It had been many years since we had been to Piropo's in Parkville. We recall that as being a great experience and had high hopes for something similar for a birthday dinner. Unfortunately, it struck out in virtually every way possible. For a restaurant described as a "Sophisticated Argentinean steakhouse with views of the city from its white-tablecloth setting," that description is only partially accurate. It certainly is an Argentinian steakhouse with a nice view of the city, and white tablecloths are indeed used. That said, it is a real stretch to call this restaurant, "Sophisticated." With such a description, one would think a dress code of business casual, no jeans, cutoffs or shorts would be in place. Not at Piropo's, as the patrons dressed as if they were at any run of the mill neighborhood restaurant. It didn't make for a "sophisticated" or special atmosphere in any way.
Our drink order was taken promptly and the wine my wife ordered was fantastic. My gin and tonic, however, was disappointing. I'm not a gin snob, however, the tonic water was absolutely flat. No carbonation at all. I'm finding this to be more and more common at many restaurants that apparently use a soda gun for their drinks rather than opening individual cans or bottles of tonic water. Why is it so hard to make a quality gin and tonic?
My wife is dieting and decided she would stick to it and ordered a House Salad, described as consisting of "Romaine Lettuce, Tomatoes, Onions, Avocado, Apples & Walnuts with Red Wine & Aji Molido Vinaigrette." A photo of that salad online showing the tomatoes, a nice slice of avocado with apples and walnuts accompanying the lettuce, bore no resemblance to the salad brought. Literally 1 cherry tomato cut in half, a 1/2 a slice of avocado, one slice of apple and virtually no walnuts is what was received. On the other hand, the Chopped salad I ordered was accurately described and I enjoyed it.
I went on to order the "Chicken Roulette Argentinian Style" wanting to try something different. Here's the description: "Chicken Breast Stuffed with Roasted Red Peppers, Spinach, Mushrooms, Smoked Gouda Cheese & Prosciutto Ham Served with Julienne Vegetables & Jasmine Rice." Very disappointing. The chicken was tough and without any flavor, there was virtually no prosciutto ham and the rice was a sticky blob.
The best part of the dinner was the complimentary cheese cake for my birthday. It was very good.
Unfortunately, our waiter was only average for a "sophisticated" restaurant. He never inquired about a second drink and didn't ask whether my wife wanted dessert or coffee after our meal.
All in all, not what we expected. In our view,...
Read moreThe wife and I chose 2 restaurants for restaurant week this year. My wife had been wanting to come here for years. So we chose Piropos as 1 of our 2 this year. My wife when making the reservation requested a table as I'm disabled. Upon arriving we learned the restaurant was on the 2nd floor. There was no elevator available to the 2nd floor. No sign posted there was 2nd level parking. It took me nearly 10 minutes to climb all of those stairs while nearly falling 3 times.
The restaurant should be ADA compliant if they are going to have a lower level entrance.
Now onto the meal. We both chose Restaurant week meals. My wife had the empanada, chopped salad, stuffed salmon, and caramel cheesecake. I had the empanada, chopped salad, sirloin steak and tres leches cake.
Empanada wasn't great. I mean it wasn't bad. But if you're going to charge 55.00 for a meal. You had better serve a great appetizer.
Next up our chopped salads. Very basic salad. Color was very bland and the strangest part. Our plates were mismatched. Mine was on a salad plate and my wife's plate looked like a large coffee cup dish.
Entrees arrived and my wife's salmon was cooked to near perfection. Her french style green beans were over cooked and soggy. She took 1 bite and spit them out. Her rice pilaf was very basic. Almost bland.
My entree was the New York strip served with mashed potatoes, a rosemary sprig sticking up for garnish and over cooked charred Asparagus. Sadly the potatoes were just that... sad. No seasoning just a mash with a sprig of rosemary sticking up. The steak which I'd asked for 140F. I was told I had to choose med rare, medium, done etc.... I've never been to a steakhouse where you can't choose your temperature. Needless to say it came out medium.
Dessert, the caramel cheesecake is overly sweet and rich. 1 bite was enough for me. Extremely sweet.
Tres Leches cake was interesting. Some layers were moist while others were a desert and crumbling apart as you cut into it. I've had better.
Restaurant week experience. Meal was okay. Clearly the menu was designed for efficiency and profit. The plates were mismatched on several occasions. I guess for the price we really expected more. We've been wanting to come here for a very long time and we left disappointed.
The positives, the city views are amazing. The cozy fireplace makes for a romantic evening and the music from the bar is almost low enough you can't hear it in the...
Read moreMy husband and I decided to try a new place for our Anniversary. On a whim, we took a jaunt down the road. Out of all the hubub of the city, snuggled cozily atop The Village at Briarcliff...we arrived... at a castillo of soon to be Argentinian deliciousness. Gorgeous architecture, landscaping and plenty of space to park is always a welcoming introduction to a new place. As we admired the building and walked in the gorgeous wooden doors, we viewed a lovely large wedding event in a private space. A mysterious staircase awaited us with Argentinian artwork and we were sure that this was going to be a wonderful experience already. As we approached the top of the stairs, we were greeted by two geriatric dolls on a fancy couch. I think by this time, I had already said "WOW" or "OOH"12 times. A live host then met us with a smile. At my request she sat us at a table by the window. Walking into the dining area I had noticed that there was not a bad view in house. My view for the next hour was of the Kansas City skyline. Wow! Attention to detail all around the restaurant was evident. A nice girl immediately brought us some water. Our server, Jackie, was wonderful. She made fabulous suggestions for us including the dinner special. I started with an espresso and my husband had a beer. Tempted to break my sobriety with the way their wine selection looked, I sadly declined. She was knowledgeable about the menu and very patient with us, as we debated on our plan of attack for this marvelous menu. We went with her suggestion of the empanadas. The beef, chicken and caprese empanadas were absolutely delicious. They were so delicately flaky and served with a chimichurri. My husband had his heart set on the jumbo bacon wrapped scallops and crab cakes. I took Jackie's suggestion, and ordered the seared grouper. Oh my goodness.. this monstrous filet was cooked to absolute perfection with a nice crisp to the crust of the fish. The chef's herbed butter sauce was something I could have drank with a straw. It came atop a side of perfectly whipped Brie mashed potatoes and julienne vegetables. Even the vegetables were cooked to perfection. Helllloooo Piropo's! Hook. Line. Sinker. We had already overindulged, so we declined dessert this time, and later deeply regretted. Already planning our next dining endeavor at this lovely gem......
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