The Kitchen at Billings Forge

Talk about a win/​win situation. A restaurant that produces amazing food while helping revitalize the community. What they have over here is a restaurant that is operated by people that have records, providing a second chance for what is considered unemployable. They serve breakfast all day. Try the quiche, I’m basically salivating just thinking about it. But the main coup de grace are the salads and the sandwiches. While here we got the tuna tartine, mango chicken and the Bert. Pair those with chips and lemonade. And you got yourself an amazing meal. Did I neglect to mention the price? Sandwich or salad + chips + beverage = under $ 10. Way beyond a bargain. Also, they also partner with a neighborhood gardens «Billings Forge» for all the fresh produce they use. Come on? Tell me that this is a full 360. Now should you need to go to a Michelin star rated Restuarant look for its big brother Fire Box. Kudos to this restaurant, just simply amazing.

Exactly what I wanted for easy, fast but not fast food lunch. Order from counter and then sit down while it takes 3 minutes to get your order. Chicken curry on toasted cranberry bread was delicious as was chicken yumbo. Brought home salted chocolate chip cookie — excellent, the chocolate walnut cookie — good and not a fan of the lavendar lemon cookie. Really friendly counter staff and now it’s my go to area in Hartford for great food and service… either to eat at The Kitchen or next door at Firebox.

I am a huge fan of the kitchen at billings forge. First of all, their mission and values are noble, how they use all local food and provide training classes for those who were recently incarcerated. I’ve been here for lunch and had the mango chicken sandwich, which was very flavorful and filling. My favorite experiences at billing’s forge have been the cooking classes they put on. I’ve done a bunch of team building exercises in Hartford, but the cooking class was by far my favorite. Months later people are still raving about it. Preparing a meal with your coworkers and getting to enjoy it afterwards was an awesome experience. We were provided with up to 3 adult beverages each, and cooked 4 different dishes and dessert. It was all delicious and we were able to take some home! Overall can’t say enough great things about the kitchen. The chefs were helpful and encouraging during the lesson. If you’re looking for a great lunch spot or the best team building event in the area, look no further than the kitchen!

Hands down my favorite lunch spot. The people that work there are wonderful!!! Food is amazing and clearly made with lots of love. Don’t go without trying to the curry chicken sandwich.

Stuff from my last review still stands. They can’t make heated sandwiches nor do they have soup after 2 or 3PM or something lame. The staff are nice.

The Kitchen has a combination of great food, cheerful service and solid values. I went for lunch and ordered the chicken curry sandwich, which comes with either Deep River chips or fruit (they had pears and apples).
The sandwich had tons of flavor and was packed with fresh ingredients. Despite coming in a plastic container, it felt like it was prepared fresh earlier that day. My friends both got hot sandwiches, which were made on the spot. One remarked that the food was just right, temperature-​wise – no risk of microwaving there.
The staff were dressed casually and were equally approachable in their attitudes. Our hostess cajoled us into staying in the café to eat our food rather than taking it to go, which was the right move. The location has a few tables, is clean and brightly lit. It was raining that day, so the place was mercifully not packed, although I can see it being so in nicer weather.
Overall, my friends and I will definitely return to the Kitchen.

Finally made it to this cozy place. It’s very inviting to see the staff conversing with all the people walking in because they know each other so well from them being regulars. Also, I dig it when the 3 employees are randomly singing out loud to the overhead music with no shame. As If you are a guest at a friend’s house. It’s a small warm room, if you will. The exposed brick never goes out of style I my book.
I had the «Shorty grilled cheese», which is a grilled cheese sandwich on sour dough with braised short ribs on it as well. Now, they ran out of store dough, but I bag no problem with the marble rye substitution. Which, I really enjoyed to be honest. It had good crunch and flavor, but didn’t have no where near enough cheese to be called a grilled cheese. Also, it was supposed to have 3 cheeses, but looked to have only shredded cheddar. I opted for the Deep River chips as my side and a Hosmer ginger ale. I see the local CT love and me likey. I finished it all up with a lemon whoopie pie which is made on site. That thing was ridiculous!!! So good.
All in all, I like this place and will be back, it’s good quality and good people. For that, I can look past missing the gooey cheese I wanted.

