Cast Iron Kitchen — Restaurant in North Carolina

This place came recommended by a friend. We tried to get in for months but always saw a line on the weekend or they were closed other days.

We showed up at 1pm on a Saturday. No line, tables open inside and several tables outside with dirty plates but no one sitting. We asked inside and the host said someone would clean a table. The three staff moved around looking miserable but eventually cleaned a table. Never once speaking to us. I figured they were tired from breakfast and lunch rush.

We ordered drinks, they came in decent time. Coffee was left without any sugar or creamer- none on table and nothing dropped off. I attempted to ask server and she walked away to take another table’s order. After waiting over 5 minutes I got my own creamer and sugar from a service cart.

The food came out in a decent time. Everything was plated nicely and looked decent. We ordered the shrimp and grits, caprese salad special, pork sandwich and a a side of biscuit and gravy.

The Caprese was overall decent.

The pork sandwich was dry shredded pork- no sauce on the sandwich or on side.

The shrimp and grits had a very soupy appearance and very little grits- as in it was more like a shrimp gumbo with a small 1/4 cup of grits on bottom. There wasn’t even a grit texture after mixing it together. Overall the shrimp, ham and sausage were plentiful- the taste was just off. Heavy on the tomato base and soupy.

The biscuit was huge and fluffy with butter cut into the dough, slightly dry even when coated in the “gravy.” The menu stated sausage and chorizo gravy- it was a more of a creamy sauce with neither sausage nor chorizo present - as in zero- with a velvety rosemary cream texture that seemed too little flour and too much milk. As a born and raised southerner with two very N.C. grandmothers and great grannies- it was lacking so much from a traditional Southern gravy. It was not thickened up at all but more like a runny cream sauce and heavily herb flavored - maybe the sausage was heavily herb spiced with rosemary?

The worst part is for the price- it was no where near on par with the quality we expected. We all ended up with heartburn and upset stomach later.

I am grateful we didn’t wait 2 hours for a table for...

I give this 1 star for a few reasons. I came in at 1130 for a brunch and asked for a table of 7. The lady up front said it would be a 30 minute wait which turned into a little over an hour. Then when we were finally seated, nobody came to ask for our drinks for another 20 minutes. When they finally asked for our drinks, it took another 30 minutes before they actually got to the table. We finally ordered food when the drinks got to the table...waited for a while after that and the guy came back out and said my food order wasn't available anymore. We said we weren't happy with the service and his response was "i cant help it". He didn't apologize for taking forever to get us drinks or even for taking 20 minutes to come to our table in the first place. So then I ordered something different, and the owner came from the back kitchen area and gave us a really dirty look and waved his hands at us. After that, we were worried about them doing something to our food so we asked for the check just for our drinks. We received no apology from the server nor the owner who gave us dirty looks. After paying for the drinks, we were walking out and said that I was upset with the service and that we would not be coming back. The lady from up front then said that was uncalled for and we responded by saying we are the customers. She was extremely rude and was saying snotty comments to us. We were very patient...but when you don't even have a server talk to you for 20 minutes and then it takes another 30 just to get drinks? That is ridiculous...and all of the people who sat down after us got both their drinks and their food before we even...

My wife and I have eaten here twice. Once was a Valentine's dinner they hosted and the other time was for breakfast two days ago.

The Valentine's Day dinner was really nice, they didn't have a menu to choose from, but we had seen what they would be serving for the night beforehand, so we expected not to be able to pick from a menu. The atmosphere was dimly lit and romantic. And the food was excellent. Drinking water from a mason jar gives the place that extra Southern flare. We both enjoyed our meal very much and decided we had to go back to try their normal menu as we had heard it was really good.

My wife ordered the biscuits and gravy with an egg on the side. I heard how good the Dirty South Biscuit's are and how their Chicken & Waffle's are, so I decided to order both, knowing I wouldn't be able to finish them. My wife did not like her biscuits and gravy, she ended up eating fried diced potatoes that came with one of my meals. I gave her bites of my chicken and waffles and my dirty South biscuit, and she didn't seem to like either. But, I really enjoyed both. The Dirty South Biscuit was smothered in gravy, had a piece of boneless fried chicken in the middle, an egg and some bacon. All of it together was great. I thought it tasted excellent. The chicken and waffles looked okay, the waffles we're really flat, but looked like they were made fresh. But, even flat, they tasted pretty good. I like my waffles a bit fluffier and less crunchy, but that's my personal choice, like all food reviews, I guess.

I liked Cast Iron very much, but my wife did not. Maybe next time, I'll have her order the Dirty...