I almost went with a 2 because I thought it was more like a 2 1/2 but what the hell. Â For a place with a $26 brunch you expect above average service, preparation, and tasty food. Â The brunch included salads and desserts on a buffet table, an entree of choice, and bread. Â There were a number of us and 4 people ordered the pasta trio and 2 of us ordered the filet and egg. Â That's right, I said egg as in one freakin egg. Â So I ordered two and they charged us $3.50 for an egg. Â A dozen organic eggs are $4 so you tell me if that's not just plain ridiculous. Â Plus, they charged us $5 added to the $26 brunch because of the filet and egg choice. Â That was listed on the menu though. Â Please, really, you guys need a reality check. Â Go to the brunch at the Four Season's in Maui and it's $40 for everything plus a cocktail. Â 10,000 times better. Â Forget the location and ambiance and just compare the food. Â I'm happy to pay the $31 bucks but don't bend me over for an egg. Â Now the service, below average. Â These guys are either poorly trained or just didn't care all that much. Â Go to the table and ask a party if there's anything they need as a whole. Â One person would ask for salt, he left and wouldn't give you a chance to ask for Parmesan or a napkin. Â Dude, stand still for 5 seconds and patiently ask the whole party. Â We just felt like we were putting them out. Â He came back and forth a number of times because he wouldn't just ask. Â The salads on the bar were good but the bowls were empty so we asked them to bring more out. Â 20 or so minutes later they bring out one of the two. Â The other salad was the tomato salad and they only brought one of us a side later, which the kitchen made a one off version of. Â The rest of us didn't get any and the one they brought was absolutely not the same salad. Â The building is very nice, the ambiance is old world and interesting, the bread is tasty, the penne with a meat sauce was very good, and the filet wasn't bad. Â Otherwise, for the money and the lack of attention to caring and detail, nope will not go back anytime soon.
Review Source:i used to enjoy taking customers to lunch at this place. Â they have a pasta trio all you can eat. Â but they've gotten inedible for me. Â i've tried ordering other things on the menu. Â and they all just gotten overly salty. Â my customers agreed.
the gnocchi with duck was my fav. Â but no more. Â RIP Mar 2012
jack stack is just next door. Â go there instead.
Love Lidia's!! Â
Consider getting the Express Lunch if you're in a hurry or you have a smaller appetite! Â Its perfect and not expensive for what you get, soup or salad, one pasta from the Pasta Trio and a mini Tiramisu!
I personally am addicted to the Gnocchi with Braised Duck Ragu. Â I think its the best thing ever to be served on a plate! Â Get it, you won't be sorry!
Truly, I've never had a bad experience at Lidia's and I think its great that we have such a high caliber and noteworthy restaurant here.
My friend was visiting town for the Hospital Hill Half Marathon so we wanted to meet up for dinner, we planned on going to Jack Stack but once we got there we thought we should get some Italian so they could carb load before the race.
Once you walk in you know its a nice place, the building is beautiful in itself and everyone is dressed in business casual or above, except us because it was one of those "I don't know what this place is lets go in the clothes we are wearing" So needless to say they will let you in with Jeans and T-shirt of with your favorite brand name on the front.
Once seated the waitress started to go over all the menu items in great detail, a very impressive knowledge of the food as well. Everything except a few items are made in house, this includes the bread and most of the pastas. The first thing I noticed was the prices, you will be putting out a bit of cash to eat here but what we got was worth it, more on that later. I try to scope out places to eat before hand because whats worse than taking guests to a restaurant that you have no idea about and ends up being pricey?
The serve a complimentary bread basket which has bread sticks and some fruity type spread, not sure what exactly they were but I wasn't to crazy about them or the olives. After gazing at the menu I decided on the Pasta Trio as well as the other guests I brought.
The pasta trio is 3 types of pasta for 20 bucks, which I thought might be kinda pricey, and when they first brought it out the use HUGE plates so it didn't look like much for a 20 bill. They bring out the pasta and serve it right out of the pan which is a nice touch. Once we started dwindling our plates down the server asked if we wanted more... this is where the value came in, we refilled our Pastas a few times and we didn't even know this was a possibility before ordering so props there. I think the ravioli's are the best I've had. Between the refills and the pasta being house made, 20 bucks for a dinner turns out to be a pretty good deal.
