District Pour House + Kitchen — Restaurant in Shawnee

I definitely understand "working out kinks", and I usually try very hard not to be picky, but I have to say this place wasn't what I expected, and this review simply serves to let others know what to expect. For over $25 a person, I honestly expected better.

To start with the good though, their food was really good, but they are almost all entirely chef-inspired foodie dishes that really just come out as overpriced art on a plate. If that is what you are looking for and have the budget then this place is for you. In juxtaposition the interior decor doesn't appear to match the class off the food, as it has bit more of a rustic vibe, so it may fool people. I went with 3 friends and we all had something different. I had the Cubano for $14 which I would recommend as the most "accessible" dish there, other than the mac and cheese, which is also $14+ by the way, plain. That said, I ordered extra fries with mine and received what seemed like a fairly normal sized order of fries to me and that charged me two dollars extra on top of that 14. One of my other buddies got that mac and cheese plain as well, btw. And I guarantee he was served just under a cup of pasta that is put on over the sauce. I didn't think I had enough fries and I still think I got twice the food he did for nearly the same price.

Digressing from the food, the service itself was also lack-luster. This was a Friday evening, sure, but I have seen them tons more busy and other's didn't seem to have this same experience so I just wanted it pointed out. We had 4 different people come to our table to take our order, serve us food, and drinks, and it felt very disorganized. On top of that, two of my friends (including the mac and cheese guy) ordered meals that were impossible to eat with your hands without looking like a four year old. We literally had to yell after the waiter (who wasn't even technically our waiter he just brought the food) after setting those plates down to ask for silverware. Again, I don't mean to be too harsh, I just feel like this place lacks self-awareness and an identity as an eatery just yet.

This brings me to my biggest and final gripe. I was most excited about trying this place, because of the name, for well...beer. I came in expecting a veritable selection of classics and new alike. They are called a "pour house" after all. I was surprised to find that they yet to have a single beer on-tap, let alone in bottles. Your $6 dollar a beer will net you an 8 ounce can and selection is limited. They have a full bar and tout very expensive cocktails, but don't look for this place to be very economical for you for drinking or eating.

Perhaps I will come back after this place has had a little bit of time to find itself, or perhaps this will be just another pop-up to occur in that building, but whatever the case I wish management well and I hope I do not offend with my honest review. Keep calm and...

This was our first time visiting them after there move from Waldo where we had been a few times and enjoyed each experience fully. I love they were able to get into this building and hope they are long tenured tenant considering how many businesses have been in and out of there. Parking is adequate enough with the lot behind the building, street parking, and the bigger lot across Johnson Drive. The décor and ambiance of this location is pretty similar to the Waldo one and was really terrific. I loved the blinking Christmas light fixtures at the tables, the exposed brick/stone, and just the overall feel of the restaurant.

The hostess was friendly and on this Wednesday evening during KC Restaurant Week we had a 10 minute wait which wasn't too bad at all. The restaurant wasn't overly crowded either but definitely busier than maybe the current staffing allowed. Our server was terrific and very friendly. There were a couple times it was noticeable he hadn't visited our table but he was apologetic for it and clearly had numerous other tables he was taking care of.

Now, the most important part, the food! Between the three of us, we all ordered from the Restaurant Week menu and got: 2 Cuc-Cosmo and a Rosemary Maple Sour for our 1st course (wanted the Winter Lager but they were out). Gumbo, Mini Seafood Dip, Brussels Sprouts for our 2nd Course. Pork Chops, Beef Short-rib Ravioli, and the Hazelnut Salmon Salad for Course 3. And then a Chocolate Torte and 2 Carrot Cakes (wanted to also get the Lemon Drop Cake but they ran out) for Course 4. The cocktails were delicious but in my opinion, too sweet! The Gumbo was very flavorful and warming on this cold evening. The Brussels were perfectly seasoned and cooked to the right texture. And the Seafood Dip was legit and packed with seafood flavor. The entrees were stars themselves, with the ravioli being my favorite of the three but I do wish the portion was slightly bigger. The salad was decently sized as well but the actual salmon portion was minimal. Nothing crazy to say about the desserts besides that we demolished them and thought the carrot cake was extremely balanced. I didn't realize we could get whipped cream with our desserts until we had finished and saw the table next to us order it as such.

Overall, I am so glad District is closer to us on the Kansas side and hope they can stay here for a long, long time! It does sound like Restaurant Week is hitting them hard (expected I assume) so they were out of a few things which was a bummer. But nothing made this even close to being a bad experience and we really loved our dinner...

My party and I (2 people total) dined here during lunch on a Saturday. When we walked in, the host was nowhere to be seen. After 5 minutes of standing awkwardly in the entrance with a few other unserved patrons, an employee walked up to the host station and stared blankly at the crowd in front of him.

Note: We had thought this employee was the busboy, as we continuously saw him going to the back of house with dishes in his hands. Throughout our wait, he would often abandon his station to grab more cups and clean off tables. By the time he returned, there was always someone who was waiting to be serviced. Professionally speaking, this employee was lethargic, unkept, out of uniform, and did not want to be bothered.

The hostboy told us it would be about a 10-15 minute wait, which was expected being lunchtime on a Saturday. After 25 minutes, a party of 2 who had arrived after us got called to be seated. My partner asked the host why we weren’t being seated first, as we arrived before them and we were the same sized party. Apparently, the host said we weren’t on the list. We told him to check again. Then he said we “canceled” our reservation. We did no such thing. We didn’t get a text, or notice. Nothing. It’s also important to note that my partner had to repeat his phone number twice to the host when putting our name on the list, which in all likelihood entered his number incorrectly regardless.

We were seated, and ordered. Our waitress was lovely and attentive. I ordered the BCB, which is their take on a bacon cheeseburger. Our waitress asked how I would like it cooked, I told her medium rare.

I got the burger, and it was cooked well-done. I don’t really blame the chef, as the burger patty was as thick as a drink coaster, and it would be difficult to cook that to order. But then why offer that option in the first place? Also, the cheese was unmelted and looked like it was thrown haphazardly on the sandwich, almost as if the chef nearly forgot it was supposed to be a bacon cheeseburger. The fries had a mild freezer-burn taste too.

All in all, a bad experience here. I can appreciate the atmosphere and the music, and our waitress, but the things that went right pale in comparison to the things that went wrong. If I return and see that busboy at the host station, I think I might turn around and find another...