This a great little place to grab some lunch! I work a few minutes down the road from here so I’m glad I was finally able to try it out! And luckily they have a decent sized parking lot which is really helpful.
The first time I went I got a Thanksgiving sandwich. The cranberry chutney on it was really tasty, however there could have been more as the sandwich was a little dry (or maybe just some mayo or mustard). I also got to try their lavender lemonade which was awesome! They have a great looking menu and I can’t wait to go back to try some of their other options.

Grabbing lunch at the Kitchen resulted in mixed feelings. I have been wanting to try here for some time after reading a number of reviews. I love the place, with a relaxed atmosphere and fantastic aromas coming through into the dining area from the kitchen. I am less in love with the food.
Bottom line: excellent service, not so good food.
Trying a turkey sandwich, I found it to be the ends of the turkey meat and all dark roasted. For dessert, I tried a coconut macaroon, and found it to be not very good with the coconut on the outside a little too toasted. The hot chocolate was all right, but nothing notable. A good sip was the lavender lemonade – delicious and interesting and refreshing.
For that additional star? The servers. They were outstanding and very kind! They made sure I had everything and one server ran immediately around the counter to grab me a cup for my lemonade when I was looking for one at the self-​serve drink counter.
I will definitely try the Kitchen again some time in the future, maybe for coffee or to take part in a cooking class – mostly because the servers were so friendly and efficient. For now though, I will be eating in my own kitchen instead.

At least once a week I get a serious craving for the chicken curry salad (and a brownie). That’s the kind of place this is – you’ll love everything on the menu, but you’ll fall head over heels in love with a few things and (much like Firebox next door) the deliciousness will haunt you in your sleep.
The Kitchen offers simple sandwiches, salads, and soups, made with the freshest, local ingredients that are seasoned and prepared wonderfully. It’s a great option for grabbing a quick meal on the go, and its cozy ambiance makes it great for dining in, too.

Nice place! Convenient parking, cozy/​cute ambience, refreshing-​sounding menu options, cool staff, fast food prep, tasty salads!

Cool little place. Very friendly staff! Food was all super fresh and somehow unique and traditional lunch food at the same time.

Tried it for the first time today. It was great and fresh! I want to go back, everything looked good. Limited seating but there are a couple tables outside as well as a few inside.

My first time ever eating here, well really we got takeout for lunch. DELICIOUS food, I can’t explain how wow’ed I was! I had the Curry Chicken Salad on their Cranberry Walnut Bread. It was like a happy dance in my mouth, so so flavorful and great for a warm day. We also got the orzo salad as a side and it was a yummy little mix of orzo, cucumber, carrot and tomato. A great addition!

We visited here earlier in the year and had a lovely time– not only was the spring salad with pea shoots and ramps delightful, the baked goods were well made and the juices were great. We took a tour of the area and enjoyed the holistic concept behind the gardens, apartments, studio space, and restaurant and the ethic of local food and local participation. If I were in the area more during the day The Kitchen would definitely be my stop.

Today was my first time at The Kitchen (A hidden gem) in Hartford. It was very delicious. I had the veggie wrap with the potato salad. The veggie wrap had this amazing creamy Parmesan cheese sauce. It was my favorite part of the wrap. In regards to sides you have a few options: Greek Orzo, Potato Salad, Chips or Coleslaw. The potato salad was good but next time I will most likely try the Greek Orzo. This place also has a small bakery with delicious treats. They had carrot cake that caught my eye, however, I decided to go with the peanut butter brownie (to die for).
I will certainly be back.

