Renaissance Cafe

Very solid Italian food just north of Wichita. Definitely worth the drive. Had the gnocchi and spicy sausage and the pork with rissoto. Pork was a bit dry but overall it is among the best food within 100 miles.

Insanely good food.  We moved to the area from Lawrence and tried in vain to find a restaurant with quality food for years.  The Renaissance Cafe is the only place that has ever fully met what we were looking for.  Prices are a little high, but still reasonable.  The house wine is especially reasonable. They include a complimentary little taste of something right when you arrive (usually something on a crostini), as well as a tasty little cookie when they give you the bill.  My favorites are the steak venato, gnocchi, and the gorgonzola salad.  My husband loves the soups and the pastas.  The cheesecake is also divine!!  The chocolate flourless cake was a little disappointing and the chocolate bread pudding used to be very good,, but I think they changed the recipe because it seems less chocolately...I don't like it as much anymore.  No problem, I'll just stick with the cheesecake which seems to have lots of ricotta in it.  Yummy!

I love the atmosphere, adjacent to a gymnasium, but still very nice.  The Renassaince Cafe is fortunately lacking in pretense, which is not all that common for restaurants serving gourmet food. People are dressed in everything from dressy to very casual (e.g., shorts, jeans).   Everyone is super friendly and they have trivial pursuit cards on the table which is a fun touch.  

Be sure to call for a reservation.  We almost always call that day and never have a problem getting one.  I think they just ask you to call for a reservation because they are a small restaurant and the chef needs to be sure they have enough food.  It's never full when we go at about 5 or 6.  Oh, and I think they are only open on Thurs, Friday, Saturday.

One of those 'best kept secrets'.  Who'd a thunk, in a small community just a hop and a skip from Salina, that you could find a fine gourmet restaurant  with top notch chefs, nestled in an old school.  Definitely a 'must do' for dining experiences. Great for groups that like to meet over great food.