Open Kitchen - Charlotte

My family and I have been coming to The Open Kitchen for decades. The food and the service always succeeds. Tonight was terrific. My wife and I arrived after work. We sat in our favorite booth. The Open Kitchen has various seating arrangements in different rooms throughout. The ambience and history is what you would expect from a family run restaurant for more than sixty years. We had the Chicken Parmigiana with pasta and Mariana sauce. Also a house salad with their Italian dressing along with a glass of Chianti. Everything was excellent. Other favorites are the lasagna and various pastas. Portions were generous. Prices are reasonable. The service is friendly and attentive. If you’re looking for an authentic Italian experience, The Open Kitchen is it.

Don't let the exterior fool you this Charlotte establishment is a must try! Family owned and dripping with old world Italian charm, Open Kitchen is the red and white checked tablecloth was the Godfather filmed here restaurant you need in your life. Great for families and groups, the food is simple but the atmosphere something truly special.

I think everyone knows this spot is past it's prime. We went with family in town to celebrate someone we lost, who used to love this place. The food comes in really large portions, but just is not good. We started with the mozzarella sticks and some cheese bread, both were acceptable, but nothing to write home about. I had the chicken parm, which is nothing like any other chicken parm I've ever had. After it was delivered I realized that I had ordered it a long time ago and also thought the same thing. My mistake. It was basically grilled chicken swimming in a dish of underwhelming pasta sauce with some cheese on top. We will definitely not be back here again there are a ton of other better options in Charlotte for Italian.

Could not even get waited on! Sat for 30 minutes while 2 waitresses walked by MANY times. Finally walked out after the “manager” called us rude and wanted to do nothing to make it right. Made a reservation because I was so looking forward to eating here after not being in Charlotte for 50 years! Such a disappointment!!

We have been here before, but this time we were planning to speak with a concierge about booking a party. Our dining experience was okay when we first arrived. We were seated quickly since the restaurant was pretty empty, which is what we were looking for. We had told our server that we were happy that we got seated away from others since things are still unstable in the community. We got our food and began eating. About 5 minutes after we got our food, a host came over and began rearranging the tables directly beside us for a large party. The chairs were so close that the guy sitting in the end chair could not get in his chair without bumping our table. We ended up taking our HOT food out since they no longer cared about our comfort or needs. Even when we explained what happened to the cashier, he simply said oh, no and let if at that. There was no mention of reseating us in a different section or any solution to try to make your customer happy. We were not irate or rude to anyone, we just wanted to enjoy our meal inside of the restaurant. I know it 's all about money. Little did they know we were looking for a restaurant to host a party of 70-85 people and that this was the restaurant we wanted to reserve. We will take our business somewhere else.