10 Tasty Restaurants In Kansas City, MO

You have to understand, I'm not a restaurant critic. I'm not a gourmet. I have dietary restrictions that keep me from eating some places (like most Mexican and Indian places because I can't do spicy foods). I can't comment on wines or such because I don't touch alcohol...ever. And I'm afraid of some foods, too. Quite a surprise then that I lived in the Czech Republic for a year and didn't eat at McDonald's all the time. Ah, if only there was a Czech restaurant within 2 hours drive....

That said, I'm also a thrify person. I grew up with a big family and not a lot of money. We didn't eat out much. I still don't. When I do, I tend to be thrifty. So the 10 restaurants I pick here impressed me with their food, but also with their prices and service.  (I'll try to add photos in the future.)

The Brio Tuscan Grill is located at the Country Club Plaza.  It's a big, busy restaurant with, of course, Italian food.  I've eaten there twice, both times stepping out of my comfort zone (with Italian food, that means Fettucini Alfredo).  I had shared a salmon dish with my husband the first time and had mushroom ravioli the second time.  Both were really good.  We had a unique salad the first time, and I found it was really good, so I ordered it the second time as well.  It's a cut wedge of lettuce with a creamy, slightly tart dressing and clumps of asiago cheese.  You actually have to cut it with a knife and fork.

Several things impressed me:  When my husband and I shared the salmon, the waiter came back with two plates.  They had split it for us.  Sharing a dish saves not only money, but calories.  We had a great meal without being overstuffed.  We even had room for dessert.  And that also impressed.  They had a dessert tray with little demi-tasses sampling their desserts.  Only they were the actual size.  The desserts were small and delicious with a small price to go.  You can have both room in your stomach and your wallet for these desserts.  The second trip was for my birthday and the waitor brought me a wonderful little chocolate cake with ice cream and a raspberry on top. 

Great service, good food, reasonable prices

Figlio's is also on the Plaza.  Good food there and a wonderful atmosphere.  The prices are very reasonable.  You can get high end Italian or a pizza.  The toasted ravioli's are a great Hors d'oeuvre. And they even brought alfredo sauce for me (I can't have tomato, including marinara sauce).  I've had their fettucini and a pizza (white sauce, of course). I've had a tortellini soup, but I'm not a big soup person.  The first time we went to Figlio's was my birthday, and my husband (who wasn't my husband at the time) treated me like a princess.  I returned there for a couple of years for my birthday.

Good food, good service, very reasonable prices for such a nice place.

Another Italian restaurant on the Plaza, but this one is definately different  They serve family-style dishes.  That means you order one thing for about 4 people and they bring it out on a big platter.  I can say that I wish I could remember eating spaghetti or ravioli there, but then, I can't eat tomato.  My husband says I just had fettucini alfredo.  That's not to say it wasn't good.

Very big dishes, meant for sharing.  Good service.  Liked the prices.

Pierpont's is located at Union Station.  I expected it to be pricey, but really it is reasonable.  My husband and I met there for lunch on our anniversary.  We shared a steakburger.  No separate plates here, but they were fine with the sharing.  You can call ahead and order what you want.  I work near there, so that's a nice feature.  Call it in, then walk over in a few minutes.  Less waiting time.  They had a very good root beer there, thankfully without caffeine (another thing I can't have).

Decent prices, decent service, good food.

I like a restaurant for it's atmosphere as well as the food.  Harvey House is located in Union Station and has the ambiance of the Oldies to match the music from the jukebox.  The tables are covered in old menus and papers from the Harvey House and railroads of the past.  The walls have huge photos of Union Station in its hey day when thousands of passengers passed through a year. There are more photos upstairs as well.  It all makes for a wonderful, nostalgic feel.

The food is good, too.  They have some interesting hamburgers named for railroads, other good sandwiches, breakfast and some scrumptious ice cream sodas.  They even put cherry or vanilla syrup in your soda pop.

It can be very busy though, which makes the service somewhat slow.

Good food, decent prices, and wonderful atmosphere.

Bravo! is actually reminiscent of Brio.  Or rather the other way around, as I went to Bravo! before I ever went to Brio.  Bravo! Cucina Italiano is located in Zona Rosa, a newer shopping center in the northland off Barry Road and I-29.  The food, prices and service are quite like Brio though perhaps not a Tuscan flair.  I also think the desserts were more normal-sized.  Which is not always so great.  The food is good enough that you eat so much you don't have room for a large dessert.

Good food, good service, reasonable prices.

My husband took me to the Melting Pot after that first trip to Figlio's.  The Melting Pot is also on the Plaza.  The Melting Pot is all about fondue.  While they do have cheese fondues with meat for dipping, I had the dessert fondue, which means chocolate.  Fruits and sweet breads, all dipped in a burning fondue pot right there on the table.  It was a unique experience.  The chocolate was wonderful and the atmosphere very romantic.  I can't really comment on the prices. It was a date after all.

Good chocolate, romantic atmosphere, good service.

Stroud's is a very interesting restaurant. It's housed in an old plantation house north of the river (near the Vivian Rd exit off SB I-35). There is usually a long wait to get in. In fact, it too me more than 10 years to get in. I was going to be taken there for prom night in high school, but the wait was too long. I met that friend again years later and we finally got to Stroud's for dinner. While you wait, you can wander the grounds, seeing the smaller out-buildings, at least from the outside.

The food is really good. I had a breaded pork chop that was at least an inch think. I was treated so I can't comment on the prices. The service was good.

Great food, good service, and historical setting.

I'm about to run out of my memories, here so I'm glad this is only a list of 10.  The ninth is Ted's Montana Grill.

We went to the one in Zona Rosa.  Montana is a big place, and Ted's has big food.  Buffalo steaks, included.  This is very much a meat place, but good meat.   Big meat.   The walls are hung with big Montana type stuff, like moose horns.

Big food, good food, decent prices.

You can't really talk about tasty restaurants in Kansas City without mentioning barbecue. Kansas City got big because this is where the cattle drives ended.  This is where the slaughter houses were.  And this is where barbecue began in KC.   There are many barbecue places: Gates, Winslow's, Arthur Bryant's (I wouldn't recommend it.  Really.), Rosedale's, KC Masterpiece...

And Jack Stack.  My supervisor took my coworker and I out to lunch there. We went to the one near Union Station.  I had some ribs.  Now, I'm spoiled.  I have had some very, very good barbecue ribs in Alexandria, VA.  So tender, you could eat them with a fork and clean the bones.  Wonderful.  So that is what I measued against.  And Jack Stack's ribs were close.  The meat was tender.  The sauce was not too spicy or tomatoey.  I took leftover's home to my husband and he enjoyed them, too.  Boss bought, so I can't comment on prices.

Good service, great food.

Where, there you have it: One finicky, thrifty woman's take on tasty restaurants in Kansas City, MO. There's a lot more out there.  My husband wants to go to Fogo de Chou for his graduation celebration next month.  It's a Brazillian steak house.  Le Fou Frog is a French place.  1924 hosts a renowned chocolatier.  I haven't been to them, so I can't comment.  We've got Thai restaurants, Chinese restaurants, Japanese steak houses, Ethiopean places, Mongholian barbecue's, you name it.  Well, no Czech yet.  Sigh.  There's a wonderful little place for that in Chicago though: Operetta's.  Tasted just like being there.....