Open Kitchen Diner

In a nut shell; Great food but small selection, good prices but extremely slow service. They make their breakfast on the grill (A+) but there were only one person «Manning» that grill top.

Open Kitchen is the kind of neighborhood diner that makes Petworth what it is– a community, and a neighborhood. I’m so glad that I know where to go if I can’t bring myself to cook but still need some fried catfish, salmon cakes, collard greens and mac n cheese. The owner is friendly and great to talk to. I’ll be back.

This place is great. Recently came under new ownership and looks completely revamped. I stumbled inside a few weeks back around 1215 am on a Wednesday night. They should have been closed but the owner was more happy to make sure that I didn’t leave hungry. He seemed like a genuinely great guy and food was bomb too. I got the fried trout, greens, and mac and cheese. I’ve never had better tasting greens anywhere. I definitely want to check out their breakfast and would strongly recommend this place if you are looking for a solid, unpretentious meal.

I ordered delivery from OKD, never having eaten there before but figuring that there aren’t too many ways to mess up pancakes. I was wrong. The food not only took an hour and a half to arrive, but the pancakes were literally thrown into a box and arrived overcooked and soggy. The homefries were just a mush of potatoes and a very small portion. The bacon was crunchy and very salty, which is how I like it, but others may not. Sometimes subpar food is acceptable just for the sole fact that it’s being delivered to your house, but as this food took an hour and a half to arrive, I am not inclined to try their food again.

I had a bad experience here. We waited for 45 minutes for our food, and when it finally came the various things we ordered were greasy (Mac and cheese), uncooked (grits), and cold (bacon). It wasn’t busy, but they cooked really slowly and prioritized take out orders (two of which sat waiting even after we finally were served). The place is a dive, which we hoped would mean unpretentious and delicious food, friendly service, and/​or great prices. Unfortunately we got none, and the food made my stomach hurt for about an hour after. Not recommended.

Great food, although I’ve only ordered from the breakfast menu thus far. What I like is that you can get in and get out without too much waiting or prep time. The staff is friendly and management has undergone a rennovation. The «Open» part is all about the kitchen. You sit and eat right in front like the old school diners. You see the cook (s) preparing your food. The location is small. But large enough to house a good 20 – 26 people. The walls are adorned with posters of Jazz Giants and Actors. But it really is about the food. I love the breakfast menu. They have plenty of options to start your day. Eggs, bacon, turkey-​bacon, beef sausage, pork sausage, waffles, hash browns. Just go and see for yourself.

Under new management and revamping the menu items!
I literally went to give Petworth Citizen a shot but they were closed for lunch service. Disappointed and starving I started to wonder the streets. Well not wonder but walk two doors down to the Open Kitchen Diner.
I thought that the place was new because i spotted a few pictures leaning against the walls. I was just about to turn away when I spotted movement from the kitchen. The place was empty at lunch and I was a bit concerned. Are they just training for actual service or is it just a slow opening process?
I was greeted at the door by an engaging older guy who I thought was the owner. I grabbed a seat at the 12 – 14 seat bar and scanned the menu. Straight up Southern comfort food! Well not just Southern comfort food but random items as well. In addition to your standard fare of Chicken done three ways, baked turkey wings (more to follow), baked or fried fish (catfish) Fried pork chops or fried shrimp, pork of beef short ribs and then the not so average comfort food. Pork chitterlings, ox tails Salisbury steak! No white meat turkey? Well wings…
I ordered the pork chops with cabbage and mac & cheese. The first thing that I noticed was the line cook grabbing a small lexan of seasoned flour and gloves. Yes! I said gloves! He one stepped the pork in the flour and dropped them into the fryer… Tossed the gloves into the trashcan and returned the flour container to the shelf. Moments later the engaging older guy apologized and explained to me that it would be a few minutes longer on my meal because it was being cooked to order. I have no problem with this. While I was waiting for lunch another patron ordered fried catfish and the line cook repeated the sames steps of cleanliness. This kitchen is spotless ! Being a broiler cook back in the day, I would see stainless steel walls with film or just grease buildup on the walls. This was old equipment but it was in great shape as well as clean!
I was asked if I would like to take a look at the «Hotbar». Totally enclosed with individual covers. Side dishes? Yes. Just think of your average Sunday dinner at three different homes and add them all together. All green vegetables are cooked either without meat or with smoked turkey. My only issue with this is the lack of salt. The cabbage was sweet and toothy to the bite but void of salt. The Mac & Cheese was standard. Lots of cheese and the pasta had nice texture. It would not win a contest but it was solid!
What floored me was my simple request for gravy. I am from the south and pork chops are baked or fried and smothered in gravy and onions. The line cook asked me if i wanted my chops cook hard and I said not really but If you had some gravy to throw on top, that would be great! I don’t know if he just grabbed a bouillon cube or pan dripping but he added a slurry to it and started whisking away!
(Word of the day is Slurry
)
Pork chops, two sides and a bottled water was just under $ 12!
I would give this place 3 stars but I am adding a fourth star for the cleanliness and great customer service! Oh! I commented about my love of oxtails and the line cook asked me if I would like to try one!
OF COURSE I SAID YES!
This place is quite cool! Still need to work out some kinks but that will happen. From what I was told, it was the fourth day under new management. Not the 4 – 5 star rating that you would see from a fine dining restaurant but this is a no frills diner and i like it!

