Starker’s Restaurant

You just can’t beat a classic. The best foie gras I’ve ever had. We also had filets, everybody’s was cooked perfectly. Our dining coherts and ourselves take turns picking up the tab to these fantastic outings we spoil ourselves with, and it was their turn. But it was also their anniversary, so we wanted to do something special. We had the lady’s favorite flowers delivered there earlier in the day, and when we arrived they were beautifully set up at our table along side a glass of high end scotch for the gentleman. Everybody was extremely on point, as you would expect in a restaurant such as this. It’s always memorable when you drop this kind of cash on one meal. Thank goodness this one was well worth it!!!

Sure the dining room feels a bit dated, but the location, food, wine, and service trump all of that. The kitchen is still turning out two full menus — classic and seasonal. We went with the seasonal items: lobster salad and butternut squash soup to start, then pan-​seared char with lobster risotto and seared duck breast with sweet potato gratin to finish. The amuse bouche was a shot of rich mushroom soup, nothing too fancy but just enough to impress. We didn’t have room for dessert. And, yes, you can find a bottle of wine for under $ 30.
Starker’s is still one of Kansas City’s best. Let’s see a dining room makeover soon, eh?

We had a friend in town, it was Restaurant Week, and we were in the mood to try something new (to us). And we ended up at Starkers! First impressions mean a lot and they were lacking here. We arrived early so we could grab a cocktail. The Hostess was unfriendly, the bar was not a bar, the set-​up was confusing. We left and grabbed a drink elsewhere.
We returned for our dinner reservation. Again, the Hostess was not in a good mood. No smile, no chatting, no personality. We were seated and freaked out by the aged, yellowed, plastic seating cushions. Luckily the server was friendly and the food was great. We all began with the soup. The Asparagus soup and Bookbinders fish soup were outstanding. I had the chicken, another had the vegetable pasta, and the other had beef tenderloin. We all really, really liked our entrees. My favorite was the vegetable pasta. Cooked perfectly and the veggies were different for pasta — brussel sprouts and sweet potatoes. Dessert was good as well — ice cream was yummy, berries with white chocolate was perfect, and crème brûlée was delish!
So, to sum it up, the food is good. The set-​up awkward. The décor is so-​so. The seat cushions are in desperate need of replacement. Pricey off the regular menu, but decent for the $ 30 restaurant week rate.

Starker’s has been a reliable place for fine dining for over 35 years. It is in a marvelous location on the Country Club Plaza, tucked into two corner rooms on the second floor overlooking 47^th Street and Wyandotte Street. Good friends from Spain were very interested to try one of Kansas City’s locally owned establishments with a special emphasis on fresh and delicious local sourced foods prepared by a talented chef. We are lucky here in Kansas City that there are several places that fulfill those requirements but we knew that Starker’s is guaranteed to be one of the best.
It turned out to be one of the nicest evenings we spent with our friends and they loved it too. The menu offers items to suit nearly any taste except strict vegetarian or vegan. However, whether your craving is for beef, pork, chicken, duck or fish, the printed menu has you covered and I expect that given a head’s up before hand, the chef could do wondrous things with special needs requests.
Our group of eight split into four distinct categories. Hubby and one of our Catalonia friends ordered the Grilled Filet Mignon, Whipped Potatoes, Asparagus and Sauce Béarnaise. Hubby said it was incredibly tender and, even though he generally does not care for asparagus, he ate every morsel on his plate and liked it all.
Sis and SIL#2 ordered Slow Roasted Pork Shoulder with creamy polenta, roasted autumn vegetables and natural jus. It looked wonderful and might be the dish I come back to try next time. DD#2 ordered Sauteed Atlantic Salmon with Brown Butter Emulsion paired with Heirloom Tomatoes, Zucchini and Summer Squash. Two of our party ordered Seared Duck Breast with fig sauce, a fabulous sweet potato gratin that Dear Daughter #1 said would be excuse enough to come back again, and sauteed Swiss chard, that she did not care for, saying it was quite bitter. Sorry now that I didn’t give it a try, but I was so overwhelmed by all the lovely dishes I had ordered (and the tastes of Salmon, Grilled Filet and Duck Breast that had been shared with me), I did not try it.
As for me, I started the meal with a Hearts of Romaine Caesar Salad with tiny, crispy Croutons, White Anchovies and Pecorino Romano Cheese. Just wonderful in every respect! Then I had Almond Crusted Rainbow Trout with Minnesota Wild Rice, Haricot Verts (green beans for us less fancy people), Oyster Mushrooms and Lemon Garlic Brown Butter. It was sublime. Hands down the best I’ve ever had. Since I am a big fan of Brussels sprouts, I ordered a side of Sprouts Gratin and shared them with the other Sprouts lovers at our table.
We all saved room (?) for dessert and I chose Bread Pudding with caramel sauce, peach preserves and Shatto whipped cream. Hubby ordered chocolate pecan pie with iced cream. Most of the rest, I can’t remember but, somehow, all plates were cleaned and everyone was practically purring as we wrapped up our evening with French press coffees.
As others have noted, the wine list is extensive and our Son-​in-​law and his father found an excellent white and equally good red for an extremely moderate price, which was a nice surprise.
The service was as fine as the meal and executed with such finesse that you seldom had time to notice you needed something before it was already there.
Starker’s Restaurant is perfect for a special celebration and I’m checking my calendar to scope out the next «special event» at our house. Do you suppose TGIF is «special» enough to make a reservation?

