McGregors Butcher & Bistro — Restaurant in Overland Park

I was so excited to try this place for my birthday dinner this year; the promise of a steak flight was beyond intriguing to my family and friends. Sadly, the experience didn't live up to our expectations; it started low and never got much better.

When we arrived, the hostess said she couldn't find our reservation. Since we were a large party, I'd made the reservation six weeks in advance. At that time, I wasn't asked for my name and phone number; when I questioned that, I was told that their "fancy caller ID" gave them that info, which she did verify, so I didn't worry about it. I called them on Tuesday the week of our reservation to re-confirm. The time and party size was confirmed by the woman I spoke to, so I was shocked when we arrived and they said they had cancelled it because they had tried calling me "several times" during the week and had also messaged me via Open Table (why, when that isn't how I booked the table??) to confirm, but cancelled since they couldn't reach me. The hostess looked at their call log and read off the number they had called, which was wrong, which explains why they hadn't reached me. Anyway, she apologized, spoke to the manager and they promised they could accommodate us. In a few minutes, we were seated, so OK I thought, no worries. If only that had been the only issue that night.

To make a very long story short, the service was terrible. We were a party of 10, which at any other restaurant would warrant two servers, but they only assigned one. I don't know if she was new or what, but she didn't do the best job of taking care of us. Something from every aspect of the meal was wrong. Drink orders took over 30 minutes to fill and more than one of them was wrong, the ONE appetizer we ordered took almost 30 minutes as well, even though they kept assuring my husband it "was coming" or that "they just saw it put in the window".

Throughout dinner we were repeatedly asked who had ordered what drink, salad, meal, etc. In a "white tablecloth" establishment with each person spending upwards of $100, the service should be impeccable. At the very least, the steaks should be above reproach; this is a butcher and steak house after all. Alas, that wasn't the case either. Most of us ordered either the steak flight or prime rib; almost no one had their meat cooked to the correct temperature. I actually ended up with two complete meals because the first plate of meat was overcooked, so they provided me with another entree cooked correctly. I didn't ask for this, they offered it on their own, so it was boxed up and we took it home.

As it rolled around to dessert time, we encountered another round of confusion. The steak flight came with dessert, yet our server seemed perplexed that we wanted dessert. She also told us we could only choose from two of their four dessert options, even though the menu doesn't state that. We didn't make a fuss about it, even though a few of us wanted a dessert that wasn't included. This led to another conversation with the manager who agreed we could have whatever dessert we wanted. Gee, thanks! Our desserts were delivered by a different server who brought them all to one end of our long table and said "I don't know who these belong to, so I will just leave them with you" forcing us to once again act as our own wait staff!

Finally, the cherry on top of this mess of a dinner was when it came time for the checks. We were a group of five couples and had told our server who was together when we sat down. Apparently, she forgot this (along with all the other things she forgot all evening) so had to be reminded. Again, in a lesser restaurant I wouldn't care, but at this price point, I expect much better. She also assumed that my husband and I weren't together; is that because we're a mixed race couple?? I don't know, but it sure seemed that way when she didn't question any of the other groupings.

My only positive is that the steak was seasoned fairly well, which should go without saying for a high-end steak house. I absolutely do not recommend...

Think you’ve had steak? The KC Strip from MacGregor’s will tap a whole new quadrant of your beefy taste buds. I love a good steak—filet, KC strip, T-bone, rib eye, skirt steak, you name it. So when invited to try out MacGregor’s Butcher and Bistro in mid-May, my expectations were high. What could they do to a KC Strip to make it memorable?

The Bistro part of the restaurant is a full-service dining room tucked into a strip mall near 135th Street and Quivera. Brush off any hesitations you have about the strip mall, because what’s behind the door is totally worth it.

The wine list covers all the popular varietals and price points. The Justin Paso Robles Cabernet was smooth and sophisticated and paired nicely with the meal. The first indication that the meal would not disappoint was the basket of warm baguette with a heavenly tarragon butter. The shrimp appetizer was served on a creole remoulade and dabbed with cocktail sauce. I would have preferred the cocktail sauce on the side because the remoulade was yummy—slightly spicy and a tinge of sweet.

The Caesar—although not a classic Caesar—contained super crisp and chilled Romaine, grape tomatoes, large chunks of smoky bacon, fresh croutons and the right amount of dressing, all balanced perfectly.

The main course, a generous KC Strip with onion rings, was surprisingly tender. I had to ask myself if I was eating a filet because the steak was that tender, but it still had that earthy, beefy taste I love in a strip. Cooked to a perfect. The onion rings were breaded and fried just to the point where the onions still retain some chew and their flavor.

We shared two desserts—“donuts”, which are actually donut holes, served with raspberry, caramel and chocolate sauces, and cheesecake. I am not a cheesecake lover. I can take it or leave it, but this one I couldn’t leave one crumb. It had a hint of cinnamon that kept tempting me to take another bite until it was all gone.

The “Butcher” part of MacGregor’s has an impressive selection of beef, pork and chicken that you may not find anywhere in this area. I treated myself to some Delmonico steaks (when is that last time you saw a Delmonico steak?), some skirt steak and chuck roast. I also admired the thoughtful selection of gourmet food items. Check it out if you are looking for some truffle oil or special BBQ sauces and rubs. By the way, we ate the Delmonicos a few nights later and they did not disappoint; a real bargain at only $10/pound.

The restaurant also has a generous size bar and a private room for special events. Give it a try. Your taste buds...

We were the first customers in the restaurant for lunch. Friendly waitress took our order for a burger/fries and an Italian sausage/onion/pepper sandwich with fries. Again, pointing out that we were the first and only customers for a good 15 minutes. 20 minutes after she took our order, the waitress came back and apologized for the wait, and told us there was a "technical issue with the printer" and that our food was still not ready. Not sure why a "technical issue with the printer" would have anything to do with a food order, but OK. We waited another 10 minutes (for a total of 30 minutes) and our food finally arrived. My husband had ordered the burger with cheese, lettuce and onion only (arrived with a big tomato slice on it), and my Italian sausage was the size of a regular small hotdog and not the nice-sized sausage I've had at other places. The onions on my sausage were cooked through OK, but the peppers were barely cooked. The fries were good (obviously not hand cut). No salt/pepper/ketsup on the table, so I had to ask for ketsup. She brought me a small half cup of ketsup, not nearly enough for the amount of fries. While we were eating, a couple more customer came in, looked at the menu, and left (yes, it's expensive). As far as the interior of the restaurant goes, it's very very very dark and moody, no windows at all. Dark navy walls, olive green booth seats, nice pictures of the Scottish highlands on the wall. Might be nice for dinner, but for a quick lunch, it's just too dark. The food was just....average. Definitely not the best Italian sausage sub sandwich I've ever had, not even in the top five, and the burger had a kind of funny taste to it (yes, I know "fresh" meat not purchased at the grocery store has a different taste to it, we buy stuff at Golden Belt Beef all the time). We eat at a lot of burger restaurants and this would rank towards the bottom. Prices: "Highland Burger" and fries: $15; Italian sausage and fries: $14. No drinks. Total bill was $31.65 without tip. I left a $5 tip because she should have noticed waaaaaayyyyyy before 20 minutes was up that our food hadn't been cooked yet. We won't be back, it's a "perma-ban" from our rotation. We had high hopes it would be a nice place, but for the long wait, average food, high prices, and less than competent wait staff, we'll go...