Kettlebar Steam Cooking

Closest I have gotten to proper Creole food since our New Orleans visit in 2009. Service was fast and professional. We’ll definitely come back.

I wish I could give a separate 5 star review for the service because I’m pretty sure we had the best waiter ever.
3 stars for the food. I didn’t find the pan roast particularly special. It was very good that’s for sure. It mostly tasted like tomato cream sauce, and it had some generous potions of meat in the roast. I just was not WOWed by the food here. The portions in general are very generous and should be shared family style.
My friend ordered the jambalaya. It tasted like a standard jambalaya with slightly more spices in it.
Came here on a weeknight wasn’t too busy at all. Overall, it was a nice experience.

Just popped in on a Sunday afternoon, sat at the bar and ordered one of their specialty cocktails, the Scottish Lass was quite refreshing, and I highly recommend the shrimp ceviche!

I’m a big fan of oyster bar in Vegas and this is the closest thing we have here in OC. I’ve been to 3 of the chains and it’s good. Must try the pan roast! For the people out there who are scared to try new things or seafood, get the chicken and sausage gumbo. It’s basically just chicken and sausage stewed with a sauce. Then when you’re feeling a little bit more adventurous after tasting the amazing food, go straight for the seafood!!!

Decided to come back to this location again because I was craving pan roast, but didn’t want to go all the way to Anaheim. This time the customer service was very attentive and my pan roast was tasty and did not have any shells in it. If you are sharing with someone, I would recommend either getting an additional scoop of rice or adding some linguini for $ 2. Surprisingly I walked in on a Saturday around 6:30pm and was immediately seated even though it looked pretty busy.

Location is good, the plaza is super big. This restaurant is right at the middle.
Not a lot people at day time, but I assume there will be a lot people at night. The last call is 9:45pm.
The oyster is really fresh, and ceviche is good for the chips dip in. Pan roast and cippiono is just normal good, and not spicy at all, even we order for hot.
Seat at the bar and watch the chef cook it for you is fun.

My girlfriend took me here the other day because this is one of her favorite restaurants, and it most definitely did not disappoint!!! We walked in on a Friday night and got seated at the bar immediately. We ordered 2 pan roast and a soft shell crab as an appetizer. Sitting at the bar is really cool because you get to see them make the food right in front of you.
The soft shell crab was really good! however the legs were mostly just batter, but the body of the crab is so heavenly! It comes with 2 whole crabs split into 4 pieces so it makes a good appetizer for 2 people.
The Pan roast was out of this world. It comes with a scoop of rice, and is a tomato based soup with shrimp, crab, and other bits of seafood. It cost $ 24 but its a lot of food, i couldn’t even finish half of it. Also just a tip, take the leftover soup/​sauce home and reheat!!! All you need to do is make some white rice, and you have another meal for the next day, and it taste just as good!!!
You could honestly split the pan roast between 2 people and just add another scoop of rice for $ 2 and it would be the perfect amount. Anyways definitely recommend checking this place out if you want some creole inspired food. I’d recommend the pan roast, and either the calamari or the deep fried soft shell crab. The food is rather pricey, but its worth it.

Today I went to Kettlebar with my friends, and it was my first experience with eating there. This review is based on my own personal experience, so please take it with a grain of salt.
They were quite busy, as is to be expected on a Saturday. The interior of the restaurant was quite trendy, and was packed with people. We were seated quickly outside on the patio, however, it was quite cold. There was a broken outdoor heater, and we had to ask to move to another table. Multiple parties were also seated and had to request to move closer to the heaters. It took quite awhile for the food to arrive, and the servers did not provide everyone at our table with napkins. Our server also was not attentive to our needs, and we had to flag down other servers for water/​bread.
I felt like my dining experience started ok, but slowly got worse and worse.
Overall, the food was pretty good, but the service was mediocre. I might come again to this restaurant if I really had a craving for Cajun creole seafood.

