Twelve Restaurant & Bar — Restaurant in Wichita

From Bonefish Grill to YaYa's to Newport Grill to Lakeside Club, Bryce Kuhn has an immense amount of experience in restaurant management. He has an excellent grasp of the "front of the house" - design, presentation, and atmosphere, and it's no surprise that his first attempt at a restaurant of his own maintains that upscale atmosphere you'd expect from his pedigree. Problem is, I go out to eat primarily for the food; what's considered "back of the house". The best restaurant have harmony between the front and back of the house; good restaurants have good food in a crappy setting. A restaurant driven by the front of the house doesn't interest me. It's a superficial experience, more concerned with appearances than my reason for dining. Twelve is the latter of the three.

Want an example? Look no further than the Twelve burger. Less than a half pound of beef that was overworked to be tough, shaped too thin and wide in an effort to fit its large brioche bun, its size prohibited it from getting cooked to my requested medium rare. The grill marks were nice and the thick cheddar cheese was melted well, despite the otherwise lack of seasoning. Not a great patty, but that's not where my problems lie. No, it's in the accouterments - the food service-grade mayo, mustard, unripe tomato (in the middle of summer!), pickle chips, and diced onions. Aside from maybe the brioche bun, what makes this burger any different than what I can get at the dozens of run-down burger places around this city? Why is this $10? You couldn't caramelize the onions? sourced better pickles and tomatoes? Not dumped a pile of shredded lettuce on my bun's crown like it was taco night in suburbia? The ketchup for my fries was served on the side, in a nice little dish, on top of a napkin-lined saucer. Doesn't change the fact that it's Heinz, dude. Or maybe House Recipe Brand Fancy Tomato Ketchup.

The thin cut fries weren't too bad, and seasoned well. The whole purpose of the shoestring fry is to emphasize the crispy exterior, which these did not effectively communicate, but still plenty munchable.

Because I no longer am under the impression that potatoes serve as a suitable vegetable for a well-rounded meal, I was compelled to order a side of grilled asparagus and the vegetable of the day, grilled squash and zucchini. The giant stalks of asparagus were cooked well, to their credit, though the squash mixture was pretty heavily covered in oil, remaining greasy despite their good sear from the grill.

It's telling that the names on the outside of the door are that of the owner and the general manager. Judging by the ridiculously packed house on the Saturday night I first tried to visit, people seem to appreciate another fine dining option exclusive to the west side of the city. Personally, I get stuck on the more obvious warnings - the choice to have your steak topped a la "Oscar" with crab and hollandaise; one-fourth of the beer taps devoted to Leinenkugel's Summer Shandy; chicken tenders as a choice for an adult main course; a "golden trio" appetizer of fried mushrooms, zucchini, and mozzarella - and see that underneath all the gloss, the food is...

Date night with the wife. Thought about Greystone always great, but decided on Twelve since it's 30 minutes closer. Must say that mistake will not happen again. Started by asking what Bourbons they have, since it was not listed anywhere, the server listed off Jim Beam (correct) Jack Daniel's (not a Bourbon) and Crown Royal (definitely not a Bourbon). Finally got to a couple actual Bourbons when I ordered Basil Haydens. Got my drink and it was over watered (specifically asked for a splash of water, any whiskey drinker knows what I'm talking about) and that would have been acceptable if you were not charging me $15 dollars for a mid grade bourbon. (Basil Haydens is $29 a BOTTLE down the street and that is retail. I had to buy a bottle after this meal). Moving on got the appetizer Elote Dip (solid), didn't see the server for 15 minutes til he came back for orders. He said let me tell you the specials (the menus at the edge of the table since we had been ready to order for 10 minutes) that would have been nice, but had already had our mind made up. Food comes out. Prime Rib was good, not great. Creamed Horseradish had no flavor and my mash was not warm, but cold. Wife had Pork chop, good flavor, but was a solid medium rare over a medium, medium well a good chop should be served at. I went to get the salt, I do prefer my steak on the salty side and they have Kosher Grind in the shaker. I now have to take the top off to get any salt on my food.

I hate to complain. I hate to pull a manager or owner off for complaints, but when you are charging fine dining money, you must step up your service (train a server to know the difference in whiskeys and bourbon). Have a meal progression, and check in servers can work off of. Cold food is unforgivable.

Mr owner, I can tell you dont care, because on any online sources you have not made a comment on a review, good or bad. Your outrageous pricing on alcohol (where ever restaurant makes their money, but DAMN) makes me 90% sure you will not get another try for my business. I have spent $50 at Texas Roadhouse for better service and comparable food. I will spend the time to go to Greystone since the food and service is night and day better for...

4/10 Not revisiting- Better service, prices, and quality across Wichita

I was super excited to try this restaurant after hearing a few good things from some friends, however after our visit, I won't come back.

To begin, after being promptly seated, we weren't greeted for about 5 minutes, and after our waters were dropped, it took 30 minutes to receive straws and the complimentary bread, which didn't even come from our server. He was pretty absent, with a staggering 4-5 visits to our table in the hour and a half we were there.

The food took way too long, about an hour into getting sat, and the quality was mediocre and relative to a Texas roadhouse. The prices and atmosphere gave the inclination of finer dining, however the service and quality of the food said otherwise.

While I will admit that the bread was good, as was the queso and chips and Cajun seafood pasta, everything else lacked seasoning. The beef tips were $25 with plain mashed potatoes and blanched green beans, without salt, pepper, or anything else. I've had a better, similar set-up at IHOP. I'm convinced I could recreate everything our table got in a cheaper, and more flavorful manner.

I would've mentioned all of the above to the older woman manager, had she stopped by our table during the aforementioned 90 minutes. However, she seemed preccupied continously passing our table and checking on all of the surrounding white patrons who were in different stages of their dining experience to cater to their needs. I couldn't help but notice this and our lack of other interactions, and I wonder if there might be unintentional bias based on ethnicity.

Overall, I'm disappointed in my visit. There's nothing this restaurant can, in its current state, offer that I would reasonably go to spend more money and time for. Everything can be found across town for better...