What to Know
- Mrs. Knott's Chicken Dinner Restaurant in Buena Park opened in June 1934
- The restaurant, which sits next to the Knott's Berry Farm entrance, is well-known for hearty meals, chicken pot pie, and boysenberry desserts
- The restaurant's 90th-anniversary celebrations will include Berry Family Breakfasts, Throwback Happy Hours, and special dishes on National Fried Chicken Day (July 6); a tea-themed festivity is scheduled for November
Knott's Berry Farm may have recently celebrated a major milestone a few years back — the centennial marking when the Knott family moved to Buena Park in 1920 — but there are other anniversaries still to come for the famous theme park.
In fact, one of the best-known elements of Knott's Berry Farm doesn't even sit inside its gates; you can find this popular destination just to the south of the entrance, meaning you can visit even if you don't have a theme park ticket or pass.
It's Mrs. Knott's Chicken Dinner Restaurant, a capacious, multi-room space that has a gentle, homespun, vibe, wholesome touches like flowery fabrics and warm tones, and some of the tastiest fried chicken around.
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Plus, of course, all of those savory and sweet sides, from buttermilk biscuits to housemade rhubarb, a tangy dish featuring the vivacious, sometimes-hard-to-find vegetable (rhubarb doesn't appear on modern menus as often as its many fans would like).
And if we didn't mention boysenberry pie, a nice complement to the homemade rhubarb, well, we'd rhu, er, rue our decision: Mrs. Knott's Chicken Dinner Restaurant has some of the most luscious boysenberry treats around, you betcha.
This nostalgic eatery is turning 90 in June and Knott's Berry Farm is honoring Cordelia Knott's memory, and the cherished gathering spot she created, in several celebratory ways over the coming months.
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The brand-new Berry Family Breakfast, which brims with early-in-the-day delights, will happen on select dates, beginning May 25, all to honor Mrs. Knott's legacy.
On June 13, the restaurant's exact anniversary, Mrs. Knott's Chicken Dinner Restaurant will receive a Resolution of Recognition from the office of Senator Janet Nguyen; that's also the day when anniversary merchandise will be officially released.
And happening later in the summer? Special dishes on Fried Chicken Day — that's July 6 — will add to the fun flavor, while Early Bird Senior Buffet Dinners and Throwback Happy Hour Flights will pop up on select dates.
November will be the merry month for Cordelia's Tea Party — A 90th Anniversary Celebration, while, just before that, Knott's Scary Farm will introduce a frightful new offering (but a yummy one, too): A Midnight Breakfast Buffet at the restaurant, lasting from midnight to 3 in the morning.
When the restaurant began nearly 90 years ago, Mrs. Knott used her own wedding china to serve her filling, rib-sticking fare. And the price of a dinner? It was 65 cents. Just a few years later, the queues filled with chicken dinner fans, which stretched well outside the restaurant, seemed to grow lengthier by the day.
For all of the milestone moments just ahead for this popular Sunday supper spot, and breakfast-before-entering-the-park place, keep tabs on the Knott's Berry Farm social pages.
Happy 90th Anniversary, Mrs. Knott's Chicken Dinner Restaurant!
