Homestyle Kitchn LLC — Restaurant in Charlotte

Visiting from Atlanta and saw this spot on @heywhatsthemove IG & thought we would give the food a try. We both had the whiting & shrimp small plate. The food is delicious; it was seasoned well and the greens were extremely flavorful.

Oan: The dine-in option is not a full dine in restaurant experience. You place your order, pay through your phone & then you wait for them to call you to pick up your order. And if you choose the dine-in option it’s a higher fee than the pick up option ($0.30 higher), however why is there a different fee if I still have to pick up my food from the counter? Which is why I didn’t rate the service because technically I didn’t receive any.

Also, we only received two pieces of shrimp. I’ve ordered a whiting & shrimp snack (w/o sides) from other establishments and received at least 4-6 pieces of shrimp and the cost was less. The shrimp was seasoned good but the portion was disappointing. The portion size didn’t justify the pricing. Also, $6 for a drink that would usually cost no more than $3 elsewhere is ridiculous. Plus, the “chill lounge/bar” area feels like a completely different place from the kitchen. It’s not a complementary vibe. It’s literally a place I can eat my to-go order at. If I was looking for a dining experience this would not be a place I would visit. For a to-go order, yes.

And the parking is nonexistent. You have to park in a paid parking lot, in addition, to the cost of your food. So, it’s definitely not worth the price for the portion that you receive. Let me reiterate - the food is delicious. However, the pricing needs to be adjusted for the “service” and experience, or lack thereof.

Also, there needs to be some signage or a greeter that’s near the front of the building because we weren’t sure if we were in the right place. Coming from out of town, hearing about a spot & then walking into a pretty much empty space was perplexing. The young lady sitting at the register was pretty much out of view until you walked in past the bar & sitting area. She has a pleasant demeanor & was very friendly, so I don’t want this review to take away from her.

Definitely not the experience I thought it would be. Food was great, everything else was lackluster.

In response to the business’s reply

Learn to take constructive criticism; it’s not a personal attack on you or your business. Had I read the reviews before visiting your establishment, I would have never patronized your business in the first place.

You need to invest in someone who can manage your customer service; because your responses are very defensive. Longevity must not be a long-term goal for you in your business because if you continue to be defensive, lack a true dining experience and misalign your pricing with your product/service your business will be short-lived. Your accountability & integrity is lacking and it shows every time you make a snarky reply.

Furthermore, I didn’t say anything about the quality of your food; I stated that it was overpriced to be a literal “takeout” spot (with no free parking). And let’s be honest - you’re not going out in the ocean on a fishing boat to catch this seafood. So 2pcs of shrimp, 2pcs of whiting & 1 side doesn’t equate to $20+. And a lemonade with passion fruit syrup doesn’t equal to $6. Run that play on someone who doesn’t regularly visit establishments where you actually have a top tier experience that includes high-quality & decadent ingredients.

And if you had read for comprehension, you would have understood that yes, I was aware that you were inside of another establishment. However, walking in that establishment, I shouldn’t have to guess where you are located. HAVE A SIGN NEAR THE ENTRANCE OR BY THE BAR THAT CAN BE CLEARLY SEEN & THAT INDICATES WHERE YOU ARE LOCATED WITHIN THE LOUNGE.

Instead of putting energy into trying to negate what customers are saying from their experience at your establishment, put more energy into making the necessary adjustments so the experience can not only be better but it’ll also make customers want to come...

A group of us came from out of town (shout out to Portland) And was looking for soul food per se. Google restaurants in this came up from the pictures. Everything looks good so we all agreed to go. We get there thinking it was a restaurant it’s a club. We tried to sit and eat and was told all the tables were reserved so we couldn’t sit there and eat, we got our food to go. Everyone ordered their food. I ordered last, mind you the little corner that you order your food in is hella dark I had to pull my flashlight out to even look at the menu to order my food.While I was waiting for my food, the rest of my party had their food so they were saying how good it was high fiving each other. “Oh this is good!) so I didn’t think to check my food because we waited so long. Now online it shows clear as day PASTA so that’s what I thought I ordered chicken and shrimp pasta. Get back to my Airbnb and I have chicken and shrimp. Mind you regular chicken and shrimp I don’t eat big chicken wings (my preference). These wings were freakin huge And I was all the way turned off because that’s not what I ordered or that’s not what I thought I ordered. Long story short I called the next day to get this situation rectified as because I didn’t eat the food and it was pricy! The sides I tasted because I needed to eat something. Spoke with the employee who in turn spoke with the owner. She told me that they don’t even sell pasta! Hmmmm Well ma’am, it’s a few different pictures of a pasta dinner on your website when you’re googled. Then told me there’s a sign that says check your food for their policy by the register…..NEVER seen that sign as I stated it was hella dark I had to pull out my flashlight on my phone to see the menu you think I seen a policy?!? Nevertheless, they said I couldn’t return the item or get a refund. There’s nothing they can do their hands are tied. As a paying customer, I feel like the situation was not rectified at all. I’m out of 30 something dollars I spent on BS because of misleading photos that you guys have posted online! And I told the girl that I was from out of town and that I will be giving a review about the food! If you ask me, I’ll give it two stars out of five maybe one and that was because the yams is jamming and the greens was OK! Other than that, they need to fix their policy and get a bigger sign with some white letters that are big enough for people to see that it says check your food before you go! And some may say why didn’t I and again because everyone else’s food was perfect so I figured get yours and go!...

Came here to eat after seeing many reviews mentioning that this was one of the more exceptional food spots in Charlotte. Ordered a couple of drinks from the bar and the service there was good. Was disappointed to see that there really isn’t a true restaurant/dine in experience. There seemed to be a more lounge/club atmosphere. We ordered our food from our phones and were told to seat ourselves, and that we’d receive a text when we our food was done. At that point we would need to go up to get it ourselves. Upon receiving our order which was specifically supposed to be dine in, we received our food in takeout containers in a bag. I thought this was in error until we realized this was done with everyone’s order. We also waited over an hour for our food. Overall the service experience was a bit of a disappointment. I’m unsure if the club experience is better.

In regards to food, I ordered lamb chops, mac and cheese, collards, yams, and 2 Ox tail empanadas. The oxtail empanadas were impressive, however I only received one. The other was a chicken empanada. They do emphasize that all sales are final and that food needs to be checked before hand. However this is difficult to do with empanadas without breaking both open. The chicken empanada was exceptional as well, but was disappointed with the fact I didn’t order it.

My lamb was good in my opinion, though some pieces were seasoned unevenly and a little more peppered than others. I can see how someone would be disappointed with the heat level. They were also slightly overcooked. The collards were good in my opinion and delivered a spicy kick. I also paid around $6 for these on the side and the portions left something to be desired. However unexpected diners may not be as welcoming to this. The yams were top notch. Sweet and well cooked. Mac and cheese was decent. Mainly relies on the cheeses for flavor, but was cooked well. Rice and peas that came with the yams were cooked decently. Presentation wise the food looked amazing.

Overall feel like this restaurant has good potential, but it seems like there are cut corners and areas in need of improvement when it comes to service and quality of the food in relation to price point. It seems like focus is straying away from the restaurant portion of this establishment. It just needs to be noted that this can have an effect on diners...