My family came here for a belated Father’s Day dinner. I had seen many posts online from friends celebrating at this restaurant the week before, so I thought it may be worth checking out. My party was large, but we were seated promptly and served drinks. Unfortunately, once our orders were taken, the service and dining experience declined. Our entrees all came at different times, with the time in between taking longer and longer. At one point my sister in law was still waiting for her meal while my brother(her husband) was almost finished with his. I ordered the avocado grilled cheese, but had to send it back because it was cold and the cheese wasn’t melted. On the upside the fries were piping hot. I also noticed that there was only cheddar cheese in my sandwich, but in the menu I was supposed to also come with gruyère cheese. I also found it strange that the grilled cheese came in a hoagie style roll. I wasn’t expecting that at all. That type of bread would not be my first choice when making grilled cheese. The sandwich is more toasted than grilled and was dry. My second sandwich came melted with all the cheeses this time, but I was the last to get my entrée and everyone else in my party was pretty much done. I only ate half and took the rest to go. When speaking to the rest of my family about the food itself, my siblings and my dad were not really impressed. My dad got the avocado grilled cheese too, but his was cold also but didn’t want to wait for another one. My husband and sister in law got the country fried steak and they both agreed that it was bland. The gravy did not really help to add flavor either. My brothers ordered Po boys, and they all felt flavor was lacking. However, we all agreed that the fries were very tasty and the sweet tea was refreshing. Our server was kind and accommodating, but wasn’t as knowledgeable about the menu as you’d expect or helpful with recommendations. My overall dining experience was unfortunately lacking. It was a little expensive for what you’re actually getting and dining service needs a little more work. I don’t think I’ll be returning.
Alejandra E.
Rating des Ortes: 4 San Diego, CA
We came in for brunch. Girls serving were super nice and cute. This is a comfort food style restaurant so, –light– is not on the menu. Lol They have a big selection of poboys which I wanted to try. My husband ordered the chicken fried steak and was very happy. It was BIG. I ordered the eggs Benedict with the sauce on the side. They came with a cup of fruit and country style potatoes. The eggs were good and the bios chit was nice and buttery. It was smaller than average, but I appreciate it that. I tried the sauce and did not like it, it was like made with sausage. I’m glad I chose it on the side. The potatoes were very greasy and had that greasy taste. So, I did not eat them. Coffee was fantastic. Again servers are super nice and cute. I’m now seeing on Unilocal that they have beignets and I’m kinda upset haha. Will have to go back and try it again grrrrt
Cindy S.
Rating des Ortes: 1 Temecula, CA
Ordered crab mushrooms, had to send them back… awful! Bloody Mary bar, no bacon, asked 3 times, still no bacon. Ordered oyster trio, no oysters. Poor server, Ryan was trying so hard did a great job, felt bad for him! Won’t be going back. Not impressed at all!
Kim K.
Rating des Ortes: 4 Riverside, CA
Took my parents for Father’s Day on a week day at 2:00pm. We were seated right a way by a friendly worker. I’m not a big fan of spicy cajun food, but my parents are and they loved the food here. I tried the Crab Cakes, they had large chunks of crab, very moist; I prefer them a little more cooked. The Gator appetizers were great came with a dipping sauce. According to my parents, who have eaten this food in Louisiana, said the Catfish, Jambalaya, Collar Greens, Cornbread were good. My PoBoy was tasty, and very spicy. The waitress was very nice and gave my Dad a Beignet for dessert to celebrate Father’s Day. The feel of the place is fun, the staff were very friendly. I would go again.
Dale G.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Lake Elsinore, CA
Considering it’s pretty difficult to find a southern style restaurant with food that’s actually good, this place is most definitely a diamond in the rough. Pros: clean, pleasant staff, fast service, really good food, very competitive pricing Cons: None, so far. I’m used to New Orleans home cooking, so I know what good po boys and gumbo should taste like. They most definitely put their food in all of their food. Would strongly recommend anyone who is trying to get a taste of the south to give this place a shot.
Maria S.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Temecula, CA
Awesome!!! finally a real Cajun/Creole restaurant in the heart of old town Temecula… Boyfriend ordered the fried gator and I got the duck tacos… We didn’t have high hopes for these 2 choices… I’ve had gator in Florida and it was so chewy and rubbery… and last time we had duck tacos they substituted chicken without telling us. Well… Our fears were unfounded… The gator was nice and light and tasty and the duck tacos were tender and flavorful. I had also ordered a jalapeño mixed drink — with ghost pepper! Delicious! Best part of our visit was Jess our waitress … She welcomed us warmly and answered all our questions about our food… Very pleasant and knowledgeable about the cuisine. Thank you Jess for making our visit so memorable. Coming back here for sure.
