Plaza III, The Steakhouse - Kansas City

06/17/08

Paying for the atmosphere, not the steak

by SojaRinn at Citysearch

KC is a major hub of steakhouses and picking one was tough. We didn't pick the best. We ate at Plaza III down at Country Club Plaza. The setting is impressive...dark wood beams, cozy wrap around booths, and large dining rooms. Our server was very attentive and informative. They have a wine steward to aid in selecting a perfect bottle of wine. We chose an 03 Kunde Merlot that was excellent. The Crab Cake appetizer was light and loaded with lump crab meat. The atmosphere and extras were all impressive. However, when it came to steak, we were both a little let down. Both (a filet and KC strip) were ordered medium but undercooked. In my opinion, a great steak needs no sauce--steaksauce or otherwise. Steaks should be well seasoned before grilling to bring out the natural flavor of the meat. Plaza III takes a low key approach, and I could taste faint seasoning on the outer sections, but mostly I tasted beef. The beef itself was excellent, but all beef needs something extra to accompany it. Thankfully we both ordered Bernaise sauce on the side. We will not be returning. The filet mignon at the Jackson Lake Lodge in Wyoming and the filet at the Montgomery Inn come to mind as being Plaza III's betters, and I'm sure I'm forgetting....Oh well. We're still on the search for KC's best steak...

• Pros: Atmosphere, Attentive Server, Extensive Wine List
• Cons: Steaks themselves not worth the high prices

05/09/08

Not all we had expected....

by klu000 at Citysearch

My husband and I love to try different restaurants, so for our first anniversary, we headed to Plaza III. Though our server was most gracious, our dinner definitely left something to be desired. My husband asked for his lamb to be medium well to well done, and it came out medium rare. Though our server took his lamb back to the kitchen promptly, I was done eating my steak and lobster by the time my husband got his lamb chops back. He said the lamb chops were good though (not great). I was not wowed with my filet and lobster either. The steak was good but I felt needed a little more seasoning. The lobster was lobster, so no complaints there. For dessert we orded the tiramisu.....but it tasted like they used too much almond flavoring and not enough coffee. We will not be returning to Plaza III. I'd rather go to J Gilberts or Capital Grille for a fine dining experience.

• Pros: Service is very good
• Cons: Underwhelmed by food

02/10/08

Pass on it

by PVKS at Citysearch

To start off, the waitress, Pamela, took at least 5-10 minutes to get our drink order. Not that we were really in a rush, but, when you go to a restaurant as expensive as Plaza III and the restaurant isn't even busy, why should we have to wait that long to get waited on? We did have a reservation by the way. Appetizers we had the seafood bisque and the steak soup. Both tasted very good but could have been served warmer. We split the spinach salad which was pretty good. Then came the entrees. My husband ordered the Kansas City strip-- he said the cut was great and it was cooked as ordered-- medium rare--- although there was no flavor whatsoever. He was putting salt and pepper on it-- for $39. I ordered the tuna steak. Let me just say this-- awful. Simple as that. As sides we ordered the creamed spinach-- very fair-- not nearly as good as Ruth Chris or Capital Grille. Also the lyonnaise potatoes-- once again-- no good. We were loading it up with salt and pepper-- it basically tasted as if it had been sitting in the kitched for hours and it just got scooped up onto the plate. The best was this: as our waitress, Pamela, came over to pick up our plates, she asked me if everything was okay since I had clearly not eaten much. I said, no actually, it wasn't very good." I wasn't trying to be rude, just honest. Her response was, "oh, and sir how was your steak?" My husband replied, "good." She says, "Yeah, our steaks are great. " She then walked away. My belief is, if you know that your seafood is not that good, why is it on your menu? It was a $29 entree that was awful. If you are going to be a GREAT steakhouse, then everything should be great. There was nothing great about this place. We will definitely stick with the Ruth Chris and Capital Grilles of the world. Lastly, my husband did speak with the manager who did nothing at all. He said if we came back he would make sure our next meal was better. I think we will pass.

• Pros: steak soup, chocolate souffle
• Cons: steak, tuna steak, service, sides

10/12/07

Great!

by sabigger at Citysearch

Went there for a party. The food was excellent and they accommodated the big group very well! I will go there again when I can afford it.