Found ourselves in the OC area where it’s the only other place where you can find yourself some bomb pan roast (the only other being Vegas) I’ve trees a few different Ritter’s locations but we pleased to find that there was Kettlebar in the mix as well and decided to give them a try.
This location is tucked away in the Union Market, a fresh an urban shopping area similar to the Anaheim packing district.
This Kettlebar location was nice and large with a patio area, bar seating table service. They had a specific bar seating area for those interested in grabbing a beer and watching sports.
As for the food, my girlfriend and I decided to order they famous Kettlebar pan roast which is a mix of everything (lobster, crab meat, shrimp, etc) for only $ 24.95 and its large enough to share. Be sure to add an extra scoop of rice! We also orders a half dozen blue point oysters which were fresh and delicious. Their oysters are market price and change every so often.
Overall a very great experience here and Kettlebar!

Love this cool restaurant. The hostess are accommodating & very friendly. The severs are personable & prompt. Their very many signature drinks are tasty. But the one thing I love more than anything else here & crave on a regular basis are their appetizer fish tacos! The chipotle sauce they make is FANTASTIC! It’s absolutely delicious.
I crave these so often but don’t live that close so when I’m in the area I have to have them. But one thing I don’t like is they close at 11 but did last call for food at 9:30 & I got there at 9:45. I was so sad & disappointed.
But that won’t stop me from coming back again.

The happy hour here (M-​F 3−6pm) is nothing special to write home about. My gf and I ordered the hot wings ($ 6), soft shell crab ($ 7), and blue point oysters ($ 2 each) along with house white wine ($ 5) and tom collins ($ 7). The wings were dry, to say the least. It’s not because they were covered in dry rub. They seemed overly fried to the point of crunchy dry meat. The accompanying blue cheese dressing helped alleviate the lack of flavor. The softshell crab was battered and fried, served with an aioli dipping sauce. It was a very small portion and I wouldn’t suggest ordering it especially at regular price. The oysters were very small and did not seem to be worth their value. It was listed as Market Price, but was $ 2 per shell for us.
The saving grace of this place was their signature dish, the Pan Roast. It contains seafood such as crab, shrimp, lobster, chicken. There was barely any lobster meat, which seemed more like crawfish meat. The tomato cream base sauce was less tomato-​y, but more creamy which is what I liked. The dish makes for a very great leftover the next day. If I were to come back, I would only order the pan roast. You can skip the happy hour.

I gave this place a second chance…
Concept and layout 4 stars
Food 3 stars
I realized that those steam kettles only warm up pre cooked food. We had gumbo and pan roast. Both were ok. Not memorable or making me want to come back. The portions are really big, so I recommend sharing one and then ordering extra appetizers.
We had the steam clams and the were delicious! Very well seasoned with great broth.
The house salad was good, but I would order a different dressing next time.

Just got back from dinner and Kettlebar is A-​Okay! Definitely great portions like the rest of them but the flavors are a little different. Our server, Romina — what a doll! Loved her energy and enthusiasm!
As expected, I ordered the Kettlebar panroast (not spicy) and was surprised by the flavor. Interestingly I witnessed the cooks using something different than what I had seen done at Ritter’s (which definitely has my heart). They use brandy in their panroasts! Interesting, that’s for sure! It gives a different flavor than what I’m used to. — but back to my meal, the seafood was plentiful and the broth was definitely more acidic due to their more tomatoey base. I would give it an ⁸⁄₁₀. One thing I did notice was that the pan roast lacked a lot of spice. Now, please don’t confuse spiciness and spice — just because I asked for my food to be non-​spicy doesn’t mean I was or should expect food without seasoning! It was plenty flavorful, but lacked some good ol’ creole spice.
The nola fries — cajun fries — were really good! Their ranch is a little on the thin side, but their chipotle aioli is a nice sub.
Do not order the beignets — fried dough does not equate to beignet. Disneyland has actual beignets and they’re served out of a paper bag.
Maybe this Kettlebar is still getting adjusted as I think the Union Marketplace is new to the District. It might still be working out its kinks. One thing we did notice — and was definitely obnoxious — was that their set up with the steam kettle is a little on the touchy side. Half-​way through our meal it was explained that there was something wrong with how the steam was being pressured and wasn’t making the kettles hot enough, etc. and it happens only a few times. This could mean chaos for a busy night, luckily not tonight.
Not my favorite pan roast spot, but it’s pretty good for the location and definitely a step in the right direction and away from the usual «California» food. I prefer a creamier pan roast, but you know — you say tomato, I say tomatoe.