A lovely little place for lunch. I had the KC Strip sandwich which was amazing and the crispy onion straws were like little strips of heaven! For dessert I had Chocolate Pecan Pie which was also very good, the crust was very flaky and the filling wasn’t so heavy with chocolate that it overwhelmed the pecan goodness. I would definitely go back, at least for lunch.

Farm to table with New Orleans flare? What’s not to love? The spirit of Chef John McClure lives on through this delicious menu. I met Chef John last year at the Plaza Art Fair and he gave me his card and told me all about his restaurant. We finally got a Groupon to go nearly a year later to check it out to find out sadly that John had passed away. His passion for food still shows with the what this kitchen pumps out. The fried green tomatoes with the gulf shrimp creole remoulade are so good it makes me want to punch a baby. I got the fried chicken and the lady got the rainbow trout. Everything was sooo good and a great ambiance. My new favorite place in the plaza!

Starker ‘s is the still hip grandfather of the newer locally sourced farm to table concepts in KC. The wine list is amazing and extremely reasonable.
On a recent business dinner we started with a nice bottle of amarone, which is a fairly rare find on KC wine lists.
We had several shrimp appetizers that were all tasty. My favorite was the classic NOLA style shrimp and I also found the fried green tomatoes very good.
Steaks were on order for dinner and everyone seemed very happy. I couldn’t pass up the fried chicken, and as always the locally sourced campo lindo farm chicken was very good.
For dessert, we split the chocolate pecan pie ala mode and it lasted about 45 seconds on the table.
I brought home a plate of fresh cookies for the family and they were greatly enjoyed by all!
Starkers is on my short list to take out of town visitors for dinner. The plaza location is ideal and Starkers is well received by visitors from east coat to west coast and places in between.

DRY! Dry! Dry! and I’m not talking about the wine.
The beef was dry and the fish was dry, like it had been sitting around for half an hour waiting for us to finish our appetizer and salads. Oh yes, cold too.
What’s with all the old chairs. They were everywhere. They were down all the walkways and stuffed in ever nook possible, even the toilets!
The place is a little long in the tooth. It’s time to give it up.

Had dinner here last night with a coworker. Food was outstanding! Service was very, very good also. Great wine list and interesting menu with a rotation of seasonal items in addition to the regular menu items.
We will definitely return on future trips to KC. Our bill for dinner was fairly even with the bill from the previous night, but the food, service, and atmosphere were much better at Starkers.

