Kitchen 56

Our server was great! The place looks fun as you drive by.
However, when you walk inside it’s bright lights create an odd ambience. Perhaps I’m used to nicer more upscale places and also funky dives, but this falls in the middle. Kind of like Applebee’s without the charm — sarcasm. I think the interior is terrible and nondescript.
Our martinis were over priced and served tepid. We had expressly asked for them to be ice cold and our server acted as if she knew what we meant. The bartender obviously doesn’t drink martinis. Never order a mixed drink in a family restaurant!!!
The hamburgers were fine but nothing special. The French fries were the best part of the meal. Couldn’t wait to leave — will never return. The pizza at the next table looked good.

I love this place– the ambiance, the building, the drinks… and the green chili mac and cheese! What a lovely neighborhood spot.

My wife and I stopped by here on Sunday for lunch and loved the atmosphere and patio, however things went a bit downhill from here. Our server Shae (?) was great but the lunch was a bit off. The pretzel app was great and the lunch went down from there. The burgers were cooked well enough however there was more bun than burger and the bun was burnt. When Shae came to check on us I can’t help but think she saw the burnt bread as we had set it aside. The drinks were good enough but the cinnamon in my wife’s drink was either absent or just not enough. We will be back and hopefully the buns won’t be burnt and the burger will fit the bread

I’ve been wondering about this place for a while and always heard it’s just OK but decided to give it a try. Well– it’s just OK. Nothing particularly bad, but not that great either. It seems like a great place for appetizers and drinks on a nice day, but my salad was average and pricey.

I can’t say I’ve had a bad experience here yet. Green chile Mac= delish. Pizza= stellar (no, not a quote on quote pizza place but still serves up a really good pie). The burgers have always been very tasty as well. The one thing I would criticize is the portions on some of the food. The mac n cheese is not exactly a hefty portion, and the salads are a bit on the small side. Other than that, A+.
It’s a mostly quiet restaurant with a nice, dog friendly patio and an enjoyable bar to sit at. We probably go here once a month and will continue to do so.

Today was a beautiful day to have brunch with a girlfriend in this airy place. I loved seeing people with their dogs. The 56 scramble was good for me and the French toast my friend had looked amazing. I also enjoyed my green tea lemonade cocktail. I will be back!

Came here twice on my jaunt up to Phoenix. Once for dinner and once for brunch. Creative menu for dinner, enthusiastic wait person and vibrant space. Baked potato was cold. They brought a new one that was hot. It was very filling though wasn’t what I expected. It was missing the buttery component and was more a pulled pork over potatoes dish. Satisfying though
Brunch was disappointing. Menu items lacked meat components. Waitress told me the black beans in the 56 Scramble were funky. So I ordered the biscuits and gravy. The dish was unappetizingly served. A kind of white vomit. A sprig of something would help. Biscuit was dry and not incorporating well. I ordered bacon side which was not on menu she asked if I liked it crispy I said yes. I got a huge wad of stuck together bacon. It was greasy and low grade. I felt sick immediately. My teeth are still covered in grease
This place needs to work on their signature dishes and increase consistency and quality of product. It’s a nice environment with friendly staff.

Kitchen 56 is right down the street from my house and I love going here for a bite to eat and a drink. Friendly staff and really good food. The wings are excellent. The drink menu is pretty extensive too. Can get a good buzz going for the price. Would recommend!

I come to K56 about once a month… and always enjoy it. Great neighborhood place. Today I met friends there for brunch and YUM. First of all, great service, second of all, great patio, third… their version of chilaquiles was delish. Seriously perfect. I am a total spice wimp and got the green chili sauce on the side. When I tasted it, it still is too much for me. So I asked for a side of hollandaise and even though it’s probably sacreligous to put hollendaise on chilaquiles, I loved it. The potatoes were also perfect. Perfect.

Good service, good comfortable setting BUT
food was not so good.
I had the chips & dip — not bad
my entrée was the green chili mac
the waitress said this had a little kick
The only kick was me kicking myself in the ass for ordering this bland tasteless product
Total cost before tip
$ 20.50

We came here on Saturday with our dogs and it was perfect! Staff was attentive and didn’t give us a hassle about asking to move into the shade. They even brought out extra water for the pups.
Onion dip was spot on as well as the burgers! I love a good Bloody Mary which could have had a little spice to it but overall satisfied with our visit!

Been there twice now. Bartenders are friendly. Happy hour food is great.

Was really wanting to love this place but was disappointed. Ordered the blue cheese crusted steak and the meat was so tough it was inedible. The steak seemed to have been cooked a bit more rare than medium so I was surprised the meat was as tough as a shoe. Our waiter was great and replaced it with a burger and although not bad it wasn’t anything special.
They have a very limited dinner menu, the restaurant was empty on a Saturday night so not much of an ambiance.
Their fries were delicious and customer service was good. The cocktail menu seemed original, but I wasn’t able to drink that night. Maybe I’d go back just to try drinks, but not interested in eating there again.

Go for Stephen. At the bar. You want to talk? He’s interesting. Want to stay buried in your phone? Cool. Want food recommendations and the plate delivered fast? Stephen.
Yes. The kitchen is solid. They know what they are doing back there. But Stephen at the bar. He gets the five star.
Note it.

