The Kitchen

The Good:
It’s a place to get breakfast food?
The Bad:
Oddly expensive for minimal service, no atmosphere and underwhelming food with exactly zero semi-​healthy options. The potatoes apparently have bacon in them, vegetarians beware.
The Food:
Underwhelming…undercooked Bisquick pancakes on the same small plate as my tiny peices of potatoes — which, unbeknownst to me – mysteriously had tiny hard crunchy burnt bits of bacon in them… and I had thought I ordered a vegetation breakfast.
Cheap coffee and overall ingredients, no creativity or pride in food. Way too old-​school.
The Service:
Only place I’ve ever been to where one person is host, server and cook. We went during January — sleepy Manitou’s off-​season, so all business (are they all locally owned? Seems like it!) are minimally staffed. The sign says they open at 8 — we walked in to a completely silent, empty dining room and had to call several times back to the kitchen to announce our presence — not very welcoming. A man finally comes out and says they’re not quite open yet — two hours after their sign says — but flips on the neon sign and tells us to sit whenever. He was super nice, it was just a bizarre experience. I felt bad asking for anything because he seemed so frazzled waiting on three people (me, my boyfriend, and only one other lady in the restaurant). So strange. He seats you, brings you coffee, cooks your food & beings the bill.
Overall:
Clearly it’s locally owned and that’s great but it feels like you’re at your drunk uncles house, not a respectable restaurant. Unfortunately however it’s one of the only places in Manitou for breakfast, that’s probably why it has such good reviews.

We visited this spot after the train ride and was pleased. The meatloaf was remarkable, the biscuits were fresh, & the elk was amazing! Rich was the best host!

This place was excellent! Stopped in for lunch and had biscuits and gravy and quiche. BEST I’ve ever had! Service was great too. Everything about this place is great!

This place deserves a zero. Owner was drunk and belligerent. Disrespectful and cursing obscene behavior around women and children. We almost fought this guy. We left before ordering anything. Never will I ever walk near this establishment again

Very good food. Feels like the owner, Rich, is feeding you at his house/​cabin. Fried chicken was incredible. Home made baked beans were great with beef, bacon and beef in them. French fries are fresh cut and delicious. We had the buttermilk pie with blueberries for desert. Be patient if they are short staffed on the day you go, the food will be worth it.

Cute atmosphere and delicious comfort food. The buttermilk pie was fantastic. The service was fun and welcoming. I’ll definitely be back.

Recently moved to Manitou and have been trying everything here to se what is what. We had heard that the Dutch Kitchen had closed down and that The Kitchen had opened in it’s spot, we went to give it a try. We never had Dutch Kitchen so I don’t know how it compares but I have to say we were way impressed with The Kitchen! Cloth napkins and tablecloths are not what you would expect for a place that I had a hard time finding ANYTHING priced over $ 10! The staff was awesome, the food was awesome, all in all, this place is AWESOME! You gotta try it. Seating is VERY limited so go early or if you have to, it’s well worth the wait!

I’ve visited at least 3 times. Food is consistent and homemade! Fried chicken is worth the wait and the greens are a must try! Combine with the sweet tea and you feel like you b are having a meal in the heart of the South!

Some of the best comfort foods, done right! I couldn’t get this kinda meal unless I was home. Greens were like I was taught to make them, the mashed potatoes could’ve come from my own recipe, and the meatloaf was probably better than my own. I wish I lived closer because I’d go by all the time.

This place was truly amazing! The food the service everything was so great! BLT Kusadilla with blue cheese sauce was to die for! Buttermilk pie was the best I have ever had! Will be back here for sure!

I read some pretty wacky reviews about the kitchen that almost deterred us from coming, so we went to see what all the fuss was about. From the start the service was amazing; friendly, down home, efficient. We ordered the breakfast quiche and biscuits and gravy off the special menu to share and let me tell you something, it was good! I mean lick the plate clean good! It was like how grandma used to cook but then again g-​ma never cooked this good! The portions were decent size and all made from scratch with fresh local ingredients, and the juice was freshly squeezed. You can tell they put a lotta love in the food and was very reasonably priced. Come enjoy comfort food like never before!