I was so looking forward to dinner here. Love Lidia's TV show and have been here once before and it was great. Ordered the pasta sampler. Caesar salad was good. 3 pasta were included and began to come out separately and plopped on my plate from the kitchen sauté pan from a bus boy....what?! This was the strangest service style I have encountered. I dine out all the time an am an exeutive for a large restaurant company.  All 3 pastas were dry of sauce and tasteless.  I realize that it is supposed to be all about the pasta and the sauce is a condiment but this was a little ridiculous.  Then came dessert. On the bartender's recommendation, I went with "Lidia's Signature Dessert" which was black pepper ice cream with candied celery and shortbread.  Sounded strange, but I went for it because I am always up for something different.  This literally tasted like vanilla ice cream with sweet pickle relish on it....yuck.  I was staying in the Plaza area with a huge amount of restaurants readily available, but went out of my way for this because I thought it would be the highlight of my trip.....it was just so totally bad, with the exception of the bartender, who was new, who tried to explain everything away, that I doubt I will ever return..
Review Source:Lidia Bastianich's Italian-American cuisine.
The food lives up to her fame. A must order for newbies is Lidia's pasta trio. The pasta trio is a well thought out entrée, because you are bound to love at least one of them. The pastas are freshly made and different each time. Every time I order the pasta trio, I fall in love with two of them. The service is good, you won't have to flag any service staff down to get your refill on water or pasta, they will keep an eye on you and come towards you as needed. The servers are professional and clean, you won't see splotches of pasta sauce on their aprons. Having been to the Lidia's in Pennsylvania, I can comfortably say that the quality of food and service is the same across her stores. The decor is about the same too. I appreciate the open space, the high ceiling, and the Chihuly style blown glass chandeliers. The only thing unlike the downtown Pittsburgh location is parking; parking is not a problem here. The white table linen, the spaciousness, the low noise level, and the generous lighting all make this a comfortable venue for lunch or dinner. Lidia's is just like how a restaurant ought to be, I recommend it!
We made a point of visiting Lidia's since we were in KC for vacation.
I've been watching her for years on PBS, and HAD to try her place.
My only caveat is that the restaurant is NOT KID FRIENDLY when it comes to the menu.
The meatball appetizer was amazing! The meatballs are so soft, you barely needed a fork for them. I had the beet salad (barbabietole), which I loved; my husband and son had the Caesar, which they enjoyed (this also served as my son's entree).
My husband ordered the Ravioli di Cinghale (wild boar), which was tasty. He rather enjoyed it. I had the Cannelloni, which was quite delicious. We shall return when next in KC.
I try to get to Lidia's every time I'm in NKC - even though she cancelled her intimidate dinner with me a few years ago. At least I got the signed cookbook of hers for my son!
Let's see - IMO the prices are moderate - not cheap but certainly affordable! The menu selection is moderate as well - what's there is cooked to perfection and has that Italian homemade flavor that Grammy use to have!
The ambiance of the place is also nicely done and cleanliness throughout - including restrooms is above most!
It's certainly a great place to go with your romantic "other" or with colleagues and having your meals delivered to your table from the pan to your plate adds a special touch!
I'd give this 5 stars if the price was just a little bit lower or if Lidia had not blown me off a few years ago - yes I'm Italian and hold grudges too!
Love ya Lidia
Ok, I am bifurcating this review because I realized somehow I never made a review after my wedding rehersal dinner. We chose Lidia's because they provided a beautiful space for the size of my rehersal guests (~40) and it was a style that everybody could enjoy.
If anybody doesn't know there is a separate large room up the stairs to their restaurant that can probably accomodate around 60 to 70 people comfortably. They have beautiful stained glass and glass lighting upstairs by the same artist as on the main floor. It's gorgeous and very private. You really feel like you have your own pretty space in an already beautiful building.
We started with a 'happy hour' style cocktail hour for everybody to order wine, beer or specality drinks from the bar. This let everyone mill about and casually socialize while all the guests arrived.
I'm not sure when the toast occured (my father-in-law) but they provided a mic and a good sound system which was great for all of us and put him at ease not having to yell.
They do private dinners in the same method that they do the 3-choice pastas by walking around with various pastas for people to pick and choose for themselves. We had an amazing cheesecake for dessert.
They didn't rush us out or act as if we were intruding when we went past 10 pm. The service was top notch and if I ever had to have a big dinner party again I would pick Lidia's. Amazing and so memorable!
