The Rieger Hotel Grill & Exchange

On my first trip to KC, I was served an amazing vegan/​gluten free meal topped with dessert. I just returned from my second trip to KC and I am still relishing (no pun intended) the delish and satisfying 3 course meal, topped with a palette tickling trio of cucumber, cilantro/​lime, and cocoa/​cinnamon sorbets, served by a truly sharp wait staff. KC has a rich carnivouratious history so let me assure you, the bison was a hit with friends at my table. You’re in for a treat!

Only had the drinks here but they were amazing! So is Derek! He is the best POS so far! Thanks for everything!

This place is awesome. At first, the menu wasn’t speaking to me. Their special was a fish that came with the head & tail. Also, I wasn’t feeling so great, so I didn’t exactly bring my appetite.
I surmised that, for some weird reason, I was probably just dehydrated. I crushed some water & by the time my walleye came, I was ready to make it my B. Best walleye plate I’ve ever had — doesn’t say much, I rarely eat walleye. None the less, this meal kicked ass.
The only downside was the restaurant was a little warm… the front door and the back door were both open & the a/​c didn’t seem to be at the right level. Oh well. When the food is this damn good, it didn’t matter.

Don’t forget to RSVP, this place fills up quickly.
Our dinner was at 9:00pm, and it was still a packed house. There was no air conditioner going, so it was rather muggy and warm. By the time we arrived, several of the items on the menu had sold out, including their cocktail of the day; however, staff and bartenders were willing to come up with a different, but similar concoction, which was still delicious. Entrees are anywhere from $ 15-​$ 30, so it is pricey. We all stuck to appetizers, but they were still seemed to be rather large portions. I had done some research prior to arrival to see what to order, and the pork soup had superb reviews. My friends ordered the beet risotto and the salted cat fish. All foods were a little too salty for my taste, but all had bold flavors, well seasoned. Pork soup was so meaty and flavorful – gruyère cheese had the perfect pairing alongside the soup. Surprisingly enough, the bowl of soup itself was enough to keep my tummy full. Our server seemed to genuinely enjoy her job, and was great at making us feel welcomed.

If you are looking for some of the best food in all of the midwest, you have to go to the Rieger! Stop in at Manifesto (the speakeasy bar in the basement) for some pre-​dinner cocktails. The menu is incredible and each dish is truly spectacular! The service is superb as well. Worth every penny!

This is a wonderful and beautiful restaurant!
I ate at the Chef’s counter with my parents around the holiday season. The smells were fantastic and the Chef was very friendly as he was going about cooking. I really loved the warm lighting and the intimate setting of this restaurant. I will definitely be returning to have date night with my husband here. My mother, a vegetarian, was able to order a vegetarian main course (some kind of swiss chard bake if I recall correctly). My father had the bison steak (incredible!!) and I had the goose. Everything was delicious and the cocktails were great too!
I highly recommend having dinner here and then escaping down the back stairs and vising Manifesto for an after dinner cocktail or two!

There isn’t anything here that isn’t 5 stars. The place is about as trendy as you can be and I like that. The bartenders, Brack, Rian, and Derek, are some of the most hospitable guys in the city. These guys are the real professionals. The chef, although I have never personally met him, is wonderful I hear. I can see the gleam in everyone’s eyes when they talk about him and his food. I’ll stop gushing about the staff and get to the food and drink.
Must haves food:
Pork soup. Duh
Speckwurst — My grandmother’s German descent led me to order this. It was very nostalgic for me. The saur kraut was ironically my favorite part of the whole dish. Perfectly pickled.
Must have drinks:
The pendergast. Such a beautifully mixed bourbon cocktail. Don’t attempt it at home. It will not be the same.
If I had to wallet power I would eat here every week.

The restaurant/​bar is beautiful. Our waitress seemed tired and uninterested when she came to our table and I actually don’t think she even said «hi, how are you», she just started pouring water and walked away.
The drinks were really good and came out quickly. Our server didn’t check back with us for a long time to ask if we wanted to order food or anything, yet she was only 5 feet away the whole time having a great time talking to her coworkers at the bar.
We ordered the steak tartare, which was underwhelming. It was pretty bland except for a slight maybe curry flavor. It comes with «house made saltines», but they were stale.
I’d probably go back to Rieger for the drinks, but not the food and hopefully with a different server

