, but she didn’t even want a to-go box. The rest of us opted to pack our food up and fix it up at home. I also had an aperol spritz that was very watered down. There’s better family-owned Italian spots around Charlotte, so I wouldn’t recommend this place to others.
Parking: Parking during busy times like dinner can be a challenge. They have a small parking lot with a few additional spots near some townhomes across the street. Both areas were full when we arrived, but we lucked out after a few minutes and caught someone who was leaving.
Atmosphere: 3
Service: 5
Robbin Williams
Wasn't impressed with pizza being a Italian place. The crust was burnt
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 4
Doug Caron
Food and service were excellent. One less star for an unresolved charge on my bill….
Pizza tasted like something from the frozen aisle at the grocery store. We got there an hour before closing but felt rushed.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 2
Service: 3
Mark Flynn
I have lived here many years and never been to this staple of Charlotte.
Nice atmosphere and great service. Need to try more in the future. Had pizza that was not the best but more than acceptable.
Sanitation rating 95. There was some dust on some decoration articles but as others have said, you don't eat off the decor. Still. A thick layer of dust would indicate a lack of general cleanliness even with a good sanitation score.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 4
Gary Baker
For many years, the Open Kitchen was a staple for us. Recently, prices have been climbing quite substantially, which is not surprising or unexpected in today's climate, but the increase that just occurred put things over-the-top. The lunch specials are now running at $14.75 on average, and by the time the tip is added in, for 2 people, you are looking at around $35, which is a bit more than I am willing to pay at lunch. This makes the store-bought Stouffer's Lasagna, Fresh Express salad, and garlic bread more enticing in comparison from cost standpoints, not to mention I can get multiple meals out of the Stouffer's family portion and also have enough garlic bread left over to reheat for use in another meal. In this environment, unless you have a lot of disposable income to work with, it pays to be practical, in order to smartly allocate how money is being spent, in efforts to keep more money in the pocket. I have always loving going to the Open Kitchen, but a hard and disappointing decision had to be arrived at in terms of the pricing issue, because at some point, there had to be a cut -off point. Unfortunately, that point was reached.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 4
Ashley Reid
This was $15. It was dry and needs more seasoning. It only comes with white bread which is odd you have to pay for the garlic bread which was hard and burnt so i didn’t even eat that. I drove 30 mins for pick up if i didn’t live so far i would have absolutely went back for a refund. Will not be coming back
2 ⭐️
I have been coming to Open Kitchen for awhile now & I have never had a bad meal. They always have good food, quick service, & friendly staff. I also love the atmosphere & the old style on the inside.
BUT
On my last visit I noticed not ONE but TWO roaches in the dining area when I was eating. One roach was on the booth table & I then moved to a different table & noticed another roach crawling on the wall !!
I couldn’t believe it. It pretty much tainted my view on Open Kitchen. I enjoy the food but after seeing two roaches in the dining area its hard to imagine what’s “behind the scenes.”
Its now hard to go back & eat here knowing its not the cleanest. Very disappointing.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Great food, can get busy at times especially weekends.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 4
I typically don't leave reviews, but my experience at Open Kitchen was absolutely disappointing. My party and I waited over TWO HOURS for our food, and it got to the point where we had to ask multiple times if we were even going to receive our dinner. To make matters worse, other tables who arrived after us were served before we were — and when we asked the manager why, he claimed it was because they had reservations. We were left feeling completely disregarded and unimportant.
The manager was extremely rude and dismissive, offering no apology or explanation for the delay, and clearly not interested in addressing our concerns. I understand that things can get busy, but the complete lack of respect for customers is unacceptable.
I won't be returning, and I would highly recommend finding somewhere else to dine if you value good service and respect for your time.
There’s better family-owned Italian spots around Charlotte, so I wouldn’t recommend this place to others.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 2
I hate to leave this 3 star review because this isn’t my first time eating at this restaurant, although I had a different meal. I ordered the chicken Barcelona because the way it was described on the menu I thought it would have been very flavorful. I was disappointed to find my chicken not tender but very dry and overcooked (maybe yesterdays chicken) and the noodles were also dry until I reached the bottom of the dish to find out that those noodles were just watery. The whole meal lack flavor, however I did try the chicken Alfredo the first time and it was delicious! I am willing to give this restaurant another try because the service is good and I think maybe someone dropped the ball on this meal. It’s worth another try.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 2
Service: 5
They will give you food poisoning! Do not eat here
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
They will give you food poisoning
I got food poisoning here! Never eat here
Brought my family here for my Dad’s birthday at his request. The staff was friendly and welcoming, and the decor has its own charm. However, the food was kind of disappointing. None of us thought the food particularly nasty, but it wasn’t good. Based on the reviews, I thought I was in for some really good pasta, but everything tasted bland. The food at Italian chain restaurants have more flavor. My family had the baked ziti, ravioli, lasagne, and chicken parm. All of it bland and lackluster. My mom had a lot of leftovers, but she didn’t even want a to-go box. The rest of us opted to pack our food up and fix it up at home.
I also had an aperol spritz that was very watered down.
There’s better family-owned Italian spots around Charlotte, so I wouldn’t recommend this place to others.
Parking: Parking during busy times like dinner can be a challenge. They have a small parking lot with a few additional spots near some townhomes across the street. Both areas were full when we arrived, but we lucked out after a few minutes and caught someone who was leaving.
Atmosphere: 3
Service: 5
Wasn't impressed with pizza being a Italian place. The crust was burnt
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 4
Food and service were excellent. One less star for an unresolved charge on my bill….
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Meat Sauce, Sauce
Restaurantji Recommends
Pizza tasted like something from the frozen aisle at the grocery store. We got there an hour before closing but felt rushed.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 2
Service: 3
I have lived here many years and never been to this staple of Charlotte.
Nice atmosphere and great service. Need to try more in the future. Had pizza that was not the best but more than acceptable.
Sanitation rating 95.
There was some dust on some decoration articles but as others have said, you don't eat off the decor. Still. A thick layer of dust would indicate a lack of general cleanliness even with a good sanitation score.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 4
For many years, the Open Kitchen was a staple for us. Recently, prices have been climbing quite substantially, which is not surprising or unexpected in today's climate, but the increase that just occurred put things over-the-top. The lunch specials are now running at $14.75 on average, and by the time the tip is added in, for 2 people, you are looking at around $35, which is a bit more than I am willing to pay at lunch. This makes the store-bought Stouffer's Lasagna, Fresh Express salad, and garlic bread more enticing in comparison from cost standpoints, not to mention I can get multiple meals out of the Stouffer's family portion and also have enough garlic bread left over to reheat for use in another meal. In this environment, unless you have a lot of disposable income to work with, it pays to be practical, in order to smartly allocate how money is being spent, in efforts to keep more money in the pocket. I have always loving going to the Open Kitchen, but a hard and disappointing decision had to be arrived at in terms of the pricing issue, because at some point, there had to be a cut -off point. Unfortunately, that point was reached.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 4
This was $15. It was dry and needs more seasoning. It only comes with white bread which is odd you have to pay for the garlic bread which was hard and burnt so i didn’t even eat that. I drove 30 mins for pick up if i didn’t live so far i would have absolutely went back for a refund. Will not be coming back
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 1
Service: 5
Always great service and food.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Crabmeat Parmigiana
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