The Savoy — Restaurant in Kansas City

I just had the single worst experience I've had at a restaurant in the last 5 years.

Some background on me. I travel for work. I eat at 3 (typically nicer, higher end) restaurants every week. I very rarely feel the need to write a review. And almost never write a bad review.

I walked into Savoy at 5:45 pm. I was the only person at a table and there were 2 people at the bar. They just opened at 5.

I had reviewed the menu before I came in so I mostly knew what I was ordering. I asked for unsweet tea and I asked the server if the filet came with anything (namely vegetables. Broccoli, asparagus, Brussels sprouts, anything). I was told it does not which surprised me a little because there are very little vegetables on the menu to order. The options were a peach salad that had a bunch of stuff on it, a ceaser salad, some sort of squash or Yukon gold potatoes. Not even a basic house salad.

I ordered a ceaser and the filet so I would at least get some veggies despite a ceaser not being very healthy.

The ceaser came in roughly 10 minutes. It was fine. It tasted like a ceaser salad. It was roughly a cup of lettuce with croutons, parmesan and some anchovies. It was finished fast.

Then came the first wait. I order my filet Pitsburgh which means it gets a fast hard sear on the outside and stays pretty much raw throughout. When I do it at home in my cast iron it takes 3-4 minutes total. I waited for my steak for 30 minutes.

It finally came out, cut in half on a bed of Diane Sauce. It was medium rare. There was almost no sear on the outside. And it was the smallest 8oz filet I have ever seen. It is possible that it being cut in half made my perception see it as small though.

I'm not one to complain and I never send food back, not to mention I was hungry after waiting so long, so I ate up. It was incredibly bland. You could tell they were depending on the Diane Sauce for flavor. I finished the steak in roughly 10 minutes because I was taking my time.

Here comes wait #2. I had my card out and gave it to my server when she picked up my plate. From that moment, it was 30 minutes until I got my receipt. They were having some sort of system issue and my server handed it off to her manager to process. Again, I can understand system issues but I can't understand poor service.

If I were in the managers position I would have offered a desert, a drink or even just some more tea while my customer waited. I would have turned them down but the gesture would have been nice. Instead I sat there for 30 uninterrupted minutes, with my empty tea cup and my head down on the table. I contemplated how a restaurant can charge me $85 for a cup of salad, a poorly cooked $10 filet and bad service.

The manager never came over to apologize. Finally my receipt landed in front of me, I signed off and left. It took almost an hour and a half to get a small salad and the world most simple steak and it cost me $85. I am incredibly disappointed.

Do yourself a favor. Last night I ate at a small restaurant around the corner from the Savoy called The Magestic. The food was fantastic, the service was fantastic, the serving size was enough to feed an adult and from the time I walked through the door to the time I signed the bill ($65 btw) I was in the restaurant...

My partner and I decided to celebrate my birthday here on Sunday the 22nd of June. The hostess, whose I name I unfortunately didn’t catch, was lovely. Greet was warm and friendly, she sat us in Truman’s favorite booth. Prior to our arrival, she set out menus that said Happy Birthday which was sooo sweet. We were so excited to start our experience. The vibe and mood completely changed when our server arrived. Not sure if we did something wrong or if it was just a bad night for our server, Nick but it felt like we were an inconvenience. I would thank him for things and get ignored. Felt rushed to give him everything at one time. Made my partner feel stupid because he asked for “soda water” instead of “Sparkling Water”. The whole thing honestly felt a bit hostile. I normally would let that go and just call it a bad night for him but I couldn’t help but feel like it was targeted after seeing 1) him be more attentive, friendly and personable with his other tables, and 2) the kindness and professionalism from not only the hostess but the other server as well. We had just a super brief moment with the other server on the floor that night and he was fantastic. My partner and I talked about how we wished he was our server. And we had to ask the hostess to drop checks and boxes for us cause our server hadn’t checked in with us since our food dropped. Keep in mind the restaurant wasn’t busy. Nick probably had two other tables and enough time to be chatting it up with the bartender (who made some great drinks btw. Melon Dollar Baby is a great name and drink) We didn’t even get to order dessert.

It’s just really disheartening to go out to a supposedly nice restaurant to celebrate your birthday, get treated like this and then pay upwards of $200 ESPECIALLY IN THIS ECONOMY. I normally tip upwards of 20% because I work in the service industry as well and really struggled with how much I was going to leave him. Originally had like $75 set aside for tip, considered stiffing but ended up leaving $20 because despite the disappointing service, I’m not gonna be an a hole and give you nothing even if that means I’m practically paying YOU to be one to me.

Really disappointing and frustrating that my Birthday and my money was spent here. If it weren’t for the hostess and other server, the only good thing about the night, I would leave 0...

Pros: 1) Regina is a terrific, knowledgeable, attentive, friendly server. 2) Setting and atmosphere are incredible, with luscious, dark wood, Tiffany-style lighting, contemporary art, an early 20th century mural, and a spectacular bar. 3) Cocktails! We tried two from the menu, a martini and a Manhattan, and a third not on the menu, a Vieux-carré. They were all scrumptious. 4) Cotton Candy! One of our diners actually added it to his mocha. Suggest restaurant consider a new Blue Mocha Coffee offering! 5) Inexpensive valet parking. 6) 21C art gallery. Either before or after dinner, be sure to walk through the hotel lobby and check out the Contemporary Art. Some of it is incredible.

Mixed: 1) Meal seemed to have a powerful acid-forward flavor profile, which the chef tried with disparate success to counter with mint and other flavors. 2) Dishes we had with pasta were served al dente. Those at table who prefer al dente liked that. Those who don't, obviously didn't. 3) Thoroughly enjoyed Escargot, Crab Bucatini, and Gnocchi appetizers. Spring Onion Gazpacho was not as well liked, but in fairness, diner expected more tomato. 4) Entrees. Beef Burgundy was perhaps the greatest success of the night. It seemed to melt in your mouth. Lamb was sublime. Steak was a little tough, and accompanying sides didn't seem to complement the flavor of the steak very well. The chicken was an unexpected dish. Diner felt it was too small for an entree and would have made a better appetizer. 5) Shareable sides. Risotto was good, but not great. Texture was practically perfect, but flavor profile had a weird combination. Parmesan was discernible, but odd aftertaste, perhaps mint? Lobster Carmelle a bit overpowered by the Szechuan style chili oil in which it seemed bathed, though the lobster itself was delicious. Again, al dente pasta. 6) Desserts: Brandy Alexander was wonderfully rich; again, all cocktails were excellent. Dark Chocolate Ganache is a desert I will eat again and again and again; however, three of four diners did not care for black sesame ice cream.

Cons: none really, as long as you are aware of your personal palette...