Kitchen in the Desert in Twentynine Palms

Review №1

2023-12-08 18:08:22

Lets me start with the wait time. The lady taking care of the seating asked us there is a 30 minute wait. We said we will wait and went to finish up some work and got back exactly before 30 min. Clearly she forgot about us and had to check again whether there were any available. we again had 15 min wait and guess what when we went inside there was seating available. Not sure why we had to wait 45 min. then the food. i personally felt the food is extremely expensive for the quantity they are giving. One dish will not enough for you and every dish is average of $15. Coming to the taste, a big thumps down to the taste. i would give 4/10 for the taste. i personally would not recommend this place but the ambience is good.

Review №2

2023-11-28 01:57:05

We had both dinner here and then came for breakfast the next morning. Let’s start with dinner. It was a three day weekend and they were super busy. I highly recommend a reservation. We did a walk in for two at 17:00 and I believe we may have been the only walk in they took that night. To give the staff credit, they advised us that they were short staffed and service would take time. 95% of the seating is outdoors on a super cool desert motif sand and relic decor. We were the only guests in the bar, not at the counter. As the bar tender was responsible for our service he got really slammed as the evening went on but we knew in advance and just enjoyed the evening at a very relaxed pace. Our food was creative in design. Flawlessly executed and served with a pleasure. Again we did observe clients who were grumpy about not getting served faster so my suggestion is go here when time is part of the experience. We had lamb salad dates and more and the dinner was great. Mock tails were super tasty.Breakfast. The local bakery is reputed to be good but does not have seating. So it was a fast food or back to the cafe. They open early and why not. The chef is prepping so feed a tourist? Why not. We Were the only customers when they first opened. Kind of fun to pick any table. We got a breakfast sandwich and rice breakfast bowl. Both of these dishes broke from the classic breakfast fare. Contrasts in texture, flavor and color. The breakfast sandwich had two contrasting sauces to run through. Bright yellow pepper sauce. Bright green avocado sauce. Just smashing. My coconut rice bowl transported me to Asia but grounded in protein carbohydrates and vegetables in the most delicious blend. This simple breakfast, by not being the Same old same old is now elevated to the best breakfast I’ve had for creative freshness or dare I say bold. If you want eggs and bacon go to Denny. If you want to pop your eyes open with a truly out of the ordinary, then have breakfast here. If they are too busy to take you for dinner do not fret, spend the night and wake up here. Oh don’t forget it’s the dessert and this is outside seating so dress warm for eating here. They do have heaters and blankets but dress for dessert dinning. The bathroom was clean and cool decor

Review №3

2023-11-14 19:03:35

This place has a vibe 👌. We celebrated my wife’s birthday dinner here and couldn’t be happier!Food - Phenomenal! Chef’s curation and flavour profile of the dishes were well-thought out and executed. We had the Lamb pops, Veggie Bowl, and Plantains. Wish they didn’t run out of Jerk Chicken as that sounded so delicious… good reason to come back!Service - Doug! You were amazing. Knowledgeable on the food. Attentive service. Not pushy, and very accommodating. And generally just cool.Atmosphere - This place has such a vibe! And hearing it’s “origins” story from Doug made it even cooler! Former motel, arts common, converted into this culinary experience in the desert.Only thing we wished for was options for gluten free dessert. Having something sweet to cap off the night would’ve made a perfect evening even more perfect!Prices are on point.

Review №4

2023-09-19 05:55:26

My mom and I had the crispy onion smash burger. It was pretty good! Good flavor, fresh ingredients, yummy cheese, and fabulous flavor. My dad had the Shrimp Prawns, which although were yummy, were extremely spicy. The mushroom appetizers were also good and had a nice zesty flavor to them.The food items here are very fresh and yummy, but egregiously expensive. For the small appetizer bowl of mushrooms, its $15. Both of our burgers were $17~ each and the prawns were another $15~. This, in addition to 2 drinks, meant our bill was over $100. These are LA prices and pretty pricey for a small restaurant in the middle of the desert.Additionally, our wait time was 20 minutes, but it actually took 30 minutes to seat us and another 15 to even get us water. We were very annoyed, hungry, and thirsty. Although very friendly, the staff were extremely slow and repeatedly missed things we asked (ex, more water, to-go container, more napkins). The inside was very loud with booming music, but the outside seating area was very nice at least.Overall, a fun time. But not worth the price and not impressed by the service. The food is very good though, and Id recommend this place for a date night or special occasion.