Those who know me well know that my last meal on Earth would be a well-​made peanut butter and jelly sandwich with a cold glass of whole milk. Why is this relevant, you ask? Because The Rieger has a «PB&J» made with persimmon jam and sunflower seed butter on local Farm To Market Grains Galore bread… and it’s just «meh.» There’s not enough sandwich, both physically or emotionally nostalgic, to justify the $ 8 price tag. So, that alone brings me down to a four-​star rating for my first visit to this KC institution, but it also ends the negative things I have to say about The Rieger…
The positives (and that really should be POSITIVES!11!!!1ZOMG!) start and peak with the famous pork soup. It really is everything the hype makes it out to be, and it should be the front runner for creativity and deliciousness that every other soup in KC strives for. It doesn’t sound like much with only four main ingredients listed on the menu, but what The Rieger does with the melted pile of gruyère, tender pork confit and chiccarron, and dash of garlic would make Severus Snape weep with joy. This concoction is Half Blood Prince levels of potion mixing wizardry. Order it every time you get the chance and never think twice.
While nothing quite reached the magical tier of foodie dishes the soup did, everything else I tried was above par, at the very least. The corn and tomatoes dish with polenta, fried green tomatoes, and sauce vierge was a perfect homage to the end of summer; the food equivalent of sitting on the porch of one of those big, old Southern style houses with a glass of lemonade as the sun sets after a hot day. Indeed, refreshing and comfortable was the theme of the night on the Rieger patio, as I sipped on multiple well-​mixed, citrus laced tequila cocktails throughout the meal that had me feeling right as rain by the end of the evening.
Overall, I can say with certainty that I’ll be back to try the remainder of the cocktails (I mean, they do have their own distillery) and what looks to be a fine, seasonally changing list of apps and entrees. And pork soup. All of the pork soup.

Rieger is really superb on so many levels. It’s been reviewed to death, so let me offer a brass tacks take on things here.
Food: The most important thing. Here it is astonishing. My medium rare duck breast was straight out of France… brought to KC. Lobster salad was ridiculous. Steak tartar… ditto. Just be adventurous and ask questions about spicing to make sure your tastes will be met and you can’t do better than here.
Drinks: Best mixed drinks around. Modest wine and beer list with top quality affordable selections. Who needs ten pages of wines?
Atmosphere: Cozy. Skylights. Neat nostalgia. But loud.
Service: Reservation ready on time. No bullshit «have a drink while you wait for a table that should have been ready» routine. Service staff was on the ball. Casual and attentive. Not overbearing.
Nutshell: Perhaps the best restaurant in KC. When grouped against other favorites, it is likely the best value high-​end dining experience in the city.

The Rieger is my favorite restaurant in Kansas City. I live two blocks away and have dined there numerous times. Their food is consistently delicious along with great service and atmosphere. Their cocktail game and bar staff are very strong.
Eating at their bar is fantastic.

How about you spend some of that hard earned profit on a new exhaust fan for your kitchen.
Stepping out of the «Al Capone pissed here» bathroom I was struck with the smokey smell of wonderfully prepared food. Reaching my seat the smell remained and although the high ceilings tried the smoke was closing in on its seated clientele.
Food was great, KC strip prepared to perfection, potatoes crisp with soft interior and the sautéed vegetable rounded out the dish nicely. Rabbit was not gamey at all. Friends had the sausage and duck. Again each dish prepared by a seasoned staff. The wait staff is definitely hipster in attire and character.
Cocktails prepared by leather apron wearing mixologist’s are just as good if not better than the food.

Came for a night out with a few girlfriends. We made reservations for 8:30pm and arrived right on time — unfortunately our table required another 20−30minutes, which wasn’t a big deal.
Definitely the highlight of the evening was excellent service. Everyone was hospitable, and the service was informed and attentive without being overbearing.
Prices are certainly on the high end, but where I would expect for a restaurant of this caliber.
Ambience was right on. Definitely has an «old KC» vibe to it which I love. Lighting is a bit dark but looked more bright at the kitchen in the back, and there is enough noise in the restaurant to make it not awkward for friends going out, though I saw plenty of couples as well.
Now to the food — we had the Sopressini appetizer which is essentially a tortellini type pasta in a «sweet potato butter» with oregano, leeks, and ricotta. There is really little ricotta involved and the sweet potato butter dressing is mainly just buttery, but the overall taste of the appetizer was pleasant.
For entrees, we had the trout, the bison stroganoff, and the duck. The trout was served whole so a bit difficult to eat and had to navigate around tiny fish bones, but was quite tender, as was the stroganoff. Unfortunately the kale had bacon in it which was not mentioned so couldn’t be eaten by the diner that ordered it as she does not eat pork. The duck was cooked well and tender. For dessert we split the special, potato beignets which were served on a coffee chocolate ganache. These were probably my favorite of the evening.
Overall, to be honest, the flavor of the food fell a bit short of my expectations after seeing the consistently 5-​star reviews on Unilocal.While everything was fairly good, I don’t think it quite reaches the level of «best in KC» for me, as it did for many others.

