Metropolitan KC

Decided to try dinner here due to lousy weather outside. The food was good but the service was atrocious. Will not be eating here again.

I had the barbecue salad with barbecue dressing. Absolutely delicious! It is located just down the street from the convention center.

While our experience with the Marriott hotel has been trying at best, we have found the KC has been very pleasant. The food has been good for both dinner last night and breakfast this morning. Reasonably priced for a nice restaurant in a convention area hotel. All restaurant staff have been friendly and excellent service!

Poor service. I walked-​in for a breakfast and it took me around one hour thirty minutes to step out. The only thing I did was wait wait wait…

Decided to try out the Metropolitan KC located in the Marriott before attending a show at the Music Hall. And that without checking Unilocal for reviews. We dined there on March 3, 2015. Since it had been sometime since either of us had been inside the Marriott, we were standing at the hotel map, when a man in a chef’s hat stopped and asked if he could help. After chatting a few minutes, I asked him about the Metropolitan KC. Dummy me, what’s a chef going to say but they serve good food. He raved about the BBQ saying their brisket was slow cooked for 10 – 12 hours. Slow cooking BBQ is good.
So we checked in at the front desk, and found about 5 other tables occupied at 6pm. Seated quickly and the server took our drink orders quickly. When the drinks arrived we ordered. She, the barbeque salad with creamy barbeque dressing. I opted for the char-​smoked beef short ribs, recommended by the chef, with sauteed green beans for the side.
The meals were served in a reasonable amount of time. So that’s the end of the good part. The salad, with what was advertised to contain Burnt Ends «Most Tender Piece of the Brisket» was in fact burnt for sure, but far from tender. Tough as my wife called it. As for the short ribs, they were served without the bone and were for sure charred. The meat was dried out and tasteless, save for the BBQ sauce. The green beans and sweet potatoes fared much better and were very tasty. The sad thing is that a visitor to KC, known for it’s fabulous BBQ, who might eat here in hopes of getting some authentic KC BBQ, is going to go away very disappointed.
It is interesting that no time after we received our meal did our server, or any other staff, ask about the quality of the food. Now I know why.
From my perspective, it is best to stay away from Metropolitan KC if you want good KC BBQ, because you won’t find it here, or at least, we didn’t find it on a Tuesday night.

I am a big fan of this place. I work a couple blocks away and have come multiple times for the buffet lunch during the week. I’ve found that it’s fast, and the quality of food is much better than most alternatives downtown. They change the buffet menu daily, but always have in-​season vegetables and a well-​prepared meat. Their salad bar is consistently fresh as well.
I can’t speak to dinner service here, but you can’t go wrong with their lunch.

Valentine 2014 we went at 930 so it wasn’t to packed. The waitress was really friendly and attentive. Food was excellent and the atmosphere was cozy

Christ, first time in KC and I blow $ 80 at this joint for a very poor food performance.
Ordered the steak and shrimp special. I always worry how to order… I like my steak medium and more towards medium-​rare than above medium. I made sure that I explained this to my waiter, who was very nice.
The steak came out medium-​well. WHY does this happen when I take the time to explain that I don’t want it a hair past medium??? SO frustrating.
The steak was also horribly thin. I ate one shrimp. Tasted the potato, both they and the vegetables were just coated in butter/​oil.
I sent the steak back and asked for medium-​rare with mashed potatoes instead and new veggies with NO butter/​oil. That chef made sure to give me one less shrimp, too. You’d think he’d let me have an extra for effing up my steak, but no – too much.
Coffee drink for dessert and the coffee was cold.
The server was nice, but other than that a really shitty experience. I should have walked somewhere else for dinner… was just so tired wanted to eat and get to my room to relax. Captive audiences always get ripped off.

I stayed at this Marriott and March of 2013. Went to MetoKC and was seated right away. Not many other customers but I was early. Most hotel restaurants have never impressed. But, Metro sure did. Best steak I’ve EVER had, anywhere, home or restaurant. Excellent cut, seasoning, and cook. I was floored. Service was good. I’m going back tonight to see if it was a fluke.

I had my first taste of lamb chops here, which were amazing. There was also an incredible pea infused mashed potato side as well.
For dessert my wife and shared a slice of their incredible chocolate cake.
Service was excellent. Would recommend highly!

Formerly known as Lilly’s, Metropolitan KC opened recently after a major remodel. I had never eaten at Lilly’s but one night while in town for business I decided to give this new place a try.
Upon entering, I noticed the place was almost completely empty at 7:30 pm, with literally only one other table in the huge restaurant occupied with a couple.
Should I run out? Isn’t this a very bad sign? No… give a new restaurant a chance, I thought to myself.
A kind sever came over to take my order and I instantly felt bad for her b/​c I was literally her only customer. There was another server handling that couple I mentioned. But the hotel lobby was full of travelers and a convention was happening in the hotel. So where were all of the diners?
Food good? Check. I ordered the Kansas City steak with grilled asparagus and cauliflower mash. The steak was cooked perfectly to order and I loved the mash. The asparagus was just a little under cooked but not bad.
Desert good? Check. I had the cheesecake and it was both decorative and tasty. Might have been store bought as there was no fresh-​from-​scratch «wow» factor. But I’ll give the benefit of the doubt. It was good.
Service? Well, let’s just say we’re working on it. My server was kind enough, but there was something awkward about the whole thing. She’d make comments when bringing the food over that I’m not used to hearing in restaurants. Comments like, «that’s a lot of food,» and «wow, you ate that fast.»
Okay I can eat a lot. But not that fast. And I work it off in the gym, I swear I do! How else would I look so nice & fit like I do? [cry cry, sniff sniff] Okay I digress…
Not a major problem, just like I said, a little awkward. And being the only customer for this poor server, I was surprised at how long I had to wait for things like placing an order and getting the check. She’d disappear somewhere behind a wall and I wouldn’t see her for a long time.
Maybe she was out in the streets trying to pull potential diners in. Drum up some business. I don’t know. Anyway…
I always say service can make or break a place. So while I recommend the food here, I think I’d pass based on the still-​developing service and generally empty restaurant. I’d hate to miss a chance at some of the local specialties to spend an evening in here. Just my opinion.
Give them some more time, and I believe they will develop the staff hopefully begin to draw a following. After all, they’re still new and this takes time.