Lacto
Ovo
American
Caribbean
Catering
Fusion
Non-veg

Serves meat, vegan options available. Cuisine is a mix of New American and Caribbean. Vegans could get chips and guac, a chickpea Indian dish, kale salad, potatoes, market vegetable plate. Specify vegan when ordering and ask for options. Previously at 73777 29 Palms Hwy.


Venue map for Kitchen in the Desert
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16 Reviews

First Review by TattedYankee

tdroeth

Points +409

Vegan
29 Mar 2025

🏜️

lovely place for a date night. everything tasted so fresh, light, and flavorful. they are very aware of the vegan options and know exactly how each dish can be made vegan. my favorite dish was definitely the brussel sprouts, but we also got and loved the dan dan noodles (delicious, creamy, a little spicy) and curry chana (loved the coconut rice). They also have vegan pie and ice cream- we got the blue moon pie and I definitely recommend it.

Casalita

Points +301

Vegan
01 Mar 2025

Chefs kiss

Loved this dining experience. Maybe it was because I just spent 4 weeks in my van in the desert so this was my first real restaurant in awhile but everything was fantastic. We didn’t have reservations so we couldn’t get an outdoor seat (a Thursday around 6:30pm) but the inside was very chill and lounge-y.

It is more like tapas so we ordered 5 things to share plus desert. It was a lot of food, it all came out very quickly but nicely staggard. They have vegan options on the menu but said some of the other dishes could be made vegan too by using oil instead of butter, etc. they were really knowledgeable. Plus! I think all their desserts were vegan but they don’t disclose that which I love because you’d never be able to tell.

Not the cheapest but I felt reasonable for the quality and experience

Chana with coconut rice - delicious!

Falafel (beet?) - excellent!

Brussel sprouts - nice cooked unlike the over crisped and fresh ones many restaurants serve these days

Spicy kale - this was the only thing that was meh for me. I didn’t detect any spicy, not very flavorful but nicely cooked and fresh

Harvest vegetables - really good with whatever sauce came with it. So yummy

Cherry pie and pear pie - omg. Incredible

Chocolate ice cream and vanilla ice cream - amazing

Cucumber cilantro lemonade - not really sweet, healthy and refreshing

Mezcal mule - partner said it was great

Pros: Food, Service, Ambiance

Cons: Kale?

SaraCouillard

Points +95

Vegan
09 Feb 2025

My favorite spot

I love this place . I took the falafel and the chickpeas curry. It was very good. The services is excellent and the vibe of the place too!

ChefZ

Points +36

Vegan
15 Jan 2025

Great options in 29 Palms

Delicious meal with plenty of vegan options. We had the Carribean Bowl, falafel and the Double. All very well done and great presentation in a cool vibe. Although two dishes would be enough for the two of us. Make a reservation in advance. #Veganuary

Updated from previous review on 2025-01-15

Pros: Great food , Reasonable prices, Cool atmosphere

silo

Points +1005

Vegan
31 Mar 2024

Chilled vibe and nice food (but pricey)

As others have pointed out the service is very relaxed. But rather than being a negative this is the pace and atmosphere of this place. Unhurried but attentive enough.

The food is very good, tasty and fresh. The staff are well aware of what is vegan or can be made vegan.

It is certainly not cheap and that is the only real negative of the place.

Updated from previous review on 2024-03-29

Pros: Atmosphere

Cons: Really Quite Expensive

JeffMurrell

Points +11

Mostly Veg
24 Jan 2024

Vampires?

Thought I would give it a try even though I heard lots of bad things about the place.

Pros: The place used to be good

Cons: Service was slow, The owner was a creep, Food was mediocre

bf8

Points +51

Vegan
17 Nov 2023

Wonderful Food in the Desert

This place is gorgeous. My girlfriend and I both thought the food was excellent. The doubles was probably our favorite dish we got. The vegan pie was fantastic as well. Easily the best meal we had around Joshua Tree/29 Palms.

Pros: good vibe, amazing good, beautiful

Cons: service was good, but a tad slow

lilylil!

Points +545

Vegan
20 Jul 2023

I don’t know why this place has such good reviews

This place has such good reviews, but i don’t really understand why : okay, the place is pretty, and the food is okay-good, but it’s not amazing. Plus, it’s really expensive when you see the portions : they are so small!! I guess they kinda wanted to be a chic place but that’s not it..And the worst is, they keep a BIRD in an awful little cage, and the bird sadly make all sorts of noises, it just broke my heart. I just don’t get how you can offer vegan food and keep a bird in a cage, to entertain yourself. I wanted to leave but we already got our drinks and ordered food. It was not a good moment. Oh and the service was really they really took their time to give us our plates, even though there wasn’t a lot of people.

