Reba’s Restaurant

We were in Newton last evening and looked on Unilocal for someplace different to eat, i.e. not a chain. I found Reba’s, and thought we’d give it a try. The Thursday dinner menu had two burgers, plus a steak and a chop dish and some chicken, plus salads and apps. We each had a burger, and they both tasted great. Nice size, good grilled flavor, and a bun that was more substantial than a typical burger bun. The downside [pun intended], no side. The burger was $ 8.50, but that’s all you get — no fries, no chips… well, there was an orange slice.
Wednesday is burger night, and our server said they offer a bunch of different burgers, and the burgers come with a side. Didn’t inquire as to the price. If we lived in Newton, we’d probably try burger night. But I wouldn’t drive the hour from home for it.

Great food, great atmosphere, good service! Higher end dishes then you’ll typically find in Newton. It can get a little busy sometimes, you may want to make a reservation on the weekends. Love burger night on Wednesdays! A little on the pricey side, but definitely worth it!

Great lunch! The butternut soup with German Sausage was KILLER. Also had the Southwest steak sandwich which was very tasty. Make the time to come here.
They do gourmet hamburger night on Wednesday nights. We will be back.

Have been here several times. Seemed worse this occasion. Drinks were flat. Said they couldn’t adjust it. Threatened to charge more if we ordered too many refills (What? For fountain drinks??) Ordered the burger because the 8oz sirloin seemed dwarf for the $ 19 price and asked what the sides were for the burger. There were NONE! No fries. No nothin’. At dinner! Well on previous visits they had served chips with burgers at LUNCH so we asked and no, those were not available at dinner. Dinner is sparse. Disappointed. The burger was good, bun was homemade. Not a lot on it after we declined the red onions. Plate was pretty empty. Will hesitate to return with any regularity.

A hidden gem! Stumbled upon this place on burger night — ordered the bahn mi and ended up with one of the best burgers I’ve ever had! The food and service were so good we went back the next night before heading out of town. Highly recommend.

Stumbled upon Reba’s while in KS for a concert at Hartman arena. Can’t say enough about the service or the food. Husband had the grilled salmon, perfectly seared with the most flavorful rice I’ve ever eaten. I chose the chicken fajita salad, but asked for spinach instead of mixed greens. No doubt the best salad I’ve had and will do my fatness to recreate at home. The chipotle ranch was spicy, but not too heavy. It was served chopped style with corn, black beans, cheese and a few other goodies with a side of homemade guacamole! After such an among meat, and a visit from the chef, we also opted for the pineapple/​carrot cake for dessert. Worth every calorie!!! Please do yourself a favor and visit Reba’s…they do recommend reservations, as seating is limited!

LOVE burger night! Reba is a sweetheart, and her food is made with love. What more can you really ask for? The tarragon Chicken is a MUST TASTE, but it is only on the Menu seasonally.

Had a great time at Reba’s tonight. How can you beat awesome food and live music from Lander Ballard? And I always have a soft spot in my heart for any establishment that has a Vesper on the drink menu!

This place is terrific. Went for Wednesday burger night. Not only were the burgers (and desserts) really great, the wait staff was speedy and friendly, and Reba herself mingles with the diners. The ambiance is perfect – nice but not stuffy, not too loud, instantly comfy and fun. I think we found our new Wednesday ritual.

NEVER AGAIN. Went three times, first two visits enjoyed, food was good to very good. Third visit, food still good but Reba not there, staff was terrible, talking about owner while away, complaining, food still good but ruined anniversary dinner. Sent e-​mail to restaurant website complaining, no reply, ever. Swore would never go again That was three years ago. Saw
had deal for Reba’s, decided what the heck, will try again. Told wife and kid were going to go in a few days. Went to print certificate on day was going to visit and cert no good. Reba’s not participating. Now am annoyed, two dinners ruined by Reba’s. Sent another e-​mail to restaurant e-​mail. Gee what a surprise, no reply! Reba does not have enough respect to reply to customers, I will never return and do my best to inform others of our experiences with her establishment.

If you’re looking for a place to eat in Newton that isn’t a chain like Applebee’s or Montana Mike’s this is the only choice you have. And the food is good, but it’s just over priced. The servers are all very friendly and knowledgeable.

