The Bar Is High at Kevin Kelley’s Kitchen + Kocktails, and the Fare Rises Above

First, let’s get this out of the way. While many may know Kitchen + Kocktails for its elevated Southern comfort fare and hip, clubby ambiance, others unfortunately, know the place only for a viral incident in late 2020 that involved owner Kevin Kelley. The incident, which got national attention, showed a — well, let’s just say — less-than-pleased Kelley reprimanding a section of the restaurant’s dining room for twerking.

Kelley, who also heads a law firm next door, built his Kitchen + Kocktails concept from the ground up. He has set a high bar in all facets of his life, and his restaurant is no exception. And if you want to dine here, you’ll be held to a certain standard.

After the incident, Kelley stood by his reaction. He later told Eater Chicago, “I think it’s important that our guests can enjoy themselves while also understanding our concept also welcomes families and children. And if I don’t apply my standards in my restaurants, then maybe I won’t have the opportunity to open in another location.”

And open other locations he did. After the original Kitchen + Kocktails in downtown Dallas, Kelley opened locations in both Washington, D.C., and Chicago. And the train isn’t stopping, either. Currently, Kelley is eyeing his next Kitchen + Kocktails, but he's not saying where just yet.

Kitchen + Kocktails (located in the Hart building downtown) is flourishing. Show up on any given weeknight without a reservation, and the odds of scoring a table right away are slim. Show up on a weekend evening without a reservation — forget about it. And you'd be wise to choose from the upper tier of your wardrobe before heading out because folks come dressed to the nines here.

In addition to practicing law, Kelley also had prior experience in the food hospitality and entertainment business. For this venture, he and his team merged the two into a singular, unique experience. Carefully curated playlists (from Jay-Z to the Beastie Boys) provide the soundtrack as Instagram-ready Southern comfort dishes float through the dining room one by one. Crispy fried green tomatoes, large fried lobster tails, crab cakes, Caribbean-marinated pork chops, perfectly seasoned fried chicken and butter pecan waffles, ridiculously tender oxtail, and deviled “Dream” eggs topped with blackened shrimp. It's a smorgasbord of comfort food.

We went with butter pecan waffles (which were pillowy and fantastic), but you can also opt for the traditional, peach cobbler, cinnamon roll or banana pudding waffles (among others). Yeah, the waffle rotation is deep here.


If you're looking for something more substantial, go with the jerk-marinated pork chops. These are served slightly charred on the outside, juices sealed inside with that perfect mix of sweetness, smoke and spice from the jerk seasoning.

We're on a perpetual search for great oxtail around town, and Kitchen + Kocktails checks the box. It's difficult envisioning oxtail being done better than what we were treated to. Once again, the seasoning was on point, and like any oxtail worth its salt, one should be able to slide the meat right off the bone with a fork with little effort, which was indeed the case at Kitchen + Kocktails.

Top-flight cocktails? Yes, those flow in abundance here. The blackberry margarita was refreshing but the D’usse, a frozen peach-flavored margarita concoction topped with a healthy dose of D’usse Cognac, was a smooth, powerful, icy cocktail that should have you in the right mood by the time you're polishing it off. Actually, you'd be hard-pressed to not be in the right mood after drinks and dinner here. Consider it a challenge.

Kitchen + Kocktails, 1933 Elm St. Monday – Thursday, 11 a.m. – 10 p.m.; Friday, 11 a.m. – 11 p.m.; Saturday – Sunday, 10 a.m. – 11 p.m.