Kingston Station

Had a great dinner with a group of friends at Kingston Station. The long bar is a great spot to meet friends, and then head to a table to enjoy the food. The owner makes you feel welcome and comfortable without being obtrusive. Our server was on his toes all night and kept the 8 of us well fed and never without a drink in our hands.
Great variety of dishes on the menu.

Pros: Great bar, great food

Posted 06/03/09

I have been to Kingston Station twice and both times received horrible service. As someone coming from a service background I can be a little more nitpicky than most, but this was really bad. The first time I went was in May 08, the server was unattentive, leaving drinks (both alcohol and water) empty, the place was empty so we didn't understand why. The last time was unacceptable...drinks were empty, the server forgot to put our appetizers in and when we asked where they were he accused us of not ordering them, and then ignored our table the rest of the night. Not only was our server off, but the bar was a disaster. Drinks were spilled all over and the bartender was really slow. Aside from all of the service issues...the owner is really nice and apologized to our table. The food is pretty good (truffle fries are delish) and the decor is really cute and quaint. However, there are a lot of places in this city with similar menus and better service, so hopefully they can turn their service around.

Pros: Good Food, Cute decor, Nice owner

Cons: Lousy service, Loud for dinner

Posted 11/10/08

Oh my word! I was floored with the service, food and the ambiance all together. WE went on a Saturday night for the Jazz and it was AMAZING. The jazz was awsome! It was like having a bunch of friends over to play for you in your own kitchen.. It was completely unpretentious and the prices were very reasonable. The bar does get loud later in the night, but all that said, I will definately go back and continue to recommend this place

Pros: EVERYTHING!!!!

Cons: Parking

Posted 07/28/08

My friend and I ate her last night and I loved the food. We ordered the truffle french fries - yummy! For my entree, I got the artichoke ravioli. The sauce was so flavorful! I can't wait to eat my leftovers tonight. Our water glasses were repeatedly re-filled and our waiter was right on top of things. I found the wine to be a great price at $6.00 a glass. I didn't find it loud at all but then again, it wasn't overly packed. We went on a Wednesday night. Check it out for yourself.

Pros: The food, the quickness of getting a table

Cons: I really didn't see any

Posted 04/09/08

This place is totally swinging with the after work crowed.. the bar is very well stocked and the service is quick. Kingston gets a very bad wrap for noise (I don't know who goes to a bar for a quiet intimate experience..) but, if you want to avoid that just go a little after the happy hour rush - the place really starts to empty out after 7. Oh! And - great coffee.

Posted 02/16/08

I had a good vibe from the beginning as a patron who was leaving as my fiancee and I were arriving said, "You're going to love it". I was a little nervous after reading reviews about the noise level and ambiance, but it seems like the management read those things and corrected any issues. The ambiance in the rear dinning room was very cozy/romantic with low light being accented by candles and white christmas lights on the "big wheel". As for the noise, although the place was not packed, the ambient music was at a good level and the abundance of tile didn't seem to be a problem.

The food here is just great. Our dinner consisted of the Onion Soup, Steak Tartare, Seared Tuna Salad Nicoise and the Truffle Fries. All were outstanding. What was odd was there were a few pasta dishes on the menu and the special of the evening was rigatoni and meatballs. I would guess that they would be good, given the quality of the bisto dishes, just seems strange, that's all.

The drinks were good as well with an ample selection of beers, wine and cocktails, which came in small and large sizes, which is a nice change for people like my fiancee who can't handle more than one typically-sized martini.

The service was good with our friendly waiter offering suggestions and endorsments of our choices. I would defintely go back, for dinner or to grab a bite at the bar after work.

Pros: Food, drinks, service

Cons: Moderately pricey

Posted 12/15/07

We've been here twice now. The first was for dinner before a concert, and we had the back dining room almost to ourselves. The food was delicious (the truffle frites are a must), and the drinks are equally good. I love the "Partly Cloudy"--anejo rum and ginger beer garnished with lots of fresh ginger. The service was excellent and we like the decor (see below however).

The second time we went with friends, and sat in the front "cafe" area on a Friday night at 5:00. The drinks and food were great, but it was VERY loud. The ceilings are very high and the entire place is outfitted with subway tile and mirrors--not the best acoustics. My fiance's hearing has been diminished from years of rock and roll, so he had a difficult time hearing anything. Our server told us that they were going to install some baffles or other sound capturing devices in the future and we definitely look forward to that.

Overall: Definitely check it out for drinks after work and some good eats, but if volume is an issue you'd be better off sitting in the back dining room.

Posted 11/08/07

The only additional thing that would make this restaurant a perfect ten would be to dim the lighting for ambiance. That is my only criticism out of everything else: food, service, drinks, were awesome. The decor is majorily white with mirrors and shiny subway tiles (which is very unique), however this reflects and enhances the overhanging lights, wall lights and bar shelf lights. Dimming all of these, eliminating some, or accenting with a deeper color (i.e. red) would make a world of a difference.
p.s. had the organic chicken and mahi with risotto - both meals were cooked to perfection and delicious. the side of pommes frites are a must, although the rolls are also good if served still warm. --kc

Posted 10/01/07

Saw that this place was now open so tried it for dinner last night. I was surprised to find how refreshingly different this place is from the old Peking Tom that was here, which was kind of dingy and served bad American Chinese food. The decor was nice, lots of little touches to give it a nice vintage feel. There's a huge bar and a big dinner area around the back, though we ate in cafe area at the front. Had tuna tartar and truffle frites for apps, both of which were amazing. I had the pork chop for dinner, which was a nice big portion and was delicious. My friend had the steak frites which he was raved about. I was too stuffed for dessert but they sounded great so will make a point of trying one next time!

Posted 09/28/07

We went for dinner. The space is almost like being in a fancy, old fashion train station with beautiful tiling. The food was really good...I am still thinking about the steak frites that I had. We are definitely going back to try their late night menu.

Pros: Ambience, Food

Posted 09/26/07