Hat City Kitchen
“The po-boy sliders with chipotle mayo are my favorite, I also recommend the fried chicken.”
“Various nights of the week you can explore music from blues to blue grass, jazz to soul music.”
“On certain nights there is a cover charge of $5 or $10 depending if you catch the early or late show.”
Hat City Kitchen
Takes Reservations: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Outdoor Seating: Yes
Has TV: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Caters: Yes
PokéStop Nearby: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
8 reviews
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Starting off with 3 being generous for my experience tonight. Always start off with the positive and in doing such I will say that the location was in a nice neighborhood and parking was a breeze also the place offered a very cozy ambience dim lit filled with lots of folks with guitars just vibing out. Now for the bull !!! Friend and I sat a a high top table alongside the bar and the bartender never came over to us after about 15 mins ( there were only 3 people sitting at the actual bar ) . Eventually I got up to get us some menu ok no worries. Then another 15 mins goes bye and still the guy never comes over to take our order, I get his attention ( He did a magnificent job acting much more busy then he really was lol I mean Bravo) . He then proceeds to ask me to Yell my order over to him. Ummm ok. Despite the look of horror on my face he seemed quit comfy doing such. Smh. We both had a glass of wine (wine was good glass looked dirty as all heck but as they say the alcohol kills germs. RIGHT ?). I ordered the shrimp and grits appetizer that Inquired if there was bacon in and he said NO. Of course half way thru it I see ham strips on bottom of the dish !!! Oh boy. I only eat seafood or Vegetarian dishes oh yeah and my friend is Muslim ( yeah he had a shrimp also). Though the bartender appologized and took it off the appetizer I was soooo over the place. I heard about this place from a master yelper so I was sure this was gonna be a treat. Perhaps wrong day. Maybe if someone else is treating and I'm really really thirsty i will come back for a drink or two and listen to music. Then again maybe not. Sigh. On to the next xoxo
The uniqueness of good food is dependent on the soulfulness of the person who cooks it. The way it looks is art and eye
Fantasizing, the taste should be heavenly, or earthly. This place gets you closer to heaven.
Decent appetizers and bar food. Have not tried the dinner here.
Bar is well stocked and prices are in line with the location.
They have live music in the front room but it gets very loud and difficult to hold a conversation if you are at the bar.
I felt like I was in New Orleans. It was definitely a fun experience. The service wasn't great, probably because our waitress was also the only bartender on a crowded night. There was also live music that was ridiculously loud so I wouldn't plan a first date here, but overall I enjoyed it. The food and drinks were creative and delicious. We got the zucchini strips, mussels, shrimp Po boy sliders, catfish, Mac and cheese and garlic spinach. Everything was very good. My favorite were the mussels, Mac and cheese and catfish. It's a really cool place to try out.
Wow, Hat City Kitchen is getting promoted from one star to two.
The same group I went here with the first time decided we should go back and actually try the food. As you'll read in my first review, we never ended up getting our food the first time we went here because the service was so horrid we had to walk out.
We went back on a Saturday night and it seemed that history was repeating itself. Like my last review, I'm giving you the timetable. Again, times are as precise as possible.
8:20 – We sit down.
8:27 – We order everything (drinks and entrees). No appetizers.
8:41 – Only one of the 2 beers we order arrives. Perhaps there was a miscommunication, but when I informed the server we ordered 2 beers – not 1 – she went over to another table and took their order rather than going to the bar to get the second beer.
8:47 – Second beer arrives. 20 minutes later, we can finally toast.
9:07 – Forty minutes after we order, server tells us the food is coming out shortly.
9:22 – Still no entrees. I get up and look for the manager to let him know this is the second time I've waited close to an hour for my entrees at this place. He goes into the kitchen to see what's going on.
9:30 – Server informs us the fried chicken entrees are holding up our order. They told us this the first time too. (I'm sorry, is that our fault?) No, but the manager offers us a round of drinks, just like last time. No thanks. We just want our food.
9:35 – Entrees arrive. The manager is serving us and offers to bring us bread pudding and red velvet cupcakes for dessert. That was nice of him, but let's talk about the entrees. The rice in the jumbalaya is undercooked, and the jumbalaya is not in the least bit spicy. The fried chicken, despite being the cause of the delay, is undercooked. At least the thigh was. The breast was okay. And what a shame considering how good the batter was. Someone else in my party indicates the catfish is weak on the crust and lacks flavor.
