Kinfolk Southern Inspired Kitchen — Restaurant in Washington

Stopped by this restaurant for the first time on 3-11-2025, after my husband's doctor's appointment. We had heard about this place from Instagram and decided to try it out.

Let me start by saying, EXPENSIVE, EXPENSIVE, EXPENSIVE!!! I probably should have done more research on the prices, but it was a spontaneous stop and we were hungry, so lesson learned.

The Facts: -Don't let the name fool you, they are not Black owned. -Depending on what day you come, you will probably have to make a reservation. -There is no street parking, only paid. -No particular dress code, but based on the atmosphere, I would recommend business casual. -They don't have gender specific restrooms. There is a unisex corridor with approximately 3 generously sized restrooms, and a a 4th spot with just a urinal. For those who may be a bit leery about this, only the corridor space is shared. Each stall is equipped with it's own sink, dryer, changing station and door lock. _Did I mention that they were EXPENSIVE?

My honest review:

Seeing that this was an unplanned mid-week, early dinner stop, we were pleasantly surprised that we didn't have to make a reservation. (I called before we visited) We arrived around 5:20PM, and were promptly seated. They have an outdoor space that is semi-enclosed, but we opted to stay inside near the window. With the exception of maybe 3 other groups, no more than 4 people each, the place was pretty empty. We were immediately greeted by 2 gentleman, Romero, our server, and another man that appeared to be in training. He asked if this was our first time, we affirmed, to which he proceeded to tell us some of the best sellers and what he would highly recommend. He suggested a few number of items, however due to dietary limitations we ended up with foods that were relatively familiar and low risk.

For starters, we asked for an order of the cheddar biscuits (2), dry-rubbed wingettes (6), and hush puppies (6). For the main entrees: I had the Salmon w/mashed potatoes and roasted broccoli, and my husband had the half-pound brisket (approx. 5 thinly sliced pieces), which came with pickles, raw onions, personal size containers of BBQ sauce and mustard, and a separate side of mac and cheese. Based on the hype, we were expecting authentic southern seasoned and tasting cuisine, but the food was just blah. It wasn't terrible, but it lacked flavor. The portion sizes were very, very small. What we paid, could have fed 5 people at Silver Diner, (one of our favorite dine-ins), but instead we were presented with what appeared to be two kid's meal. To add insult to injury, they sneak an additional 4% surcharge, above and beyond tips, to "try to keep the prices low". If these were low prices, I'd hate to see what they'd consider extravagant. My husband challenged this surcharge, as it was not mentioned before ordering, nor did we see anything conspicuously posted. However, after bringing back the menus, it was pointed out that it was written at the bottom, albeit in a microscopic print. So beware!!! Honestly, the best thing about this event was the cheddar biscuits and the service. I'm still not convinced that they were worth $4 each, but they were delicious.

On a good note the restaurant was: Clean (including the restrooms); thoughtfully and minimalist decor; the music was not too loud; and the service was excellent.

Consequently, we will probably not be returning, because we (hard-working Middle-Class family) don't have that kind of money to pay this for one meal, frequently,, but we will say it was a decent experience.

BTW: We caught a little break on the parking, due to a Monday-Wednesday special, that charges $10 for...

Kinfolk was a fail. My family and I decided to give Kindred a try assuming we were going to a family friendly restaurant with authentically cultured Southern food. Had we had time to do our research, we would’ve seen the warnings of misrepresentation, poor service and lackluster food.

BOOSTER SEAT FAIL: We arrived before the pre-dinner rush so we were seated promptly. The hostess asked if we needed booster seats. We said, “Yes.” No booster seats were brought to the table. We then ask our waitress to bring the booster seats. She brings them but the second one she brought over was broken and unable to properly or safely strap to the chair. I assumed this broken booster was our only option because she didn’t offer another one. If so, a safety hazard like that is unacceptable, especially when it comes to children. Please get rid of any and all broken booster seats or high chairs in your restaurant.

FOOD FAIL: We started with the Cheddar Cheese Biscuits and the Jumbo Crispy Shrimp. The biscuits were cheesy but bland. Red Lobster’s Cheddar Bay Biscuits have them beat. The shrimp were a good size & tasty but the limited quantity was hidden by the crispy battered shishito peppers that were in the same basket.

Our kids had the Chicken Tenders & Fries. Both the chicken & the fries had an unbelievable amount of visible salt on them. I had to send both baskets back. It felt like they were trying to kill my kids with salt or they just don’t care about the amount of sodium children digest even though the batter on the chicken is already salted. I wish I had taken more pictures of the sodium packed kids meals.

