Starting Friday, Kansas City diners will get a prime chance to explore the city’s food scene by celebrating the annual Restaurant Week — whether that means returning to tried-and-true favorites, or going out of your comfort zone to try something new.
More than 250 restaurants across the metro are participating from Jan. 9-18, including Kansas City barbecue, Southern comfort food, Ethiopian cuisine and numerous fine dining establishments. Many restaurants will have curated multi-course menus for a fixed price.
This year marks the highest number of Kansas City-area restaurants participating in the annual event. Find the full list of restaurants participating in Kansas City Restaurant Week, along with their planned menus and deals, here.
This year, a portion of the money made during Restaurant Week will be donated to reStart, a Kansas City-area nonprofit that provides shelter and services to people experiencing homelessness. Proceeds will also go to the Visit KC Foundation and the Greater Kansas City Restaurant Association Educational Foundation.
Makenzie Wolters, communications manager at Visit KC, said Restaurant Week is an opportunity for people to support local restaurants.
“We really want to make sure that all of these industry workers are supported, that we tip well, and we support all of these people that are our friends, our family members, our neighbors, and go support great causes,” Wolters said.
KC Restaurant Week can mean big business at a normally slow time for the food industry. To prepare, many restaurants are buying more products, enlisting more help and increasing their hours.
“We called in some people to help us out outside of our normal staff because we're expecting a large influx of customers,” said Bradley Gilmore of Lula Southern Cookhouse. “We're trying to get mentally prepared, physically prepared, and just make sure we ensure a great experience for the guests that are coming out.”
More than 25 restaurants are participating in Restaurant Week for the first time, including The Belfry Collective in downtown Kansas City. Belfry cocktail creator John Phelps says the event provides important exposure to businesses.
“We also kind of want to show off,” Phelps said. “I think we have a really impressive menu and an impressive cocktail menu that we want more people to see.”
If you’ve already made reservations, or if you’re still deciding where you want to dine, here are tips about what to do — and not do — during KC Restaurant Week.
Make reservations, and keep them
Bill Teel, former executive director of the Greater KC Restaurant Association, said patrons should expect restaurants to get busy during the event.
Making a reservation for Restaurant Week, versus walking into a restaurant in the middle of service, is the best way to ensure you get seated. It can also help staffers better plan for the day or evening ahead.
“Make reservations if you can, and be a little flexible if possible, too,” Teel said.
Gilmore recommends over-communicating if that reservation changes.
“If someone's party is gonna drop down in size or increase in size, that is totally fine,” Gilmore said. “But it helps us out if you give us any kind of ahead of time warning or communication. ”
And whatever you do, don't no-show. Ditching your reservation without warning, especially if you had a larger party, can be a huge financial hit to a restaurant and their workers.
Be patient
Restaurants like Lula don’t normally offer three-course dinners. That can mean kitchen and service staff have to adjust to additional steps.
“It's almost a new learning experience for the staff as well,” Gilmore said. “It takes a little more staff, it takes a little more focus.”
Gilmore said customers should also remember that there are diners in front of them finishing their meal, and patrons behind them waiting to be seated as well.
While the bustle of Restaurant Week may cause frustration, he said patrons should remember to be kind and respectful to hosts and service staff.
“Don't yell at the hostess, it's usually not her decision that your table's running behind,” Gilmore said. “Remember to talk to the staff the way you want to be treated. If there's a problem in the situation, we are here to fix your situation and help you get seated and help you. When people forget that and don't treat the staff with respect, it becomes tough to deal with.”
Don’t overcomplicate things
Participating restaurants designed a specific, multi-course menu for the week, with several dishes to choose from in each course.
Teel recommends sticking to that Restaurant Week menu and not asking for substitutions.
“They've gone through quite a process to get everything set, to get all the product in and have everything ready,” Teel said. “So don't ask for special changes to what's on that Restaurant Week menu.”
Gilmore said substitutions are fine, within reason.
“We want our customers to get exactly what they want. So if you read something you don't like, just tell us ahead of time so we can fix it in the kitchen versus fixing it after the fact,” Gilmore said. “If you like all white meat for our fried chicken, for example, let me know ahead of time versus after. Those are the big things that'll help us keep our pace of service up.”
Ian Hulon is the front of house lead at Zero Zero Handmade Pasta in the Westside. This is Zero Zero’s second year participating, and the first year customers can dine inside the restaurant.
Hulon’s big tip for customers: Be open minded.
“Try new stuff, check out and see what we're all about and then come back,” Hulon said. “It's not about just coming out for Restaurant Week. We want to see you again.”
Don’t stay too long
To accommodate the high customer volume during Restaurant Week, it’s important for staff to turn tables over quickly. But that can be hard if customers stay too long at their table after they pay the check.
“We allow the customer at least 10 minutes after checkout, after dinner,” said Cherven Desauguste, chef and owner of Black Garlicin midtown Kansas City. “The turnaround times for the table, it's crucial.”
Tip your server — maybe even extra
Tipping is always recommended when you dine out, and typically makes up a portion of servers’ wages. Gilmore says diners should remember the extra pressure on staff during Restaurant Week.
“They're working harder than they would normally work because of the extra courses,” Gilmore said. “It's gonna be longer hours. We have one staff and we're opening a whole other day so everybody's gonna be working more than 40 hours this week. Everybody's gonna be working harder, so it's important to remember to take care of your service staff.”
Desauguste also reminds customers to keep in mind that service staff is not responsible for how dishes come out. If you’re dissatisfied with a dish, he says, don’t take it out on the server.
“Just be mindful, and show some appreciation that they're working for you,” he said.
