Restaurant Review - Woodberry Kitchen

I’ve been wanting to visit Woodberry Kitchen ever since it opened almost a year ago. The premise of the restaurant is to use local and organic ingredients in all of their dishes, many of which are seasonal. This past Saturday I finally had the chance to enjoy the food and atmosphere at Woodberry Kitchen for the first time.

My first impression when calling them to make a reservation was realizing how busy they are. Almost a full week in advance, the only openings for a dinner reservation for 2 were between 5-6 and after 8:30. When we pulled up at the front door I understood why they are so busy. I was struck by the beautiful building that houses Woodberry Kitchen. They have done an amazing job restoring this old building in Clipper Mill and reusing the original structure.

Upon entering, we were immediately escorted to our upstairs table which overlooked the main dining room. Our table was set a bit close to our neighbors and at times I found it a bit distracting. Regardless, the ambiance was really nice upstairs and much more private and quiet than the downstairs dining area. Our waitress was very knowledgeable and helpful, if a bit slow.

Now, on to the food. We started with the Smoked Eggplant Dip and Hidden Hills Aged Gouda for appetizers. Both were nice, but I don’t think I’d order the eggplant dip again. Both Lauren and I ordered our entrees off the specials menu. She had the Alaskan Salmon and I enjoyed the Kansas City Strip Steak. The entrees took a rather long time to arrive, but we weren’t looking for a quick meal, so this just gave us more time to enjoy the evening. Both entrees were prepared wonderfully and were quite delicious. The meal was accompanied by a very nice bottle of Pinot Noir that was recommended by the waitress.

My favorite restaurants always find a way to add small touches that make them stand out. For Woodberry Kitchen, this was the individual-sized french presses that they served the coffee in. This was the perfect way to end the meal.

While Woodberry Kitchen is a bit on the expensive side at $25-$35 for most entrees, it is definitely worth visiting. I had high expectations and Woodberry Kitchen lived up to them. If this place was less expensive, I would go there very often. But maybe reserving it for a nice night out keeps it a bit more special.

Have you been to Woodberry Kitchen? What was your experience like?