By Olivia Orman
If you want to eat at some of the greatest cities in Kansas and Missouri, where do you go? The rental blog Zumper recently came out with a report that uses key statistics to quantify the best cities to dine. To determine which locations are the best for “foodies”, they analyzed cities with a minimum population of 60,000 using the following parameters:
- “ % of income spent on rent – income data from the 2016 American Community Survey; median rental data from Zumper.com
- Restaurants per capita – population data from the 2016 American Community Survey; restaurant data from the 2016 County Business Patterns Survey
- Bars per capita – population data from the 2016 American Community Survey; bar data from the 2016 County Business Patterns Survey
- Yelp Rating Rank – the percentage of 4-star rating or better restaurants by the city from Yelp.com”
Though the Midwest did not rank as high as coastal regions, with Portland, Oregon, Portland, Maine, and Seattle, Washington ranking the highest, Missouri and Kansas did claim some notable places on the chart. 628 cities were taken into account when gathering and calculating the data, so their rankings are quite impressive when analyzing all of the results. If you are looking for a reason to plan your next meeting or event in Missouri or Kansas, consider checking out these unique restaurants along the way, and perhaps select the restaurant as your venue! The numbers below reflect their ranking out of the 628 cities Zumper analyzed.
Missouri
#20 – Kansas City, MO
Grünauer
The Grünauer family originally opened this Austrian restaurant / gasthaus in Vienna’s Neubau neighborhood, and they have ran it for over 60 years. The family went on to collaborate with Klaus Piber and opened a second location in the historic Freight House in Kansas City. The restaurant is still family owned and working to carry on tradition and bring the culture and authentic cuisine to Kansas City, while still offering meeting and event space for corporate companies.
Address: 101 W 22nd St, Kansas City, MO 64108
Phone #: (816) 283-3234
Garozzo’s
Garozzo’s prides themselves on treating guests as family, using the statement “When you walk into one of our restaurants, it’s like walking into Michael’s home for Sunday dinner, because you’re family at Garozzo’s.” This makes it a lovely venue to host your next company outing. Garozzo’s is famously known for their signature dish, Chicken Spiedini.
Address: 526 Harrison St, Kansas City, MO 64106
Phone #: (816) 221-2455
#41 – St. Louis, MO
Westport Social
This bar and gaming lounge is for patrons to eat, drink, and play. They offer small plates, drinks, live music, and games, and they offer different games including bocce ball, shuffleboard, ping pong, darts, and more. If you are looking for a laid-back venue to meet with your business associates and unwind, Westport Social is the place to reserve.
Address: 910 W Port Plaza Dr., St. Louis, MO 63146
Phone #: (314) 548-2876
Polite Society Restaurant and Bar
The Polite Society Restaurant and Bar is known for their inviting and pleasant environment, along with their hospitality. They offer brunch, lunch, dinner, and drinks. To experience over-the-top service and surround your company with these core, communicative ethics, The Polite Society is a wonderful venue to host your next meeting or event.
Address: 1923 Park Ave, St. Louis, MO 63104
Phone #: (314) 325-2553
#108 – Springfield, MO
Bambinos Café on Delmar
Bambinos Café on Delmar has won multiple awards, such as best restaurant, best Italian restaurant, best date-night dinner, and best place for dinner with parents. They offer exceptional Italian cuisine and great service. See what these reviews are all about; hold your upcoming business meeting or event over satiating Italian delicacies.
Address: 1141 E Delmar St, Springfield, MO 65807
Phone #: (417) 862-9999
Flame Steakhouse & Wine Bar
An award-winning wine and steakhouse located in downtown Springfield, Flame is a high-end restaurant and private event venue that is perfect for corporate parties. The red room, situated below the Flame restaurant, is illuminated with dim, red lighting, creating a subtle and relaxing mood for your company’s gathering. What’s a better way to treat your business associates than upscale steak in an exclusive atmosphere?