I’ve lost count how many times I have updated my review of the Rieger but the rating never changes, always 5 stars for Chef Hanna and the team.
My most recent trip in took me back to my childhood with their take on paprikash. For this version chef chose to use rabbit instead of chicken, I was not disappointed with the switch. Perfectly cooked rabbit meat smothered in a wonderful paprikash gravy, it was really wonderful.
Everyone in the party tried something different and everyone was thrilled with the food and the amazing service provided by Cassie and her supporting cast of servers, food runners, and bussers.
I don’t say this lightly but this is the best restaurant in Kansas City for service, atmosphere, and most importantly quality and creativity of the food.
Don’t miss this place, once chef wins a James Beard Award you won’t be able to get near it.

4.5 stars for happy hour.
My hubby and I had the chance to go out on a date in KC — very rare, considering we are from St. Louis. I picked this place based on Unilocal reviews and I am glad I did.
We were here for Happy Hour, so first — drinks! I got a wonderful red blend off the hh menu and my husband got their special — a warm almost hot toddy drink. They were great. I continued with the wine (when you find something good, why stop?!). My hubby got a gin and tonic (G&T). My husband is not a tonic drinker (he is a gin drinker though) but I told him they made the tonic in house. He said it was the best gin and tonic he has ever had and backed that up by ordering another. So if you drink G&T — you MUST go here.
We started with a cheese platter — nothing special, some cheese with jalepenos, but it was good. Next we tried the pickle soup. It is a potato base, so think the consistency of potato soup but it tasted just like a freaking pickle — it was good. We split an order of the pork tenderloin sliders (tempura fried) — OMG — these are amazing we even considered ordering another round. We moved on to a chicken dish. It was okay and unfortunately the first plate of chicken came out raw (which is why I dinged them half a star). The bartender Derek handled it fabulously, quickly getting us a new one. He seemed genuinely appalled like it really never happens. Then onto dessert — sweet potato pie with maple bourbon meringue. Oh the meringue, so good, if you have room.
The service was wonderful, the atmosphere is very cool and the food was great. I recommended the place to our KC family. Afterward we went downstairs to the speakeasy — more on that later.

Just went for a cocktail with my love. He had a Missouri Mule and I had a Tigre… something. Both were expertly made and even at 10:45 on a Saturday night, the bartender was friendly.
The crowd at that time of evening is definitely hipster — just go with it.
We’ll be back for dinner! The menu looks amazing.

I am going to have to come to this place more often. I always knew I enjoyed their food, particularly the steak and the pork soup but my trip there tonight sealed the deal.
Tonight we came as a group of four girls. In the past I had been as an intimate dates only and was interested to see how the low lighting and intimate space translated for a group of friends. The answer is perfectly. Sitting at the kitchen bar was a great way to brighten up the evening and get a different experience out of the night. It was fantastic. Just like always but this time was really something special since we got a chance to talk to the head chef for a moment. I loved sitting at the kitchen counter because I really felt like our waitress got to talk to us about all the food and we could see it being prepared which was exciting. So many good smells and interesting looking dishes. Howard does an amazing job running the kitchen.
During this meal we tried a bit of everything we could: heirloom tomato salad, nettle risotto, polenta verde, pork soup, toasted zucchini bread, the salmon special, freshwater bass, watermelon sorbet, and all the ice cream varieties. I honestly can’t say what the best thing was because they were all so good. The salmon was cooked to perfection and the bass was so flavorful. The tomato salad was well worth ordering to start the meal too but be sure and order one per person because you might not want to share. The pork soup is absolutely amazing if you love roasted pork and chichirones (which I do). The previous time I was here I had the steak with bone marrow butter and that is worth mentioning too (though they rotate the style of the steak it seems).
Two of us were celebrating our birthdays and Jennifer did everything to make it quite special. Even playing along that technically it was everyone’s birthday this year. She brought out birthday candles for us to blow out (don’t expect this for sure because they may not have candles).

