Harvey’s

Honestly, I’ve never eaten at the more «formal» sit down portion of Harvey’s but I LOVE the more informal «take out» section on the right hand side/​. There aree tables there and some of the items are $ 2.00-$ 3.00 cheaper. I go to a Conference in Kansas City once each year and stay at the Westin across the street. I go to Harvey’s «take out» at least 2 – 3 times. The «Mo’s spinach salad» is incredible. The per dressing alone makes this a must have. And the «chef» there — — Joe — and other staff are wonderful. It’ll be a year before I’m back in KC and I can’t wait to go back!

This is such a lost opportunity. Union Station is so beautiful and the restaurant has great atmosphere. The food is fine. Not great, but fine** — I would eat here for the food IF it was convenient. But this could be a destination in itself, considering the setting. But the service, and/​or the management (not sure who to blame). Yikes. I have been here twice in a week — once with a large group of 24, for which they assigned us one waiter — one. We made the reservation 6 weeks in advance, and spoke with the manager several times including two days before. It seems it’s owned by a catering company who decided to pull some wait staff for an event in town, that was also on the books way in advance (Home and Garden Show. It’s on billboards, for crying out loud. It’s not like it was a surprise). One waiter. The last person in our group to get served waited an hour and 10 minutes.
So today I had a groupon, and went again to make sure, because I would like to love this place. We waited almost 40 minutes to get our food — 10 minutes after ordering they told us they were out of one of the dishes (which happens. But you think they would know right away) — and almost 15 minutes for them to pick up the credit card — I finally flagged another waiter. After which, our waitress plopped the bill on the table on the table without saying anything — not sorry for the wait, not have a nice day — just a plop. The service in between was fine — coffee refills kept coming, thank you — but it was bad enough that I won’t go back. That was my 3^rd try. That’s it.
** There’s another thing — they use that fake ‘butter flavor’ oil on the griddle for the eggs. You can taste it — it doesn’t taste like butter, it tastes like chemicals — and it lingers — a metallic bitter aftertaste — all morning. I had to keep chewing gum to get rid of it. And I don’t like to chew gum. My mother told me it’s unladylike.
One more thing. Parking ought to be validated if you eat here, especially on weekdays. It’s only validated till 9. $ 2 for one hour, which with the service being so bad, is not enough.

Harvey’s at Union Station has a lot going for it: the ambiance, the scenery, the quaintness of a round restaurant. I visited recently during a slow time, in order to ascertain the quality and overall scrumptiousness of this establishment. I’ve seen it for years, and wondered what it was about. I tried a few dishes, and my fiancé tried the salmon eggs benedict. She thought hers was good, well balanced. However my Jalapeño Sweet-​potato corned-​beef hash with english muffin and fried egg was not so much. The meal was well-​cooked throughout — however, there is a huge difference between well-​cooked, and well-​executed. the jalapeños completely overpowered the natural sweetness of the sweet potato, and rendered the salt in beef amplified slightly. What was left was a novice orchestra of flavors trying to harmonize. Overall, the capsaicin won. The eggs were expertly fried, but lacked salt, and the english muffin was normal, and average — can’t complain about an english muffin. I then tried the chicken and waffles, because how can that go wrong? Same verdict. Waffle was waffled out of the flavor zone, and the chicken lacked that zest and living component that great fried chicken aspires to. Overall, not bad. The preparation was excellent, and the chefs do great work. The problem I found was the flavor; either the chefs are not tasting their dishes, they’re not allowed to, or the guy creating them has a broken palate and no sense of discernibility. The food is worth trying for the mere fact that behind you imposes it’s might as the cavernous Union Station, with it’s 100′ tall ceilings, and brimming history seeping from the walls. Did you know the reason the FBI carries guns is because a few agents were transporting a criminal through the station, and were gunned down — with their prisoner — by some gangsters outside with tommy guns? Now you know!

Went for breakfast while staying at Crown Center. A mixed experience, but generally positive:
The food was excellent. I have the breakfast quesadilla, which was scrambled eggs and cheese with chilis, guacamole, and salsa; my wife had the crab cake benedict. Both were delicious. I tasted my wife’s dish, which was a touch bland to my taste, but she loved it. My own was very good.
We truly enjoyed the venue. The Union Station was hopping with First Lego teams, as the competition was that morning.
Service wasn’t particularly friendly. It wasn’t particularly unfriendly either, just more of a «so-now-you’re-here-don’t-bother-me» attitude. I cracked a few jokes with our waitress and got a quick smile, but no offers of refills on the drinks, and no check-back’s. They were busy but not swamped, so that didn’t explain it either.
It was a nice breakfast, and if we’re at the station at mealtime again, we’ll probably give it another shot.