The adults ordered the Burnt Ends, Smoked Chicken Tandori, Dirty Rice, Charred Broccoli, Macaroni & Cheese, & the Steak Frites. BBQ sauce was needed to cover the blandness of the Burnt Ends & the Smoked Chicken Tandori. The Dirty Rice & the Charred Broccoli were good. The Mac & Cheese was flavorful but the texture lacked substance. Even though the Steak Frites wasn’t cooked to our ordered temperature, it was the best thing we ordered.

DRINK ORDER FAIL: When our drink order was taken, my two 10 & Under kids and my oldest child ask for lemonade. According to the 10 & Under Menu, drinks are included with the kids meals. When we got the check, I see we were charged for 3 lemonades. Thinking that our waitress charged for lemonade refills, I let the waitress know that we didn’t get 3 lemonades and if she was going to charge for refills, she should have communicated that with us. Our waitress then takes the check & removes 1 of the 3 lemonades. When I ask her about the remaining lemonade on the check, she then explains that she initially charged for 3 lemonades because lemonade is excluded from the free drinks that come with the 10 & Under Kids menu. At no point, did our waitress let us know that she’d charge us for adult size lemonades that came out in kids cups. At no point did she notify us that lemonade was excluded from the free option or even offer another option that was included or deemed free for kids. Furthermore, she never even asked if I wanted another Blossom Ballet cocktail or another drink once my glass was empty & removed from the table. There was a huge lack of attentiveness throughout our entire dinning experience.

I will say that the restaurant is beautiful & has a nice ambiance fitting for DC’s Wharf restaurant scene but based on this experience, I won’t be back & I do not...

Whew lord I got a lot to say about this restaurant. Me and my dad decided to come here 2 weeks ago and needless to say we were disappointed. If you are black, bonus points if you are from the south, keep walking. Don’t make the same mistake we made in eating here. We were initially going to eat somewhere else, however we saw this place and were eager to try it. The name “kinfolk” definitely caught our attention and we came under the assumption that maybe it was a black-owned establishment and we were going to have AUTHENTIC southern cuisine (we come from Texas). 1) they do not have regular sweet tea; they have an old-fashioned flavored sweet tea. Granted, it’s not the worst issue, however c’mon!! 2) the gumbo was horrid. It was an attempt at Creole-style gumbo, but it’s like they tried to make something so simple so complex. 3)I ordered the brisket and my dad ordered the catfish. The brisket was okay. I requested the moist cut of the brisket ( I think my waiter was confused too) but I got a lean cut. My sides were corn and potato salad. The corn was actually very delicious. The potato salad on the other hand… I was repulsed. I gagged because it tasted like straight mayonnaise and potatoes with no salt or anything whatsoever. For my dad’s catfish, we both did not enjoy it. Fried catfish is normally served as a thin cut filet (also it is very flaky to where you able to go through with a fork)and most of the time, it is fried with a cornmeal batter. This was a very thick cut catfish which was panko-crusted with no seasoning whatsoever, which is just a southern-style catfish. It also felt like a tuna steak having to cut through the thick filet of catfish and it not being flaky to the touch. 4) The fries were listed as an appetizer and under the description, all it said was that it was served with ketchup. My dad ordered fries to go along with his catfish and that was also a disappointment. The menu failed to inform us that these were not normal French fries, but in fact pickled flavored fries with dill! They had bits of sourness alongside the very pronounced dill that was not very pleasing to us in our opinion. We’re not mad in the fact that it was pickle flavor, we were just taken aback that they tasted like such when we weren’t expecting it since it wasn’t mentioned in the menu. The good thing about it though is that we told our waiter the fries tasted a little funky and informed us that they were in fact pickle flavored fries. He was able to change it out for normal fries. 5) Lastly, the prices and portion sizes as ridiculous is my opinion. Initially, i was going to get the fried chicken, however i soon found out it was nearly $40! Fried chicken is never that much and normally ranges around $15-20. That’s way overpriced. The RIBEYE steak frites costs LESS than the fried chicken! I also ordered the fried green tomatoes. They were not bad, however for $16, I got 2 slices of thin tomatoes cut in half. C’mon y’all! (Heads up, they charge for water too). The service was not bad, I would just say the food was a big miss. I see the vision in trying to make southern cooking “fine dining” and gastronomically appealing, but y’all excelled more in the looks aspects of the food way more than the actual taste. Southern cooking is very simplistic, yet delicious . Instead, y’all twisted it to something too complex and unappetizing. As a southerner who loves and values southern food, I was more offended by the food more than I...