Service was awful!! Went for brunch with husband. Waiter was monotone and short with us. The table side presentation of the pasta was untrained staff bringing out frying pans of pasta and slapping it on the plate. But the worst was the wine service. The waiter and manager knew nothing about the wines... Comments such as "I like it" and "that is a favorite" was the best descriptions they have. Then did not know what was in blends. Or regional differences In The Italian wines at all. Â It was embarrassing for them and made me completely uninterested. Food was good not great. Ambiance was nice for a large restaurant .
Review Source:I was very excited to go here, I had read good things about it. The decor was beautiful, and if you like dark, cozy spots. Our server was quick about getting our drinks, but that's where it ended. Trying to order took a while, and we spent from about 7:20 to 9:30 in the restaurant waiting for our server. I ordered a couple glasses of the Moscato d'Asti, which is $9 a glass. I thought that was a bit steep, but it was good nonetheless. I also got the wild boar ravioli. It was not so good, the meat was overseasoned and was dry. The sauce was excellent, but the actual ravioli tasted dry. My friend had gotten the trio of pasta, and she let me try the pear risotto ravioli, and it was great! Very light and you barely tasted the pear, it was excellent!!! The other pastas she received looked and tasted like I could make better at home.
Review Source:I love, love, love this place. My only complaint would be about how close the tables are. Other than that I love this place. I've had terrific service and great food. Yes this place can be on the pricey side but it's worth it. I've been to Lidia's several times and I've never been disappointed. It's worth trying out.
Review Source:I arrived here with my cohort mates, a party of 7, and they easily accommodated us for a late Sunday lunch at 1:30. We came here specifically for restaurant week as our poor graduate student budgets wouldn't be able to afford this place otherwise. The ambience of Lidia's is fantastic; with its huge ornate light fixtures, cozy fireplace, and dark wood, it makes a great place for a fancier get together. Â
I sampled a bit of everything from everyone's plate. The lobster arancine (sp?) was excellent and unexpected; it came out as breaded and fried risotto balls with lots of creamy lobster flavor. For my entree, I got the pasta trio which came with rotellini in a bolognese sauce, alfredo shrimp and brocolli, and ravioli with pear and cheese filling. I'm a big fan of meat sauces so I must say the rotellini was my favorite with the ravioli coming in as a close second. A couple of my friends received a different option: the shrimp scampi with spaghetti squash which was super rich and creamy with a lemony aftertaste..I don't think I would ever order that for myself. The cheesecake was good, not mind alteringly so, but the crust was my favorite part. A couple of my other friends got different desserts because of their gluten-intolerance. They had a fabulous flourless chocolate cake that was decadent and true to form. They also served us 3 sherbert flavors: plum, blood orange, and pecan that were refreshing and tart. I'm not normally a big Italian food eater but this place was excellent for its service, ambience, and large/tasty portions.
Decor and space are beautiful. Host stand a little confused. Service was outstanding. It was restaurant week so we went with that. Dining companions had spaghetti squash shrimp scampi as starters and they raved about it. Roasted beet orange goat cheese salad was well executed. Breand and spreads were good but expected better bread. Pasta trios were excellent. Gnocchi with bolognese was the best. Gnocchi were perfectly cooked and sauce was rich and meaty. Pesto pasta with shrimp also quite good. Fusilli with spicy tomato sauce was okay...not a fan of the fusilli shape.
Meyer lemon cheesecake was not knock your socks off but quite a lovely ending to a delicious meal.
Lidia's has quite the reputation. When searching for place to take a friend for her birthday, Zagat and a Google search convinced me that Lidia's was the perfect place. I had reviewed their sample menu, and it looked incredible.
When we arrived I was immediately impressed by the decor. The chandeliers were particularly beautiful. However, my excitement was tempered when I looked at the actual menu. None of the dishes I had found intriguing were there. In contrast, the menu seemed predictable, safe, and - I'll say it - boring. The waiter's advice ("Everything is homemade so everything is delicious!") was not what I wanted to hear.
The food was good, but not great. I think there are plenty of local Italian restaurants that provide fare of the same quality, without the inflated price tag. Overall, the restaurant seemed like it need a great chef (i.e. Lidia) to be in the kitchen, calling the shots.
I've been going to Lidia's several times a year for over a decade. Â Lidia's is one of my favorite spots to bring out of town guests. Â I park at Union Station and give a quick tour of Union Station's main hall before walking over the pedestrian bridge to Lidia's.