Union Station has long been one of my favorite places in Kansas City and this is such a great gem there.
Had breakfast one weekday morning and the service was quick, the food was great and the view amazing. I ordered standard breakfast fare of eggs, sausage and and English muffin and they impressed even on that simple meal. The prices are incredibly reasonable and will be returning for certain.

Harveys has some good food and a nice selection on the menu. Service is friendly. This is a great stop while enjoying a day at Union Station. My only real complaint is that sitting up on the top balcony can be really uncomfortable with the sun, but the view down the big hall is great, especially at holiday time. It is also a great place to people watch while dining.

There was a wait for Sunday brunch so we sat at the bar which is full service and open seating. The staff was friendly, but not attentive and two servers were complaining about another person right in front of us. No pancakes or omelets after 11AM is a pretty weird rule for brunch and it narrows down the menu unless you opt for the buffet ($ 23.99). I ordered scrambled eggs, sausage, an English muffin and fruit. It was all very good though it took a while to come out. The floors need serious cleaning. This place could be great with the location but it seems to lack good management to corral their staff and keep the place organized. Lastly, if you come here during Christmas be prepared to hear the echoing screams of children all around Union Station. The ambiance was like that of an insane asylum.

Harvey’s gets 5 stars for location and ambiance, but they need to work on the speed of their service. We ordered lunch and then waited a hour for our food and the restaurant was not very busy.
Also, the staff was setting up for dinner service when we left and they were rude and clearly thought that we were in the way, as we were leaving the restaurant.

I bought a Groupon for here a few months back and decided I had to use it or lose it. Fine print… Monday — Friday only. My kids had the day off so we decided to head here for a breakfast treat. We wanted to sit on the upper level but were told that it wasn’t open for breakfast. Well that was a bummer. Part of the fun experience (for kids anyway) is sitting upstairs! We were seated downstairs and after a few minutes a waitress took our orders. It took well over 30 minutes to get two waffles, a yogurt parfait and some hash with eggs. There were literally 6 other tables in the entire place with customers and half of those came after we did. Needless to say, the food was pretty good but the service and wait were subpar. I watched a manager «clean» a table across from us, off and on for at least 10 minutes. I’m not sure how many times you can wipe down a table! I’d be focusing on the kitchen instead and making sure customers aren’t waiting around over half an hour for some waffles and over cooked eggs. Just a suggestion!

I ate breakfast here and first I must say that the ambiance was amazing. This Union Station is one of the best in the nation.
I had the standard breakfast which consisted of really thick cut bacon, white toast, two over easy eggs, hash browns, and coffee. The bacon was super delicious! It tasted like it wasn’t a long cured bacon. So it wasn’t super salty like most bacon is. Freshly cut slab bacon is my favorite. Everything else was just mediocre and nothing that great. To be honest, not much different than what you could get from a Denny’s. What made this place nice was the history of it. Coffee was probably in the bottom half of coffee I have ever tasted.
Being seated was quick and easy but from there I felt like it was a burden to help serve me. Staff didn’t seem too excited to take an order, see if you needed anything else, or anything. Don’t get me wrong, they got me hot sauce for my eggs but no smiles, no nothing! Friendliness is 40% of what I look for in a restaurant. It is part of the experience.
Not too sure if I will eat here again or not.

Good food and perfect atmosphere!
The breakfast quesadilla was good, so was the waffle! The only reason it isn’t 5 stars is because sometimes it’s a little greasy. But still good!
Jasmine provided wonderful service. Also, request to sit up top — that’s the only way to do it!

Really need their food and service to be more consistent. The location being inside historic Union Station is incredible and I really want to send people here. Seems like a dreaded job for the servers, like it’s painful to smile, answer a question or remember silverware. A couple have been genuinely nice but flustered like it was their first day, probably was.
Last year thought it would be cool to bring my mom for mothers day. It was a mad house. Told to make reservations, arrived to find it was first come first serve and waited 20 minutes. It was buffet style but couldn’t believe the way it was being attacked. Their was no line or waiting patiently, if someone wanted it they just stepped in and took it. So embarrassed that I took my mom here.
I have been so many times, and I keep hoping it will be better. Pancakes sometimes dense, chewy, overcooked, undercooked. Eggs same story. Salad and sandwiches, wilted and soggy. I love Union Station and I love the history of Harvey’s. Can’t help it, just keep hoping it makes those lists for best brunch.

