Sunday 27th of June 2010 01:26:33 AM

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Kith & Kin is a welcome addition to the neighborhood, offering fine dining right across the street from Local Option.

The interior is spacious, with a dining room on the left, and bar on the right, with a low partition in the middle. Clusters of framed artworks hung salon-style on the walls. Exposed brick columns in the front, dark plank wood flooring, with earth tone walls and a silver tin ceiling in the restaurant. The bar seats maybe 15, with 8 taps prominently displayed, dark cherry wood, with a mirrored back bar.

Beer selection seems to be in it's infancy, though mainly quality craft options designed to pair with food. Lighter fare on draft like Gumballhead, Flywheel, and 60 minute, bottles like Centennial IPA, Burning River, Czechvar, Aventinus also a couple RIS: World Wide Stout and Old Rasputin. So no great shakes, but good pairing options. Definitely no comparison to Local Option, but together they make a nice pair.

Service was really prompt and professional, the host was really friendly. Gumballhead was served in a 16 oz. nonic pint, and was extremely fresh.

Food was creative and high quality. There were a range of options, some were twists on hearty gastropub style dishes (poutine, mussels, "crocks"). We shared an eggplant purée + almond raisin relish, served with extra crostini pieces. Tagliatelle pasta was very interesting, served in a pea broth with mint and radish sprouts. Fried chicken thigh was well made, served with a morel & potato salad. Entrees are in the $15-20 range, and sandwiches/salads $9-15.

Overall it was a positive experience, i'd recommend having dinner here, and beers before/afterward at Local Option. An expanded beer list here would be even better.

2nd visit 6/10: Sat at the bar, to get a different perspective on the place. It was fairly cozy, the front windows were open onto the street. More of a crowd this time, and being adjacent to the kitchen made it a little noisy. The first 2 beers we ordered were out, Gumballhead & World Wide Stout. 2 of the 8 taps were also tapped out, which was disappointing. Great service though, and the pork creton appetizer was tasty and a perfect match with Flywheel on tap. Nice top shelf Scotch/Bourbon/Rye selections.

3rd visit 11/10: Beer selection has been knocked down to 10 bottles plus an n/a and a cider... drafts were largely the same save for Left Hand Black Jack Porter. Menu seemed more pricey ($20+ entrees) but largely the same too. Basically a date place for a nice dinner before Local Option, but don't expect a great beer selection any more.