GRAIN AND GRILL NEW FOR 2023

[RedSummit20]

https://kicentral.com/forums/index.php?/topic/46121-kings-island-adds-new-executive-chef-restaurant-for-2023-season/

https://local12.com/news/local/kings-island-adds-new-restaurant-2023-mason-ohio-cincinnati-amusement-park-chef-joseph-perez-food-grain-grill-enriques-mercado-adventure-port

 

[KIghostguy]

Fantastic news! I ate at Grain and Grill at Kings Dominion last year and it was fabulous! Can’t wait to try it at Kings Island. And I’m so happy to see that they are keeping the painted flowers. 

[BoddaH1994]

F’n exciting! I LOVE new food options, especially healthier and less “heavy” options. Good on them!

Here is the CP Food Blog article with a little more information and commentary:

https://cpfoodblog.com/grain-grill-coming-to-kings-island/?fbclid=IwAR0HzP3Mvqs1nsk5VrnFsvrK5lnrl7Fa3FbrnB__Jk_P62-ZLb87zWr-wZo&mibextid=Zxz2cZ

[Hawaiian Coasters 325]

Also seems like unlike KD, ours won't have the beef sirloin which is honestly kinda disappointing as I was looking forward to having steak at the park. However, the full menu hasn't been released yet so holding out hope that beef sirloin gets added down the line as I've heard the beef sirloin at KD's Grain and Grill is really good. 

[BoddaH1994]

3 hours ago, Hawaiian Coasters 325 said:

Also seems like unlike KD, ours won't have the beef sirloin which is honestly kinda disappointing as I was looking forward to having steak at the park. However, the full menu hasn't been released yet so holding out hope that beef sirloin gets added down the line as I've heard the beef sirloin at KD's Grain and Grill is really good. 

My understanding is that the menu has at least some rotation to it, like Coney BBQ. Is that correct?

[super7]

The one at Kings Dominion is great.    This is a wise move by the park.   The chain restaurants Skyline LaRosas Subway etc have the worst quality food in the park and have brought down the overall dining experience for a long time. 

[NegativeGs]

I totally agree that those fast food restaurants should respectfully leave KI. In 2022, I frequented KI but never ordered food from them. In 2021 I went to the KI Subway once.

[SonofBaconator]

2 hours ago, super7 said:

The chain restaurants Skyline LaRosas Subway etc have the worst quality food in the park and have brought down the overall dining experience for a long time. 

They’re not without their uses however. I believe KI was the first park to feature pizza so there’s history there. I’m biased and like Skyline but always felt that Subway was somewhat unnecessary. At the end of the day, there’s more dining options out there for people to chose from- some will go for the new eateries and some will go for the chains that they’re familiar with.

[Oldiesmann]

Looking forward to trying new food options. I've heard good things about Grain & Grill at KD, but haven't experienced it yet. I will miss having a place to enjoy cheese coneys in the AC but that's prime real estate in KI and you definitely want that to be a signature restaurant rather than a duplicate of something you can find elsewhere in the park (and even 10 minutes outside the park since there's one right up the road from KI). I won't miss Subway at all - they have good food (I'm particularly fond of their Sweet Onion Chicken Teriyaki sandwich), but I never ate there (too many other good choices and a limited menu compared to a standalone store).

[Driver8rws]

Holy crap! Can you IMAGINE what the line at the INSANELY SLOW (painfully inefficient) Skyline in Coney Mall will look like now??? 

You could tell Subway was on the way out, but super shocked at ChickFilA. It was ALWAYS packed!  Except on Sundays...

 

12 hours ago, super7 said:

The one at Kings Dominion is great.    This is a wise move by the park.   The chain restaurants Skyline LaRosas Subway etc have the worst quality food in the park and have brought down the overall dining experience for a long time. 

Except LaRosas and Skyline have been @ K.I. since the early 80s!! That IS Kings Island!!

My whole childhood I never even knew LaRosas or Skyline were "real" restaurants.  I just thought that was Kings Island Pizza and Kings Island Coneys...

[Hawaiian Coasters 325]

21 minutes ago, Driver8rws said:

Except LaRosas and Skyline have been @ K.I. since the early 80s!! That IS Kings Island!!

My whole childhood I never even knew LaRosas or Skyline were "real" restaurants!  I just thought that was Kings Island Pizza and Kings Island Coneys...

