Lidia’s

We are so happy to have found this place. We lived in Italy for 3 years, and Lidia’s is the real deal. Grilled octopus, seared duck with polenta, seafood soup, tiramisu… wow! Everthing was on point.

I cannot rate the food, as I do not like butter or cream, so the menu was very limited for me. Wife and son said the food is excellent! Service was great. The waitress brought me another dish after the first I tried was not very appealing because it had butter in the sauce. The second dish was their meatball, sausage, pork in a tomato sauce. I really wasn’t impressed, but again, I am super picky and will rely on my family’s taste on this one. Way too expensive. I would rather make my own sauce and pasta, then pocket the other 90 bucks.

Just got back from our first dinner experience at Lidias. What a fantastic experience! Caesar Salad was one of the best I’ve ever had. The pasta trio was unbelievably good– wild boar ragout on polenta, pesto fettuccini and cavatappi with shrimp– it was all amazing. And then dessert– chocolate torte with gelato! Oh my but will be back her the next time we’re in town! And service was just excellent!

The strangest thing that has ever happened to me in a restaurant happened at Lidia’s. The trio dish is probably their most popular item, in which you receive unlimited servings of three different pastas. I enjoy pasta very much, so I appreciate offerings such as this, since it obviously allows me to try different dishes all at once.
My girlfriend and I both ordered the trio dish, and it arrived pretty quickly. We were both scooped a portion of each pasta (a different person walks around with each pasta in a hot skillet and serves a serving onto your plate). It’s all fine to that point (except one dish which I have forgotten wasn’t a particularly pleasant taste), and as we were nearing the end of the first round, a server came by and provided a second serving to my girlfriend and me. However, another server came by and gave her a second serving, and then walked away. He didn’t give me any. I didn’t have anymore of that pasta type on my plate, either. So I figured he simply mistook me wanting more. Anyway, we continued eating and here came that second server again. He astutely served her another portion, and then walked away. At that point, I chuckled because I couldn’t believe he didn’t even look at me or ask me if I’d like more. Anyway, we continued eating and here he came again. He served her another portion.
Can you guess what happened next?
At that point, my girlfriend and I were laughing out loud because we had absolutely no idea what was going on. It was to the point that it was comical. It were as if my girlfriend were dining alone because not only did he not serve me, he completely and utterly did not acknowledge me in any way whatsoever with even an eye glance. And I would have asked for more pasta, but: (1) he walked away so fast after serving her that I couldn’t get a word in, and (2) I was flabbergasted. I wasn’t even mad because I was so confused. I jokingly mentioned to the server what was going on, who apparently kindly mentioned it to the manager, because the manager greeted us at the table and apologized to me. A short time later, that server came by and asked if I would like more pasta.
I’m left to conclude that either, (a) that server was crushing on my girlfriend and thought he’d show me what’s up by not serving me, or (b) that server was a malfunctioning robot. I’m kidding, of course. Kind of.
Anyhoo, atmosphere is nice. Except now I can’t remember if I actually went there, or if I dreamed this bizarre experience. Whatever you wear when you can’t decide if you’re dressed up enough or not is appropriate.
Food: ³⁄₅
Ambiance: ⁴⁄₅
Service: *beep boop boop beep bzzzt*

Accomodating of my group’s vegetarian requests. We went for dinner and ordered the daily trio. They modified the dishes to match our dietary preferences. It was evident that the pasta was handmade, but still slightly pricey for the food served.