The food is always fantastic, Northern Italian cuisine is fairly rare in KC and I always enjoy the meal here. Â
The pasta trio is a great way to sample a few different dishes. Â Lidia's kitchen prepares three styles of pasta that are served fresh by servers walking around the dining room with hot pans fresh from the kitchen. Â On a recent lunch the three pastas were shrimp fettuccine, pork ragu cavatappi and sweet potato gnocchi; all were delicious!
Lidia's is part of the Batali and Bastianich family of restaurants that are a partnership between Mario Batali, Lidia Bastianich and Joe Bastianich. Â I've been to several B&B restaurants in NY, Vegas and California, all very good restaurants.
I liked the parking lot out back since there were plenty of parking spaces. Â This would most definitely be a place where a reservation was recommended because there were a lot of people waiting inside around 7:30pm. Â I'm not sure if all had reservation or if they were just standing there. Â It was pretty busy and even with our reservation, we still waited for maybe 5 minutes? which wasn't bad. Â The decor was nice and the place had a low-lighting ambiance which felt like this would be a good place for a date as I saw a few around. Â The huge fireplace was a nice touch to the place.
It was restaurant week so Lidia's had a different menu specifically for restaurant week 2013. Â The dinner was $30 for a three-course meal. Â All five of us decided to go with the restaurant week menu. Â I ordered the Housemade Cotechino Sausage with Lentils, Root Vegetable and Mustard Sauce for the first dish, the Beef Short Rib Braised in Red wine with Spinach Spaetzle and Carrots for the second dish, and the dessert was fixed which was Meyer Lemon Cheesecake with Blood Oranges and Blood Orange Sauce. Â
The complimentary bread was not bad along with the three different spreads; however, I didn't want to fill up on bread since I knew there were a lot of food coming my way. Â All of our food came at the same time. Â The Housemade Cotechino Sausage with Lentils was tasty except it would have been good if it came with one more sausage as the the lentils were more abundant than anything. Â
The next dish was the Beef Short Rib Braised in Red wine with Spinach Spaetzle and Carrots. Â I liked how the meat just fell off the knife as it was cut. Â It was good but might have been a tad dry. Â That was okay since the rest on the plate complemented it. Â I even tried some of the Lidia's Signature Pasta Tasting Menu Served Tableside which were all pretty good. Â I believe this was also on the regular menu.
Finally, the last dish was the Meyer Lemon Cheesecake with Blood Oranges and Blood Orange Sauce. Â It wasn't bad but I didn't think it was anything special. Â The lemon cheesecake was what I expected a lemon cheesecake would taste like and it was good that the blood orange and blood orange sauce were there; otherwise, it would've been too plain.
While my review was pretty much based on the menu items from restaurant week 2013, I would have to assume that their regular menu items would be just as tasty (I guess it will depend on what you order). Â Our waiter came by frequently to either refill our water or to see if everything was okay.
Good place for Italian food and even a date.
Delicious food, but not safe for GF eaters!
I had an okay experience at Lidia's - I am allergic to gluten. Â When I first got to the restaurant, I learned that Lidia's doesn't have a gluten-free menu, but the server can tell you what is gluten-free on the menu. Â This happens at many restaurants, and is usually fine.
However, when I asked the server about what was gluten-free, that's when the trouble started. Â Her first response was "well, everything on the menu is gluten-free except for the pasta." Â To which I started going down the menu listing out the items I knew were not gluten free, including bruscetta, calamari, fried chicken, etc. Â I ended up ordering mussels and emphasized I wanted no bread on the mussels. Â When the mussels came, they had a huge piece of bread sitting right on top of all the food. Â
If they were this careless with the things I could tell had gluten in them, I can't imagine how careless they are in the kitchen with cross-contamination.
Meh.
- Collection of fresh baked breads and dips: Bread was decent, but the spreads lacked major flavor. Â Plus a little salt would have gone a long way there.
- Caesar salad: Delish
- Trio of pasta: Everyone I was with was dying over the pasta, and I've got to admit that the noodles are good, but the sauces are very weak, so overall only 2 stars.
- Dessert platter with tiramisu and a few other odds and ends - also quite good, though I've had frozen tiramisu from my school cafeteria which is on par with this one.
Overpriced, too.
3.5 seems more appropriate, but not an option.
The dining room is very nice, with lovely blown glass chandeliers. Once seated, I have always had good service. However, on our last visit one of the pasta trio servers slopped grease on my guest's shirt. :( The Lidia vineyard wine is delicious and reasonably priced.