Leslie V.
Rating des Ortes: 5 San Diego, CA
My husband and I went to Liberty Kitchen on a Sunday afternoon and had a great time. we started with the Fried Green Tomatoes, which we enjoyed and I tried the mimosa flight… different and creative flavors a like lavender and a strawberry basil. My husband LOVED his shrimp PO-boy and will probably crave it from time to time. I had a veggie grilled cheese which was pretty good, but wish I had been more adventurous and tried the veggie pot pie or something. I will next time… we will definitely go back! I love what the owners did with the space. It looks like an excellent place to see some live music… a fun, folky stage and cool lighting. Our server was a young man that seemed to lack some experience in the business, but he was very attentive and pleasant. We enjoyed his service. A great addition to our growing Old Town!
Grant S.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Temecula, CA
Been here multiple times it’s a little twist in southern food but the food is awesome for not having southern food in 7 years. The shrimp grits are the shit! Now to up it up if you guys can mimic the braised oysters from Acme in Louisiana, well everything would be just fabulous. Don’t ask a skinny boy where to eat!, Not only that but Liberty helps out the great oak marching band.
Jason B.
Rating des Ortes: 3 Murrieta, CA
I walked in at 8:30 on Sunday for karaōke. I sat at a table and finally got my first beer at 9:15. Usually I’d be pissed but at $ 7 a beer plus tax and tip, they probably just saved me $ 20. I ordered the jambalaya with collared greens around the same time I ordered the beer which was 9:05. I got the food at about 9:50. It was OK. Yard House’s and Claim Jumper’s jambalaya is a little better as but tastes are subjective and to be fair, I’m not doing a side by side comparison. My friend asked for three beers on their extensive nine tap beer list and all three were out. So he settled for a Coors Light in bottle about 15 – 20 minutes after he first requested 805. :( To top this mess off, they charged me for a beer they did not have. I was informed I’ll just get the cash back. I asked to just get a different beer for the same price and they did it after a little resistance but THEY chose the beer to give me. It’s a cool place with a neat menu. I’m going to give them more chances for sure but if it weren’t for the crowd and karaōke, at this point, I’d chose other places in old town. Had jambalaya, a side, three tap beers, one bottled and bill was $ 37. I still tipped them $ 8, as I don’t think any of this was my servers fault. $ 45 for food and two craft beers plus two domestics in old town is competitive pricing but nothing to bring bargain hunters in.
Marie S.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Temecula, CA
Heard about this new spot and decided to check it out yesterday, I highly recommend their fried catfish sandwich and add fried oysters, I got a gluten free bun that tasted amazing, the blonde server was extremely friendly to me when I walked threw the door, I can say the same for the girl bartender, I was impressed when I ask her what beers they had on tap, she named they all and who they were by without having to look back, I was constantly asked if their was anything I needed by the whole staff. There food and service is top notch :)
Courtney J.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Temecula, CA
Great atmosphere. Great service. Great drinks. DELICIOUSFOOD. The new stage looks like it is going to be awesome.
Matt B.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Cerritos, CA
Outrageously Good! My wife and I just drove here from Anaheim and we may not leave… seriously we might hide under the table and resist all attempts at eviction. I had a sandwich with melted cheese, avocado, and a *filet* of perfectly cooked chicken breast. My wife had chicken dumplings and a side of corn bread. Oooh the corn bread. So good it should be a controlled substance. Actually it was all just wonderful. We will be back!
Rene B.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Azusa, CA
Ordered the shrimp and grits, collards, bowl of gumbo and cornbread. Washed it down with an Arnold Palmer Now let me say that as a person who’s part Creole and cooks Creole food. I’m very particular. Overall I like this place. The shrimp & grit were perfect, grits were creamy and the sauce and shrimp was very flavorful. The gumbo just right the roule was not to thick and not at all thin like soup. The sausage and chicken was excellent and just enough Cajun spiciness. The greens also just right and I think they mix with either a little kale or turnip greens. They even offered me pepper sauce. Not many places even know what that is. I didn’t like the cornbread much too much like cake. But was adequate. You won’t go wrong here.
Tinky R.
