Liberty Street Kitchen — Restaurant in Pella

It's hard to find much to hate about Liberty Street Kitchen. What has quickly become a Pella staple for upscale dining offers one of the most consistent and enjoyable dining experiences around. Let's explore why.

I use the term 'upscale' loosely. Despite coming off as a fine dining establishment, Liberty Street's environment is relaxed and unassuming — while rocking a modern yet comfortable aesthetic. A good amount of natural light peaks through during the lunch service, and the option to enjoy your meal on the patio is a nice touch.

The food at Liberty Street Kitchen is great. You can tell that it's prepared fresh daily by a kitchen staff that is highly trained and demands consistency. The Corn Chowder, Chicken Ramen Stir Fry, and the Atlantic Salmon are all exceptional. The only item I've ever had that disappointed me was the Blackened Fish Tacos. They weren't bad — they just didn't live up to the normal standard I've set for LSK.

I've only have had a couple cocktails at Liberty Street, but it's clear from my limited experience that the bar staff are keen and knowledgeable. I ordered a drink off-menu and the bartender didn't have to think twice. In 60 seconds I had a textbook Negroni in hand. Nice work.

But what's amazing to me isn't just the quality food and excellent service. An establishment of this caliber could get away with inflated prices, but Liberty Street keeps things surprisingly reasonable. Get this — you can order their Liberty Burger (two 4oz patties topped with cheese curds, bacon, a fried egg, and a side of your choice) for $16. A similar burger at Butcher's Brewhuis would run you $20 (and that's before the $3 surcharge if you want a side substitution).

At the end of the day, Liberty Street Kitchen might be the best contemporary cuisine in the county. Big props to management and the...

When we walk in, it was very nice and clean a little bit loud. My husband requested a quieter spot because he has a hard time hearing and that was not accommodated because they don’t have anything. We had reservations was seated promptly. It took 15 to 20 minutes for anyone to acknowledge us and then another 5 to 10 to even get our drinks ordered. We had 4 waters 1 lemonade and 2 cocktails. I highly recommend asking them to wash their glasses before they give you your drink because the sanitizer is not washed off and that’s what your drink will taste like it’s disgusting. Our appetizer and bread that came with no butter arrived before we got our drinks. The pasta was cool not hot. Not even really warm. The soup was barely warm. The wedge salad had several brown leaves. The ribeye was flavorless and very tough, the risotto that came with it was decent. The fillet had to been a chuck roast. It was over cooked, very dry & stringy, the sweet potato mash that came with it was OnPoint. We had like to have ordered a dessert but it was 20 minutes after we were finished with our meal that a waitress even asked if we wanted dessert at this point we wanted our check so we could leave. I am a huge foodie. I love great atmosphere’s and great food, but this was very disappointing. We also raise Angus beef and specialty beef, this beef was very poor. I suggest save your money and find...

Ate there when in town for a cross country meet. Seemed to be a nice place. Interesting menu, a bit pricey for lunch but cloth napkins, nice atmosphere so reasonable.

They were clearly understaffed. Took 15 minutes to get our drinks. (All soft drinks) 30+ to get the food after that. So 45 minutes after sitting down we were served.

The food was lukewarm. Only the fries were hot. Clearly had been sitting a while. My pork tenderloin was overcooked. The beef fat fries tasted little different than the regular fries.

Waitress didn't check on us until we were more than half done with the meal.

Took some time to get our check ad well. 1 hour and 15 minutes for lunch for 3 is much too long when most of it was spent waiting.

I am a little confused how a college town restaurant doesn't have enough staff?

I waited tables myself for years. I had bad days when I was triple sat and there was no way to give good service. You apologize and acknowledge the situation.

If the service was faster and the food hot, might have been good. I've had worse food but this was not worth the 60 dollars it cost for 3. (Pre-gratuity)

I still tipped a reasonable amount. People live on those.

Hire more staff or limit to 12 tables when you only have 2...