First, four stars for most of the food. Very good but not great. There is better Italian food in KC for but my youngest son had not been there and wanted to try it.
One less star for the guest experience. We made a reservation several weeks ahead and let them know that we would be celebrating my mother’s 80^th birthday. Generally, at a nice restaurant that gets some sort of consideration. They crowded a reservation for 7 people onto a 6 top table which was jammed in a corner (almost not enough room to seat the people in the corner) next to the server station and the kitchen. When I asked the host if there was another table of course the answer was that it would take some time to make the shift. So given that I did not really want my 80 year old parents standing around waiting for a table we took what we could get.
I really hate it when a nice restaurant overcrowds a table. Lidia’s has large plates and pasta bowls. We spent half of the dinner rearranging things so we could get appetizers, wine, etc on the table. So just make sure that if you make a reservation at Lidia’s for more than 4 people add one to the headcount to help make sure you have enough room to eat.
The service was what you would expect from a restaurant like Lidia’s. Attentive but not intrusive.
As I said earlier, most of the food was good. The exception was their «famous» pasta trio. It has been some time since we dined at Lidia’s, but in the past they started out with one of the three pastas and a server came around with other pastas to try and gave small portions. That way the diner could try them all and get more of the pasta (s) that were most favored. This time the bowl came out with big piles of all 3 pastas all at once. One of the pastas was at room temperature. If I was just dining with my wife I would have sent it all back and asked them to start over but it was Mom’s birthday and I didn’t want to make a poor situation worse.
Wow, I started off to give three stars and now talked myself into two stars so two stars it is.
For me, there is really no reason to go back again.

We went there after KC Brew Fest. No need to say, my company was a little intoxicated (not me, I was DD). Seemed pretty fancy when we got there and I was a bit afraid we might be underdressed and slightly too funny for them.
Our waiter made us feel very welcome and helped out with every question we had.
The food was fantastic Italian Food without being boring. Even though on the bit pricier side, I’d definitely recommend and come back!

was very underwhelming for all the the hype i heard about it. ordered the daily special and asked to substitute a side and immediately the waitress said she would check with the kitchen. this put doubt in my mind that the entrée would be fresh or possibly sitting under a warming lamp because its been pre-​made.
as i suspected it came out mildly warm with a cool center and obvious that the plate had been made ahead of time. will not be returning here to try their daily special.

Had a wonderful dinner at Lydia’s for my sisters birthday. My brother ordered the ribeye, he said: delicious. I had the lemon chicken over spinach, wow! The tiramisu to die for. Our server Liz was so attentive, I had lots of questions-​she was very nice & professional!!!

I thought this place was nice. The back room though smelled so strongly of lilies that we couldn’t eat in there because it brought on an allergy attack. The food seemed really salty but other than that it was great. We ordered the calamari, shrimp, and veggie appetizer and there were only two small calamaris in it which was a disappointment. The atmosphere was nice and our waiter was cute.

Horrible food, horrible service.
We did go for restaurant week and it was terrible. Disappointed because my family and coworkers all brag on this place.
The seared tuna (how original) was tasty, so it wasn’t all bad.
My girlfriend and I both got the pasta trio. She is so polite and so sweet and she said, «this tastes like a frozen pasta dish.» Clearly there was some crappy frozen broccoli, and some crappy frozen baby shrimp. No salt, no spice.
Probably one of the most unfortunate dining experiences I have ever had in KC.
$ 100 for crappy pasta and a crappy dessert– some weird banana mouse with a sweeeeeet praline crumble thing.
Our waitress had ZERO idea about the wine menu and it was embarrassing and frustrating.
The bus boys were nice– there i said something positive.

I had the pleasure of eating here on Saturday. It was the end of restaurant week so we had a 3 choices for the entrée and appetizer.. I had the Caesar salad it was ok I have had better. We went with the triple pasta. They brought us a ravioli, spiral noodle with tomato sauce and a fettuccine with shrimp on a butter sauce. The ravioli was good the tomato sauce was not good to me everyone else at the table loved it. So don’t go by me on that one. They brought dessert and it was really good.
All in all a good experience I would try something different next time if there is a next time.