My husband and I, along with three other couples, dined at Starker’s on 1÷18÷12 as part of Restaurant Week. This was my second visit to this storied Kansas CIty restaurant and I wasn’t disappointed.
Though my previous experience a year-​and-​a-​half ago was excellent, I was a bit nervous about suggesting this restaurant to our group due to the untimely dealth of the owner/​chef last fall — I simply could not find any reviews since his passing and he was such a big part of the success that I hoped the restaurant would retain the quality reputation that he built. I needn’t have worried — we all enjoyed our meals and the excellent service at Starker’s.
From the moment we arrived until the time we left the staff ensured our experience would be above par. Immediately upon arrival we were seated in the formal dining room overlooking the Plaza. The light and airy dining room, decorated with an English countryside theme, is lined with beautiful light oak wine racks brimming with bottles of wine.
One thing I really appreciated about this restaurant is that I was able to see and hear all of my dining companions — even on the far ends of the table; with such a large group this is an impossible feat. Somehow the expansive dining room feels small and intimate.
I started with a leaf lettuce salad with bleu cheese crumbles, apples, walnuts and a citrus vinaigrette. I followed this up with trout, wild rice and green beans. The trout was cooked perfectly with crispy skin but tender, flaky and moist meat. Following my main course I finished with pumpkin cheesecake — I was somewhat underwhelmed by the cheesecake, which was but a wee small piece anyway, but I did enjoy the vanilla ice cream that accompanied it. All-​in-​all the meal was quite delicious.
Our server was on point, providing excellent service. She was there when we needed her, she chimed in when appropriate but otherwise stayed in the background. Our glasses were never empty, our food service was well-​paced, never rushed, our evening was a delicious success and she saw to it.
Next time I won’t wait so long to get back to Starker’s.
*incidentally, my husband is still raving about the burger he got on our initial visit in April of 2010– with bacon cooked into the burger.

I was so impressed with Starker’s ambiance, efficiency, and service! You walk upstairs to a hostess who can either seat you in less formal bar/​lounge area, or in the old-​school, great-​view-​of-​the-​Plaza formal dining area. The staff, all dressed in very clean white tops, move effortlessly and quietly through the dining area — constantly refilling your glasses, checking on your meal, being hospitable but not intrusive. The food is delivered on time and is perfectly paced from course to course. When I wasn’t totally marvelling in the clockwork-​like movement of the staff and service (and the knowledge that as a business owner this sort of thing is very difficult to pull off), I was enjoying the delicious food.
I’m sorry that it took until Restaurant Week to get here, but I’m going to get here a lot more often.

It’s my favorite place on the Plaza! If you have out of town guests or are planning a romantic evening, be sure to request a window seat when you make reservations. The tables by the window offer a beautiful view of the Plaza below.
Chef John has done an outstanding job honoring the restaurant’s classic dishes AND offering a second menu that changes with the seasons. His commitment to buying local not only supports our community, but highlights the amazing food available in this region.
The fried chicken is a very popular item. The trout is very tasty. I’m a big fan of the filet oscar. The butternut squash soup and and the tomato soup are both quite yummy. Even the pork duo was surprisingly good. The salad with fresh grilled Wyandotte County peaches is amazing although just about out of season now.
Save room for dessert though… it’s my absolute favorite part of dining at Starker’s. I can honestly say that I have had almost everything (except maybe one thing) on the dessert menu. My favorite will always be the chocolate pecan pie. It is so naughty and so delicious. However, a close second is the recently added chocolate peanut butter thingy. It’s like a big Reese’s cup. You just can’t go wrong with peanut butter and chocolate!
Oh and if you don’t feel like walking (although you will probably need to after trying everything on the dessert menu), the valet guys are really nice and you can add it to your check. Just make sure you have cash to tip the guy, especially if you end up staying late and having a few after-​dinner drinks… not that I would know. :-)

Starker’s is one of my favorite restaurants in Kansas City. The wine menu is huge with a ton of variety. Owner Chef John McClure is a culinary genius. I am never disappointed with what I order.
My go to dish is the fried chicken. Unlike many places that serve fried chicken, Starker’s fried chicken is not greasy. My last outing at Starker’s I switched things up a bit and ordered the Filet Oscar which was perfectly tender and served over the best whipped potatoes that I’ve ever had.
I usually start with the Baby Greens Salad or Louisiana BBQ Shrimp. Last time, I ordered the Grilled Peach Salad off the seasonal menu. The peaches were warm and were definitely fresh. This salad was served with Sweet Corn Cala, which was amazing. I would order just a plate of those.
For dessert, I always stick with the Fresh Berries with White Chocolate Grand Marnier Sauce.
If you are looking for an intimate dinner and great food, Starker’s is the place to go!

