Strang Hall — Restaurant in Overland Park

We have been loyal customers of this establishment since they first opened, dining here at least once a week. Over the years, we have appreciated their consistency in food quality, reasonable pricing, and efficient service. My wife has always enjoyed ordering a cocktail from the bar, and for the most part, her drinks have been well-made and fairly priced.

However, after returning from a three-month stay in Florida, we visited the restaurant last Saturday night, eager to enjoy the familiar experience we had come to expect. Unfortunately, this visit left us deeply disappointed. My wife ordered a simple vodka and Seltzer water, expecting the usual quality. To her surprise, the bartender used a lower-end house vodka and then presented her with a bill for $25 and change. When she questioned the price, the bartender explained that because the drink was not listed on the menu, that was the correct price. This seemed completely unreasonable for such a basic cocktail, especially considering the downgrade in liquor quality.

My meal was equally underwhelming. I ordered a mushroom burger with a side salad. The salad, once a generous portion, had been significantly reduced to nearly half its previous size. The burger, while still flavorful, was noticeably smaller than before. To make matters worse, it took about 30 minutes to arrive—far longer than what we had come to expect from a place that used to pride itself on fast service.

While I understand that inflation and rising costs may necessitate price increases, reducing portion sizes and charging exorbitant prices for subpar drinks is not the way to retain long-time customers. We have always been willing to pay for quality, but this experience has made us question whether we will return. A restaurant's success is built on trust and consistency, and sadly, it feels like both have been compromised.

We have been loyal customers of this establishment since they first opened, dining here at least once a week. Over the years, we have appreciated their consistency in food quality, reasonable pricing, and efficient service. My wife has always enjoyed ordering a cocktail from the bar, and for the most part, her drinks have been well-made and fairly priced.

However, after returning from a three-month stay in Florida, we visited the restaurant last Saturday night, eager to enjoy the familiar experience we had come to expect. Unfortunately, this visit left us deeply disappointed. My wife ordered a simple vodka and tonic, expecting the usual quality. To her surprise, the bartender used a lower-end house vodka and then presented her with a bill for $25 and change. When she questioned the price, the bartender explained that because the drink was not listed on the menu, that was the correct price. This seemed completely unreasonable for such a basic cocktail, especially considering the downgrade in liquor quality.

My meal was equally underwhelming. I ordered a mushroom burger with a side salad. The salad, once a generous portion, had been significantly reduced to nearly half its previous size. The burger, while still flavorful, was noticeably smaller than before. To make matters worse, it took about 30 minutes to arrive—far longer than what we had come to expect from a place that used to pride itself on fast service.

While I understand that inflation and rising costs may necessitate price increases, reducing portion sizes and charging exorbitant prices for subpar drinks is not the way to retain long-time customers. We have always been willing to pay for quality, but this experience has made us question whether we will return. A restaurant's success is built on trust and consistency, and sadly, it feels like both have been...

Let me make something very clear... the food is definitely above the mark for most offerings. There is a very large "however" in there. I believe for the quality of the entrees and the portion sizes of the starters, everything could have been knocked down in price across the board. I would say this is a very well kept open platform bar suited for all ages with several unique offerings of different food options. Simple and elevated dishes intended to share with others.

Dining here is a different experience, and it's best suited to opening up a tab. My personal recommendation is to make decisions in accordance with the group to ensure you don't double up on the same option (we ended up with three orders of gyoza). One thing I definitely did not like was having to go back to some of the different shops to pickup the orders... makes it feel like I'm ordering fast food in a cafeteria at three times the price.

Everything we had was very good. However, there was one dish that stood out above the rest... and not in a good way. My party of six wouldn't touch it... it was that bad. The dish in question was dan-dan noodles. It had great heat as you would expect from an Asian cuisine offering of Cantonese or Thai, but it was a single note with absolutely zero depth. I've personally made much better on my own. If you don't know, dan-dan noodles usually offers a level of umami with ginger, different kinds of peppercorns, garlic, bone broth (usually pork or chicken), a nice dose of a peanut flavor, a hint of sweetness tied together with a slightly higher level of heat with red pepper flakes and a smidge of thai chili through the use of samba olec (or similar) then garnished with scallions and crushed peanuts. When I see dan-dan noodles on a menu, I usually order it and really enjoy that savory flavor. This dish lacked everything but heat. The garlic was present, but barely peaking around the corner from down the hall. The presentation looked very promising but ended up as a disappointment. It was this dish which has solidified my decision to not return to Strang Hall. I wish them well in their endeavors.

A few things I think would help would be an easier menu. Items that might be sold out be sure to list them as such. Three places neglected to change the menu showing items being sold out. Two of the same shops had other items on their menu they listed as sold out on the displays. Better clarification as to what dishes are ready to be picked up rather than X plus 2 or 3 other items... list them off please or at least make an effort to remove anything that had been picked up and only show what's waiting.

The experience is unique and worth the visit... but definitely avoid the dan-dan noodles. Dan-dan noodles done right can be found at Szechuan Dynasty down the road.

I visited another time with friends, they couldn't figure out our bill and ended up double charging half our order. Manager had to be called to...

We recently visited Strang Hall and ordered from two of the vendors—Norcini and Fenix. Unfortunately, the overall experience left a lot to be desired, both in terms of food quality and customer service.

At Norcini, we ordered a meatball sub. The girl who took our order was clearly uninterested in helping. She barely spoke in full sentences, mumbled responses, and when we had questions, she simply pointed at the menu without making any real effort to assist us. The acoustics in the space aren't great, so clear communication would definitely help, but we received none.

When the sandwich arrived, it was incredibly dry with barely any sauce—see attached photos. We had to go back and ask for extra sauce on the side. At over $22 for just a meatball sandwich and a drink, I expected much more. The meatballs seemed like they had been sitting around all day—dry and lacking any real flavor. Surprisingly, the salad was the highlight from Norcini: fresh, bright, and paired with a great dressing.

Next, I went to Fenix and ordered a breakfast burrito. Since I don’t eat beef or pork, I asked about swapping the meat for extra egg or a bit of guacamole. I wasn’t asking for anything major—just a simple substitution. I was told there would be an upcharge, which made no sense given I was opting out of the protein. I declined and got the burrito with no meat.

That said, the burrito itself was really tasty and satisfying, and at $14, it was a better value than the meatball sub. However, the service was once again disappointing. The staff came across as unhappy and disengaged, making the experience feel unwelcoming.

This was our first visit, and unfortunately, it will also be our last. Another reviewer mentioned that Strang Hall feels like a glorified food court, and I have to agree—it doesn’t offer anything particularly special. Also, I dislike being required to give out my phone number just to pick up my order. A simple table number or a pager system would suffice.

Final thoughts: The food was hit or miss (the burrito was great, the sub was not), but the consistently poor service across vendors really tainted the experience. The only reason I’m giving two stars instead of one is because of the burrito. Otherwise, this visit was disappointing from...