Like a lot of people, we went for Restaurant week this last weekend, and I wish we didn’t. We have been here several times and it has been great — too expensive for what it is in my opinion, but the lasagna is always a winner here. It was insanely packed so we checked in on our reservation and got a drink at the bar. The host stated our table was getting ready for seating which was perfect. We were starving and definitely needed a ton of carbs asap… well, 35 minutes goes by and we checked in again. He literally was like oh yeah! Ok well seat you now… ok, thanks dude! Got to the table and the server was obviously busy, but didnt ask us if we needed water or anything else… didn’t explain the restaurant week menu, and kept running off as we were attempting to ask questions. Kind of frustrating, but not a deal breaker.
First course — Caesar salad = not great /​seared tuna = AMAZING!
Second course — trio pasta =did not like any. The tomato sauce was bland had had ricotta thrown in, the shrimp and broccoli tasted like… nothing, and the spinach ravioli … was ok but I covered it in shredded cheese to taste something. He had the braised short ribs =INCREDIBLE! It was cooked perfectly and falling off the bone, the sauce was to die for!
Third course — super surprised they only had one option for dessert. It was a chocolate banana semifreddo with caramel. wasn’t my favorite, but I don’t care for sweets so I’m out on that one.
The server never came back. She never asked how we were doing and he had to wave her down to get another drink. We asked another server for water. She obviously had better tables or something who knows. BUT to come in to Restaurant week where your are supposedly show casing your food and service to people, I expected more from the whole experience — and spending over 100.00 on a meal for 2… come on… reasonable right?
Im going to stick with Cupinis in Westport for my Italian fix from now on… any more recommendations for reasonable, nice, flavorful Italian would be great!

Now I can finally say I’ve been all over the Freight House-​what took me so long?
I guess because Lydia’s has a rep for being really pricey; so what better way than Restaurant Week? Her menu was a standout, so it was our first choice. She didn’t disappoint!
Beet risotto balls for the first course were crisp and delicious. Our second course turned slightly comical (in a good way). Three of us ordered meatloaf, one ordered the pasta trio, which is delivered by three servers walking around the dining room placing pasta on the plates of those who order it. Well, apparently the Ravioli Server thought we’d all ordered it, and he started giving us all ravioli! Newbies that we were, we just thought we were all getting a taste, until he kept trying to fill our plates. NOT sorry at all! They’re lemon-​flavored pillows of YUM, and I kinda wished I’d ordered that, until I tasted my meatloaf and roasted vegetables. The meatloaf is wonderful, but even better are the roasted turnips, potatoes and onions. Soft but not mushy, with some caramelized sweetness, I could’ve eaten a whole pan of them! Making the Restaurant Week meal an even better buy, we also got a chocolate banana dessert. I’m not crazy about banana in anything, but I ate it all!
Like the other Freight House restaurants, it’s a beautiful space with soaring ceilings, warm wood and brick. They can fit a lot of people in here, but it doesn’t feel crowded. The servers were all friendly and gracious, and we especially appreciated Ravioli Guy!

We decided to head to Lydia’s for KC Restaurant Week. We were offered the full dinner menu, but everyone in our group of four decided to do the three-​course restaurant week offering. With 5 appetizers and entrees to choose from, there was something to suit everyone’s tastes. The best appetizer I tried were the beet arronchini, served with a light cream sauce and fried to perfection. Two from the group went with the pasta trio entrée, which included a really delicious pear and pecorino ravioli, a sausage rigatoni and a seafood linguine. It was nice that you can get second of any pasta favorites.
I went for the bronzino on capellini. The fish didn’t taste the freshest and the Sicilian red sauce didn’t seem to complement the dish over all. The fish also seemed overcooked and a bit rubbery, so I was a bit disappointed in the choice and thus the 3-​star rating. The dessert was a banana semifreddo, complemented by a delicious caramel sauce and toffee bits. I did really like the appetizer and dessert, but the disappointing entrée really knocked down the experience overall. We also decided to try the wine pairings, you can get half glass with each course for $ 10.50. The wines from Constellation Brands were nice but it was a standard Chardonnay, chianti and a sparkling to end the meal, not individualized for what you chose for each course. The server was brisk in answering our questions and rather abrupt in serving us, but it was efficient and we all got what we needed, so I guess it was fine. I love the atmosphere at Lydia’s, with the high ceilings and wood beams it always seems welcoming — one of the reasons I’m drawn back.