The dinner was amazing. Chef McClure served a sippable Cream of Mushroom soup that was beyond anything I have tasted. Absolutely delicious. I had the Dover Sole and it was as well phenomenal but paled to the soup. lol. Service was extremely friendly and helpful with my girlfriends wine choice. I enjoyed a Boulevard Dark Truth with my dinner.

Excellent food: the spinach tart was the best thing I’ve eaten all week! The mahi mahi was juicy and had a tangy salsa verde. The chocolate dessert was rich and dark. Lastly, the service was truly first rate. Great classy place.

If you read my reviews, you know I don’t give our five stars very easily, Starkers definitely deserves it. I went here in the winter months when the lights were on at the Plaza. Perfect setting for a great evening.
Reservations here are basically required, the dining room is small and intimate. The menu constantly changes, so you can’t ever be sure what’s in store when you arrive. Every selection is creative as much as it is delicious. The common theme here is American food made from local ingredients. The wine list is very good (again, I’m overly critical in this area).
If you are out to impress clients, want an intimate atmosphere for a date or just love great food, check out Starkers. They are a great LOCAL KC restaurant.

OOOhhhhh yeah this place is right in my comfort zone, very friendly staff, beautiful décor, and the food does not disappoint at all.
Went in for the 3 course Thanksgiving lunch and went with the squash soup, traditional turkey offering, and homemade cinnamon/​sugar covered beignets.
The soup was like velvet and topped with a very nice drizzle of high quality olive oil. The texture was perfect and it came out hot but not scalding. 5 out of 5 here.
John the owner came over and thanked us for coming in and wished us a nice holiday, very nice of him to do on such a busy day.
The main dish came out and let me tell you it was spot on. The gravy was perfect and the mashed potatoes took me back to childhood with a little bit of refinement. The turkey was tender and full of flavor. The stuffing was perfect, the only complaint was the green beans were a little underdone for my taste but seasoned perfectly.
The beignets were light and perfectly cooked a great way to end the meal. I would have loved coffee but by the time desert was arrived I was just too full.
High marks for a Plaza classic, wonderful staff and gracious host. Couldn’t ask for anything more on Thanksgiving, best part no cleanup! WIN!

When recently asked about my favorite restaurant in Kansas City, I was hesitant at first to reply «Harry Starker’s, of course!» only because I find myself visiting this locale so frequently. But in honest truth, Harry Starker’s is one of my favorite restaurants. It is a great place both for dinner and for lunch, and – if you want to make life easier on the hostess in your life – they do holidays like Thanksgiving and Mother’s Day. I mostly visit during the lunch hours.
The dining room is pleasant beyond belief. The main room and private dining rooms are decorated in warm neutral colors and have windows overlooking the Country Club Plaza from the restaurant’s second story perch above Restoration Hardware. The ambiance is delightful with the sounds of recorded music and conversation from the other tables. The wait staff is very friendly and efficient. I find it a little odd that the server will spoon the sweetener into your iced tea for you instead of giving you the option to do it yourself, but that minor note would be the only complaint I could think of for the top notch service.
But where Starker’s really shines is the food. I have yet to order anything from the menu that failed to delight and excite; for lunch, some of my favorites include the Shrimp Po Boy, the Steak Tartar, and the Soup and Salad Combination. The helpings are generous but not gross. The Shrimp Po Boy is large enough that it can be split between two people for a very satisfying lunch for both. If you’re looking for a good lunch in Kansas City, you’ll be pleased when you visit Harry Starker’s Restaurant on the Country Club Plaza.