That's opposite of what I grew up with lol. My family hardly ever ate Skyline or LaRosas in the park. It would usually be a special occasion for us to eat in the park period. This was well before the dining plans were a thing. Like we would sometimes pack a lunch and go out to the car and eat or eat before we come or after we leave. LaRosas and Skyline usually we would get outside the park especially skyline on Wednesday nights where my closest one would do kids eat free night lol. 

[brenthodge]

9 hours ago, Driver8rws said:

Except LaRosas and Skyline have been @ K.I. since the early 80s!! That IS Kings Island!!

My whole childhood I never even knew LaRosas or Skyline were "real" restaurants!  I just thought that was Kings Island Pizza and Kings Island Coneys...

And they are both there! Whew! All is still good with the world. 

 

Next goal should be to get a great park-specific Italian concept in the IS LaRosas and let the “historic” one in Rivertown be the main location in the park. I think it would be great to get ALL franchises off on IS so you don’t enter the park and have it look like a local outdoor mall food court with AuntiaAnns, Cinnabon, Graeters and the like. All of em gone or at least no corporate branding slapped prominently on the building. 

[BlondyRidesOn]

Ive never been to Kings Dominion, but I have heard good things about Grain & Grill. This is the perfect use for this location. I love how the park is putting emphasis that it will serve Mediterranean and Eastern European foods. This is a sign that the park seems to be dedicated to restoring the worldly feeling of International Street. 

[chad_1138]

8 minutes ago, brenthodge said:

Next goal should be to get a great park-specific Italian concept in the IS LaRosas and let the “historic” one in Rivertown be the main location in the park. I think it would be great to get ALL franchises off on IS so you don’t enter the park and have it look like a local outdoor mall food court with AuntiaAnns, Cinnabon, Graeters and the like. All of em gone or at least no corporate branding slapped prominently on the building. 

If they can bring Grain & Grill from KD, they should bring Hugo's from CP.  

[robintodd]

32 minutes ago, brenthodge said:

Next goal should be to get a great park-specific Italian concept in the IS LaRosas and let the “historic” one in Rivertown be the main location in the park. I think it would be great to get ALL franchises off on IS so you don’t enter the park and have it look like a local outdoor mall food court with AuntiaAnns, Cinnabon, Graeters and the like. All of em gone or at least no corporate branding slapped prominently on the building. 

I would like to see pasta/ziti, etc.  They could do a Hugo's like at CP.  It always seems to be busy.

[Driver8rws]

54 minutes ago, brenthodge said:

Next goal should be to get a great park-specific Italian concept in the IS LaRosas and let the “historic” one in Rivertown be the main location in the park. I think it would be great to get ALL franchises off on IS so you don’t enter the park and have it look like a local outdoor mall food court with AuntiaAnns, Cinnabon, Graeters and the like. All of em gone or at least no corporate branding slapped prominently on the building. 

I'd be ok with that idea of "original" / non-franchise places on International Street.  But good luck getting rid of Starbucks!  Why it's there in the first place blows my mind...

 

[cdubbs727]

This is exciting news. We live in Detroit, so Skyline has always kind of been a KI-specific food for us. But truthfully, my wife can't stand it (she calls it dog food), my daughter won't touch it and my old man stomach has begun telling me "maybe don't" in recent years (my son still digs it). And it's still there for people who want it -- and truthfully, the Coney location is a better fit for it anyway. A nice, healthy(ish) Mediterranean location sounds great. 

I'm with everyone who says get the franchises off IS, although my hunch is that Graters and Cinnabon are there to stay -- they're good locations for people who want a snack during the fireworks. And Starbucks isn't going anywhere -- it's too popular and, honestly, a good way to get that morning coffee if I rush out the door to the park without getting it. But LaRosa's already is available at two other park locations; you could easily put in a nice, brick/wood-oven pizza place original to KI. 

I like that they're focusing on some nice dining options in recent years. I'd still love to see a revamp of the options in Festhaus and for them to finally do something with the International Restaurant. 

Also, any work what's replacing CFA?  

[chad_1138]

23 minutes ago, cdubbs727 said:

. 

Also, any work what's replacing CFA?  

[Hawaiian Coasters 325]

Honestly I think both Aunte Anne's and Cinnabon could be on their way out. The park's culinary team could easily create their own copycats of them. Like Aunte Anne's could become a German pretzel stand that serves like pretzel sandwiches and pretzel hot dogs like BGW has. I'm sure also the park could create their own cinnamon roll recipe as a replacement for cinnabon. I also think down the road we see LaRosas in the Festhaus get taken out and replaced with a more German place with flatbread pizza like BGW has in their Festhaus. I also think a Hugo's would be nice in the park especially with a pasta bar where you can build your own pasta. 

