Local Kitchens
Local Kitchens is an interesting concept for a restaurant. It’s what they call a micro food hall that let’s you mix-and-match items from different restaurants all at the same time in one spot. In the Sacramento area, there is one in Roseville and one in Davis. I went to the one that opened recently in Davis to give it a try.
The restaurant took over the old Pluto’s location and is rather sparse as you walk in. When it was Plutos, there was a division in the middle of the restaurant with quite a bit of seating. Local Kitchens presents a very wide open area as you come in with seating only along the wall side of the restaurant. There is not a traditional order counter, rather, you go to a computer terminal to place the order yourself. If you’re confused, someone will come and help you, but the staff it seems is really just about putting orders out and not actively waiting on customers.
After you go through the menu and make your order you’ll see the approximate preparation time of your food up on a large screen so you know they have your order and when it’ll be ready.
The main draw of Local Kitchens is the variety of local restaurants represented in the location. At the Davis location you can select food items from The Melt, Oren’s Hummus, Sushirrito, Nash & Porper, Humphry Slocombe, and Garden of Eat’n. The variety of styles of food you can get is extremely varied and it’s exciting to be able to really pick and choose from the items you want. A sushi burrito with a side of Nashville hot chicken strips is totally doable here.
The Melt is a restaurant that actually used to have a location just a few doors down, but they closed their doors a few years ago. The specialty there was grilled cheese sandwiches. They have those now at Local Kitchens as well as a variety of hamburgers and fries.
Oren’s Hummus is a restaurant that I hadn’t heard of before, but there specialty is Israeli and Mediterranean style cuisine. If you’re a fan of falafel, pita, and hummus, the items from this menu may suit you quite well.
Sushirrito is a name I haven’t heard in a while. Sushi burritos were a pretty big thing about ten years ago. The trend has definitely died down and I hadn’t seen a Sushirrito location in ages. I guess they haven’t gone the way of the dinosaur as their food is featured here.
Nash & Proper specializes in hot chicken dishes. Fans of Nashville hot style flavor will enjoy the food from their menu. If you’re looking for a vegetarian option, Nash & Proper also serves up cauliflower versions of their chicken sandwiches.
Garden of Eat’n caters to customers who want something more fresh. Their food items include salads and wraps. I remember driving all the way to Roseville to try Garden of Eat’n years ago. It’s cool that their food is featured here at Local Kitchens.
Lastly, Humphry Slocombe has ice cream and desserts for you to order. The ice cream is premium does carry a bit of a hefty price tag. The flavors are very unique though and I’d love to try some whenever I feel the need to blow some cash.
Overall the food served at Local Kitchens is good, but not great. The overall quality of the items isn’t on par with the original items that you can get from the original restaurant locations. The food does just seem to lack a bit of what made the local restaurants special.
The food also comes out to you very generically. Even if you eat in, all the items are brought to you within compostable containers. There’s no presentation of the food - it’s just there. This lack of presentation really detracts from the excitement of having a variety of things available.
Another detractor is the price. Even though you can order lots of things from different restaurants and have it all brought out to you in one order, doing so will cost you. Food items are all mostly above the ten dollar price point. This definitely would not be considered fast food or budget friendly.
One big pet peeve of mine here is the lack of a soda fountain. If you want some Coke, they charge two dollars for a can of soda. Yikes! Water is also sold for $1.50 per bottle. These little things add up to a big bill in the end.
I love the concept of Local Kitchens, but the execution of what they are trying to do falls a little flat. It’s not a restaurant that I’d never go to, but it certainly isn’t a place that would be at the top of my list to come back to.
Website: localkitchens.com
Address: 500 1st Street Davis, Ca 95616 // 10357 Fairway Dr Roseville, Ca 95678
Rating: C
There aren’t too many places you can go that have what Local Kitchens is offering on their menus. I’d say it’s worth a visit just to see what the experience is like.
