801 Chophouse — Restaurant in Kansas City

My boyfriend surprised me with reservations here for my birthday. We've been to other high-end steakhouses and we wanted to try something new down in P&L. We got a nice presentation from our server with all the cuts they have, some specials, and other cuts they don't advertise (like the lamb). They apparently have a 40oz Porterhouse that is "to share" they cut it up for you table side according to him. We decided to go with different ones just because we wanted to try the filet mignon AND the strip, we each got an appetizer and I got a preparation for mine.

My boyfriend got the lobster corn chowder and I got the carpaccio; one thing to note for this steakhouse is that they DO NOT skimp on the lobster, we've gotten bisques, chowders, etc. at other restaurants and that usually means "small pieces" of lobster rather than whole claws. The corn chowder had a nice smoky taste and it was very good. The carpaccio was okay, nothing super exciting, but I really enjoyed the roasted capers (I love capers), I wouldn't order the carpaccio again though because I thought the beef lacked some flavor.

For our main courses we got the 12oz filet mignon and the 16oz KC strip, both medium rare. I got my strip with a preparation of morel mushroom butter which was simply amazing, it was also $18 (just for the preparation) both the filet and the strip were $58. The only complaint that we had was that my boyfriends filet was cooked a little on the rare side, rather than medium rare, it was still delicious though, it just seemed that since the filet was a little uneven some parts were medium rare and others were just rare. We got a side of lobster mac n cheese, and again, they do not skimp on the lobster in their mac n cheese either, best one we've had as of yet.

I got the baked cookie dough alaska and they were nice enough to put "Happy Birthday!" on the plate which was a very nice gesture, they also put a candle in it! The pastry cookie thing at the bottom was VERY hard, I had to do stabbing motions with my spoon to break off pieces of it. It was delicious though.

This is an expensive restaurant, it's $$$$ rather than just $$$ but it's worth it. Appetizers, main course (dessert is free on your bday!) and a side came to ~$240 with tip. You have to keep in mind though that we ordered the largest sized steaks we could AND we got appetizers. The preparations are also not cheap.

I give this 4 1/2 stars. Great restaurant for special occasions and for...

Service: 1 star

Visited with my girlfriend. Was asked if we had a reservation since we didn’t we were told we had to wait 30 minutes or we could sit at the bar (how do you get prime steak house service at a bar?).

As we started to leave, all of a sudden they had a table and when we get to the table there are 5-6 open tables. We ordered food and stayed until close and those tables were never filled.

Food:

Sides 4 stars

The cream spinach, French green beans, and mushroom with cheese dishes all outshined the main course, the steak.

Steaks: Negative 3 stars

We ordered the 36 ounce porterhouse to share cooked medium. It came presliced (I expected it to be sliced and deboned at the table) and cooked rare. We requested it be brought to the correct temperature but it was returned in the same condition. I mention this because if the steak was served properly and sliced at the table, we could’ve corrected the temperature problem before it was fully sliced. I expected a chop house to have dry aged beef available but turns out they are just selling what the industry called “green” steaks. Outside of the temperature and aging issue the steak just wasn’t properly seasosned. There was no salt or au jus from the resting steak.

I didn’t complain just enjoyed the sides and requested my ticket. When the waiter brought it back she had charged my card for a different table ($175 my bill vs $400 wrong ticket). That could’ve been a minor thing but it was magnified with all of the other problems: lied to about wait time, poor steak prep, cooked to wrong temp, etc.)

I wouldn’t recommend this place to anyone. Outback has better steaks, and Ruth’s Chris has better service for the price. I suggest finding a better local steak house in KC that serves prime steaks and has...

Got a reservation for a group of 8 for a 50th Birthday Party. Up front and for some context, our group of friends are cool when we go out and we not the trouble-making type. Our server's name was Kyle.

First of all, Kyle made more effort to talk bad about the food and drinks from the restaurant then provide good service - I have no issue with a server being honest about a specific meal and providing their feedback and why they may not like it - no problem at all, it shows honesty for sure. Friend wanted an Old fashioned and Kyle said they make it wrong and the new recipe sucked (i'm paraphrasing of course).

They had one chicken dish my friend’s wife asked about, and again, Kyle said they prepared it badly and don't get it. She really wanted chicken and ordered it anyway as the only chicken dish. The chicken was awesome after we all tried it - tender, well seasoned, cooked very well!

At this point, Kyle just came off as disgruntled - rarely had a nice thing to say about the food or drinks. For me, the "straw that broke the camel's back" was when Kyle was walking away from our friends at the other end of the table - I was getting ready to ask for another steak knife (mine was picked up with wedge salad) and he snapped at me as he already heard me talking about it. Something to the effect of "i'm getting your steak knife!" - I was like WTF man, but kept my cool and didn't get pissed.

While I appreciate any server who pays attention to their customers and anticipates their needs - absolutely 100%, I know its not in the best interest of the server to get an attitude with the customer - I didn't know he was paying attention at all...lol.

Food was perfectly cooked and delicious - kudos to the Chef! Staff...