The food is good, but it usually doesn't wow me. For fine dining, I would pick other places over Lidia's. Service in the bar area has always been spotty for me. I would recommend Lidia's for a lunch or brunch, but I often feel it falls short in the cuisine category at dinner (especially considering price point).
This was my 2nd time to Lidia's in 5 years. Â We drove out of our way to come here... instead of taking I-80 back towards Colorado, which would've been more efficient from our point of departure, we wanted to visit Lidia's and take I-70.
Loved the free parking lot behind the old train house. Â We got there 40 minutes earlier than our OpenTable reservation (a 10 hour drive makes it a little harder to determine an ETA), so we climbed up the pedestrian walkway to Union Station to kill time. Â Back at the restaurant, the friendly and nicely-dressed hostesses immediately seated us, though we were not given menus right away. Â My guess was they wanted diners to settle in and relax before perusing their offerings. Â It was worth relaxing - the atmosphere was very nice with its laid-back clientele dressed anywhere from t-shirts to sports coats, and the high exposed beams and large, colorful blown-glass chandeliers gave the place a bit of modern grace without being stuffy.
Water, fresh breads and a trio of delicious bean-based dips in olive oil arrived first. Â The dips were amazing and it was very difficult to not stuff ourselves on bread, knowing that a great meal awaited us. Â We were told that of the four breads, 2 were made in-house, while the other 2 were sourced from a local bakery.
Our server Dave introduced himself as he handed us our menus, explaining the specials, etc.  He had been there for not too long, but he was still very knowledgeable and personable.  He gave us time to decide, while the rest of the staff scurried about pouring waters and ensuring we still had enough bread.  Finally, we settled on a rare occurrence.  My fiancé and I would order the same item!  Pasta Trios, served tableside.
First came our Caesar salads. Â Usually I am not a fan of Caesar salad, but this was a standout. Â The flavor was not too strong, and there was a ton of crunchy focaccia croutons. Â We loved the large shavings of Grana Padano cheese. Â Overall it was a large salad, but I tried to remain disciplined and made myself leave half the croutons alone.
Saturday night, the Pasta Trio was was penne with Bolognese, mushroom risotto, and fettucine tossed with oil, shrimp, squash, etc. Â Three different staff members scooped out the pastas from pans and carefully placed them on our dishes. Â All of it was cooked perfectly al dente. Â The penne was nice, but I felt I could've made a similar dish at home (though the pasta itself was made in Lidia's pasta factory in Italy). Â But we were huge fans of the utterly flavorful risotto and the light but delightful texture of the fettucine!
We were stuffed to the gills when it was all over, but dessert was supposed to arrive.  Dave also came back and apologized for the long wait of my second helping of the fettucine, but I didn't mind.  It gave me time to digest.  Before I ordered my tiramisu and the fiancé got a pumpkin cake with pumpkin ice cream, Dave gave us two glasses of housemade grappa.  Both were high octane.  The fig was not bad, but the persimmon stood out.
Loved my tiramisu- creamy and decadent and light. Â The pumpkin cake was also fantastic - the ice cream turned out so nice!
Glad we went out of our way to eat here. Â I highly recommend Lidia's of Kansas City!
I love Lidia's. Â It's quite a gem in our great city.
The Sunday brunch is absolutely deliciously divine...and so much food! Â Come hungry. Â You choose an entree and then choose selections from an amazing buffet of appetizers, salads and desserts. Â
The Caesar salad is one of my favorites in the city. Â The swordfish and halibut are both incredible choices.
My one complaint is the pasta. Â I know, I know, but I just don't like it. Â It's soft and tasteless. Â But I never order it so...not a really big problem! Â Everything else is superb.
The service is spot on, the decor is lovely, the coffee is strong...perfect!
By far wowed food, wine, service all an A ! I have to say I'm glad Lidia has a friend in KC, so she decided to make this place a true gem. authentic Italian meals, great favors, knowledgeable waiter, and just a cozy atmosphere, great dinner with two of my girlfriends on my recent trip to KC.
I have to say Lidia nice work, I'm glad I made it !
Having never been to Italy I have always rated Italian food based on my mothers cooking. Â She's a fabulous chef who pays careful attention to detail, freshness, quality and prefers doing everything by hand. Â Not a bad standard to follow! Â I'm sorry Mom, but the award for best Italian food has now be reassigned, I fear permanently, or at least until I manage to get to Italy, to Lidia's.
