You have got to give RESPECT to a restaurant that offers fried pork rinds on its buffet. This is not your average bland, tasteless, mass-quantity buffet. Kings Restaurant in Kinston NC affords customers the luxury of a home-cooked meal, at a reasonable price, with fast, friendly service. Kings Restaurant made it into our new favorite things category due to the outstanding, delicious quality of its food. We learned about it while having our starter rebuilt on a recent trip to Kinston NC.
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After speaking with our server, we discovered that Kings Restaurant had been effected by both Hurricane Florence and Hurricane Michael. They experienced some damage and minor flooding, but were able to get everything fixed quickly. At the time of this writing, they had been open about a week since the storms. Interestingly, Kings Restaurant was no stranger to hurricanes, having been in business since 1936, they even had a marker showing the height of each flood.
The decor is mainly historical in a casual, friendly atmosphere. Many items can be seen as far back as the United States Civil War. One display of particular interest was a collection of bullets and canon artillery from the Civil War. Also, was a model of an older Kinston NC complete with train station.
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The dining area is divided into two distinct sides of the restaurant. During lunch, the left side was for patrons ordering from the menu, and also included an oyster bar. The right side was for customers interested in the buffet.
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Kings Restaurant Lunch Buffet
Every single bite was uncommonly delicious, as if your mother or grandmother was cooking for you. Therefore, Shannon and I tried to sample as many items as we could. We began with a few items from the fresh salad & soup bar before moving on to the main course. Some of our favorites were the dry lima bean & sausage soup, the shrimp & grits, and the banana pudding. Oh my goodness, the banana pudding was stellar and completely made-from-scratch. EVERY SINGLE BITE was a favorite, and Shawn is a bit of a banana pudding snob.
A few of our other favorites included the pulled pork, fried chicken, creamed potatoes and gravy, and both collard and turnip greens.
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Location
405 East New Bern Rd.Kinston, NC 28504
phone: 252-527-2101
Date Time
2018 Oct 16 1300
Server
Shay
Ambiance
Casual, historical, relaxed
Food Order
Lunch buffet
Cost
$10.50 per person includes drink
Notes
Try to fried pork rinds. The desserts were all made from scratch and it showed.
Rating
5 of 5 stars and we highly recommend.