Once we finished our entrees, the manager brought us the desserts he promised. Both were very good. I'm not sure whether the cupcakes are made there or not, but the bread pudding clearly is. Let me be clear: the gesture and the the quality of the desserts is the ONLY reason I'm promoting Hat City from one star to two. The mac and cheese was pretty damn good too.
Besides the undercooked rice and chicken, two things left me with a very bad taste in my mouth when it was time to go.
First, although the manager was apologetic, he was making up all kinds of excuses as to why the food took so long. He explained they make their fried chicken to order, but that they got behind because they were so busy and because the kitchen is too small. Again, not my problem. As the manager, it's his job to make sure the kitchen doesn't get behind.
Second, it was clear to me that our server was the ONLY server working in the dining room on a Saturday night. The dining room was packed and seats over 40 people (yes, I counted the number of chairs). It's now clear to me that an undersized kitchen, improper management, and understaffed dining room make for an overall unpleasant dining experience here.
I'm glad everyone else has been able to take their hats off to Hat City. I unfortunately, cannot do the same.
Nice casual spot in the Valley Arts District of Orange. excellent southern and Cajun food. Great oversized 10oz fresh ground grass-fed beef burgers. Very reasonably priced. Plus a great happy hour Monday through Friday from 4 to 7. Includes 3 or 4 $3 craft beers plus half price appetizers. And Britney the bartender is very attentive concerned and knowledgeable. Plus they have great live music everyday except Monday, plus the kitchen is open till midnight everyday except Sunday.
Tonight we decided to try someplace new for our anniversary. Hat City Kitchen in Orange sounded unique. It's southern soul food with a New Orleans vibe, and they offer jazz on Wednesday nights.
I'm a bit limited in this type of establishment due to my crustacean allergy but I found things I liked.
We started with drinks – a peach cosmo for me, a Raging Bitch IPA for my husband. He trying to tell me something? Drink menu features New Orleans faves like the Sidecar & the Hurricane.
We shared catfish bites for an appetizer. They're breaded in cornmeal & the remoulade dipping sauce was very good.
I ordered the same thing for my entree, but the entree is served with fried okra & a side. The okra was very spicy. My side was mac & cheese, and it was delightful. It was baked with a very nice crust and it was a large amount of food.
My husband ordered a chicken & ribs combo. I was worried because reviews of the chicken were mixed. He liked it, said it was juicy and cooked perfectly. His side was cheesy grits & I kept stealing them, they were delicious. I make them that way at home, nice & creamy with a lot of cheese. However, I tasted one of the ribs & wasn't overly impressed because the meat didn't fall off the bone. It had a strange taste, too. Not very southern bbq at all.
Music was very good, local artists. Hat City Kitchen is a non-profit that uses proceeds to revitalize the arts district in Orange. I like that idea. I know people have mentioned a cover charge but I think that's for the shows on the weekends. This was more of a local jam session.
One tip, of you are coming for dinner & the 8pm show, arrive early. We ordered at 7:40. Glad we did because a bunch of people filled the place right after. There's only 1 waitress & one bartender, both of whom were very busy. I felt service was great but she definitely could have used help once the place filled up.
Food: good, not spectacular, but the overall evening was a solid 4 stars.
First time visitors. Nice little spot. Could be a drop in hang out or a date night spot. The have a sit at bar and seating areas. Whether you sitting in front of the stage or take seating in the back. Either way you got good seats. This place features a live band every day but Monday. Check the website for who's playing and the type music that night will feature. On certain nights there is a cover charge of $5 or $10 depending if you catch the early or late show. But when there is no band they are blowing some nice old school R&B out the speakers
I ordered the Glaze pork chop with corn bread. Talking about a thick chop. It was very good and tasty. Just a bit under seasoned but good. Tried the key lime pie. That was very good. Definitely a must return place.
The live band tonight was MAARS. Pretty good music. A poet rapper with jazz like music playing in the back ground. Like a modern day Mos Def / Common type music. They were flowing well.