Radius Brewing Company — Restaurant in Emporia

We typically love to eat here, and support local, however we were very disappointed with our dining experience this time. We chose Radius to celebrate my MIL’s birthday. Both service and the quality of food were poor. We understood it was a Saturday night and there would be a wait, which was not a problem for us. However, we were not informed until over an hour of sitting at our table and waiting for our food, our waitress finally came back to tell us there was a mix-up with our food, and to expect it to arrive at our table in 5 minutes. Our food finally arrived after 15 more minutes and each entree was room temperature at best. My MIL ordered the ribeye steak and mashed potatoes, which she wasn’t able to eat a quarter of due to the coldness of the food and poor taste. I also couldn’t stomach more than half of my burger because it was cold and not edible. I also had to pull out a very long hair that was in my son’s pizza (none of us at the table have long hair, so we knew it wasn’t ours). We were able to alert the waitress and she told us that she would take the pizza back, but that was all that was said by her. There was no apology, nor did she notify us if my son would even get a replacement pizza. 10 minutes later, we received another pizza, which we appreciated. After this, I asked to speak to a manager and explained what issues we had and explained that we were disappointed because this was supposed to be my MIL’s birthday dinner. The manager replied that since it was a birthday dinner, we already get a free dessert. I explained that we already would be having a birthday cake, so the already free dessert wasn’t necessary, and that we were just ready for our tickets and to go. I asked if there was anything else that could be done to make it right and the manager said she would look at our ticket. The manager came back saying she took 10% off of our total bill. This added up to about the same price as my son’s pizza, which should’ve been comped anyways considering it had hair in it. None of the other issues with our other entrees was reflected on the ticket. My husband and I debated on speaking to the manager again, however, our toddler was more than ready to leave, so we ultimately just decided to pay the ticket and get out of there. As I said in the beginning, we were very disappointed with how our dissatisfactory experience was handled, the service, the food, and most of all, a special dinner being ruined by it. We sadly will be not returning to dine here in the future. If the staff had made the situation right by accounting for all of our food issues, then we gladly would be returning in the future. We understand everyone is human, and mistakes can be made, especially on busy nights. We just wish our concerns were taken more into...

Had a GREAT visit to Radius this week. This is a true destination - a reason to take the lovely drive from KC to Emporia. Wife and started with a couple "Rumor Has It" IPAs. Outstanding, bright citrus flavor with lots of hoppy finish. (We bought TWO 64oz growlers to enjoy at later home!!) We ordered a pizza that was as good as one can hope for. But wait, the chalkboard sez the soup of the day is "Seafood Gumbo". Now look, I've chased Cajun food from Charlotte to Girdwood (and ALL points in between). So when a brewery in Emporia, Kansas offers something so absolutely foreign to their environs, well... count me in. ONE TASTE was all it took. This is one of the top 10 dishes (of anything) I've ever had. The broth leaps and dances with rich sea-ness. Shrimp, fish, crawfish, andouille sausage, and okra pitch woo (vigorous, youthful woo) with your taste buds. And for some reason, the chef makes the chicken-based broth thickened with tomato paste and... potatoes. Yup, completely unorthodox. But everytime my head tried to tell my mouth this wasn't "gumbo", my heart yelled "shut up, you don't know nuthin" (and my head relented). Topping it all off, Chef/Co-Owner Gus accepted my dare to come out and defend his delectably unorthodox concoction. In the middle of the lunch rush, Gus left the kitchen, sat down at our table with a list of ingredients, and chatted us up at length about how proud he is about what Radius is accomplishing. THAT is the genius of Radius - an owner that puts this kind of emphasis the customer. We're big fans of Radius and it will definitely be our go-to restaurant on frequent trips through the Flint Hills. Do the same and you'll be thanking me after your...

We've been to Radius several times, and this has been the first time we really question going back.

The food: Honestly, the food was fine. There were some items like the gyro and pork sandwich that were better than others, such as the pork belly appetizer or the side potato salad. The prices were fair considering the amount of food you get.

The beer: Everyone agreed - the beer was the best part of everything. The bartender was excellent in working with to find what suited our taste buds. Needless to say, he didn't disappoint.

The service: This is where it leaves a sour taste in our mouths. We realize we didn't make reservations, so when we were facing a 30 minute wait time, we understood. We went to the bar for a bit. Amazingly, it took more like 10 minutes of waiting. That's great! We sat down at our table and waited. And waited. And waited. We wait 15-20 minutes before we gave up to ask for someone to help us. Even then it took another 5 minutes before our actual waitress came to the table. She was nice enough, but even then she was distant. What's even more discouraging is that she really wasn't interested in spending much time helping us, especially after we received our food. If the place had been packed, I would understand. Unfortunately - it wasn't. And no efforts were made in the least to compensate for the experience, even by just a bit.

I just don't think we'll be going back...