Love eating here. Free parking 6 am– 9 am. Hot tea is amazing. I’ve never had anything I dont like. Great breakfast spot. Check out groupon.

I had an enjoyable time dining here. I had pancakes and it was very nice. The service was great, too. The location of this establishment prevents any true intimacy but it is pleasant. The restaurant is always busy and that is a good sign. Reasonably priced fares and good service. Highly recommended.

If only we could give half stars… alas we cannot so sigh. I like Harvey’s. I actually like it a lot. It’s convenient for me in its location. They have a quick turnaround between ordering and getting your food to go. I’ve never had a problem with my order. I only order to go though.
I really enjoy the food there. It’s actually made me rethink how to use some of the foods I have at home such as candied jalapenos. It’s a generous portion of food.
I’ve had several different things there and I can’t really complain about any of it. I know there are definitely things that I would order over and over again (and I have) and some things that I’ve just been okay with but my coworkers seem to be fans of.
Overall, it’s pretty well done. It exceeded my expectations.

I wish I could give less than a single star.
On a recent trip to Kansas City for business, our business team had a lunch break and decided to try Harvey’s. When we arrived, they were moderately busy, but the lunch rush was ending. We were seated at a table on the open second floor. It was the only table empty at the time. We ordered and then waited, and waited. It took over an hour for our table to get our order. In the meantime while we were waiting, our server took great pains to avoid coming to our table. We were never offered a drink refill and when we were able to get his attention, he would say — the food should be right out. Never apologizing for the wait. Also in the meantime, the entire second floor cleared out, new tables were sat, served and had paid and left and we were still waiting on our food. Granted we should have left, but we didn’t have an unlimited amount of time, and we didn’t want to have to start over at another restaurant.
When the food came — I ordered the chicken and waffles, the portions were small and the quality not that great. (I uploaded a picture of my skimpy chicken and waffles meal).
This was one of the most disappointing restaurant experiences I have had in a long time. The staff was unfriendly, the wait was completely unacceptable (there was no offer to take anything off our bill) and the food was mediocre at best.
Save your money and time.

Meh.
Stopped in here for lunch after our Trolley Tour.
I had the «Pick Two». A large cup of the Steak Soup and a Asian Chicken salad.
The soup was more of a chili and the dressing on the salad was not to my liking.
At least our waitress was nice enough to take $ 5 off the bill without our prompting when she inquired why I didn’t eat much of my salad.
That’s Midwestern hospitality.

Visited this place while in Kansas City. It is located inside the union station. When we got to the restaurant we had to wait outside of the restaurant for about 15 minutes before we were seated. The host stand was empty and no one greeted us upon arrival.
Once we were seated our waitress arrived and was very attentive and friendly. I ordered the corn beef hash which is probably the best one I’ve had ever.
We also ordered a kids size buttermilk pancakes which were huge but delicious.
Only reason I’m getting four stars and not five is because of their service. The restaurant was very busy and was definitely understaffed you could see everyone just running around to keep up. Just by the looks I’m not sure if this place will stay open for very long.
While you are waiting to be seated it’s a good idea to check around other places as well, just to kill some time.

Solid breakfast in an excellent location. We had the cinnamon roll pancake, the Mediterranean omlett and the power breakfast. My son loved the pancake and chocolate milk.
All were top quality, large portions. Service was great too. Suggest a side of biscuit gravey with the power breakfast for the biscuit you get. Nice speed on coffee refills, this is the kind of place to do serious people watching while enjoying your meal or creating some art with the colored pencils and paper table cloth.

After a playgroup event visiting the model train exhibit, another mom and I decided to grab lunch with our little ones. Concerned that Crown Center might be too busy and little desire to get back into our cars again before we ate, we decided on Harvey’s.
We walked up as a hostess was seating another party so we assumed she’d be right back. Ten minutes later, another person arrived to seat us. Our server definitely had the «I don’t want to be here today» attitude. We ordered our kids meals first and she completely ignored the request I made for my son (to leave specific fruits out of his fruit bowl — she brought fries instead) and acted annoyed when I asked for the fruit. I ordered a bowl of steak soup and it tasted a bit greasy, if that’s possible!
Our server dropped of our checks then never returned. I to ask someone else (after I asked the server) for a to-​go box and to take our check. This is one of those times when I feel like the 18% I left the server was generous. Now I know why it took so long to go in the first place.