My husband and I took my father-in-law to Kal's recently for dinner. I read some reviews of this place online and saw that they are a small restaurant with only about 12 tables, so I wanted to make reservations. When I called to make reservations they seemed a little taken aback and said that they don't usually do reservations but would take down my information. When we arrived, there were only 2 other people in the restaurant, so I guess reservations were not necessary after all.
I'm surprised that the place wasn't busier because the food is good for what it is, the portions are huge and the prices very reasonable.
We started with the Combo #2 Appetizer Platter (4 wings, 4 cheese sticks, 3 chicken fingers, fries and your choice of 2 dipping sauces - we chose garlic which is made in house and plum sauce for the chicken fingers) $13. We got the wings medium and they had a nice spicy kick to them. They were rather small and not that meaty, but they were full of flavour. The cheese sticks were gooey and stringy with a nice breaded crust on the outside. The chicken fingers were real breast meat and nice and tender. Fries are regular cut fries and not battered. They were crispy and hot. The garlic sauce was not overly garlicky. It had a creamy texture and went well with the fries.
I had the Hot Turkey Sandwich ($15). It was actually a pile of stuffing, layered with real turkey breast meat and then covered in turkey gravy. It was not a sandwich at all, but the server did warn me when I ordered it. The meat was all white meat and was juicy and tender, not dry at all. The stuffing was actually quite good. It even had little bits of vegetables in it (carrot and maybe celery). The gravy was a strange yellow hue and a little too salty for my taste though. I liked that my entree came with 2 sides (and they don't charge you extra for onion rings or Caesar salad like some places do). I chose a Garden salad and onion rings. The onion rings were gigantic, like 4 inches in diameter! They were crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. I loved them. The garden salad was mostly romaine lettuce with a bit of carrots, red onions, cucumber, tomatoes and one slice of green pepper. The vegetables were fresh, but the salad itself was unremarkable.
My husband had the Table 44 Burger ($14) which was a beef burger with fried mushrooms, brie, peameal bacon, lettuce and tomato. The bun is a regular bun with some cornmeal on it, no pesky seeds. I had a bite of it and it was good. The flavours really go well together. He had coleslaw and onion rings as his side. The coleslaw is a vinegar-based coleslaw, which I liked much better than the traditional mayo-based ones.
My father-in-law had the Shrimp Stir-fry ($16). It had red and green peppers, mushrooms, carrots and some other vegetables. He said that it could have used some more shrimp, but overall he seemed happy with the dish. He had fries and onion rings as his sides.
We were so stuffed after all this food that we had no room for dessert (which the server tempted us with by bringing out slices to show us what they look like).
My father-in-law had the house wine which he said was quite good.
Overall Kal's is a great family restaurant. The portions are really big. There are no Masterpieces here, but just good hearty diner-like dishes.
The server was really nice although she was forgetful with bringing waters and we had to ask to get our water re-filled. But for this kind of place and for these kind of prices, I'm ok with that.
I would go back to Kal's.
This restaurant is in Grant's Crossing. It near the Five Guys, Sally's Beauty Supply, etc. Lots of free parking. read more