My evening started with a glass of the Moscato house wine. Â Â A fresh, sweet treat in a glass! Â Fresh, from scratch bread and a very flavorful and well dressed (not dry and not goopy) Caesar salad tickled the palate next. Â For me there was no other dish that deserved to be tried when I saw the Pasta Trio special. Â Seriously, it didn't even matter what three pastas would have arrived on my plate I'm in love. Â Of the three that arrived, the ricotta & spinach ravioli were especially to my liking. Â Yum! Â I have never had fusili that actually made me marvel at the perfect texture. Â They had just the right amount of chewiness left in them that actually made them taste better. Â I swear the flavor was improved. Â I will set my timer next time I make fusili and hope to get them exactly like that. Â
I was too full to try dessert (shame on me for eating all my pasta!) but a friend tried the Tiramisu and raved about it. Â It looked beautiful, but smelled too strongly of espresso for my liking. Â No doubt, had I saved any room at all I should have found something else to tempt me.
The upstairs private banquet room is beautiful!
A friend recommended this place. We did not make reservations so we had to eat at the bar. That was a stroke of good luck. Their bar keeper/waiter was the hardest working restaurant employee I've ever seen. Drinks were good, service was attentive. We had some great lobster rolls, some hummus-like dip for our bread, and fried garbanzo beans as an appetizer.
Mrs. Eva ordered a butternut squash ravioli and I got the triple pasta with a caesar salad. Our dinners were well served and well cooked. The caesar dressing was a little more vinegary than usual and lent an Italian flavor to go with the Italian theme of the restaurant. We also had the butterscotch dessert that was wonderful. The decor and setting was perfect. A very enjoyable dinner.
We've been here several times for both lunch and dinner and never been disappointed.
Last week my brother treated me for lunch at Lidia's as a thank you for helping him with a business problem and we had a great meal. Â We both started off with their Caesar salad, he had the trout and I ordered the pasta trio. The salad was excellent and up to Lidia's reputation. Tom reported that the trout was very good and I enjoyed the three pastas served table-side. My only complaint is that none of the pastas were piping hot. I've wondered how they manage the serving temperature of dishes that come to the table in skillets. Do they keep taking them back to the kitchen to re-heat?
Our server did a great job as did the host and bussers.
I'll definitely return as this is one of Kansas City's gems.
Lidia's is one of my favorite places to eat in Kansas City. Â It has everything you want in a restaurant, great food, great atmosphere and great service. Â Even though I'd been to Lidia's several times, I'd never brought my son who'd been begging me for years to take him here. Â It was fun to see Lidia's again for the first time through his eyes.
He loved the wisteria covered trellis that you walk under before entering; it sets the mood for what's to come. Â The dining room is so inviting and cozy, it sets the mood to sit and talk about life's events and about hopes and aspirations. Â He thoroughly enjoyed the miniature bread sticks, and the pesto we spread across the house made bread.
For an appetizer we started with Lobster Risotto Balls. Â You receive 5 golf ball sized balls sitting in a Corn Puree with a drizzling of Basil Oil. Â These are very good, and loaded full of lobster. Â There is more lobster than risotto in these and even though they are fried, the crust is very thin and is not even slightly oily. Â Nate loved the corn puree so much that he took a piece of bread and scooped up the puree with it, as a farm hand might with remaining gravy on his plate. Â I joked with Nate that the kitchen would probably pour some in a glass so that he could drink it, he seemed excited by this idea but I quickly kyboshed it.
We both decided on the daily pasta trio. Â Today's pastas were corkscrew pasta in a simple, light, red sauce with tiny chunks of sweet sausage in it. Â (This was Nate's favorite). Â A fettuccine with pesto and very tiny shrimp; the shrimp were cooked perfectly, they weren't tough or chewy. Â This should be a given, but most restaurants don't seem to be able to pull it off. Â Lidia's did. Â The third pasta was four cheese ravioli in a light cream sauce. Â Each of these three pastas were delicious.
We finished our meal with a chocolate torte that we shared. Â It consisted of a moist chocolate cake covered with chocolate mousse, topped with a layer of white chocolate ganache and plated with a few dark cherries and black walnuts. Â We both enjoyed it with with a cup of very good coffee.
We had such a wonderful evening and Nate made me promise to bring him back here soon, which I will, because I like it here too. Â He also informed me that he is taking his date here before his upcoming Homecoming Dance. Â Good for him, (and for her).