Pros: pretty place , okay food

Cons: expensive for the minuscule portions , slow service , POOR BIRD IN A CAGE

joomsy

Points +287

Vegan
26 Mar 2023

Fantastic Experience

What a hidden gem. Had to wait for a table as we didn't reserve but had drinks in the bar. Music was fantastic from a secret daily changing playlist from the owner.

Lots of vegan options and they are all delicious especially the brussel sprouts. Also their pinot noir is great!

Great service from our server Amanda! Would definately return!

5 stars - Book ahead online!

Pros: Loads of vegan options, Great atmosphere!, Great drinks menu

NikiAlbon

Points +242

Vegan
25 Mar 2023

5 if-I-could

Despite a long wait (we rocked up at 8pm on a Friday night with no reso) the experience was fab.

The bar was pumping out super vibey music and was serving drinks pretty quickly, so we chilled out whilst waiting row a table.

Once we sat down, service was good - we could make 75% of the menu vegan!

We had the Brussels (best thing on the menu!) market veg, chickpea curry and veggie burger and all of it was phenomenal. The flavours were amazing.

Advice: reserve a table ahead of time.

Pros: Lots of vegan-ifable options, Fun vibe, Friendly and vegan-aware staff

Cons: Slow to start if no reservation

Breadbaker

Points +33

Vegan
15 Jan 2023

Unique dining experience with vegan options


Happy cow only allow 5 stars for fully vegan and veg places. I would give this pls e 5 stars.

Charming outdoor seating. the menu has vegan options not seen at most restaurants. My favorite was the doubles. This dish, street food from Trinidad, was fried dough in a spiced chick pea curry. Another notable dish was the maple Brussels sprouts. The printed menu has vegan options and your server can tell you what other items can also be made vegan.
Knowledgeable and friendly staff make this a destination to seek out. #Veganuary

Pros: Knowledge and friendly staff , Skillfully prepared interesting vegan options , Outdoor seating. Occasional live entertainment

Cons: Small portions

nickcarr

Points +33

Vegan
06 Jun 2022

Really cool spot

It’s a nice restaurant with an already limited menu, so to have a few plant based options on there was great. Veggie burger was out of this world. Vegan pie for desert was the best pie we ever had (comes from Boo’s bakery in Joshua tree)

PorshaB

Points +230

Vegan
14 Nov 2021

Amazing!! A must!!!

This place was beyond delicious! We went without reservations on a Saturday night around 6:30pm. Outdoor seating was full with an hour and a half wait but we were able to snag a lounge spot inside at the bar (open seating) without waiting.

Our server was quick to greet us and let us know right away they were busy but would do his best to make us happy. We weren’t in a rush at all and enjoyed the music and vibe.

We ordered the doubles (BOMB)(side note they use the same oil to fry everything in), sautéed vegetables Brussel sprouts (no cheese), Dan Dan Noddles (no pork), & Vegan Pear Pie 🥧

So beyond yummy & worth the wait!

We will make a point to come back every time we’re in town!

Pros: Delicious , Good vibe, Good service

Cons: They use the same oil for all frying , Long wait/ reservations recommended

RebeccaFisk

Points +56

Vegan
19 Jul 2021

Doubles is amazing, but is the only option

This is a very "fancy" place for 29 and definitely caters to the LA crowd coming to Joshua Tree. The food takes forever and service is iffy but we come back because the doubles is one of our favorite dishes in the whole world. The menu recently changed and now that is pretty much the only vegan option though. Don't even think about coming without a reservation! Get the doubles and fries and you will be happy as long as you are OK waiting a long time for the food.

Pros: Doubles and fried are out of this world. , Cute atmosphere

Cons: Very few options , Food takes forever to come out , Service could be better

Kedugan

Points +154

Vegan
03 Apr 2021

Lovely vibe, very good food...

With decent vegan options. We tried the avo toast (no cheese), veggie bowl, and “doubles”, all of which were good. We stopped by during COVID & were delighted to find outdoor seating with good distance between tables. The best part of this place is the atmosphere, in my opinion, but the food was good too!

Pros: Social distance, Atmosphere, Vegan options

Cons: Pricey

TattedYankee

Points +376

Vegan
09 Dec 2020

Ok

I called right before they closed. I ordered the vegan burger and the fried cauliflower. I was told It would take 30 minutes. I thought the vegan burger was good. Had flavor but it fell apart. Fried cauliflower wasn’t the best. I wish it had flavor like spiciness. Not sure if I will be back

Cons: Pricy, Ok




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