Review №5

2023-10-16 16:05:39

Holy cow! The Smash burger. I can say that is the best burger I’ve ever had. Period. Beef was perfectly cooked and seasoned and hit my taste buds everywhere a burger is suppose to hit. Beet and stone salad has all the flavors to accompany those beefy bites from your smash burger. Went on a visit to Joshua Tree and made sure we made a reservation for this place near sunset time. Sat outside with perfect weather and great ambiance

Review №6

2023-09-15 20:47:06

We love eating where there is a passion for hospitality and kitchen in the desert did not disappoint! shoutout to our server doug for sharing this passion- it really made the experience so special to have someone represent the restaurant with such genuine love for what they do and what they get to serve their guests!dining from the summer menu, we started off with the beet salad and bacon wrapped dates! these dates were the biggest delight as the fats from the bacon and goats cheese melted in your mouth creating an aura of chocolate and espresso from the date! two dishes that are by no means revolutionary but most definitely served in excellence here at kitchen in the desert.moving on we tried the fried plantains (a first for me!) which paired perfectly with the delightfully spicy pepper shrimp. the sweetness of the plantain made the perfect palette cooler next to firey and flavourful seafood.lastly, all of the desserts at kitchen in the desert are sourced from a local baker! we ordered the in season strawberry rhubarb pie which most certainly had to be one of the best-most balanced pies i’ve ever encountered.we cannot wait to make another stop here next time we’re in the desert!

Review №7

2023-07-26 05:10:16

Stayed here while in Joshua tree. Loved it. Came through with the dj who was on point spinning vinyls. Food was good and drinks were better. Atmosphere was amazing. I highly suggest going if youre in the area. Super chill vibes. Exactly what we needed.

Review №8

2023-06-19 17:47:16

Ive been wanting to go here for a while now. And, I usually dont give bad reviews but it was hard not to and still be honest with you all.So, the menu was extremely limited but the food was okay; although getting our food took a VERY long time considering everything, and it was overpriced. We made reservations for 645pm, arrived at 630pm, there were many tables open, but we we were seated at our table close to 7pm. Why take reservations if your staff doesnt know what to do with them Kitchen In The Desert? While other tables had plates and silverware neatly set up for other customers our table for 4 had simply silverware wrapped in napkins dropped randomly on the table.The hostess, seating us outside in the sun (which was okay and expected), offered to put up the umbrella for much-needed shade but then walked away to help other soon-to-be customers. It wasnt until when the party seated about 15 minutes after us at the next table asked for the umbrella did a different employee open the umbrella for us all.With the room temperature water in a carafe, getting our drinks about 20 minutes after being seated, and watching customers who arrived after us to get their food waaay before us we should have known. Trying to be understanding we ordered desert; a piece of pie and two orders of fried oreos...Big mistake! The other table got their pie ordered at the same time and we waited almost 30 minutes. Our server acknowledged our wait and gave us a small discount which was kind... but simply did not make up for the length of the wait before or after...The icing on the cake you ask? Another customer was sat at the table next to us who had a dog (no biggie, Im a dog LOVER and we have 4 of our own). While this customer waited to be seated that dog showed unwarranted aggression (lunging viciously) toward other customers, however they sat this customer and their dog right next to other people. While my 9 year old son was returning from using the bathroom with my husband that dog lunged snarling at my son. Absolutely unacceptable! Stevie Wonder could see that dog was lunging at a number of people before the customers and their dog were seated. The customers bringing a dog like that to a restaurant AND the hostess sitting that dog around others was irresponsible and put people and that dog in extreme danger. To that dogs owners and the hostess... do better... just do better.Needless to say, this place lost local money here. I will not return for the overpriced food, sitting under tattered sun shades waiting for the staff to assist with a smidgen of umbrella shade or drinks or food or desert... and I will definitely not return to fend off a rabid pink-puppy-sock wearing pooch.

Review №9

2023-10-14 22:27:44

Awesome place to visit not so much to dine in. Only outdoor sitting which can get really hot but they have the mist to cool off. The menu is really poor, only few things to pick from. My kids didn’t find anything they would eat. But loved the atmosphere. All the cactuses and decorations were super cool!

Review №10

2023-06-24 00:53:49

As recommended, we had a reservation and were seated quickly. Unfortunately we were seated right in the sun and waited a long time to receive waters and place our order. I feel that although the food was well prepared it was overpriced for the quantity of food. Don’t come starving unless you’re willing to pay a huge bill.Every bite was good but the service was so slow and intermittent it just felt like a transactional experience. $68 for 2 beers and 2 dishes seemed excessive considering how deflated we felt by the end. 3/5 stars, which is too generous.