ALL HAIL RESTAURANT WEEK!
‘Tis the season, Unilocalers! For our favorite time of year has come! To kick start Restaurant Week, Unilocaler Mom and I met a couple of her friends at Lidia’s for lunch and let me tell you, it did NOT disappoint.
Parking can be a hit and miss, but only because Lidia’s shares a parking lot with two other RW contenders.
But nevertheless, the service was great. Prompt and knowledgeable, which is always appreciated — even for the late one (me) to the party. I ordered the red beet arroncini (uhhh, am I spelling that right?) for my starter and they were absolutely delightful. For those that aren’t familiar, it’s basically risotto that’s been thickened and stuffed with some type of filling and then rolled into a ball and fried. For the main course I decided to go with their pasta trio sampler and holy mother of pasta — all the carbs! But all the worthwhile carbs! The cheese ravioli had a really nice, light and bright lemony butter sauce and dusted with parmesan, they’re simple and elegant and so so SO good. The bowties, while not my favorite of the three, had a nice almost sweet tomato sauce with crumbled sausage and didn’t really need anything else with them. Now, I’m not a red sauce person (ask Unilocaler Mom, I’m irritating about it), but this red sauce wasn’t the heavy, thick stuff that I can’t stand, so I was pleasantly surprised at how much I liked it. Lastly, the shrimp and broccoli fettuccini was probably my favorite. Although, I could have done with a little more sauce, I really loved the flavor. The shrimp was cooked perfectly, as well as the broccoli. Too often I’ve had broccoli overcooked in pasta, but no, my friends. Not here. Perfection!
Unilocaler Mom and her friends all ordered the meatloaf and it was DIVINE. If I come next time and that’s on the menu, you bet your bottom dollar that’s what I’m getting. The braised turnips that came with it were amazing!
Dessert was a this lovely little square of banana mousse/​pudding with a layer of chocolate on top and a ring of caramel and what tasted like an Italian take on toffee and it was such a perfect little pillow of happy, I may go back just for that!

We went to Lidia’s Kansas City for Restaurant Week 2016 this afternoon and very happy with the meal choice we made.
Our server is William who is a handsome young man, very polite and professional. In my own opinion, I feel he looks like young Alan Rickman.
Hope you all enjoy my pictures like I enjoy my meal there.
I definitely will go back to try more dishes in the near future. This is my 2^nd time at Lidia’s, I should come back more.

Had a rare date night with my favorite Christmas elf tonight, and we needed great Italian. In KC, that narrows it down to three places quick, Lidia’s being at the top.
We arrived 15 minutes prior to our reservation, and were seated one minute prior to said reservation.
As anyone and everyone within 147 miles of KC knows, Lidia’s is known for its Pasta Trio service, which is all-​you-​can-​eat pasta of three sorts, all on one plate. Tonight’s offerings were as incredible as ever.
Being as this was not our first rodeo in the Freight House district, we know that it’s shrewd dining protocol at Lidia’s to have one of us opt for said Trio of delicious pasta, and the other orders from the remainder of incredible offerings on the menu, which tonight happened to be the Zucca: butternut squash-​filled ravioli with zucchini and sage brown butter. Then, of course, we share!
All dishes were excellent. This is, in my opinion, the most accurate, true-​Italian food offered in Kansas City.
Our dessert had words like hazelnut, chocolate, ganash, cream, almond, and chestnut in it — which is to say it was heaven on a plate.
Food = ⁵⁄₅
Facility = ⁵⁄₅
Service = ³⁄₅
Ambiance = ⁴⁄₅
Value = ⁴⁄₅