I Guess You Have To Like Their Chili Rub. Me, Not So Much…
I stopped in for Brunch when I spotted Kitchen 56 on a Saturday around 10:45 am. I had no idea what to expect, but entered with an open mind.
There weren’t very many brunch items, but several of their lunch items were listed on the brunch menu. None of them appealed to me, so I decided to keep it basic.
When I asked my server about the Kitchen 56 Scramble of the day, she indicated that the chef’s scramble ingredients of the day were bacon (got my attention), mushrooms, and pepper jack cheese. She indicated that the scramble was then served on a bed of crisp O’Brien potatoes with peppers and onions. That sounded like a good choice, so I selected it, and settled in to wait.
Looking around, I found the décor very pleasant and inviting. Although I wasn’t drinking that early, the drink menu looked really interesting. They had specials on Bloody Marys, Mimosas, and Grapefruit Mint Bellini’s. I tucked that information away for the future.
My food arrived quickly, and was very hot. The portion was generous, and I could tell it was far more than I could manage to eat. The scramble was tasty, although I didn’t understand the addition of thinly sliced potatoes to the scramble, when it was served on a bed of O’Brien potatoes. The O’Brien potatoes, unfortunately, were a bit salty, and had was flavored with a seasoning that I didn’t like at all with the scramble. I had to leave the potatoes alone as they were ruining my scramble, and in fact, caused me to stop eating all together.
When my server cane around, and I asked her what the seasoning was, she indicated that the potatoes were seasoned with their «Kitchen 56 Chili rub». As soon as she said Chili, I could peg the taste. When I indicated my dislike of it, she did offer to bring me some more potatoes with none of the seasoning, but by then the flavor had gotten into the scramble and ruined my experience.
Service was good, the environment was pleasant, the prices were a touch on the high side, but overall it seems like a nice place. Unfortunately, I think that they rely on their chili rub in a number of their dishes. Since I don’t like it, I don’t think I will be returning.

I pine for the glory days of Kitchen 56 — the happy hours that were the stuff of legend, when a fiver would buy you a dozen of the best wings in the Valley, a Martini that was really just a cup of ice-​cold vodka with some stuffed olives, or a heaping plate of fish tacos. The late afternoons when I’d walk over with some coworkers, eat like a king, and gaze at Camelback Mountain looming a stone’s throw away (well, a few throws at any rate), and wonder whether all things this good must sooner or later come to an end.
The beginning of the end was the new menu, a little slimmed down and marked by the only price increase that even I found as cute and endearing as it was necessary and irksome: 56 cents. $ 5.00 became $ 5.56, $ 10.00 became — you guessed it — $ 10.56. I admired their ingenious way of keeping up with inflation, but since then, the menu’s undergone a few more drafts, the dozen wings became eight (I think?), a couple of my favorite waiters have moved on, and Kitchen 56 has slipped a little. I still whole-​heartedly recommend it for the great patio, spectacular view, casual American fare, fun cocktails, and a few good beer choices. But I hope they find a way to become, once again, what they were for a brief Golden Age: hands-​down, the best happy-​hour joint in town.
In the meantime, though, go for their pizzas, wings (still absolutely delicious, even if not an incredible value anymore), Kitchen Sink Burger, and anything with Ahi. I’d definitely recommend their lunch and dinner over their brunch (not bad, but there are a half-​dozen better brunches in the area). As for cocktails, the Moscow Mule, 56 Martini, Backporch Lemonade, and Elderflower Champagne… heck, they’re all delicious!

*sigh* I really wanted to like this place. It’s adorable (although a smidge overpriced).
But my (what was supposed to be fried) egg in my chilaquile was runny and gross, the carnitas had a funky flavor to them and no one bothered to ask me if that was ok or how I like my eggs.
Since my hubby LOVES slimy eggs (*hork*), I gave the whole thing to him and just ate some bacon and potatoes, although even he thought the egg was a bit underdone.
The saving grace for me was the black cherry lemonade (made with alcohol and muddled black cherries).

The whole family’s favorite restaurant (kids 12 – 18). Very cool to think about the restaurant once being a service station. Very comfortable, friendly staff, perfect noise level, and extremely accommodating!
All 5 of us ordered something different. Cheddar Mac and cheese was tasty. Baked potato was giant and came with more than enough toppings, including pulled pork. I heard the classic pizza was good, but I didn’t try it bc my daughter added mushrooms (I am not a mushroom eater). The lemon chicken that looked good in front of another customer proved itself very good for my entrée (sans mushrooms). And my husband asked the chef to create a pizza with BBQ sauce (no tomato), fresh mozzarella, pulled pork and onion straws. It was delicious! Even our server commented on how good it looked!
The topper was when the server brought out a special birthday dessert for my daughter without singing! She loved it without being too embarrassed! We are in AZ only a few times a year, but we will definitely be eating at Kitchen 56 each time. We can’t wait to dine outside there too. We highly recommend this restaurant!

AMAZING! Loved everything. Fantastic happy hour outing — the drinks we sampled blew us all away. (try the black cherry, pink panther or green tea adult lemonade– two thumbs up for all!) They really have some fantastic cocktails.
We tried the potato skins, tacos, calamari, corn fritters and green chili Mac and cheese. Everything was phenomenal, fresh and delicious. Good portions, great happy hour prices and super tasty!
The patio and inside are both comfortable and cutely decorated — noise level was average and we noticed that the crowd was perfectly eclectic — little bit of every type. The service was great (special note that all the male servers are pretty easy on the eyes — love it)!
We came early and by the time we left, there as a full house and things were getting a bit more hectic. I would suggest hitting the place for happy hour and going from there.
Planning a return visit for next month already!

I’m still as obsessed as I was the first time I came here.
They have a redesigned menu with slightly higher prices but the PBR is still cheap and I’ve yet to find better waiters elsewhere. Our old waiter even came up and said hi. Huge thumbs up to Kitchen 56!