Reba’s Restaurant has character, charm, friendly people, and good food.
I was told by some locals that it’s the place to see and be seen. Judging by all the doctors, lawyers, other professionals and folks just out to have lunch, it seems to be true.
I had the salmon sandwich, which was refreshing. Kind of a place on the breakfast bagel and lox since it had a thin bagel, cream cheese, spinach, and salmon. Delish. Also off the menu now since I ate it on the last day they were serving it. All lunch sandwiches were served with Mrs. Vick’s chips.
The Philly Sandwich also looked good, but I didn’t get it because it was served with thousand island dressing as a spread. Someone at my table ordered it, but it didn’t have the dressing on it, so I probably would have liked that too!
Reba’s also serves up some special peach tea that I hear is the thing to have. The service was prompt, and the owner was pointed out to me as she ventured out of the kitchen to take care of something at the bar.
Speaking of the bar, it is gorgeous. Something about the smooth finish of the wood with high pillars against exposed brick made you feel like you were in someplace grand but homey at the same time.

I’ve only been to two restaurants in Newton, but I’m pretty sure it’s safe to say Reba’s is the best restaurant in town, if only because there’s no one else willing to present fine dining in a town with less than 20,000 people. And while there’s nothing wrong with wanting to be a big fish in a small pond, the execution of Reba’s reads like someone making their very best imitation of a fine dining establishment without the complete talent or understanding necessary to make it truly shine.
The online menu alone should be a warning to this. It starts with their appetizer menu, which is labeled «tapas». $ 9 plates of chicken nachos, sliders, hummus, and salsa are not tapas, and to call them as such is, honestly, kind of offensive to me as a diner.
These high prices are even more prominent on the dinner menu, and while you might be able to claim availability and quality justifies the $ 26 14oz prime Creekstone Farms rib eye, it’s nevertheless among the highest-​priced entrees I’ve seen in Wichita. You can’t make this same argument for the $ 18 Tuscan meatloaf, either. And when you consider Wichita balks at the prices of burgers at Mooyah or Smashburger, the $ 12 burgers at Reba seem a little exorbitant.
Price isn’t everything, though, especially if the food is prepared well. The meal began with a complimentary homemade roll. As I picked it up, I was surprised at how heavy it felt, though upon closer inspection I noticed it was made with apricots and almonds, the latter of which had a black burned exterior because it wasn’t completely shielded by the dough. The dried fruit didn’t really bring too much to the party, and may have bogarted some moisture to re-​hydrate itself — the roll was a little crumbly. It was also served with a steak knife sticking up at full attention alongside a dish of olive oil with some cloves of garlic sitting at the bottom. Don’t bother asking why you would serve garlicky olive oil with apricots and almonds. The cloves of garlic did little to impart anything other than aroma to the mixture — crushing them would have released more flavor.
Bread aside, my meal came with a soup — the potato leek. If they had called it a vichyssoise I would point out how the purpose of the dish is to be as white/​cream colored as possible, and keeping the skins on the pureed new potatoes leaves specks of red floating in there. The cracked black pepper stands out, too. But they didn’t call it a vichyssoise, so all I can say is that it was borderline too thick — you could see the starches starting to coagulate and form a skin, if only there was a skoosh more potato. But as it was, it was perfectly pretty good.
The pecan crusted Scottish salmon entrée was an exercise in temperatures. The dish was nicely-​presented: salmon in the middle and flanked by risotto on one side and sauteed green beans (the size and shape would lead some to point out these were technically haricots verts, but shut up). The green beans were excellent — tender but cooked through, and combined with some well-​caramelized red onion. The risotto was too hot. So hot, actually, to make me think that it was reheated in the microwave. Regardless, the rice wasn’t cooked long enough, so it wasn’t nearly as creamy as it should have been. Still tasted alright, though, once it cooled off. I didn’t finish it.
The pecan crust of the salmon was ground more finely than I was expecting, and it was certainly well-​browned, but I think that crust prevented the fish from cooking all the way through — to complete my Goldilocks comparison, the salmon was too cold in the middle, leaving a little too much moisture in the fish, which may have contributed to the soggy crust on top and soggy skin on bottom. If there’s one thing I know, it’s that the only reason to serve a piece of fish skin-​on is for the crispy skin. It was under-​seasoned, too. All this for $ 21.
There’s two ways of thinking about restaurants like Reba’s. The first is that they should be given leniency for trying to make it work in a small town and only deserve to be judged among the other restaurants in Newton. I used to think that way, but I don’t anymore. I’m not saying every restaurant needs to be compared to El Bulli, but it doesn’t take a big city restaurateur to know dried apricots and almonds don’t really work in anything other than a fruitcake, or what it takes to make a proper risotto. They can’t even spell «risotto» correctly on the menu. The other way of thinking is to let the meal stand on its own. A restaurant should be built around the capabilities of the chef, and in this case I think Reba’s overshot a little bit.
As nice as the staff was, and as surprising as it was to find a moderately upscale restaurant in crappy Newton, Reba’s can’t live up to their own expectations, and I’ll be damned if I ever trust them with a $ 26 prime rib eye.

