You Can’t Help but Feel Good at Kitchen 324

There are some restaurants you just can’t help but love. They’re not gimmicky or pretentious. They have killer service time after time. The food tastes great, and looks good too. Kitchen 324 in downtown Oklahoma City is one of those places. You just feel good as soon as you walk in, with light streaming through the large windows and the smell of fresh pastries and coffee perking your senses.

The interior reminds me of a restaurant you’d find in Northern California – all clean lines, with a distinct industrial feel. And I’m all about it. Kitchen 324 started out as a humble quick-service cafe for the downtown workforce but has morphed over the years into one of the city’s hottest dining spots. We stopped in last weekend to take advantage of what they do best: a beautiful hearty brunch.

You can’t go to Kitchen 324 without getting your caffeine fix. Their coffee is simply fabulous. Tom ordered a beautiful cappucino while I opted for a “diner cup”. As we sipped our coffees, we couldn’t help but stare at the gorgeous pastry display and start to plan what we might order for dessert.

But since we’re responsible adults, we ordered something a little more substantial first. The food at Kitchen 324 is so fresh and visually appealing, we couldn’t wait to dig in.

The menu offers everything from light, vegetarian dishes to hearty stick-to-your-ribs plates. When in doubt, it’s always safe to go with the daily brunch special. Tom went this route as soon as he heard the words masa cake benedict with chipotle hollandaise. The dish really showed off the creativity of the chef and was enhanced by fresh house-made sausage and a sweet potato and black bean hash.

On the side, he couldn’t pass up a fresh biscuit with butter and jam. These biscuits are dense and buttery, but truly melt in your mouth.

I was in the mood for something a little lighter and loaded with fresh produce, so I opted for the breakfast bowl with brussels sprouts, sweet potato, kale pesto, avocado and sunny side up eggs. The dish comes with bacon but after a meat-filled dinner the night before I decided to keep things vegetarian. This bowl was so comforting and flavorful, exactly what I needed after a big night out.

I ordered a side of fruit, expecting a typical small bowl of melon and maybe some berries. Instead I was presented with a fruit platter that was truly a work of art. Again, every bite was as fresh as could be and put a smile on my face.

We were definitely satiated by this point, but you simply can’t pass up the pastries at Kitchen 324. They rotate daily, but you can expect to find scones, croissants, joenuts (their version of a cronut) and more. We couldn’t pass up the unicorn joenut (who could?) or the day’s special, the strawberry jam cake.

Both were delicious, but the cake was a work of art with delicate layers of soft sponge cake, rich whipped cream and fresh strawberry jam. We could only manage a few bites, but you can rest assured we took the leftovers to enjoy later.

In addition to brunch, Kitchen 324 serves breakfast, lunch and dinner daily. If you’re visiting Oklahoma City, this restaurant should be at the top of your must-visit list (along with Waffle Champion, Hall’s Pizza Kitchen and Mickey Mantle’s, of course).

This post was done in collaboration with Visit OKC. Kitchen 324 comped our meal, but we have long been fans of this restaurant. All opinions are our own.