Voltaire

I can’t believe I’ve never done a review of this place before. I enjoy Voltaire quite a bit. From the outside, it’s very unassuming. It’s in the «not quite hip» part of the West bottoms, sitting rather nonchalantly next to the type of bar you figure old men frequent in very small midwest towns. Honestly, from the outside, Voltaire itself looks quite the same. Don’t let that fool you. On the inside is rich dark wood and a line of low booths. Dim lighting. A wall of bourbon. A great happy hour and usually a slew of intoxicated, classy locals. Who knows? You might even see Mr. Haw in there having a drink, the veritable renovator of the West Bottoms himself.
The food is exotic and priced to match. The drinks are spectacular and the service staff are brilliant and friendly. Be prepared to drop some serious cash to get the entire Voltaire experience but it’s worth it. Maybe start with their happy hour and then move on to dinner. This is a top notch place and a definite destination for an after work gathering or an intimate date.

OH MY GOSH. so delicious!
A group of friends and I came here for dinner this past weekend and I swear, everything we ordered was absolutely amazing. We started off with some appetizers — samosas and the charcuterie board. Everything was perfect.
For dinner, I ordered the risotto special — green curry risotto with pork belly. The pork belly was so tender — it felt apart the moment I put my fork on it. The risotto was so flavorful and sticky — it was the perfect compliment to the pork belly. I could have eaten six more plates of this dish!
For dessert, we shared the Bananas Fosters and that too was fantastic. We ate it so quickly that we seriously debated ordering another one. The total bill for 5 of us was around $ 350, but for $ 70 a piece, two shared appetizers, two bottles of wine, a round of cocktails, dinner, and a shared dessert, it was perfectly affordable.
The ambiance was dark and candle-​lit… perfect for a romantic date or a small group outing. Our waitress was really friendly and knowledgeable about the entire menu. There wasn’t one thing I’d change about this place!

Totally helpful while trying to plan a bridal party for 10 while I am 1000 miles away. Quick to respond to email and the food is delicious. A little spendy but worth every penny. Try the tasting menu!

Delicious food. I had the steak and my husband had crab cakes. We both thoroughly enjoyed our entrees, although they were a little on the small side for the price. The quality and flavors made it worth it. We really enjoyed the experience and will definitely be going back.

4 stars because the drinks were expensive! Very pleasant barman and woman. They always smiled and readily answered all of my questions. The lighting is not too dark– I liked it that way. The drink menu was pretty diverse and had items I saw no where else. The bar is huge and is worked by three people. Parking was easy. You can sit outside our inside. The headbands is also the owner was very knowledgeable and has a special thing for whiskey.

A bit pricey but they are classy, tasty and pretty nice group of folks. $ 9 on average for drinks and about $ 20 on the small plates. Alot of the options are combinations I haven’t come across before but the flavors work. Seems to be their thing, taking classics and changing things up a bit. I mean everybody does this but it’s all pretty wildly adventurous. Not to mention the courage it takes to put it out their.
Their is a bit of a southern men’s club feel to it. Lots of dark wood, big sturdy bar running the length of one side, and booths on the other. Low candlelight, duck décor, and the deal sealer a highlighted bourbon selection.
Personally I like the place, the name, location and I’m looking forward to trying out their happy hour.

4 stars overall:
— Good ambience and service
— Interesting menu items, takes the usual «New American» menu and puts a bit of an interesting spin on it. Also appreciate that the menu is constantly changing!
— Highly recommend the Pollo Yucatecco. The flavoring of the chicken was amazing and the chicken itself well-​cooked and succulent

I loved R-​Bar before Voltaire…but Voltaire closes early (11 pm or so), so on a weekend when I am out, it is usually closed before I make it over here. This past weekend, my pal and I went out much earlier for a mini-​bar crawl. After starting across the street, I said, «Hey, I have wanted to go to Voltaire for a couple of years, and now that we’re here, let’s stop in!» Pal was happy because he was hungry, and I told him he could eat some fancy snacks, so we trekked across the street. The arrangement is exactly like it was with R-​Bar except the big turquoise metal R is gone, and where bands used to play, there are now tables and chairs. Voltaire serves a slightly different purpose, so I get these changes, but I miss the old venue.
Service was same as before…bartenders are not very friendly or helpful, but they are professional. My pal was happy with his crab cakes (although I thought they were super tiny for the price), I had a good Czech pilsner, and it was overall a good experience. I will come back sometime when I am out early.

Had kind of a bad experience at Voltaire but the food was pretty lack-​luster too. I will say it is a cool looking space and the bar seems nice, maybe this is a better place to have drinks.
I just felt like I had to accommodate their cooking staff and kitchen as opposed to being accommodated as a customer. They couldn’t put cheese on my scrambled eggs because it would interfere with the cooking line in the kitchen or something. I thought that was a little weird.
I ordered two sides of eggs and two sides of bacon and sausage because I’m following a keto diet. The waitress instead decided to adjust my order to something else without asking me first if I wanted to change my order to that. What should have been $ 13 turned into $ 20 because of her adjustment.
Two stars for the house made bacon. That is definitely pretty tasty.

What a weird menu. Good-​weird, but weird. I don’t know of anywhere else in the city where one can find eggplant tamales next to mushroom phyllo pockets, or half a chicken listed below braised tongue.
As one might expect from a menu so strange, the food packs a lot of flavor. The eggplant tamale I ordered was topped with mandarin oranges, fried bananas, green salsa, and black beans. There was so much going on with that dish that my tongue had a hard time keeping up.
Cocktails are similar in style. I had a cocktail containing tequila, egg white, ginger, and green tea. Good? Hell yes. Weird? HELL YES.
The vibe of the place is way cool, with low lighting, good tunes, comfortable seating, and an elegant bar.
The only negative was that the appetizers, which are served in the style of tapas and sound absolutely amazing, cost nearly as much as some of the entrees.

