The Kitchen Step
“To kick off our meal, we ordered a round of polenta fries and an order of zucchini fries for the table.”
“Moroccan chicken on couscous, nice and homey, comfort food, nice cold weather dish.”
“He convinced us to get the ricotta gnocchi which was pretty heavenly.”
The Kitchen Step
Takes Reservations: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
8 reviews
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Four of us popped in for a birthday celebration dinner mid-week. We were greeted by several people (the server is different from the booze guy who's different from the plate-clearerer person) throughout our meal. Everyone was quite lovely and very friendly, so we appreciate that aspect.
We started off with the "Cheaper than Therapy" and some wine. I wasnt thrilled with either of the white wines our tables ordered by the glass (yes I tried both!) and the cocktail, while stunningly beautiful and vibrant, was a bit on the fruity side for my tastes, and of course, as the pomegranate ice cube melted, the juice left the ice block leaving looking a bit like the blood was gushing out of it. I know – I watch too much Game of Thrones.
To kick off our meal, we ordered a round of polenta fries and an order of zucchini fries for the table. The polenta was soft but firm and the dipping sauce was interesting. I preferred the zucchini fries, which were crusted in cornmeal and very crispy! They were cut like shoestring fries, so that helped them stay crisp rather than wilting like many other zucchini fry places. Even my guy, who dislikes zucchini, went back for second-handfuls of those guys.
The other woman at the table and I shared a beet salad, which was served with some "quinoa granola" – a bit sweet and very crunchy, which complemented the sweet beets and the crisp bitter lettuce it was served alongside. I was craving a bit more bite to the dish – maybe a squeeze of lemon or acid. My guy ordered the fish tacos as an appetizer – I snuck a bite and they were absolutely delicious – I'd argue that was the best dish at the table.
Entrees ordered were the salmon, a burger, the mussels frites, and the gnocchi. The gnocchi I think came in second – they were light and fluffy and the sauce didnt mask the little pillows daintiness at all. My mussels frites were decent – the mussels were all open and plump, and the sauce was declious (typical white wine garlic onion butter thyme sauce) but there was barely any of it. We heard the burger was delicious as well (I didnt get a bite of that one).
Overall – friendly attentive service, a lovely cocktail list and a decent wine list. The food was definitely comforting and approachable but still fancy enough for a perfect date spot.
With so many different places in Jersey City, the Kitchen Step is a welcome addition, but I do recommend they either expand their menu or make sure every dish brings a bit of a "wow" to the list (keep on keepin' on with those fish tacos, guys!)
This is such a fun restaurant, not only do they serve really tasty food but their service is on another level. They are all extremely friendly and courteous and will explain anything you want.
We came here for dinner over the weekend and they were completely full. They serve the most amazing garlic butter and bread. The multigrain bread was my favorite. We shared the crab crostini. It was buttery and tasty. I also had one of their cocktails, I think it was called a moment of silence and it had apple brandy and whiskey in it, super tasty.
For main course we had the olive crusted salmon and the shrimp with risotto, both the entrees were good. For dessert we tried the cobbler, which they told me was a new addition, warm and very tasty.
Can't wait to go back to this restaurant and try some of the other dishes.
I mixed this place up with The Kitchen at Grove and didn't realize that the restaurant closed permanently. I was so surprised that my GPS took me all the way to where Thirty Acres used to be, but in the end it was a pleasant surprise.
I wanted to something light that morning so I ordered a smashed avocado toast and marinated beets from the snack and the small plates section. The avocado toast though simple and easily replicated at home was a tasty snack. For some reason having someone else make it for you makes it taste so much better. Probably because no effort or clean up on your part.
The beets small plates consisted of marinated beets, quinoa, espelette yogurt, and mache. This small plate was indeed very small with not very many beets. The quinoa underneath formed some kind of granola. It was extremely crunchy and actually hurt my teeth somewhat.
My boyfriend ordered the Hangar steak & eggs which is covered in a bearnaise sauce and comes with a side of crispy smashed potatoes. This was a good choice on his part. The steak was tender and I loved the crispy potatoes.
I saw the other table order the soft-shell crab po'boy and mussels-frites. Both dishes looked huge. No alcohol is served until noon. I felt the kitchen was somewhat slow and our food took a while, but overall great brunch option in Jersey City.
A great new brunch choice. Try the tasty Bloody Mary (with not too much of a kick) and well conceived breakfast burrito – each served by a friendly bartender while seated at the bar. You'll find this to be a pleasant and chill brunch site. The blend of being relaxing while still staying on top of food and service details is always a winner.