ive only been here a few times but this is definitely a 5 star place in Newton. The staff is a delight and the food to die for.

Hidden Gem of the Plains. Thanks to Unilocal we found it!
Drive those extra miles to Newton, KS just outside of Wichita to visit Reba’s Restaurant. Reba is a trained chef whose skills belong in some fancy big city restaurant, but her heart is at home in Newton. Her food is incredible.
We weren’t even hungry, but we had to try something. So, we chose the fresh salsa & chips and shared the sliders. The beef is sourced locally and the chiles in the salsa came handpicked from Pueblo, CO. Reba spends time there every year for their chile festival.
The atmosphere is pleasant and the service was great.

My family and I are driving through Kansas on the way to go skiing in Colorado — we live in Houston. To be honest, we weren’t expecting much. But we were very pleasantly surprised. My husband and son split the 16 oz. ribeye — cooked perfectly medium-​rare. I got the Fusilli Pasta with chicken — it was served in a lemon cream sauce that was delicate and delicious. I LOVED the salad with the tangerine vinaigrette dressing. The caramel chocolate cake topped it all off.
Newton is about halfway between Houston and Denver. We will plan our next ski trip to stop here both coming and going just so we can dine at Reba’s again.

If you want a place to enjoy a fine meal and feel like you’re in a city far, far away from the middle of Kansas, then head to Reba’s! A wonderful classy restaurant with an incredible menu in a little town from the city where you’d expect this kind of food and service.

We stumbled upon this place after already having dinner. The large wine glass on the wall outside caught my eye, thinking it was a little wine bar. We were pleasantly surprised by finding that it was a jewel in «downtown» Newton. We stopped in for a drink. I had the Slap the Razz cocktail from «Reba’s Favorites.» It was only $ 7 and tart and tangy with fruit juices and raspberry vodka. My partner had a Fat Tire. Our tab was only $ 10. You can’t get that in Kansas City. Fantastic little place with great atmosphere and art on the walls! I wish we could have had dinner there.

For a small country town with only 18,000 people, Reba’s is the one restaurant in downtown Newton (I have been to them all) with a chic, modern feel, where the food is cooked per order, has a unique taste, and the presentation is eye catching.
My grandma (she lives in N. Newton) and I went to Reba’s this past weekend and both had a wonderful meal. Having grown up in Whitewater, KS, my grandma even said this place stands out in Newton. We both had the grilled pork chop, with apricot chutney sauce and cut pineappple on top. The pork chop was quite moist and very flavorful. Additionally, lightly seasoned, perfectly cooked asparagus, and small round red and sweet potatoes were alongside the pork chop. All dinner meals come with your choice of a spring mix or spinach salad, and freshly made rustic bread. Our meals were excellent and it was a perfect choice for my last dinner in Newton.

Reba’s is awesome!
It really does seem a bit out of place when compared to the other restaurants I’ve been to in Newton. But doesn’t every town need a semi-​fancy place to hang out?
I’ve enjoyed all the food I’ve had at Reba’s. I think the spinach salad with the citrus vinaigrette is awesome! I like my dressings to have some pow! so I guess I could understand why others might enjoy a more subtle taste.
We always enjoy the hummus. The secret is that it’s not actually chick peas. I’ll leave the rest of the secret to the chef.
The music is always good. Where else do you get to listen to Beck and Elliott Smith and maybe even some Cake if you’re lucky?
Honestly, though, we rarely make it in time for dinner. We usually go to hang out with Joel and Nick. They’re great bartenders. They have some creative drinks up their sleeves, but are quite comfortable with the standards. They’re very friendly and might even come hang out with you after close!
Reba’s is definitely worth the trip to Newton!