When you walk into a restaurant, there is a certain je ne sais quoi that can make or break the experience.
Of course the food is of paramount importance, but poor lighting, decor and authenticity can make even an exquisite plate of duck confit look like a soggy KFC drumstick.
Luckily, our Food Critics Charles Ferruzza, Mary Bloch and Jill Wenholt Silva know a thing or two about restaurant ambiance. Here are their picks for standout restaurants with great ambiance:
Charles Ferruzza, The Pitch
- The Rieger Hotel Grill & Exchange — The lobby level had a bar and small luncheonette when the 100-year-old hotel first opened and the current dining room evokes the days when this stretch of Main Street had a number of small hotels north of Union Station designed for traveling salesmen. It’s not elegant or intimidating, but friendly and classically Kansas City.
- The Majestic Restaurant — Another relic of Kansas City’s glory days before World War I (the building, the former Fitzpatrick’s Saloon, opened in 1910 when this neighborhood was still a vital cultural hub) and still boasts a distinctively masculine steakhouse style with its original tile floors and woodwork. It also has no less than 16 ghosts.
- The Village Inn Family Restaurant — Sometimes you just feel an overwhelming need to dine in the 1960s.
- Princess Garden Restaurant — This is what Chinese restaurants used to be like, back in the 1950s and ‘60s. Lots of gilt dragons, paper lanterns, and a long list of potent cocktails served in outlandish glassware.
Mary Bloch, Around The Block
- Extra Virgin — Love the vibe, great food, always something new on the menu. Lively without being so loud that you can’t hear your tablemates.
- Happy Gillis — Low key, great food, lovely owners. It feels as though you are in someone's home.
- Voltaire — Great bar, dark and sexy vibe. Love having the array of global flavors and interesting drinks.
- The Rieger Hotel Grill & Exchange — Love the old time feel. Beautiful bar and tile floor. The food offers a contemporary twist on comfort food. Eating at the kitchen counter is a treat and enhances the dining experience because you become part of the show.
- Webster House — Beautiful dining rooms, each with its own personality. The bar, which was one of the original school's classrooms is beautifully designed and appointed.
Jill Wenholt Silva, food editor, The Kansas City Star
- El Salvadoreño — When I step inside I feel like I have set food in a tropical Latin American country. Slide up garage doors and concrete floors are everywhere, but here there is a sense of roadside authenticity rather than trendiness. The mural on the wall of the "Savior of the World," stuffed parrots and the simply plated pupusas served with apothecary jars of "curtido" slaw all give off a vacation vibe.
- Fogo de Chão — Waiters are dressed in gaucho garb. They dance between tables with slabs of picanha, ribs, sausage and more. The meat is sliced from huge, sword-like skewers directly onto the diner's plate. It's an authentic experience.
- Port Fonda — I LOVED everything about Port Fonda in the Airstream and worried how that would translate once it went to brick-and-mortar. Luckily the hip vibe and charm are still there, only in a larger but cleverly designed space. Music is also a really important element in the Port Fonda concept. If you don't like loud and hip-hop, you probably want to get your food to go.
- Le Fou Frog — Welcome to the circus. It's always a charming, eclectic affair to dine at the venerable Frog. Dinners are nice in cozy banquettes. The French country decor is alive but never forced or comically rustic. The bar and patio add to the character. Even waiting in line for the restroom gives a peek at Chef Mano.
- Q39 & Char Bar — Everybody loves barbecue, but not everybody loves to dine at a typical joint. These upscale concepts are the latest wave of high-end restaurants that offer chef-inspired interpretations of the classics, with full bars, vegetarian options (lots of jackfruit out there!) and clever desserts (like Char Bar's sweet potato funnel cake with BBQ rub and candied bacon).
