Some friends gave us a Living Social for this place and we finally made it there today. Â We went in for dinner on a Sunday evening at about 6pm. Â Place wasn't overly crowded, but it wasn't empty either. Â Initial impression was, OK, it's a bar in a strip mall. Â We'll be eating mediocre bar food, but hopefully the burgers and fries aren't too bad and hey, it was a gift.
We were pleasantly surprised. Â We started with the nachos appetizer (with beef), They were plentiful and had lots of chopped tomatoes & onions, black beans, ground beef, and sour cream (which requested and received on the side). My (Mexican) husband said the best part was that the chips were freshly made. Â I wasn't blown away by the nachos but they were definitely good and slightly above my expectations. Â I would definitely go back for drinks and order the nachos again.
Best part...our entrees - beginning with my son's who ordered the bacon smoked cheddar burger with fries. Â I tried a few of the fresh-cut fries from his plate and they were awesome! Â I know different people like their fries prepared different ways, but these made all three of us happy. Â The burger was huge and my 13 year old with a super size appetite couldn't even finish it all.
My husband ordered the Southwest burger. Â I included a picture of it because we were so blown away. Â This thing was huge! Â Not only was it huge, it earned the following description from my very picky husband, "fresh and amazing".
Lastly, I went out on a limb ordering something that could have been a huge flop, especially taking into consideration the surroundings, which were cozy and inviting, but nevertheless, there was no mistaking that we were in a BAR. Â The 8oz. KC Strip was priced reasonably at $15 and came with parmesan, garlic, horseradish spuds (mashed potatoes), grilled asparagus, and blvd. pale ale-battered red onion rings. Â I ordered the steak medium (sad, I know), but it was cooked perfectly and still very juicy and flavorful. Â Asparagus had that great grill taste and was just the right amount of crispy. Â Potatoes were good, not amazing, but good. Â And the onion rings pretty much melted in my mouth. Â The presentation was really nice for this entree and I should have taken a picture. Â You'll just have to take my word for it. Â
We will definitely be returning to Bar West.
Bar West is not far from my home and many of my friends have made it a regular drinking spot but after buying a groupon or something similar my hubby and I decided to try it out for lunch.
The lunch crowd is pretty much non-existent so there is no wait staff, just a bar tender, but she did a fine job serving us.
I had the BLT and thought it was really good. Â The fries were good when they first came out and were piping hot but once they cooled off they were just mediocre. Â Guess next time I'll eat them first :-) Â My husband had a chicken sandwich and also thought it was good.
Given the other choices in that area I'm not sure I'd go back if I didn't have a coupon - if paying full price I'd pick Barley's over Bar West. Â But with a Val Pak coupon which they seem to have frequently, I'd go back.
Tonight was the 3rd time I've been & I will NEVER spend another minute of my time or cent of my money here. Â After sitting at a table for nearly 10 minutes & being walked by & looked at by the waitress numerous times, but never being acknowledged by her or any other employee in the bar we left.
We recently bought a house in the area & had hoped this would become "our" bar. I was hoping the past two sub-par experiences here were flukes. I'd much rather support local small businesses than corporate chains however THIS is not the local business I will be supporting.
Ok...5 stars for me based on the Owner, Bartenders and Servers have always been amazing. Â They remember their guests, call you by name, and make a point to engage you! Â Makes you feel welcome and that you are appreciated. Â For that right there, I'm a repeat customer. Its a smaller venue, cozy, food is good. Â Good happy hour and now have karaoke (sp?) Sat nights! Â Try em out!
Review Source:This is a clean, modestly-sized bar and grill on Renner Road just north of KU Med West. Lunch hour is pretty slow here and the bartender takes care of the whole place. Folks seemed to be getting fed quickly enough, so no complaints there. And the server was very friendly and efficient.
My main beef is with the menu which is pretty standard fare: burgers, wings, chicken sandwiches, chef salads, nachos, etc. One might say that Bar West has a more upscale approach but this really isn't true any more. It's now possible for any restaurant to get waffle fries, pretzel buns and chipotle mayo delivered from Sysco and other food vendors. The day's special was 3 ground beef tacos for $5.99. Um, no thanks. My pork tenderloin sandwich was enormous and hand-breaded but clumsily so. The meat was a little tough and the whole affair was utterly flavorless. Conversely, the fries had so much seasoning salt sprinkled on them that I could barely eat any.
This place is just...a little boring. The decor is drab and uninspired and the lights are a little lower than they should be. Being kind of a sports bar, there are naturally TVs everywhere and no place to sit where you can ignore them.
All in all this was a mediocre experience. Maybe if you were trapped in Western Shawnee and really needed a drink some night you could pop over for a Corona or a Captain and Coke. But there are plenty of places like The Peanut or Charlie Hoopers that have this kind of broad appeal but do it much better. I think Bar West benefits from being far enough out in Shawnee that it doesn't have much competition.
How many other coupon-aholics are out there, besides myself...come on we all have went somewhere to eat only because it was a buy one get one free!
That's why I picked this place. Â The Valu Pak coupon in question was a buy one sandwich get one free. Â So we hoofed in and ordered, showing the waitress the coupon ahead of time....sometimes they get huffy if you whip out a coupon when the check arrives......
She politely pointed out that in extremely small writing, the coupon was only good at lunch time. Â It was not lunch time. I need to read these things more closely. She did offer to get us free nacho chips and salsa, which was the accompanying coupon on the same page.
We ordered a Chicken Philly and a supreme BLT. Â The BLT was on pretzel bread and adorned with a sweet honey mustard sauce that was actually a good addition to a BLT. can you tell I was surprised at this fact?
The chicken philly on the other hand was on a hoagie roll, and that was about all I tasted was the bread.  Chicken chunks (not shredded)were not as plentiful as I would have liked and fried to a crisp, losing some of the potential flavor.  Cheese was a  slice of swiss.....I think...it really didn't have much taste..
A sandwich that I wasn't thrilled with, and paying double what I had planned when we went in, kind of soured my experience here. Â The BLT was good, but could make at home if you but pretzel bread and a bottle of honey mustard dressing.
Most people were only there for an after work drink, from the looks of things, we seemed to be the only ones ordering food.........an omen?
Probably would be a good place to meet  friends for a quick beer, and maybe other food offerings are better....but first impressions only happen once, and there is no undoing that .....
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