Great food… Fresh and local.
Great staff … Friendly and local
Great customers … Local

My first experience with this place was a few months ago, I took a cooking class with a group of friends. It was a wonderful experience! We had about 20 people in our group and it was a private event.
Upon arriving we were offered our choice of beer or wine while we waited for everyone to arrive. Then we broke into two groups. I was in the second group, which just sat and hung out while the first group went into the kitchen. Then it was our turn to go in the kitchen to make our pizzas. The chef started by explaining how the dough was made and then showed us out to roll it out. Then it was our turn to roll out our individual pizzas. Once we finished that step we had our choice of sauces and a variety of toppings to choose from. Then we headed back to the dinning area while our pizzas cooked. While we waited we had salad, bread and more wine or beer.
Finally it was time to enjoy the fruits of our labor. The pizza was very tasty!
I highly recommend the cooking classes. They are a lot of fun and a great learning experience. I now know the proper way to roll out a pizza dough.
Before the cooking class I had never heard of this place, but it was very close to my work. I was delighted to see they served breakfast and lunch Monday-​Friday. Lunch consists of salads, sandwiches and a soup of the day. Oh and freshly baked desserts!
Well I finally made it there for lunch this past week. It was delicious! I had the curry chicken salad served on freshly baked cranberry walnut bread. And for my side I had the Greek orzo salad. Both were very fresh and flavorful. I appreciate the farm-​to-​table approach of this café.
If you are looking for a quick and healthy lunch I recommend this café! They do have a small parking lot which makes it easier to stop in and grab a sandwich/​salad to go.

Take a cooking class here. I promise you, it’s a fantastic experience.
Last night, I learned how to make traditional Polish pierogi with Becky, the Kitchen’s pastry chef, and 9 fellow ‘classmates.’ The class size was perfect, not too crowded, with each of us participating in every step of the process from rolling the dough to filling the pierogi (everything from cheese and potato to blueberry and braised cabbage with mushrooms) and brainstorming ideas for new fillings.
I learned some great new techniques and can’t wait to take another class here. Pretty affordable too, just $ 45 for this 2 hour class.

I have had the pleasure of eating at The Kitchen on several occasions as it is within walking distance from my place of employment.
This past week, however, my husband and I ventured to The Kitchen after hours to participate in a Food and Wine Pairing class Chef Julie Carrion, Director of Catering & Education (and discovered by me on the Unilocal Events Page) My reasoning for going was two fold. First — My husband is less of a wine person than I am, so I thought this class would be a good introductory course for him. Second — I love wine but have a hard time when trying to decide what foods and wine complement each other. I also get confused if the label does not have noticeable grape variety on it.
The class into two sections. In the first portion of the class we learned about wine’s acidity, sweetness and tannins. This was brilliantly illustrated by tasting Myer lemons and blood oranges (acidity), sugar (sweetness) and tea that had been steeped for various amounts of time (tannins). I loved how she used food for illustration and broke down the language of wine into simple terms without feeling too elementary.
The second portion of the class took the components that we learned in the first section and paired them with several dishes. I was unsure of what type of food would be presented during this portion of the class, but I should have known based on the quality of the food that I have been served at lunch that the food would also be exceptional. And that they were — from the pasta to the meats, each dish was cooked to perfection and at certain points in the evening I wished I did not have to share!
Three white wines were paired with a simple orzo salad, pasta Alfredo and a shrimp scampi. Two reds were paid with a beef and crispy chicken tender with a spicy Thai chili sauce. I am glad that the food was served after the teaching portion of the class because I had a new found respect for how certain wines either accentuated or «did nothing» for a dish. I also loved finding out how Mark’s and my palette’s differ when pairing the different dishes together with certain wines. It was one of the first times that we were able to have an intelligent discussion about wine and it was lovely.
All in all a great class. Chef Julie is truly passionate about her love of food, cooking and Billings Forge. She helped disarm some of the misconceptions about wine and was a great teacher to boot! Also a special thanks to the employee that stayed past closing to help cook and plate the food. She did a great job!
I am definitely looking forward to attending another cooking class at The Kitchen in the near future.