About Us

King City Kitchen was built on a simple belief: where there is a cutting board, there is community.

Located in the heart of Pier Village on St. Simons Island, King City is a chef-driven coastal kitchen and cocktail bar rooted in family, hospitality, and a genuine love of good food.

For owner and chef Catherine “Cat” McDougald, restaurants have always been about more than what lands on the plate. She grew up in the hospitality industry, learning from her parents, Tim and Melissa whom owned and ran Sandcastle Cafe for over 30 years, that feeding people is one of the most meaningful ways you can take care of them. King City carries that legacy forward while creating something entirely its own.

Cat created King City as the kind of place they wanted to exist on the island: thoughtful without being stuffy, a little unexpected, and full of personality.

Our kitchen is intentionally small. We don't have a walk-in refrigerator or freezer, which means our food comes through the door constantly and our menus are built around ingredients we actually want to cook with. We work with Georgia shrimp, local and regional produce, Southern-grown grains, quality beef, fresh seafood, and an in-house micro-bakery that keeps the restaurant smelling like something good is always about to happen.

Some dishes tell our family's story. Others come from whatever is inspiring us that week. 

You'll find Southern ingredients next to flavors borrowed from places far beyond the Georgia coast, alongside cocktails made with the same creativity and attention we bring to the kitchen.

But King City has never just been about food.

It's about the bartender who remembers your drink. The server who knows your name. The cooks behind the line. The farmers, fishermen, producers, and purveyors whose work makes ours possible. It's about lingering over one more cocktail, sharing something from the middle of the table, and finding community in a room full of people you may not have known when you walked in.

We're proud to be independent. 

We're proud to be a little unconventional. 

And we're incredibly proud to call St. Simons Island home.

Come hungry. Stay awhile. Taste the story.