Rating des Ortes: 2 Temecula, CA
Meh… I ordered jambalaya and my waitress seemed confused as to the difference between jambalaya and gumbo– serious… when it arrived… it was cold… Rather than making it fresh, they microwaved the crud out of it and made is mushy– aka gumbo. Please learn the difference. Hope they work out the kinks… otherwise there will be yet another different restaurant in this same location in 2 years… Please listen. It’s your money and this review is for your help… Hope you do. Although it was mushy, I took a bite– you got the spices right… texture was made for a nursing home… mushy. Take this review and run with it… I will gladly try again and will edit review if appropriate. Hope so. If I get a snarky comment busy the owner, then not likely…
Geli V.
Rating des Ortes: 4 Oceanside, San Diego, CA
Honestly my fiancé and I came to this restaurant because we’ve passed it numerous times and finally decided to stop in! We had no idea what to expect. The service is great. We were immediately greeted as soon as we walked in. We noticed a few of the people at the bar were playing games like Jenga. Right away that caught my eye. We sat down and our server greeted us and offered drinks. I ordered Gringo Honeymoon which is a tequila drink with grapefruit juice, lime and honey. I completely forgot that I’m really not a big fan of grapefruit, but the drink would be delicious for those grapefruit lovers. My fiancé order a blue moon and Miller lite. We decided to play connect 4 while we wait for our food. I ordered the Po Boy portabello while he ordered the the peacemaker which has shrimp and oysters in it. He LOVEDIT! I stole an oyster from his plate when he wasn’t looking. Delicious. I would come here again to explore more of their menu! Oh and we happened to swing by during happy hour so just about everything was $ 3 off! Huge plus.
Sam P.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Redlands, CA
Dang, I love me some N’Awlins food. Tippe and I keep talking about coming back here and stuffing our faces. And next time, we’ll probably bring our dog. We hit this place up and did it from appetizer to dessert. We started with the crab cakes, which include real crab meat. Not that soy-based grab nonsense; it was the real deal. Get your fork ready, because you’ll be fighting for the last bite of crab cake. I got the jambalaya, but Tippe liked my food better so I got her crawfish ettoufee with a scoop of white rice in the middle. Then we topped it all off with some fresh beignets with powdered sugar… might as well call them French doughnuts. But if I could do it all over again I would probably skips the beignets, but I’m not too much of a dessert person anyway.
LaShunna R.
Rating des Ortes: 4 Murrieta, CA
The food is decent, but the service is top notch. Jess was such a sweetheart and would be the main reason I came back. If you go, I recommend the beignets and fried gator. The Po Boy was ok – I would have preferred to eat the fried shrimp by itself. Portions are large so if you go and enjoy the food, at least you’ll have something for later. Easy and chill atmosphere. Large enough for groups and laid back enough for children. I might come back again. Who knows
Jen E.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Wildomar, CA
I LOVED this place! My boyfriend and I came here for a late dinner a few Sundays ago; and I have to say I absolutely love it! It is decorated super cute inside. AND they were having Karaōke to boot! It was SO funny listening to everyone, and a few people were actually good! They served our drinks in mason jars that were huge! But so cute and matched the décor perfect. We started with the queso and it was SO good. I could totally eat it right this minute as I’m writing this. It was probably the BEST queso I’ve ever had. The BF ordered the chicken fried steak with mashed potatoes, and I had the shrimp & grits which also came with a side so we just ordered fries. Everything was great. BF loved his chicken fried steak, and my shrimp & grits were delish as well! The only note I would have is maybe a little less of the sauce they cover it in but really, it was amazing. Our server was SO great! We had an awesome time, and will definitely be back!
GLENNA R.
Rating des Ortes: 5 San Diego, CA
We were a party of 3 adults and 1 kid on a Saturday night. We waited 50 minutes for our food and I’m still giving a good rating! The service and food were great! If I waited that long for my food to only be disappointed I’d feel differently. The manager came out and told us there was a large party and that it still wasn’t an excuse for the delay, so she offered us a discount and beignets! The food was amazing. We had shrimp Po boys with fries and mashed potatoes and a kids chicken fried steak. You must try the mashed potatoes! It sounds weird with a sandwich but their mashed potatoes is so good! The kids chicken fried steak was a huge portion and my son ate the whole thing! Thanks Liberty Kitchen, we’ll be back!
Greg A.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Murrieta, CA
Austin Texas crossed with Cajun infused cuisine. PO Boy shrimp sandwich with«Dukes«creole mayo was the Bomb. Gumbo rue was on que. Everything was just right spicy like should be with Hot Sauce on table. Hank & Cash on the juke box, wash it all down with sweet tea & Beignets. I’m gonna ramble on & back here cause the flavor is to savor. Alissa was on our every need & order came out quick Im going to officially sanctify«Liberty Kitchen»