My first exposure to Louisiana style cooking and I am a huge fan!
The restaurant is intimate (on the weekdays, it gets loud over the weekend!) and more industrial style? It gets busy Friday nights and weekend so try to get a reservation, otherwise be prepared to wait at least 35 minutes. Try to grab a seat at the bar and you can see the chef cook the gumbo and pan roast right in front of you. Also, get the pan roast. It is huge and you can definitely share it with another person. There are chunks of seafood and meat with every bite. They do not skimp! I love the garlic fries as well. Flavor here is definitely ⁵⁄₅.

I really like this steam cooking thing that’s been going on lately. Big, rich flavors and nice hot sauces. Sign me up.
Anyway, having tried Ritter’s a few times, I was excited to hear that there was a steam cooking place closer to our home. One day when wandering through the District, we decided to try out Kettlebar. And we were pretty impressed – well, at least I was. My wife was a different story.
So we’re there for a late lunch. No trouble getting a seat, our server looks a little tired after the lunch rush but she’s unbelievably friendly. So friendly it was like we’d known her for years. She takes our orders, chats it up, and then promptly delivers when our food arrives. High marks for the service.
Now for the food. I really enjoyed my lunch special mix of clam chowder and pan roast. The clam chowder was packed with clams and the pan roast was packed with, well, sauce. That thing, at lunch portion size, was massive. Unfortunately for a dish of that size, there was way more sauce in the sauce to meat ratio. My wife, however, hated her meal. Apparently the oyster po’ boy was a bit too cold, chewy, and just overall funky for her taste. I’d certainly come back (and my wife said she would too), but I’d skip the oyster po’ boy.

5 stars for Tray.. Trae. idk how to spell his name. Let me build up the story:
Hubby and I came here to try this spot out. We weren’t very hungry but heard great reviews on their Kettle Pan Roast so we ordered that, and we ordered 2 signature drinks from the cocktail menu. It was a weekday and extra light crowd.
We got our waters, and waited… and waited… and then our dish came out. But we were surprised that our drinks hadn’t yet. No biggie, we didn’t say anything.
Long story short, Trae noticed it had been 25 mins or so and we’re diving into our food but still no sign of our cocktails. So he rushed them out, apologized and offered us free dessert, so he got us the beignets. what! That’s so nice, I love free food!
In the end, the manager didn’t charge us for the drinks either. Which I thought was cool too. I really like the vibe of this place. I think it’s great you can see them cook your kettle pan, and it’s open space. Great location.
Food quality: the pan roast was amazing. Mouth watering amazing. Super flavorful. Perfect with the white rice. Loved it.
The beignets was really good too but I wasn’t a big fan of the nutella/​banana dip. Just nutella pls!
Drinks, I forgot what I ordered. But hubby got the King of Marigold. and it was not good at all. :(it tasted like cough syrup.
I will definitely come back for the food! And thanks again to trae, you were superb!

Is it soup or sauce?
Lots of crab meat. Eat away!
Make room for dessert.