I saw this restaurant advertised at the airport on the electronic signage at baggage claim. I am a huge fan of Lidia’s because I watch it on PBS (yes, I still watch that station), and she pours her heart into her cooking. I was extremely surprised to see she has a location in KC; I am definitely not complaining!
We went on a Saturday night and made a reservation about 30 minutes prior to deciding to go. We arrived exactly at 9:15PM, just like we had reserved! This restaurant is no more than a 15 minute walk from Crown Center where we were staying, including a brief look around inside Union Station. You can reach this restaurant through the walkways, going through Union Station, and coming out the Freight House Bridge.
We were not dressed fancily. I was wearing an Adidas tshirt and skort; my friend was in shorts and a tshirt as well. We were traveling for the USA vs Panama soccer match (Gold Cup tournament earlier this month), so we hadn’t packed any nice clothes. We were neither denied entry nor frowned upon; we were welcomed by staff with open arms (although, perhaps that was due to my excitement).
The complimentary breads were fantastic. I loved the mini scoops of basil pesto and sun-​dried tomato paste. Both placed in olive oil, the free appetizer was scrumptious and a sign of the night to come.
I ordered the braised duck with gnocchi. Words cannot describe how fantastic this was! Both were in a stew, melting in my mouth. The texture was perfect. The flavor was divine! I could taste the tomatoes and imagined them simmering for hours to make this delightful dish. I could just picture Lidia herself in the kitchen, cooking and tasting to perfection. Oh, how wonderful this entrée was!
My friend ordered the pasta trio tasting, and this was mediocre to me. Although I liked the fusilli (had a kick to it), I was not impressed by the ravioli (like undercooked Chinese dumplings) or fettucini. Both lacked robust flavors, and I was glad I ordered the duck.
I didn’t think the entrees were that expensive for being Lidia’s kitchen. My braised duck was $ 18 (does not come with a salad). I would return here again in a heartbeat!

Sometimes you’ve gotta
TREAT YO’ SELF!
…And that’s what I did. I was invited to dinner by my brother-​in-​law to celebrate my little sister’s 35^th birthday. We had reservations for 7pm and came early to have a few cocktails at the bar. I joined my party already in progress and sat patiently waiting for my turn to imbibe. I’d selected an Orange Manhattan — Makers, dry curaçao I believe. I waited. And I waited. Then I waited a little more thinking to myself, «self — this is what those other Unilocalers made fuss about. You totes knew it was going to be like this, so get it together and wait some more». And that’s what I did. And when my drink did come it was well worth every moment spent in drink purgatory.
Our party was seated promptly at 7 and taken to a corner table. My sister joked that she always ends up in the corner when they are there (about 2 – 3 times a year). The server assistant staff where on their game and we were immediately greeted with water and bread. They took excellent care of us the rest of the night. They’d refill waters and bring bread like ninjas. It seemed to just magically stay full.
Our server Jeff was a pro. This was Saturday at 7 so no person in their right mind would go into any restaurant and expect not to wait for service. Keeping that in mind, Jeff was right on time. True customer service adapts to the customer’s style and that’s what he did. He joked with us and really did enhance our visit with his banter. And while me may just be a pro at it, he seemed sincere which I appreciate. He seemed to care that we enjoyed our experience.
Now, on to the food!
It was my turn to order, and I’m stuck. Do I have the osso bucco, or the duck breast. I don’t usually order steak out since I tend to be underwhelmed but I did spy the ribeye. Jeff says, «alright sir, what about you? Big ass steak?»
«Damn,» I said. «…Yeah.»
«Medium Rare?»
«Hell yes»
«Salad?»
“Nah“
We waited and had another drink while enjoying the fritto misto. About the time we started getting restless our food began to arrive. My sister and her husband were served the pasta trio table side. Our friends had the cabbage rolls and the cannelloni. The pastas where tender and delicious. Just enough sauce to enjoy flavor and the delicate pasta too. No one heard about the cannelloni, but I did see a happy plate. It was my understanding that the cabbage rolls were a bit vinegary, but again — I saw a happy plate.
My steak… Oh man! Jeff must have known. He must have known the right person was manning the grill and he must have known that a savory, tender and sumptuous steak like this is just what I needed. This steak was exactly what a steak should be; perfectly seasoned, and uniformly cooked to the perfect medium rare. It was heaven in every bite. If this steak were a lover, I’d never leave or lay eyes on anyone else for fear of losing this steak’s meaty affections.
Overall this was the perfect evening. Maybe it was the Manhattans. Maybe it was the steak. Maybe it was the service. Regardless, I can’t wait to go back.