The Westside Local — Restaurant in Kansas City

I had the delightful experience of joining a group of friends for dinner at the Westside Local last week! Our server was Miranda, and she was FABULOUS! Even though it was a Friday evening, and there was a group of us, she took care of us as if we were the only diners in the restaurant. Some of our group asked for substitutions, and there were several questions about the menu, and we all needed separate checks--Miranda handled it all with grace and charm and a smile. She was friendly, efficient, and genuinely committed to ensuring we had a great time while we were there. I appreciate her taking such good care of us--she was a major reason that we had such a wonderful evening. The food was AMAZING! I'd never been to the Local, and I was very impressed with their farm-to-table menu and the varied offerings. I had the grilled cheese and tomato soup, and my meal was absolutely delectable! The bread on my sandwich was toasty without being greasy, and the cheese was ooey-gooey delicious, and the tomato soup was so thick and rich and well-seasoned that it was almost a tomato stew. :-) I paired it with a petite Syrah which was equally delightful. My dinner companions all raved about their choices; one of the gentlemen ordered the bison meatloaf and shared a bite with me, and it was exquisite--tender and flavorful. Several members of our party had tater tots with their meals and couldn't finish them, so I volunteered to take them home; I had them the next day and can vouch for how tasty they are! :-) Toasty without being greasy, and nicely seasoned so that they don't even need catsup. The ambience at the Local is so warm and welcoming; the vibe is almost that of a family gathering in the dining room at the holidays. The dining area is small enough to feel cozy, but the high windows and ceiling (they took out the original first floor, so now the walls extend up through the second floor) keep the space from feeling enclosed. It's still light and airy and extremely comfortable. After my first time at the Local, I'm definitely coming back! I can't wait for my next great meal in such a great space and with such great...

Because we had been before and enjoyed our meals, a group of friends and I arrived at The Westside Local on Sunday (May 24th, 2015) around noon. We had called prior to arriving, asking what the wait time would be, and we were told approximately 45 minutes. When we arrived, however, we were greeted by perhaps the rudest hostess I have ever encountered. She asked me if I had a reservation under a certain name, I told her I did not, and asked what the wait would be without a reservation. Instead of telling me a wait time, she acted exasperated and absolutely annoyed that I would have the audacity to walk into The Westside Local without a reservation. After asking me two more times if I had a reservation under the name Cara (nope, still not Cara, still no reservation!) only for me to answer no and ask again what the wait might be for a party of 6, another employee walked up and whispered audibly "Some people just don't take no for an answer." So, we left and went across the street to Bluebird Bistro and were greeted by an extremely nice and accommodating staff.

I understand that this is a popular establishment and that they may have been extremely busy on the Holiday weekend. HOWEVER, this is not a posh night club in NYC... this is a restaurant in Kansas City. A city in which we take pride in being polite and hospitable. Good food, a decent beer selection and a chic environment are all great, but not if you can't back that up with great service. That kind of attitude is not a reflection of Kansas City's culture.

A more appropriate response would be something like this "Hi! Thank you so much for coming in. I will be completely honest, with the holiday weekend, we are even more busy than usual. I'd imagine it would be over an hour for a larger party. Would you still like to put your name in?" or something of the like.

Needless to say, I will not go back there again. Only The Farmhouse and Bluebird Bistro for me...

I’ve actually eaten here a few times. The only reason I give four stars and not five is because the last time we dined in, service was not great. We were told you were busy, but when I walked in the main dining room to go to the restroom, there was only about four or five parties there. It took our server about 20 minutes to greet us in the scorching hot sun on the patio, and shortly after that we needed more water and with no servers around we had to get our own water from the server station. when we first arrived outside, there was three tables occupying the only three tables in the shade. We had to sit in the sun, which was fine at first, but my friend gets overheated easily so when the table behind us left, we slid all of our things over to that table and moved all the other things over. Our server finally came back out and looked at us with disgust and confusion and asked us if we move tables. We said yes because we were getting too hot in the sun and needed to sit in the shade she said that it was a health code violation and that we were not allowed to move tables because if the health department was in the restaurant they would get in trouble. I’ve worked in service for over four years, i’m not sure about this rule, but if it is true, you should never speak to customers in such a condescending tone. The rest of the service felt rushed, as if the server needed us gone and out of there. Besides that one hiccup, food is always great. Drinks are usually slow to get out, but that seems to be a common theme here. It seems a little overpriced, but I do understand the rise in costs so I can’t complain too much about that. Overall, we love dining here but service...