I must say that I am puzzled by some of the prior reviews of this restaurant. I see complaints about the portions served and the age distribution of diners. This certainly did not fit my experience this evening. Quite the opposite.
I would guess that the average age of the diners this evening was 25. There was only one table of «old folks.» That was my table. I doubt that there was anyone else at a table over 39 and most seemed to be in their 20s. Regarding portions, the entrees were huge, very unlike the usual upscale restaurant. Many of the best restaurants don’t even give you a vegetable or starch with your meat. Our entrees were so big that we had food packed to go. The only small plate that we ordered was a grilled green tomato salad. But it was terrific and easily worth the price.
There are some large private dining rooms behind the main dining room. Yes, those are not a bunch of young, noisy teens, but what would you expect from people who would reserve an entire private dining room at an upscale restaurant — my students? I don’t think so.
The wine list is enormous — virtually a book. But for me this is not a plus. I don’t mind paying for the skills of the chef and for the quality of the food, but I don’t like paying a disproportionate price for wine produced thousands of miles away. Aside from the Prosecco, I could not find a bottle of wine in the huge wine «book» priced at under $ 40. Perhaps this might explain why there was a bottle of wine on only one table — mine. At the other tables, I saw only beer.
No, this is not the best restaurant in KC. But it ranks high — very high — is a serious place, and for sure I’ll be back. If you want to keep down the cost here, order only an entrée and a beer. You won’t be disappointed.
Of course if you are not of legal drinking age and very overweight, you might not like the age distribution of diners and serving portions. Best then to go to an all you can eat buffet, perhaps at a supermarket.
This restaurant is a member of «KC Originals,» so if you are a member, you can get credits here or use your credits.

I’ve seen a lot of good reviews for this place, and a few negative reviews –which peaked my curiosity. My wife and I finally had to try it for ourselves. We recently ate here on a Saturday evening. It’s located above Restoration Hardware (see review). You actually go in a little door just beside Restoration Hardware. Upscale, contemporary yet casual atmosphere was very pleasant. Tie and jacket were not required. No band was playing. The dining area is beautiful and woody, wood floor with a large rug, stucco walls, low light with candles with great views of the plaza, overlooking the cheesecake factory. It has a French country house sort of feel, at least it resembles the pictures I’ve seen in magazines. The private dining room overlooks 47^th street. Like most nice restaurants in the $ 100+ dinner range, a number of professional wait staff was kept busy and always ready to serve.
The menu is a bit limited, so I had one of every course. They started us with a complementary sample of spiced beat soup served in a shot glass. I then had classic fish soup with sherry broth which was excellent. Complex yet the fish flavor was the premier ingredient and nothing masked it. The server poured the sherry into the bowl at the table. Nice touch. I then had the grilled La Belle Farms Foie Gras with Creole beignets. The beignets had the essence of orange and were served on some orange zest. On the other side of the dish were small orange slices, Mandarin possibly. Excellent presentation and excellent flavor. It looked beautiful. I’ve had foie gras many ways. Why does sweet fruit work so well with such a rich buttery meat? It does.
I then had the baby green salad with Maytag blue cheese, spiced walnuts, and sliced apples. This was excellent.
Main course was duck cassoulet with andouille and bacon. Excellent, complex, each ingredient was clear and pronounced, the duck or maybe large portions of bacon had an excellent smokiness that compliment the white beans perfectly. Portions were a good size. Usually finer dining requires you to eat tablespoon size portions and leave hungry only to run through a drive through for a burger later. This was big enough to be satisfied. However, with all the other dishes I was stuffed and had a hard time finishing. My wife had the filet Oscar. It was excellent too, but make sure you specify doneness or it comes rare.
Finally, we shared blackberries with white chocolate cream sauce for dessert.
It was fun and with two glasses of wine was about $ 150.00, not including the tip. Older crowd here for sure. We are in our 30’s and we threw the mean age way off for the evening. This place is definitely worth visiting.