I come here almost every other weekend because my boyfriend is obsessed. We usually share their house salad with citrus dressing and medium spicy Kettlebar Pan Roast (chicken, lobster, crab, shrimp). It’s a perfect balance of tomato base and meat, extremely rich and creamy. He’s also tried the chicken pan roast and it is just as good. Lighter but still filling.
I’ve tried their crab cakes, chicken garlic noodles, calamari, wings, garlic parmesan fries, bread pudding (which is amazing) — no disappointments. Though, I was not impressed with their fried oyster po’ boy. Way too much bread and not enough flavor.
I love the vibes here and people are genuinely nice. The manager, waiter and waitresses always make sure everyone is taken care of. I’ve been to Ritter’s a few times and I don’t think it can beat Kettlebar’s food and service.

Came back couple more times!
Tried their soft shell crab, crab cakes, steamed mussels, and their famous pan roast finally!
Soft shell crab — nicely fried! Crispy and juicy! Came with a special chipotle sauce of their own which taste amazing with the crab!
Crab Cakes — Also crispy on the outside and stuffed with a lot of real crab meat. Nicely seasoned and topped with mango, pineapple and the same chipotle sauce as the soft shell crab! Great combo especially the mango and pineapple which help balance the flavor of the crab meat.
Steamed mussels — white wine, garlic, butter, and shallot. Your typical mussels and a bit salty for the soup part.
Wow their kettlebar pan roast! So so so flavorful! Each made to order and cook in their kettle steam thing (not sure what they are called…) It is rich and thick like curry but goes well with the rice! It is big enough for two-​three people. It has a great amount of snow crab, shrimp, lobster, and chicken in it and their tomato cream base is just delicious. The scoop of rice is placed in the center and is nicely soaked in the cream base. You can also ask for bread on the side or they normally ask if you would like some bread which you can dip into the soup. I normally finished up the rice and ended up with tons of cream base so the bread is a good way to just finish the cream base with. It would be too thick and rich to just drink the soup. But this is def a must get on the menu!
I’m so glad they open one close by me and this one has def become one of my fav in the area!

It has been a season of delicious home cooked food. The best of the best!!! After the leftovers were gone, we had a stretch of nothing but 3 star rated food at various restaurants; big bummer. Thank goodness hubby was craving pan roast and I remembered Marissa S’ raving review about Kettlebar. It definitely lived up to every expectation.
We made it in time for the LUNCH SPECIALS (M-​F from 11am-​3pm) and saved some money.
The two of us shared the KETTLEBAR PAN ROAST ($ 19), which was loaded with BIG pieces of lobster, shrimp, snow crab and chicken sitting in a tomato cream base. The medium spice had the perfect kick (similar to Sriracha spice level) and we carbed it up with rice & linguine pasta. My mouth was in heaven doing jumping jacks. LOVED IT.
Along with that, we got the ½ SHRIMP PO BOY ($ 11); fresh bread with fried shrimp, pickles, tomatoes and a honey dressing. This was good, but lacked the Cajun pizazz I was looking for, plus it was small for one person.
**Don’t forget for $ 1 to add either a salad or clam chowder soup. Go with the CLAM CHOWDER, no questions asked. The soup hadj ust the right creamy consistency and balanced with clam, bacon and red potatoes. Comfort food at its best. Best I’ve had in OC in a long time. Comes with bread too! Dip it in your soup or pan roast.
How Kettlebar differs from Ritters:
1) Restaurant is more spacious with a full bar (bar seating too). Located in a trendier spot!
2) Pan roast was slightly tangier/​more tomato-​ey and had bigger chunks/​pieces of seafood too. Ritters is creamier. All about your preference! I liked both.
3) Bread was warm and fresher
4) Clam chowder trumps everyone
5) BEIGNETS were smaller in size, but were warm, fluffy and came with a KILLER Nutella & banana dipping sauce. AMAZING!
TID BITS:
1) Kid friendly with kid food too!
2) Located at The District inside the «Union Market» (I believe)
3) Parking lot available. But, one of the worst engineered designed parking lots. Very limited exits.
4) Indoor and outdoor seating. Good for big groups.
It was SIMPLY THE BEST. Cheers to 2016, Happy New Year!