Lidia's Kansas City
101 West 22nd Street
Kansas City, MO 64108
Phone: (816) 221-3722
Wonderful Italian style food in a beautiful setting. This restaurant is elegant without being pretentious. The large fireplace in the bar creates an inviting entrance, and the oversized, blown-glass chandeliers are stunning. Â The food is upscale, creative Italian, so if you are a fan of Olive Garden style Italian, you might have a difficulty finding something you recognize on this menu. Every dish I've ever had has been delicious. I would recommend having the pasta trio special your first time visiting, and then branching onto the set menu at your subsequent visits.
Review Source:Went here before going to a symphony at the Kaufman Center for my girlfriend's birthday. I was very impressed. The atmosphere is nice, open and expansive. The food was as good as you would imagine, with hand-made pasta and great sauces that are not oversalted or trying to hard to be flavorful.
The only knock was that we went early and got sat immediately next to an odd couple of guys who stared at us during our whole dinner while not speaking. Who does that?!
Excited to pencil this in as a once a year type of tradition.
I was really excited about trying out lidia's. Â The service was excellent and the food was good. Â Next time I want to branch out and try some of the meat dishes. Â I was totally focused on the pasta and I have to say I was not that impressed. Â We had a group of 3. Â Had the chicken livers for an app - and they were nicely done. Â For mains we had the pasta trio, the spaghetti with shrimp and the Thursday pasta special with chicken and sausage. Â The Thursday special dish was probably the best, especially if you like balsamic. Â
Excellent atmosphere. Â I want to try it again!
Excellent service! I ordered the wild boar ravioli, and was amazed. I could not get enough! I did not want to leave any sauce behind...so I took a bit of their very delicioso foccacia..and played the magic trick of disappearance.
For dessert I ordered a Limon tart...that was ok, but it was very fresh..this was accompanied by a lime and poppy seed sherbet which was fantastic.
I guess I was in the a citrus mood, so I tried their very own Lemoncello, and was also treated to their also very delicious Gingercello...Aaaamazing.
The decor is simply stunning, the exposed brick walls are bare, but two dramatic glass chandeliers light up the place beautifully.
I highly recommend this place.
It has been several years since we visited Lidia's but we were looking for someplace near to the Kauffman after the opera on Sunday and ended up there without a reservation but lucky enough that the staff could find space for us at a cozy table against the wall with a great view of those amazing blown glass chandeliers.
Service was friendly, helpful and flawless. Â The food was delicious and plentiful. Â Hubby and Sis both went with the Pasta Trio. Â I'm a bit light on the exact details of each dish but do know that there was a cheese stuffed ravioli, a bow-tie pasta and a fettuccine dish. Â And pesto was also mentioned in there somewhere. Â Each of the three pastas looked yummy but, since I was trying to watch my carbs, I did not try any of hubby's. Â
Instead, I had the Sarme: Â Cabbage rolls filled with beef, pork and herbs, braised in sauerkraut and tomato. Â Oh my! Â What a glorious dish! Â It was served with a generous helping of mashed potato and I used the spoon from my coffee saucer to scoop up every possible bit of the meat juice and tomato sauce from my bowl.
Since we had just been to the opera, Lidia's was offering a complimentary dessert with the meal from the regular dessert menu and the hardest thing I had to do all day long was make a decision from all their amazing sounding desserts.  I picked a True Winner by finally choosing the "Baba al Arancia Sanquigna" which is Meyer lemon-soaked golden bread, vanilla pudding, blood orange sauce, crunchy almond fregolata  & pink orange segments.  A perfect blend of creamy, crunchy, sweet and sour --  It was both delicious and beautiful to look at.  And it tends to Absolutely Guarantee that I will be making another visit to Lidia's very soon.
I really hate to do this, Lidia, but you've been better. I've been to your Kansas City restaurant many times. It is a lovely space and the staff are usually right on top of things making the experience second-to-none. Unfortunately, I believe recent changes have degraded the product you are attempting to deliver.
The most significant change is with the pasta tasting where, formerly, the servers would come your table with a hot skillet of the pasta and place a portion on your plate. Not any more. Now they bring bowls of the three portions on a serving tray. In our case today, one of the pasta options had Kalamata olives. The person who was served first had a portion with all of the olives. The other had a portion with no olives. This happened the second go-round, as well.