When I read online the new restaurant taking over the Thirty Acres space was called The Kitchen Step, I did a big eye roll. Really? The name sounds pretentious and idk, just stupid. Brushing that aside I made a reservation for dinner and was glad I had reservation when I arrived because the place was packed. In terms of decor, I'm not really a fan of what they've done, to me it looks like it was decorated by a RHONJ, but even so it's not too crazy and easy to get past, except for the gold faucets in the bathroom.
So far I've bitched about the name and the decor, and yet this is a five star review. All the above aside, I go to a restaurant for the food, and here's where TKS won me over. The bread and butter starter was really good, especially the roasted garlic in the butter. For small plates we shared the fish tacos and the special of Burrata served with arugula and tomato chutney. The fish tacos were good and the Burrata was yummy but I wasn't a fan of the coriander in the tomato chutney. For drinks I had the We're Gonna Need A Bigger Boat ($14 ouch!) which is served in a tiki glass and is tequila based with shaved ice and coconut milk. This is a great choice if you are looking for something to slip throughout the night. For mains I had half of the Olive-crusted salmon (spicy honey glaze, artichoke barigoule, baby spinach $23) and half of the Pan-roasted Shrimp (parsnip & haricot vert risotto, shellfish jus $21). The salmon dish was nice and light, and our waiter even asked how we wanted it cooked which I had never been asked before when ordering fish. The Shrimp risotto dish was off the chain, lick the plate, kind of good. Almost a week later and I'm still thinking of it; I think it may have been the best risotto I have ever eaten. The dish is a large portion and fairly rich, so I would recommend sharing a second lighter entrée if you can.
Great dining experience overall and the service was pretty good, especially considering it's a new restaurant.
Been here for both brunch and dinner, and both times left extremely happy and full.
First of all, if you should be so lucky to meet Ray, the mixologist behind the bar, you are in luck. More than your generic bartender, Ray is part mad scientist, part chemist, daring to create something that isn't in your normal playbook of cocktails or drinks. He also happens to light up when you mention shots. Anyway, drinks are great. Just remember not to get too hammered to enjoy the food.
For brunch, I had and would recommend the salmon tostada. It was perfect for a light brunch… not too heavy on the palette and not too heavy on the stomach. Normally I go for a heartier meal, but this was just perfect and didn't leave me with that "I must go back to bed" feeling.
For dinner, I had the bacon wrapped pork tenderloin. Man was this good. Super soft, melt in your mouth type stuff. Also, the lobster mac and cheese appetizer was sinfully good.
Service is great. I'm so glad this is part of the neighborhood now… I hope that they're here to stay for the long haul!
Salimah and I both agreed we wanted to do brunch at The Kitchen Step. We were excited … But that excitement began to diminish upon walking in.
We let the hostess know we had a 12 pm reservation. She looked around and then let us know it would be about a 10-15 min wait. Salimah asked if we could take one of the tables in the back, her response -"that's for a group of 4." When we asked if she could just divide the table up, she was so hesitant. We didn't get the table. Instead she said a table was paying soon – so we did end up waiting. Okay…
While eating, guess what the hostess comes to do right next to us!? That's right -she's dividing up the table and sitting down two different people. What happen to "that's only for a group of 4"? Yes we were annoyed.
Service: Our server was kind. At first he was coming by so often and then mid meal he forgot things we asked him for.
Food: We split the Croissant French Toast ($12) because we wanted something on the sweeter side. The cinnamon whip cream was drenched all over and it wasn't sweet. This is considered a large plate but the size is on the smaller side and if you're having this alone, you'll probably leave hungry.
I had The Hanger Steak ($17) comes with eggs, crispy smashed potatoes, bearnaise sauce. My steak wasn't cooked to order (med) but the bearnaise sauce made up for it. This plate was solid!
I wouldn't run back to The Kitchen Step and as much as I would like to try some of their drinks, this is a perfect example of first impressions being important.
Had brunch here one day with a couple friends. Made a reservation the day before and the only one available around noon was at 11am.
I like what they've done with the space. It's a lot of green, golds, and whites, which gives it a very natural vibe.
But what I liked most was that their food was substantial and delicious. I ordered the steak and eggs and was impressed. There was a lot of food, the steak was done to a medium rare perfection, eggs were okay, nothing special for scrambled eggs, actually maybe a tad overcooked if I have to be very honest, and the smashed potatoes were on point! Highly recommend this if you want a substantial breakfast in Jersey City.
I'll def be back.