Come prepared for an epic meal!
My wife and I celebrated our wedding anniversary here. I promised to take her some place nice for the evening and the Rieger did not disappoint.
Service was attentive and accurate. We never waited for anything, quickly meeting any request with a smile. The service was like we were dining with family. It was not at all stuffy or pretentious. She answered our questions with a smile and took expert care of us for the evening.
We chose almost everything exclusively from the specials menu, starting with steak tartare. This set the stage for the meal and got us started with a bang!
My wife chose the scallops and I had the lamb t-​bone. The scallops where seared perfectly and cooked with precision. In my humble opinion it’s easy to fk up a good scallop. Especially when they are really nice size or very small. These were nice and meaty (see pic) with a nice crust on the outside, yet succulent and juicy inside. Let’s just say I started making plans to have these scallops again during the meal. I was hoping my wife would leave for the restroom so one could magically disappear from her plate.
My lamb t-​bone was equally delicious. The star of my plate was the corn side dish. I don’t remember what it’s called. I blame that on the cocktails we had at Manifesto before dinner. I would have eaten an entire tub given the opportunity.
I passed the chef while in the restaurant. I let him know we were having a great time and that it was our 15^th year of marriage that day. He congratulated us and let our server know. They were kind enough to bring two flutes of champagne.
We finished our dinner with a delicious trifle and champagne. It was incredibly light for chocolate and didn’t leave me ready for a nap.
As I mentioned, this was our 15^th — a huge milestone for us. I had very high expectations for dinner and honestly I was nervous for any place that evening. I was hoping we’d have excellent service and excellent food. The Rieger came through in a major way.

My friend and I had a reservation at Manifesto and decided to split an appetizer real quick beforehand and we’re extremely glad we did.
At first, we were apprehensive because it was a little more expensive than we were looking for as a place to have a snack but we’d thought we’d give it a shot since Manifesto was downstairs. We walked in without a reservation and were quickly seated just inside the entry, near the bar. The restaurant was dimly lit with mood that definitely fit the prohibition-​esque theme.
We started to look over the menu to find something two vegetarians could affordably split and would suffice. Listed under appetizers, there was a risotto that made with ham but after talking to our server, she said that could easily be made vegetarian, so we went with it.
The waitress brought out complimentary bread with whipped butter that was simple and delicious. Apparently I never knew how good freshly whipped butter could taste (Amazing).
The risotto melted in your mouth and was hands down the best I’ve ever had. The flavor was powerful and yet smooth. It had corn kernels and chunks of garlic with just the right about of cheese texture and flavor. The two of us were almost disappointed that we had to share.
When were finishing up the risotto, we ordered a slice of the s’mores pie which, without a doubt, everyone should try. This chocolate pie filling is not too sweet and wonderfully rich. The marshmallows on top were slightly torched and gooey. My favorite part was the backend of the graham cracker crust.
This dinner had an amazing amount of flavor that I appreciated.
The waitress we had was lovely. She was sweet and seem genuine in her conversations with us. She was incredibly accommodating and paid great attention to us. Unfortunately, I didn’t catch her name but I wish I had.
In the end, we split the appetizer, desert and had gin drink a piece and walked out paying roughly $ 20/​ea. which is a bit more that I would normally pay for a quick bite but it was delicious. Perhaps I wouldn’t go for a large meal unless it I had saved up and was celebrating.

Yes! Yaas! Heck Yeah!
This place does it right. We made a 7:30 reservation, but our table wasn’t ready until 8:00. We sat at a table by the bar, I had the basil cocktail. Celery bitters, raspberry basil handmade soda and vodka. So delicious, so dangerous.
Appetizers: wanted to try the rabbit (sold out :()
The lamb carpaccio, so good, no knife needed, served with toasted seeds and butter. Amazing.
The beet salad served with burrata. I loved the taste of the burrata, but the consistency was a little chewy for me. Even still, the salad was delicious.
Main Course:
Walleye pan seared, served with toasted risotto and broccoli rabe. Perfect portion size and every bite was delicious.
Spring chicken was some of the best chicken I ever tasted.
They removed our drinks from the bar tab because we had to wait for our table. Service was amazing. This was delicious and an overall superb experience.