As for the service, today it was inexplicably slow and neglectful. We had to ask for grated Parmesan cheese, in an Italian restaurant, twice before it was delivered. No more cup of grated Parmesan that you can serve yourself.
Our server was slow in every aspect of the experience. When our food was served she did not visit our table at all when we would have first had an opportunity to ask for the cheese. I don't want to make such a big issue about the cheese but, seriously, this is an Italian restaurant. We wanted Parmesan cheese for our food. Eventually, the nice man delivering our olive-less portions of pasta brought a grater and a block of cheese to grate over our food. Boo.
I understand organizations have had to make cuts in various areas to try and compete in the economy. Unfortunately, these changes are not well executed and are affecting the dining experience in a rather expensive spot. Our experience today was so poor that I will think twice about suggesting this as an option again. It's a sad day for me.
Ate at Lidia's last week for Restaurant Week with two friends, and we all really enjoyed it.
Each of us got a different first course and shared them all - crab and risotto cake, caesar salad, and the frico. They were all quite tasty, though I was partial to the crab and risotto cake, especially when paired with the poached egg it was served with.
Two of us did the pasta tasting, and my friend's husband had the braised pork shoulder. Unless you are a picky eater, the pasta tasting is the way to go. Served tableside, you get to sample three entirely different dishes. I wonder how much they truly change from day to day, or if they have some standbys or favorites that they rotate in frequently. It's the middle of winter here, so the options were rustic yet hearty (ravioli filled with chicken and spinach - our fave; shrimp linguini with a light pesto; and a bowtie pasta with a light tomato and olive oil sauce). I had a bite of the pork dish, and the meat was tender and nicely flavored.
We all had the same dessert, which was a truly unique concoction - stout cake topped with a chocolate ganache, milk chocolate and stout ice cream, a caramel drizzle and barley crunch. The beer-flavored ice cream was fantastic!
The service was great, though I was brought another glass of wine when I intended to look at the cocktail menu. Oh well! I also thought the building was beautiful. There's a massive fireplace on one end and an impressive backlit wine wine on the opposite end. I also admired the huge patio and imagined myself returning to Lidia's for cocktails in the spring or summer!
My only minor complaint is that I didn't feel the Restaurant Week menu was very special if you wanted to do the pasta tasting. You can normally get it plus the Caesar Salad and dessert for $30. I guess with RW, we just had the option for fancier a fancier first course? In any scenario, I will definitely revisit Lidia's!
This was my first time at Lidia's. Everyone else in the party had been at least once before. We had a group of six for a birthday party.
The experience starts as soon as you arrive. We had a hostess take our coats, and the host seated us before our actual reservation time, which was a bonus. The restaurant itself is lovely -- high wood ceilings and an almost cozy low-light atmosphere. It's special without feeling stuffy. The staff sprinkled confetti on the table for the birthday celebration.
Four members of our party had the three-course option: a caesar salad to start, the pasta trio and a dessert. I highly recommend this, it's a great deal. The salads were very generous, and the bread selection is great without being too filling. The basil spread is delicious. The three pastas of the day were a shrimp-and-pesto linguine, a sweet bow-tie pasta with sausage and a ravioli stuffed with cheese and shredded pear. All three were delicious, and the portions (as much as you can eat) were great. One of our party had the lasagna, which she enjoyed. I had the wild boar-stuffed ravioli -- phenomenal, especially the rosemary sauce.
We each had dessert: three orders of tiramisu, the meringue with chocolate and chestnut ice cream, the Nutella-and-banana dessert and the pumpkin mascarpone. The servings were good, not too big but not too small. In my experience desserts are usually either too big to finish or too small to get a good taste. These were just right.
The service was excellent. The bread, pasta and water were regularly refilled and our server was attentive without being irritating. The birthday guest received star treatment, including a free tiramisu with a birthday candle. It was a very lovely evening and I'm looking forward to going back. The final bill was, we thought, extremely reasonable, given that we had wine, coffee and cocktails, salads, mains and desserts. Lidia's isn't a place to visit every day, but when you go for something special, it's not outrageous.
Just a fair warning that this Italian is different from what a lot of people are used to. The lasagna is probably the most "conventional" item on the menu. There's a lot of emphasis on light and/or white sauces, seafood and unique pasta fillings, be they meat, fruits, vegetables or cheese. It's worth ordering something out of your comfort zone. Overall, it was a great dinner experience and a very memorable birthday.
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