Le Fou Frog — Restaurant in Kansas City

I hesitated to even post a review. But my experience was very awkward and unpleasant. The restaurant is beautiful. The lighting is top-notch. It's just a beautiful atmosphere. We went there on my birthday and I ordered a dirty stoli martini. I'm particular about my martinis and I select stoli because it's the best vodka for a dirty martini. Hands down. And other times I've gone to restaurants and they will substitute another vodka thinking I won't notice. But I always do. So, they brought out my martini and it was not dirty. That's not really a big problem. She brought out a little carafe with the dirty juice and I mixed it up and began to sip my martini. I took three or four sips and told my husband I don't think this is stoli. He had a sip and agreed that it didn't taste like stoli. So I called the server back and said 'I'm sorry, but this just doesn't taste like stoli." And she looked kind of confused and said "let me talk to the bartender." Shortly thereafter the bartender came out to my table and confronted me. "I made that martini with stoli! I can show you the empty bottle. But it was made with stoli."I was very shocked and taken aback and just kind of said "no, I don't need to see the empty bottle. I don't want to go through this again. Please just make me a martini with Ketel one." Because I'm familiar with Ketel One and it's a decent vodka. He again told me that he could show me the empty bottle. I said "no. No thank you. I just want a ketel one martini." I have never been confronted by a bartender in my life. I felt so awkward and embarrassed and ashamed. Returning something is always so cringy. You always feel like they're going to get mad at you and so you try to be as nice as possible. And I was! I said "I'm so sorry but this just doesn't taste like stoli." And I thought that it would be somehow resolved without conflict. But he came out and confronted me and made me feel like an idiot. It was so cringy and awkward. I lost my appetite immediately and just stared down at my plate. I didn't know what to think. The server acted cold and abrupt for the rest of the evening. I'm not sure if it's because she felt awkward or what but she treated us coldly the rest of the evening. After he confronted me I completely lost my appetite and didn't want to eat. I just felt confused and embarrassed. I'm not quite sure why I felt so upset but just the way he treated me and the way they both kind of treated me made me feel horrible on my birthday. My husband said to her "I'm not sure who made the decision to have the bartender come out and confront my wife, but that was the wrong decision." She just said "I'm sorry" and walked away. Very short and abrupt. Overall my evening was ruined. They should not have confronted me. There were a million different ways it could have been resolved but having the bartender come out and confront me at my table was not the right choice. It put me in a terrible awkward position and made me feel embarrassed. Even if the food was wonderful and the atmosphere was great, just the way they treated me lets me know that I will never go...

Normally I do not review sites. I know that I should more often, but it seems that most restaurants are just not that special or that bad. However, I feel for Le Fou Frog I have to make an exception.

First, let me say that our server was excellent, and the food we had was divine. My brother and his daughter (14 years old) were visiting and we needed a place to go after First Fridays and the places closer to the crossroads were way too busy.

The evening started quite nicely. We ordered a bottle of wine for the adults and the cheese plate for all. Our server offered to prepare special dishes for my brother and niece because they are both vegetarian. Everything was lovely, but the evening started to go badly when the owner decided to make us feel more at home. Unfortunately, the owner's idea of "at home" is at best deviant and at worse pedophilia.

To make this reasonably short, the owner basically ignored the others at the table (the ones with the credit cards) and began hitting on my 14 year old niece. To her credit she promptly told him to "move away". He finally did move on after a very awkward couple minutes, only to return about five minutes later. My niece again told him she was 14 and to "move away" as he was making her more than a little uncomfortable with both his words and physical advances. The owner assured her that 14 was "not too young". He finally did move on, but I must wonder what would be "too young".

At this point our server assured us that she would try to keep him away, but that he was drunk. The owner's wife also happened to be in the restaurant and assured us that her husband meant well. Unfortunately, our server also said that this happens all too often. Because this is not an isolated event I felt the need to write this review so that others would know.

After another five minutes of relative peace, the owner returned for the third time and offered the terrified 14 year-old a "present" because that would make everything all right. When he finally left again, we could still hear him loudly swearing in both English and French.

That was quite enough. I put a substantial tip in our server's hand as she had done her very best. I hope that someday she can work in a more respectful restaurant. We never saw any of the wonderful plates we had ordered and I will always be curious what vegetarian delights the chief was able to prepare. I feel very sorry for the owner's wife, but she also tries to defend his behavior.

I understand well the difference in culture between France and the US. I know that 14 was the legal drinking age in France when we were there a few years back. However, when a child tells an adult to "move away", that means move away in any country. And having the owner sexually assaulting a child and swearing like a french sailor is not my idea of a pleasant restaurant experience. It is too bad that after a week in wonderful Kansas City, my brother and his child's most lasting memory will be a drunk pedophile that happens to own a...

We had been here once before for our 2nd wedding anniversary and instantly fell in love. With so many places in USA boasting "authentic" cuisine, it's truly rare to find a restaurant that is run by an actual European, and the Crazy Frenchman sure knows how to do it right. We loved it so much that we had to return one more time before moving out of the state.

Atmosphere: dim red lighting, booths separated by glass privacy walls for quiet conversation, and low music of all genres softly flows through the room. Vintage artwork and movie posters adorn the room for that Old World charm.

Service: knowledgeable, gallant, intelligent waiters. On our second visit, the waiter was an older French gentleman who was a total delight. He asked if I speak French because of how I pronounced "aperitif" (I'm from Eastern Europe) and seemed pleasantly surprised that we know a little about French cuisine (we visited Paris for the first time last June, just before our first visit to Le Fou Frog in August). He was courteous, funny, and knowledgeable and never made us feel silly for not knowing something. I love that!

Food: what is there to even say? It's heaven. If you want hearty portions, served beautifully, and true to their origins - then this is the place for you.

On our first visit, we ordered foie gras and escargot, I had the lobster bisque. My husband said that foie gras is truly the best dish to ever exist. For the main course, I had the branzino and my husband had the bone marrow. There were so many "firsts" and each was a delight.

On our second visit, we ordered the scallop, gruyere and mushroom appetizer (and of course foie gras again), then for main course, my husband had the steak while I had the quail stuffed with more foie gras. The quail wasn't as great as my previous dish, mostly because the bird breast is so small and bony, it's difficult to see what is edible and what is bone due to the dim lighting. It still tasted good, and the garnish (potato puree with steamed vegetables) was delicious. This time we also ordered dessert: profiteroles and creme brulee. I loved the profiteroles! Two crispy, delicate dough "sandwiches" nestling huge scoops of ice cream of the best texture I've had, covered in decadent warm dark chocolate. One piece even survived a ride home and didn't melt! Paired with a light-bodied Bordeaux that complemented both the quail and the dessert.

We are sad to leave, but happy that we got a second chance to visit this restaurant.

And as a cherry on top, we were treated with a vocal performance by one of the waiters whose voice was surprisingly youthful and strong. A truly unique night, and both visits made our special occasions feel like the celebrations they should...