[BeeastFarmer]

So instead of chain food, we want to become like another amusement park chain?

[cdubbs727]

14 minutes ago, BeeastFarmer said:

So instead of chain food, we want to become like another amusement park chain?

Or we can keep the chains and be a glorified mall food court. 

[TOPGUN1993]

[BeeastFarmer]

43 minutes ago, cdubbs727 said:

Or we can keep the chains and be a glorified mall food court. 

Or we can seek balance like it appears Kings Island is attempting. Skyline is great.  But the Swiss Building location has been a mess for years and needed a major gut job on the interior...which I hope we have. 

I just want ki to be ki, not sfog or bgw. I think grain and grill will be a good cf brand, but I don't think Hugo's would fit good at ki, like it may at Carowinds.  As I would never want to see Chop Kings replacing panda express in Festhaus. 

 

As park enthusiasts, we tend to narrow our focus when we really could think outside the box of what makes a great sensory experience.

[KI Or Bust]

2 hours ago, Hawaiian Coasters 325 said:

I also think down the road we see LaRosas in the Festhaus get taken out and replaced with a more German place with flatbread pizza like BGW has in their Festhaus. I also think a Hugo's would be nice in the park especially with a pasta bar where you can build your own pasta. 

I really hope not. As a parent of two young children, they love nothing more than either sitting down and eating Skyline inside where it's cool  or eating LaRosa's in the Festhaus. Coneys and pizza are kid staples and I think you have to at least have some options for them besides just the bland hamburgers and chicken fingers.

[mikejenkins1]

I wish they would open another restaurant with food from Chef Major...   

[brenthodge]

21 hours ago, Driver8rws said:

I'd be ok with that idea of "original" / non-franchise places on International Street.  But good luck getting rid of Starbucks!  Why it's there in the first place blows my mind...

14 hours ago, KI Or Bust said:

I really hope not. As a parent of two young children, they love nothing more than either sitting down and eating Skyline inside where it's cool  or eating LaRosa's in the Festhaus. Coneys and pizza are kid staples and I think you have to at least have some options for them besides just the bland hamburgers and chicken fingers.

I agree that those options should be there, just not so prominently featured. When they r had special food items at Festhaus it’s almost impossible to find them on the menu or in the line. It’s pizza… they will seek it out like moths to a flame. No need to highlight it (unless it’s unique… and good) 

[IndyGuy4KI]

13 hours ago, mikejenkins1 said:

I wish they would open another restaurant with food from Chef Major...   

Technically he is the head chef over  KI and other parks. With that info, I would think anything that Chef Perez creates would be ok'ed first by Chef Major.

[mikejenkins1]

I have the meal plan and got it last year because of his foods.  If you have not tried them, you need to.  Loved everything from Food Truck, French Corner, Restaurants in Coney and by Mystic.

I got almost every item he made and it was fantastic!  I hope he can do the same for the other parks in the chain.

We met with him and spoke with him several times last yea and he is very nice and talented.

[Snowball]

21 hours ago, KI Or Bust said:

I really hope not. As a parent of two young children, they love nothing more than either sitting down and eating Skyline inside where it's cool  or eating LaRosa's in the Festhaus. Coneys and pizza are kid staples and I think you have to at least have some options for them besides just the bland hamburgers and chicken fingers.

I mean, nothing is stopping you from getting pizza at LaRosas in Rivertown or on International Street, or Skyline in Coney Mall, and taking it Festhaus (or any other indoor dining area really).

[super7]

On 4/5/2023 at 1:06 PM, Hawaiian Coasters 325 said:

Honestly I think both Aunte Anne's and Cinnabon could be on their way out. The park's culinary team could easily create their own copycats of them. Like Aunte Anne's could become a German pretzel stand that serves like pretzel sandwiches and pretzel hot dogs like BGW has. I'm sure also the park could create their own cinnamon roll recipe as a replacement for cinnabon. I also think down the road we see LaRosas in the Festhaus get taken out and replaced with a more German place with flatbread pizza like BGW has in their Festhaus. I also think a Hugo's would be nice in the park especially with a pasta bar where you can build your own pasta. 

Busch Gardens Williamsburg has their own hand made pretzels that are superior to Auntie Anne’s. 
 

The park is capable of producing  better quality food than almost any chain that is currently in the park.    Especially the nasty pizza.