We just had a girls’ meetup for Happy Hour here, and had a great time. Really good service, and fun atmosphere. I am curious to come back for dinner!

What rude people! Two different times My encounters with employees have been awful. The bartender was terribly rude the first time we went. We decided to give them another try and this time the person answering the phone was nasty. We won’t bother trying again!

My wife and I came here on a Sunday for brunch.
I like the atmosphere, which was lively and fun, but without letting you forget that food is the focus here. Service was average, no complaints. We got a cinnamon roll to share. It was very good, warm on the inside with a cool frosting. I also liked that it was not too sweet.
We got a pear and frisée salad and fried chicken brunch. These courses were okay, not necessarily outstanding. The salad was over dressed and portion was appropriate for a side, not an entrée salad. The fried chicken was a bit tough. I think it would have been better if they kept it standard rather than boneless breast.
Overall, good experience, a bit pricey for the quality of the food.

I was hoping to enjoy a latte and some brunch but almost an hour later my latte is gone and the staff at Voltaire must be making a trip all the way to Oz for my buttermilk biscuits.
I get the delays that can come from trying a highly recommended and popular joint, but it’s never an excuse for just poor processes and service.
Maybe I’ll actually get to try the food at some point to see if it was even worth the time…

Went for brunch, sat at the bar and had a great time! Place is packed, particularly as it is new — make a reservation if you’ll need more than seats at the bar. They do serve a full menu there (for brunch as least).
I had an eggplant dish and I think the BF had fried chicken something… we both tried various different cocktails including mimosas and bloody marys.
Long story short, everything was delicious! Really a quality place. Excellent food, good drinks, ambience also cool. Love the West Bottoms location — old R bar. Service could have been quicker, but let’s just give a little leeway in being brand new.
Will most definitely return.

This was our first time. We found this location while visiting our daughter and son in law in KS. WOW! This place was so cool from the bar to the service it was great! We had the happy hour specials and some items from the regular menu. We shared it all and it was all delicious! Well done to the owners and hats off to the chef. Thank you for a great experience and really great food.
Bison burger– moist and wonderful flavor
Mussels– awesome sauce, good enough to drink
Fried zucchini– sauce was the bomb
Steak tartar– beyond belief
Albacore tuna– good as well
All in all a great evening.
If your looking for a hip place with great drinks and even better food you need to stop in!

I left speechless…
Voltaire in Kansas City, Missouri. I can’t say enough, from the staff to the food it was amazing. I also had a chance to meet the chef. You could tell he really takes pride in his food.
A fellow foodie joined me from STL who was also in town on business. We ordered the following:
6 oysters
Lamb chop,
hangar steak,
paella with scallops, shrimp, etc.
Adult s’mores — bourbon, vanilla, marshmallow, smoked dark chocolate, rye graham cracker with a cherry compote.
I was beyond blown away, the scotch and bourbon drinks were also a very nice hit. I know that if you are looking on a map, the area doesn’t look the best, it’s worth the drive for the experience. Also highly recommended is Novel.

Voltaire is a great place. It’s a great place for an intimate date night or a night out with friends. It’s a great place for some small plates to snack on or it has enough options to make a dinner out of it. The place is casual, yet sophisticated. I guess I’m saying it’s a great place for a large variety of reasons.
The reason for the four stars instead of five is that some of the food has been great, but not every single dish I’ve tried. The staff hasn’t been the most consistent either. Nothing ever terribly bad, but I’ve had great service to some that has been less attentive. Believe me, this is a great place, I’ve just personally had a little consistency problems, but nothing to keep me away.
The drinks have always been a standout. From simple poured drinks to the cocktail menu, everything has been made perfectly. Also the space, the space is just cool and relaxed. I probably prefer Voltaire for a casual night out more than a special occasion, but like I mentioned earlier, Voltaire is great for any night of the week.

Good service, lack luster food and a little over priced.
Voltaire is a great place to have drinks after work but, for me, it doesn’t really go any further than that. I feel bad even writing this review because I love supporting the West Bottoms and all the little places to go down here. Anywhoo…
If you’re want a drink the stockyard fix is a must. Also if you are getting some wine and want it in a stemware glass, you have to ask for it. They give them to you in the little Spanish style wineglasses that look like little petri dishes (I promise I’m not being close minded to european culture).
I got the charcuterie plate for $ 14 and was expecting some meat, cheese, etc. It was exactly that «some» cheese (3 very small pieces of stuff I could have picked up at the store easy — nothing special) and «some» meat. It was 2 small strips, a weird pâté they make in house, and
Don’t get me wrong, they have a couple things on the menu I would recommend (the fundido) is amazing and the service is great. I just never have any luck here and it seems overprice for having such few things on the menu that I haven’t found disappointment in.

Stopped into Voltaire late one night on my KC visit, and immediately fell in love with the interior. What can I say? I’m a sucker for mood lighting and exposed brick.
The boyfriend and I only got drinks, so this review is merely covering libations and the overall look and feel. I chose the Stockyard Fix (Tito’s, apricot, ginger, lemon and orange bitters). I was apprehensive about the ginger, but was pleasantly surprised that it was more subdued.
Our server was helpful but didn’t hover — always appreciated when you are just enjoying drinks and good conversation. Voltaire is off the beaten path from our usual KC stops, but I am happy we stopped by, and would definitely go back.