The concept is cute! Straight up. I like the open kitchen concept and I think that its location is super convenient. I really want this place to succeed because I understand its vision and if executed correctly, can definitely get itself on the map. So I will share a few constructive criticisms which hopefully will be helpful in the growth of the place.
We came here one Saturday morning which I would figure would be bustlin’. But when we got there at 10AM, the place was still in prep mode. They were still chopping onions and moving things around which was not a great first impression. It took literally 5 – 10 minutes before menus were placed in front of us and there were 3 people working behind the counter. The menu needs to be proofread, there were way too many mistakes there.
The food was not worth what we paid for. I ordered the pork ribs with macaroni and cheese which neither was appetizing. They both were already pre-​cooked and sitting in warmers, which was disappointing as I was hoping it would be fresh. The macaroni and cheese lacked flavor and actually had a weird taste to it, I couldn’t really put my finger on it – but it was not good. The meat was lukewarm and the BBQ sauce requested was a generic brand, not homemade.
My girlfriend ordered the chicken and waffles. The chicken was actually pretty good as it came straight from the fryer but they were just three mere wings which was not worth what we paid for. The waffles was not fully cooked and lacked so much flavor.
The place did not offer any water and you had to purchase your own canned/​bottled drinks.
But, the thing that needs improvement is the overall cooking presentation of the place. Being an open kitchen, everyone can see everything. My girlfriend is in culinary school and well versed in food safety, and pointed out things that really tripped me out in terms of sanitation and hygiene. I suggest the restaurant staff reviews health code regulations and food safety manuals and clean up the presentation of their food preparation. After all, by being an open kitchen, you’re not just cooking — you’re literally performing as all eyes are on you.

Breakfast is til 1 on the weekends!
Cozy new place to grab some home cooked style food. Very limited seating, very friendly stafg

Went to get dinner to go. We got the Baked Chicken wings since they were pre-​made, mac & cheese, yams, greens and potato salad. Even tried two cakes per the request of the little one (strawberry & chocolate). The baked wings were good and tender, the mac & cheese was also good, the greens were also pretty darn good (and they’re not cooked in pork). The yams were a bit overcooked for my taste but still pretty good. Overall everything tasted like it was freshly made and was not over salted like many other southern fair type of restaurants. The people were also extraordinarily nice and made me actually feel good to be spending my money there. Do I recommend sure, would I go back absolutely!

If you want soul food without pretense – served by very friendly folks – this place hits the spot.
Just to be clear: this place ain’t Founding Farmers or Georgia Brown’s and isn’t aspiring to be a «nouveau Southern Cuisine» joint. It’s a neighborhood diner with simple down-​home food cooked right.
The place is clean though a little rough around the edges. There are a few booths in the back but the action is up front, at the counter than runs from the front door down about a dozen seats to the register. Sit down, order, and watch as your meal is cooked right there in front of you.
We had the pork ribs, salisbury steak, fried whiting, and fried chicken, along with candied yams, collard greens, and macaroni and cheese. Service was friendly and fast, with our order ready in moments. Everything was good, but the whiting, chicken and ribs were the better entrees, with all of the side worth getting. The owner, a very friendly guy, gave us a sample of the peach cobbler as we entered, and though it was delicious, we were too stuffed after dinner to order dessert.
So, in short: this is basic cuisine, nothing fancy, but done as it should be. If you want a sophisticated dining experience, this isn’t that sort of place. Enter with the right expectations and you’ll find it satisfying.
(Note: The simplicity of the cuisine is the only reason for rating it four stars rather than five; to me, an excellent diner – like this place – merits 4 stars, with 5 stars reserved for the rare restaurant that is exceptional in every way.)

The people working here were all super nice. Most of the seating is a long bar that faces the «open kitchen», two grills, a few fryers etc. We were the only people in there, although a couple of folks came in for takeout. We got pancakes with bacon and a scrambled egg platter with home fries and turkey bacon. The bacon and potatoes had been precooked and were served cold from large containers over the grill. The eggs and turkey bacon were cooked on the grill, but were still very raw. The pancakes were definitely the best thing we got, they were fluffy and very sweet. The cook said he usually does dinner, so I think he’s still figuring out the breakfast thing.
With more food cooked fresh to order and more people, this could be a great diner.

This new diner consists of a long bar with stools, a few booths in the back, a big gas stove, grill, and fry station, and really really nice people who want to make a neighborhood diner work well for the community. Had breakfast here this morning, and my «steak & egg sandwich» was literally an entire steak cooked up, cut up, and nestled between scrambled eggs on two pieces of toast. Could the toast been heftier to hold all that meat? Sure it could’ve been. But whatever — it was a huge steak! My partner had pancakes and eggs… make that three BIG pancakes and some nicely scrambled eggs. I stole the bacon that comes with that meal, because she’s vegetarian and I love bacon, so it all worked out.
I was watching the lunch food preparations, and I kind of wanted to stay for lunch because the mac-​n-​cheese, collards, and other lunch sides looked really good. But I just had that huge steak sandwich, so that wasn’t a good idea.
Does the diner lack polish? Of course. But it’s a diner. I expect idiosyncrasies. Doesn’t bother me in the least. I gave them $ 20, they gave me good food, with a smile and a concern that I was well fed, which I was, and I’m good. They’re good. Give them a chance!