Address: 314 W Walnut St, Springfield, MO 65806
Phone #: (417) 862-4444
Kansas
#174 – Wichita, KS
George’s French Bistro
Want to host your next meeting or event over a French dish? George’s French Bistro offers private reservations to accommodate for your next corporate outing. Their lunch and dinner menus offer many garden-seasoned entrees, and it is a popular dining area for neighborhood regulars and visitors.
Address: 4618 E Central Ave #50, Wichita, KS 67208
Phone #: (316) 831-1325
Newport Grill
Described as “an Oceanside-oasis”, Newport Grill is a lakeside restaurant that hosts private events. What makes this restaurant unique is their freshness guarantee. All of their seafood imports are shipped fresh six days a week, and the rest of their meat and produce is source locally. This is a beautiful location to savor an all-natural meal and capture some memorable photographs.
Address: 1900 N Rock Rd, Wichita, KS 67206
Phone #: (316) 636-9555
#206 – Lawrence, KS
The Roost
Looking for a brunch venue to hold a company meeting or event? The Roost is a cute space, named after a family farm, garnished with plants and flowers, adding a special touch to your next business gathering. Private reservations only take place during the evening, so dine over a casual lunch meal or pasties, coffee, or cocktails.
Address: 920 Massachusetts St, Lawrence, KS 66044
Phone #: (785) 843-1110
The Burger Stand at the Casbah
Voted the best burger in Lawrence for the past six years, The Burger Stand is a one-of-a-kind concept located at the Casbah in downtown Lawrence. Though they mainly specializes in burgers, The Burger Stand expanded their menu to include gourmet “hawt dogzz” – even providing more vegetarian-friendly options. Their beer hall, located in the basement of the Casbah, is available for private event rentals most nights of the week.
Address: 803 Massachusetts St, Lawrence, KS 66044
Phone #: (785) 856-0543
#288 – Topeka, KS
RowHouse Restaurant
The RowHouse is a fine dining and event venue that has many creative approaches to their operation. Their menus fluctuate weekly, driven by produce readily available each season, and many of the dishes on their menu come from the ingredients grown locally in their Rowhouse garden. If you happen to be in Topeka, consider planning your next meeting or event in this downtown-house setting.
Address: 515 SW Van Buren St, Topeka, KS 66603
Phone #: (785) 235-1700
Chez Yasu
This casual, family-owned French restaurant is a quaint location to hold your next meeting or event. Their two event rental rooms include the green room, which seats smaller groups of 10 to 20, and the yellow room, which accommodates 20 – 36 attendees. It can be difficult to find restaurants that prepare food genuine to the culture, but Chez Yasu lives up to this challenging standard.
Address: 2701 SW 17th St B, Topeka, KS 66604
Phone #: (785) 357-1003
#323 – Manhattan, KS
Harry’s
A premier fine dining restaurant located in the Historic Wareham Hotel, Harry’s is an elegant establishment that can host private dining for 10 to 75 attendees. The classy, refined aesthetic of the hotel evokes the feeling of going back into a time characterized by sophisticated mannerisms and attention to grace. To hold an urbane meeting with your business associates, Harry’s is the venue to reserve.
Address: 418 Poyntz Ave, Manhattan, KS 66502
Phone #: (785) 537-1300
Little Apple Brewing Company
Known for its Certified Angus Beef steaks and fresh handcrafted beers and ales, Little Apple Brewing Company is a casual brewpub that uses it restaurant spaces to hold meetings and events. For smaller groups, The Angus Room seats up to 40 people, and its larger room, The Sunflower, accommodates up to 54 attendees.
Address: 1110 Westloop Pl, Manhattan, KS 66502
Phone #: (785) 539-5500
Fine Meeting and Event Venues to Dine
These restaurants are just a few of the many establishments that are in Missouri and Kansas’ top-ranked dining cities. All of them are wonderful facilities to host your next meeting or event, and they offer splendid dishes and treats to share your company’s ideas or celebrations over. Rather than traveling far to host an extravagant corporate outing experience, we can begin to look a little closer at what our surrounding cities and states have to offer. We will find that there are many neat restaurant venues that went unnoticed, and we can utilize them to hold productive conversations and share worthwhile information.