Erie Street Kitchen

Erie Street Kitchen is located in the Venice downtown in Kent! The Venice is one of the oldest running bars in downtown Kent and is a great place to grab a drink and bite to eat. The owner is also someone who does quite a lot for the Kent community, and has been awarded many times over the years. Their food has strong southern themes in all of their dishes, I don't think I have ever had something that I didn't like. My favorite has to be their lobster poutine or lobster rolls, and they are worth every penny. When it comes to quality ingredients, Erie Street Kitchen goes the extra mile. Usually there is some type of live music or open mics throughout the week and especially on the weekends at Erie Street Kitchen making it a great place to stop while you are out and about.

Inside the almost empty Venice cafe, which I had never been to, I found the Erie Street Kitchen, and let me tell you, it was an EXPERIENCE. I'm not sure what the appeal is of this restaurant. It's inside a dive bar, which I think was pretty cool looking, had pool tables and whatnot, which is neat. But it smells like... rat? Unclear. A musty aroma is what I noticed first. That and the older, unkempt fella who was standing just inside the door. Maybe he exuded the aroma? Geez idk. He didn't work there but he did walk into the ladies room at one point. That was pretty funny I guess.Anyway, the server girl was pleasant, but seemed like she had a long day already and it was only 11:15 AM. My first order of business when sitting at a brunch stop is to get an Americano. Not all places have espresso so I asked and sure enough, no espresso. That's totally fine, I can drink drip and enjoy it. But... the drip I got was almost completely undrinkable despite being freshly brewed. I asked if they had half n half, no. Milk? No. Only buttermilk or the little plastic thimbles with half n half that need no refrigeration. Ok cool. It did not improve the coffee so I didn't drink it. For food I ordered a basic breakfast with 3 eggs over medium (hard white with runny yolks) bacon, fruit, and sourdough toast. What I got was 3 eggs over hard (hard white hard yolks), 3 strips of bacon, and a huge pile of marble rye with the little plastic thimbles of butter this time. Glad it was real butter! When I noticed the eggs were hard, I politely asked for them to be refired- no biggie. It happens. The server was very kind and ordered the refire. In the meantime, the music changed from some easy listening classic rock to Metallica's One, which is one of my favorite songs, but seemed a bit intense for brunch. Haha I had fun singing along while I ate all my bacon and some of my rye bread, waiting on my eggs, "darkness.. imprisoning me.. all that I see.. absolute horror.." lol what a time! In fact it was the whole In Justice For All album playing. So they must be purists. Very cool. Eventually I got back 2 over medium eggs. I did mention it and she offered me a 3rd egg, but I didn't really want to wait any further. It's fine. These are just things that happened. The over medium eggs were tasty and went well with my rye bread - I do in fact LOVE rye, so that was a pleasant surprise. The bacon was mid. The strawberries were mushy. The grapes were pretty good. My brunch buddy got a goat cheese mushroom scramble and said it was good. The only good things were the server and the rye bread. tl;dr: I will not be back. I do not recommend this place. Also I need to go get coffee still.

Stopped in to grab some late night desserts and we ended up grabbing key lime pie, chocolate pie and a maple pecan bar. They were all single servings and delicious. Erie Street is a very hip spot to hang out and grab a drink or for a fast dessert like tonight. The place was definitely busy tonight so the service was a little slower than normal but we got in and out still quick. Highly recommend Erie street for some delicious gluten free food.

There was quite a bit of nostalgia as this was the Venice Cafe when I was in college.I thought I'd give the food a try while visiting and our party of three had a small sampling of what was on the menu.The place needs a good cleaning and some new furniture. The food was about what you'd expect at a college bar. It was your typical fried food extravaganza.

This place is delicious always has Gluten Free options and great servers that are attentive! Please make sure to visit!Also the drinks are homemade items!The food is fresh and also lobster! I mean come on now gluten free seafood options!!! And Mac and cheese with grits and waffles!!Please come here and support small business and places that help people with allergies!! Hugs all and eat safe!

Never lets us down! Guests had perch - enough for TWO as was the grilled shrimp dinner and salad. Perfectly cooked. A total of four wines and one beer and yet, the bill was under $70 - including a FABULOUS deviled egg half dozen. Wow.

Erie Street Kitchen is inside the Venice a long standing (circa 1940s) bar in the heart of Kent. Have you ever watched a movie and there is this great "hole in the wall" and you yearned to have a spot like that you could become a regular. Well, this is your place! It is hard to define this place - college hangout, southern style restaurant, locals hangout, place where two professors are discussing metaethics? Yes too all of these. The bar and restaurant are different owners so you pay for liquor/beer at the bar, the waitress will do it for you but you pay separately. The food is southern American - cornmeal catfish, fried chicken Bánh mì (highly recommended) and pulled pork dinners.The wait staff is some of the friendliest in town and show true enthusiasm. Give this place a try

Fish was good, but expensive. It was really greasy. Took a very long time to get our food.

First time coming here and to the heart of downtown Kent. I looked up the menu prior and I absolutely loved what was on the menu. I was in charge of finding a great restaurant to take some close colleagues too....This place did not disappoint, it definitely felt better knowing that it was a family friendly place, they had tons of great drinks and an amazing menu. I love the vibe from this place, it felt very retro. Pool tables were great. Prices are worth what you get too. I would happily come back here!

Yes it's in a dive-ish bar but the drinks a good & the food is amazing! They are able to accommodate food sensitivities without compromising flavor! Price is reasonable for the quality of the food! Def try them out or order to go!