Just got done from zip lining and this place was close to eat, the look and feel reminds me of being back in the south, it has a cozy home style feel to it. The menu options are few, they do have a breakfast side and lunch side. I ordered the Meatloaf, mash potatoes and green beans with a sweet tea, the sweet tea is great just the way I like it, the meat loaf was spectacular along with the mash potatoes and beans. Overall this was a great experience and will definitely return. Only reason I gave this a four is because you don’t have much of a variety with menu items.

I’m sure the the reviewers are right about how amazing the food is, but unfortunately I will never know. We walked in and the place was half empty and the owner/​host apologized and said they were slammed and it would be a few minutes but we could take a seat if we wanted. We said no problem and sat down. The staff kind of acted like they didn’t want us there. We didn’t know if we should stay or leave but then they took our order. I ordered sweet tea and he said I didn’t want that because it was too sweet. I asked what was in the chicken salad and he said «don’t worry, you’ll like it.» Just lots of weird stuff like this. They kept refilling our drinks so we stayed, but it was very uncomfortable. Everyone else in the place seemed to be in the same boat. Very quiet, not eating, etc… The food I did see looked and smelled amazing to be fair. This was all at noon on a Friday. We only had two hours in Manitou as we were just passing through, and I feel like I wasted it sitting in this place.

Worst service ever. When we walked in we were asked if we minded waiting a few minutes because they were slammed by a big lunch rush. No problem we said and waited patiently. After 10 minutes our order was taken. The owner/​waiter told me that the fried chicken would take about 15 minutes. I said no problem we were not in a rush. He said set your watch to 12:15 it will be ready. Well after awkward interactions with the staff and an hour of sitting he came back out and told my wife they were out of pasta to go with her meal. This is at 12:45 she asked for something quick to substitute. After a few minutes she asked another server to check on our food he went into the kitchen and came back but didn’t say anything so she asked him what he found out. He said oh it will be a few minutes. That is all I could take. We decided to leave. I would not recommend this place.

Very rarely do you see a place that truly deserves 5 stars, this is one. My family and I were driving through the town looking for a nice place to get lunch and we hit the jackpot. All the food is made from scratch and the home cooked touch makes all the difference. The fried chicken was awesome and if I lived in the area this would be weekly stop.

I have fallen in love with this place! I love EVERYTHING… place settings, the owner’s relaxed attitude & definitely the meatloaf & mashed potatoes!
Get the Sweet Tea unless you’re diabetic then don’t cuz it taste like a little bit uh Texas, just the way I like it!
Will definitely be back!

I love this cozy restaurant! The service is great, and the food is everything I missed about The States: big hearty portions of classic American comfort food.
I had the egg salad sandwich and fries, and they both left me with a happy tummy and a smile on my face. I can’t wait to try the desserts. I don’t know what a buttermilk pie is, but sounds delish.

I went with 2 other people. Together we ordered the K’uiche, cucumber salad, the K’suedilla, chili & the fried chicken w/​the biscuit and pasta salad. All of it was fantastic! It was all so tasty.
I wish we could order more! Very cheap for the quality of food you get. We went on a rainy day, so it was pretty chilly inside.

My mother and I were looking for an early dinner and saw people eating inside. As i paid for parking a man leaned out of the kitchen window and asked if we were coming in. We said yes and he smiled and invited us in.
We noticed it was a lunch menu and that is when I saw the hours listed. 8am to 3pm. I looked at my watch and it was 4:30. I apologized for not noticing the hours and the man assured me were good, he was still recovering from the lunch crowd and had plenty to do.
We both ordered the meatloaf with mash potatoes and greens. The food was amazingly good. The best meatloaf I’ve ever had! The greens were fresh, seasoned perfectly and the mash potatoes with gravy had pieces of meatloaf in it.
We were offered buttermilk pie, but i was stuffed.
All food is homemade from scratch.

This place is awesome, rustic and welcoming.
The owner is a super nice guy who has made the space feel like you’re dining in his house…
The food was great, delicious, comforting and inexpensive.