Midlothian Chef's Kitchen — Restaurant in Midlothian

My mom and I visited this restaurant yesterday evening as part of a promotional event for Chesterfield Restaurant Week and suffice to say, we will definitely be returning! Firstly, the atmosphere here is a perfect combination of home-y rustic meets elegant chic. I, for one, was quite delighted to have a slate rock to lay my silverware on instead of just a napkin or the tablecloth itself. The staff is friendly and accommodating - we arrived without reservations and they were quick to find us a table. Our waitress was so lovely. She even gave us extra bread for the honey butter spread because oh my god, that stuff is crack-level addictive!

On to the drinks! Our food was pre-selected as part of the event, but we did order our drinks separately. My cocktail was an interesting spin on a citrus vodka sparkler and the mason jar presentation was a fun touch. Needless to say, I finished it before the first course even came out, it was THAT good. Just the right amount of Absolut Citron so that it wasn’t too overpowering. My mom’s was a little stronger for those who prefer a heartier cocktail, but it’s worth noting they also have a wide selection of beer and wines as well.

Our first course was a curry and cauliflower soup with pickled mussels, sprouts and fresh tomatoes. The soup itself was a little dense, more like a bisque, but extremely flavorful and had just the right amount of curry spice. I have to say, I’ve never had pickled mussels before, but their meatiness and brine-y taste added a just bit of extra umami that tied it all together. Definitely a unique dish!

The main entree was a smoked chicken breast with ricotta gnocchi, roasted asparagus and chicken jus. I’m very persnickety on my gnocchi simply because it’s one of my most favorite foods, and while the texture definitely retained more of a cheese-y pull than I would’ve expected, it paired SOO well with the chicken. Which was, in my humble opinion, probably the softest and most fork-tender chicken I’ve ever had in my entire life. Simply delicious!

Now, for dessert, we received a slice of strawberry basil cake with a scoop of lemon mascarpone ice cream on the side. I’m not a big cake lover in general because a lot of the flavor really comes from a frosting or glaze, which is the exact part I don’t like and tend to scrape off. This cake, however, held its own without any pairings at all. The basil gave it such an earthy flavor and it was very moist as well. I finished the whole thing! A practical first in the cake world, for me.

Overall, Midlothian Chef’s Kitchen is such a great little gem and I’m glad to have discovered it because it’s definitely worth trying. I’d highly recommend it to anyone looking to expand their culinary palette without breaking...

Three words to sum it up.. NO, NO, NO!

Our server was nice enough. We were seated promptly and attended to in an appropriate amount of time. She informed us they were out of a few things.. one of which was one of the featured entrees. I know they change their menu frequently, but we came in at like 6:30pm; not 8pm. No reason to run out of something that early in the night.

Regardless, we ordered and food was okay. Nothing that knocked our socks off or was particularly memorable. Portions were appropriate size for a fine dining restaurant, but the quality and creativeness wasn't. A complete fail on the food.

Here's the worst part. I was given the check and completed the closing of my bill, including tipping. I didn't really review the check, though I did think it was a bit high. A few days later as I'm reviewing my credit card activity, I see the charge on my account did not match what I had completed at the restaurant. Then, as I took a closer look at my receipt (I did still have it, as this was a business dinner) I see that they added a tip. Now, not only did the server not tell us tip was added (nor was it written on the menu or anywhere else), but AGAIN the total I wrote didn't match what they charged me. It was $20 higher.

I called the restaurant and the girl I spoke with said she was the manager. She didn't listen and tried to answer before fully understanding the issue. When she finally let me finish she looked up my check number and saw that the tip was automatically added but saying the server must have mis-keyed the amount. As I'm looking at this I see where it was entered that we were a part of 183 people; not just 2. The system automatically added tip for a party that size, but nothing that said it's not possible to have a party that size in a venue that holds maybe half of that. Still no explanation, or apology, for over-charging me. They begrudgingly reversed the over-charge, but this is egregious and I don't see how both of these happened without them realizing. I feel (just my opinion) that restaurants see business meals as opportunistic, since people don't scrutinize as closely when it's not their money. I guess they didn't realize that I (and others) treat the company dollars like my own.

Bottom line, poor food and less-than-ethical practices. I'll...

My wife and I booked a table with friends for opening night last night and expectations were very high. We love to eat and to do that well we often have to traverse to the city rather than stay in our local midlothian area.

Midlothian Chefs Kitchen is nestled in an unassuming strip mall with a mixture of local businesses and massive chains so it may be easy to overlook as unremarkable. That would be a mistake.

Chef Dunlap has put together exactly what the midlothian area needed, an option for those looking to enjoy something new without forcing their diners to take massive risk with something completely foreign to them.

My wife enjoyed the Salmon, which, while well seasoned in its own right, was comfortably complimented with apple slaw and rosemary horseradish garnishings that brought it to life.

I partook of the duck breast and thoroughly enjoyed it, accompanied by an apricot chutneyesque and almonds that made for a good balance of the rich smokiness of duck breast along side smooth almond and tangy apricot.

For a side the duck breast had a ginger polenta that I will be trying to replicate at home.

Our friends had the beef tenderloin and the pasta which both looked incredible and received rave reviews from them.

Bar drinks were solid, we enjoyed manhattans and old fashioned which met expectations even with a somewhat limited opening night bar. I look forward to coming back again and seeing how the offerings here develop.

As for appetizers and after dinner options we sampled both. The oxtail egg roll was remarkable and the crispy egg roll was a fantastic counterpoint to the melt in your mouth oxtail. We also tried the pork and shrimp dumplings which were also fantastic. Deserts were very good, a chocolate mousse and an almond cake with a sort of creme fraiche. I’d recommend trying both at some point as you dine there.

There were some small “opening night” hiccups with no bar menus printed and a request for a bit of extra time on the duck breast (possibly just my preference than anything else), but nothing that would discourage my enthusiasm for a second evening.

Midlothian and south side in general has many fine eateries, but midlothian chefs kitchen is offering up something unique and sorely needed. Keep up...