04/26/07

Excellent Filet Mignon

by mjv11 at Citysearch

4/23/07 Went to Plaza III located on "the plaza" downtown. Parking was free and parking deck was attached to the restaurant and 2 valets were outside and very friendly. I was by myself after a long drive (hadn't eaten all day) and the hostess seated me in a nice quiet booth area and they brought out a complimentary sourdough bread and an ice filled bowl with vegetables and dip which was very good. I then ordered a glass of their House Chardonnay, a smoked atlantic salmon platter appetizer, a 16 oz filet mignon steak (medium rare) and 1/2 side of white cheddar potatos. First of all, the wine was very good and flavorfull. Then the smoked salmon appetizer platter came out and had very nice side garnishes with a sharp tasting mustard dipping sauce and toasted bread. The salmon was excellent. Then they brought out the steak and I cut into it and had my first bite and it was the most amazing and falvorful steak I have ever eaten (and I've eaten allot of steak). It was so tender that I didn't need a knife to cut the meat. Then came the dessert cart and I ordered a berry dessert with several fruits (raspberries & stawberries & real whipped cream) along with a decaf coffee. At the end of the meal I was a happy man, although it was quite expensive ($103 just for myself including my tip) but at least I was on business. I would definitely recommend going and highly recommend the filet mignon.

• Pros: The steak
• Cons: Costly

03/03/07

OVERPRICED MEDIOCRITY

by imflyboy at Citysearch

I dined at the Plaza III with a business group. This was a restaurant that I would not normally go on my own because of the outrageous prices. I was looking forward to what I would have expected to be top notch steak in Kansas City. What a disappointment. While the atmosphere was pleasant, I found the wait staff pushy in trying to increase the amount of food we ordered. The very stingy appetizers were also mediocre. We ordered 3 seafood appetizer platters at $29 each which consisted of 2 oysters Rockefeller, 2 shrimp and 2 crab cakes and lots of garnish. We also ordered a plate of 6 fresh oysters for $12 which were over-chilled and tasteless. Then came the steaks. I had a Kansas City Steak Fromage. At $36 for only the steak, I would have expected top quality prime beef. They made a big presentation of the "prime grading" of their steaks but when my steak came, I would have confused it with shoe leather. While it was cooked to my liking (medium rare), it was so tough that I could barely chew it. Since I was amongst customers and the CEO of my company, I chose not to make any comments. But I was appalled at what was served. The overpriced side orders were far too much for a single person (to make up for the $8 cost each) and quite frankly, just plain blah. The wait staff poured wine at their own discretion to once again drive up our bill. We went through 4 bottles of red zinfandel for 9 people. After a big sell and a request that the souffle be ordered before dinner, 2 came. They had collapsed and were gooey in the middle. This isn't a souffle that I had ever seen. The dessert offering was once again overpriced and quite frankly unimaginative. Bottom line: You don't get what you pay for at Plaza III. By the way, this was the Plaza III on 137th Street in Leawood, not the original restaurant. I will avoid this place for my business guests in the future. I'm just happy it wasn't my hard earned money that paid for this abysmal experience.

• Pros: Ambience
• Cons: OVERPRICED POOR FOOD PUSHY WAIT STAFF

Editorial Review by Christy Buena

by Contributor at Citysearch

Restaurant serves steaks, chops, prime rib and fresh seafood while offering private dining and banquets.

08/17/06

corkless wine

by bill_w at Citysearch

Service and atmosphere very good and the steaks are cooked to perfection tho' I did find it a bit overpriced. Ordered a low end French red wine (Cote d'rhone) at $29. and was quite surprised that it came with a twist off cap. No French winery would ever think of doing such a thing. If it was truly French wine then it must have been bottled here in the US. I'll dine there again but HOLD the wine.

• Pros: Great service and not rushed. Big MOO for the steaks.
• Cons: Overpriced. Big Boo for the wine.

08/04/06

WORST RESTURANT EVER!

by akb2748 at Citysearch

Plaza III is definitly not worth your time or money. My steak was poorly flavored and salad tasted like I was chewing on grass. I would definitly not go back, EVER! I much rather spend my evening at The American Resturant.

• Cons: Overpriced, poor ambience

07/12/06

Best Steak in KC

by beckersteph at Citysearch

I have lived here for 34 years and have gone to all the famous steak houses in the area. Plaza III is the best. Worth the $$$$.

• Pros: Best steak anywhere.
• Cons: None.