Black Dolphin — Restaurant in Kansas City

Came in for a 1st time visit on a Saturday evening around 11pm. Paid the cover at the door and took a seat at the bar with a friend that I was accompanying from out of town. Probably around 20 or fewer patrons in the place while we were there. We sat at the 2 seats on the far right side as you look at the front of the bar. Ordered drinks and starting listening/watching the musicians play. Seemed fairly slow as most all of the tables in front of us as well as the tables around the musicians were empty. However, the waitress that was serving us immediately felt the need to interject herself into our personal space and experience unnecessarily. She was very unwelcoming and off-putting. From the very beginning, we were told (not asked politely) to scoot our bar seats in closer to the inside edge of the end of the bar because it was inhibiting her ability to navigate serving drinks. I thought it was overbearing and a poor start to be so focused on something like that versus providing a warm welcome. As we continued with our drink, this waitress proceeded to basically scold us 2 more times for not being more respectful of her work space. Even suggesting that we were creating a hazard because we almost caused her to knock over the ice water pitchers sitting opposite the bar. I'm not unacquainted nor dismissive of understanding how safe work spaces in a bar are essential to provide efficient and quality service to customers ordering drinks. However, the attitude we encountered in this particular experience was completely unwarranted. Especially considering how slow the bar was. Not 1 time did anyone besides a waitress walk by us at the bar to use the restrooms. There was virtually no foot traffic whatsoever, with the exception of her. More than adequate space for any waitperson to operate, really. And quite frankly, if the bar was actually busy and full of patrons that did make it trickier to navigate, wouldn't that be a kimd of a good problem to have? I don't want to imagine how this waitress would be if the bar had 80 people inside versus the less than 20 while we were there. I frequent live music in KC very regularly. It is rare that I come across this type of thing with the bar/restaurant industry. Everyone can have a bad night. But for obvious reasons, it's certainly important to not negatively impact a customer. We stepped into Black Dolphin to take advantage of the relaxed environment music can provide, but came away feeling scolded and unwanted. I'm not someone who runs to complain about things. In fact the opposite. But do feel so surprised by the experience, that I hope communicating will help this establishment more than...

Came in from out of town and wanted to listen to some good Jazz music. At first we were unsure about the neighborhood, but soon realized the area is being revitalized. Easily found street parking, and walked around the corner to the club. When you walk in, it is DARK and all you see is the band before your eyes adjust which was kind of cool. I have no idea what the name of the band was, but I LOVED the piano which you don't always get with Jazz, and of course the bass. Our sax player was multi-instrument as well. The place is just drinks and Jazz. The ambiance, was classic as well. We aren't drinkers at all, and they had a "mock-tail" menu of about 5 drinks for us. I loved the peach ginger. My mom and sister had the Virgin Mary. A little more worchestshire than I like, but I was happy trying one of everything. Very reasonably priced. We were starving though, and had hoped for appetizers, but after some though feel that it would have taken away from the club's atmosphere. We also enjoyed the band members coming into the audience to sit and talk with us during set breaks. The mirrors were a nice touch so we could see the piano player playing and facial expressions. Overall-would definitely go back. Such a beautiful way to spend the evening. Dressy casual to business casual dress is appropriate. We felt slightly underdressed in our jeans, but it seems everyone...

The Black Dolphin is a jazz listening lounge in the heart of Downtown Kansas City which was designed for the afficionado of not just excellent music, but also fine atmosphere and strong, tasty craft cocktails. In terms of sheer lumens? This bar has lower lights than any other establishment in Kansas City, or frankly anywhere on the planet. The lighting and every detail were clearly designed and placed with intention and care. It gives the bar's vibe a coziness which is instantly welcoming and sophisticated without being pretentious. There are two colors: black and orange. All of the illumination is provided by tastefully located ambient overhead lamps and warm-temperature vintage star globes which are easier to just see than to describe. The whole feeling is that of a 1963 cocktail lounge right down to the vintage orange resin "Black Dolphin" sign itself which hangs above the Steinway. The Black Dolphin is the more subdued & subtle sister-club to the rowdier Green Lady Lounge across the alley. Just like The Green Lady, however, the musicianship at this joint is consistently top shelf just like the martinis, and once you set foot in The Black Dolphin, you'll realize you've never been in another bar quite like this before...