Sierra Grill — Restaurant in Lenexa

Three stars is a little harsh, but I'm being harsh because I can tell that Ryan, the chef owner, as he introduced himself to us during the latter part of our meal, is putting his heart and soul into making this work, and I want him to succeed. I didn't want to bring these things up to him while we were there, because I could tell they were having a rough night, but hopefully he will see this and make some adjustments.

There is no denying, Ryan is in the right business. The man knows how to work a grill, and the flavor profiles of everything we ate were on point. The food is very good.

Just as a warning, they are suffering from growing pains. It is understandable, as word is starting to get out, so I don't hold it against them that service was a bit of a mess. They were short two people and slammed with customers. They were very polite and super apologetic. Hopefully they will find more creative ways to deal with front of house when a hostess decides not to show up for work.

Here's where the problems comes in, and the good news is they are easily fixable. First, there is a slight lack of consistency. My wife and I both had the scallops. As with everything else, great flavor, but while my first and last scallop were cooked perfectly, number two was approaching rubber stage. My wife, who is a scallop connisour, felt that all of hers were a tad overcooked. Not a huge deal, but they are priced at a level when one expects consistency.

The big problem is perception vs delivery. It starts with the scallop dish. It is on a bed of "lobster" rissoto. I'm sure the risotto has lobster stock in it, in order for them to make the claim, but when you pay $26 for 3 scallops on lobster risotto, you expect to see some lobster. In fact, I can'tell think of a single place in KC where I've ordered a dish with lobster in the title and not received a decent, if not generous portion of lobster meat. Again, the flavor was great, but it left us disappointed because we didn't get what we expected.

The far worse offense was the vegetable side. It's $6, and the current seasonal vegetables are zucchini and yellow squash. With squash currently selling for about $0.99-1.49/lb, one would expect to get the equivalent of a single squash for $6 at a good restaurant. Instead, what we were presented with was a small plate with seven thin slices of squash... I estimate that it was about 1/10th of an average size squash. That wasn't just surprising, it was insulting. Like everything else, the flavor was great, but to ask patrons to pay $6 for that is ridiculous. To have that kind of an up charge, you'd need to back it up with 5-star service, and even when they aren't under-staffed, this isn't the kind of place that is setup for that level of service. To be honest, I'd be shocked if Eddie V's (the closest thing to 5-star I've found in KC) charged me $6 for that meager plate.

I do recommend that you support this establishment, especially if you are a meat lover. Hopefully Ryan will see this and make some adjustments. As for my wife and I, we may give them a try again, to see if things changed... but we will have to wait for the...

I called at 6 PM to make a reservation for two but was told by the staff that the restaurant was fully booked. However, when I checked online, I saw open reservations available until 9:30, so I went ahead and made one.

We were seated quickly, which was nice, but our lemonades tasted like plain water—very disappointing. For starters, we had the short ribs and ceviche, which were excellent and flavorful! Unfortunately, the main course was a letdown. The food was overwhelmingly salty and overloaded with garlic. The mac and cheese with broccoli and meat was essentially watery milk and cheese with garlic. I only managed to eat the slightly burnt broccoli and left the rest untouched.

When the waiter finally came by to check on us, he asked if we wanted a box for the leftovers. My immediate answer was no. For a total of $100, the food quality just didn’t live up to expectations. While the atmosphere is chic and enjoyable—probably great for drinks—the dinner experience was a big miss for me. I’d recommend this place for drinks and ambiance but would skip it for a full meal.

EDIT. After reading the owner’s response, I must address several inaccuracies. The claim that we did not communicate our concerns to the staff or waiter is incorrect. Our waiter neglected our table until we flagged down another staff member who repeatedly walked past us. We were seated at the far end of a waiter station, and despite passing by multiple times and seeing the untouched plate, no action was taken. When our waiter finally arrived, he asked if we wanted boxes or dessert. I clearly stated that the food was not good and that I did not enjoy it.

Despite this, we paid for our meal in full. However, I see no reason why I shouldn’t express my concerns about the food and service. Additionally, your response fails to address another issue I raised: when we called at 6 PM, we were told the restaurant was fully booked for the evening, yet your online reservation system showed availability for the rest of the night. For a $100 dining experience, the food and service fell far short of expectations. I will not amend my review simply because others had a better experience. Positive reviews do not invalidate my negative one, and I stand by...

We were excited to try a new place when we made plans with friends for dinner. We had reservations at 530, were seated quickly and immediately received water from our server, Edgar. We ordered the crab dip as an appetizer, which was fine. My husband ordered an old fashioned and I had an espresso martini. Both drinks were fantastic.

Here's where it all went downhill. I always order filet medium in restaurants and they're always closer to medium rare in the center. Fine. I eat the edges of the steak at dinner and reheat the center for leftovers the next day. Not here. I ordered the filet cooked medium and it was more along the lines of medium well-well done. I don't know if they aren't temping the steaks, new cook, cook got distracted, orders mixed up, who knows. At home, I sear on the stove and finish in the oven, pulling my steak from the oven when it hits 135 and by the time it has rested, it's 140-145 - exactly medium all the way through - In this filet, I can only assume it didn't get pulled until it was at least 145 and by the time it rested, it was way overcooked - there was one bite in the center that was more medium-well and the rest was brown, overcooked beef. The demi glace at least provided some flavor. By the time we got our food, the kitchen was extremely busy and everyone was eating, so I didn't bother sending it back. For the price, I just expected my steak to be cooked correctly. My husband's meal (short rib Mac & cheese) tasted good, but was disappointing for the price for the amount of meat he received. Our friends ordered the fish special and halibut. They thought both were good. In the future, for about the same price, we'll just go to J Gilberts or J Alexanders instead.

Our server, Edgar, was phenomenal! I'd say he was one of the best servers we've ever had. Any restaurant that has him as an employee should consider...