TAILLEUR RESTAURANT — Restaurant in Kansas City

Time for a grouse ! Just left Tailleur . The room is chic . The staff is amiable . Alas ! With the food . It is a bad start for the basics . Flavors are dialed down . For instance _ the Pommes Frites they serve taste like a manufactured product from a food mill . Definitely not twice fried. Most likely air fried. Which is an actionable misnomer . These inflatables are full of little air pockets . Squeeze one ! They are limp, and rife with the ungodly reek of truffle oil . If you dont already know . As a flavoring agent _ truffle oils use 2,4-dithiapentane which is a distillate of formaldehyde . What you taste is lab rat chemicals . Why in the world would anyone want to disguise the flavor of an honest potato in the first place ? Insult to injury _ these stateless refugees are served with catsup instead of aioli . Potatoes _ fresh cut on site ? Not here ! These grade z simulacrums leave our tastebuds stranded , somewhere south of an air souffle . If you have ever tasted a fresh cut batch of , twice fried pommes frites you would know the difference immediately . Like night and day ! And yes ! If you must split hairs . Frites are Belgian . Not french . But real pommes frites are so utterly superior . Nothing will compare to the sublime crunch of a twice fried , string cut potato . Something to dream about because here it ain't . Had the same experience at Billie's Grocery on Gillham . The pesto chicken sandwich looked good , But the pesto was so dummied down with a mystery diffuser that there was no evidence at all for the presence of pine nuts , garlic , olive oil , basel or parmesan. How do they make a chicken so stringy and hard to chew ? Even worse than masticating with lethal intent on a rubber ducky. Had a brownie for dessert . Wish I had passed on that . Be warned. No chairs here. We ate on tree stumps . Both these places are glammed up to a fair-thee-well . But they bow and scrape to the ghost of a culinary standard , stage left of any redeeming qualities in the time honored tradition of what it means to cook . Alas , even if everything does not actually end up tasting the same. It sure feels like it. Like the hum of an anvil chorus . I can still hear the death rattle of their easy bake oven , trilling "make believe" in the vocative head-lock of a Betty Crocker canned-food cook-off . In this town _ we are starved for new and interesting places to eat . Alas ! We oftentimes settle for "something less than" and look the other way when "ordinary" intervenes . Trouble is . With these two eateries . It is all about_ the unforgivable error of choosing style over substance . In any restaurant you are only as good as the last meal you serve . And God is in the details . For a bistro not to serve something as basic as a french baguette with any number of menu items is another clumsy omission we experienced at Tailleur . We actually had to order bread as a side. But it tasted strange and cloying . Sour even , but not like sourdough . It was supposed to come with a much touted garlic butter that never arrived . I am sorta glad it stayed in the kitchen. A fellow diner solved the mystery of the strangeness. They use what seems like pretzel dough to make the bread . The result is a flavor quotient that pairs well with nothing. With the addendum of an aftertaste that lingers on the palate in a most unloving way . Where does that leave the innocent diner ? Decidedly disappointed . We left wishing things had been better. I have no desire to return . After the newness wears off . Both of these places will have a hard time generating steady revenue . Check them out . I have a feeling you might also know the difference between the real thing and a second tier...

The atmosphere and service for our party of five was great, with the decor/ambiance being the number one impressive thing about Tailleur. Decorated in an equestrian meets antique style, it felt both warm and homey while also feeling elevated and special. Adore the unique vibe similar to The Russell, which I love. The bathrooms are single stall and one of the prettiest, “aesthetic” bathrooms in KC…obsessed with the green wall tile in there! The various vintage plates the meals were served in/on were also delightful and the most lovely, unexpected touch.

However, the food itself was unimpressive and didn’t match the surroundings. Risotto is one of my favorite dishes in the world and I was excited to try theirs as many reviewers enjoyed it. Unfortunately my risotto was undercooked, erred too much on the al dente side, and the three scallops were underseasoned, though the texture was fine. The menu description also didn’t mention the inclusion of…butternut squash? I can’t quite tell what the little orangey additions were in the risotto but those were also undercooked and underseasoned so they tasted like nothing and were just unnecessary cubes. My side salad before the meal was also just okay; very little flavor even with cracked pepper, definitely regret ordering that. Regret the bread basket order too…nothing exceptional about it. Usually I’m pretty easily occupied by even an average bread basket but the two breads were just…like chewing nothing. None of us at the table went back for another after our initial pieces.

I tried my friend’s chicken paillard and that was tasty; another diner in our party enjoyed the duck (though a French friend of mine who didn’t dine with us didn’t like hers when she visited) and the other two tried a gnocchi special and the sauce was somehow both rich and bland, a bit one note. If I ever return, I would try a meat dish as those seem to be more consistently tasty.

Honestly I was pretty disappointed after reading the overall excellent reviews. One of the most charming restaurant atmospheres perhaps also unfairly raised my expectations about the food upon entering but they simply didn’t match. I’d reluctantly give it another shot in case it was just an off night but for the price, it’ll probably be awhile. European comfort food it is not. I’d rather eat at the owners’ other more casual but similar vibe, cheaper but infinitely more delicious spot,...

Alright, where to begin. The staff is absolutely phenomenal; wildly friendly, excellent personality, outgoing and personable, we talked to at least 5-6 of them. The bar across the street, Cheval, is excellent as well. I recommend a French 75, personally.

First and foremost, I don’t think there’s a bad thing on the menu with what we had. I just don’t think it’s possible.

• Appetizer was focaccia. Brilliant crunch. Warm soft inside. This is literally what heaven is lined with.

• Meals: The Pescatarian 5-course is mind-blowing, and I’m not a huge fan of fish. This is what my wife got and the 3-course wine pairing for the both of us. The levels of depth and richness within their dishes is unbelievable.

I had the Shoulder steak. Now … mind you, the food is amazingly delicious, so when I say that I ordered Medium Rare, it was just that — but the fact that shoulder is similar to chuck, I’d almost suggest going Medium. It would take some of the chewy-stringy out, I bet. Also, I LOVE chimichurri — but this was … potent. It tasted like it was made in batch the day before and the mint settled over all of the other ingredients and just consumed them all, making it saturating and overpowering. A slightly sad moment, and the potatoes were meh. I wouldn’t do the steak again, if I had another shot at it — but … when my wife finished her salmon … that miso butter sauce on hers …

Holy. Gods. Above. 😱

Dip the steak in that sauce, and the world changes color. Absolutely divine.

The butter beans are phenomenal.

The dessert is wonderful as well. I definitely recommend the caramel crème… and I love crème brule, but the crust was just a tad thick and tasted burnt, but it’s also coffee – so that didn’t help it any. Still delicious, but it can’t complete with the other.

Chocolate cake and 24K carrot also were an absolute success with my in-laws that we took home.

All in all, Tailleur is a complete experience, start to finish. Atmosphere is fresh and exciting. The building is perfectly curated. 11/10

Will definitely...