The Beacon Tavern

Can you have chemistry with a server? I think so and I think it’s one of the things that can turn a good experience great. My friends & I had that sort of evening Saturday (Cynthia was our server — highly recommended). She was prompt and personable; even though she was clearly very busy.
I had the salmon which was a smidge under done in the middle (one thing keeping the review from 5 stars) but the flavor was amazing. They had my favorite wine on the winelist and I was a happy camper.
Friends enjoyed burgers, phillies, fish & chips and all were enjoyed and devoured.
The only other aspect of the experience keeping the stars to 4 is the band. I love loud, live music but only if it’s very good and in the right setting. This band wasn’t awful but definitely seemed to be overcoming weakness with volume.
The Beacon seems to be trying to be a neighborhood bar — turn the music down to 11 so folks can hear each other talk without screaming.

Service: incredibly slow. We went an average of 30 minutes between sightings of our server, my water glass was empty more than full, and friends ordered less alcohol than they might have because of the infrequent ability to order.
I had the beacon burger which was ok, but for $ 13 you can have a way better burger of similar style at blanc or brgr. Additionally, there was an upcharge for a side of onion rings which we found out about when the check arrived.
The food isn’t bad, and the beer menu is decent, but the quality of food doesn’t match the menu price.

I often don’t like to write negative reviews but try to focus on the positive. Positives, the food was good, not great but good. I had been here before in the bar area for happy hourish food and being with friends.
Negatives, as a date night I didn’t think it fit the bill. Although our server was nice they were also loud. It’s ok and understand that it’s sort of a bar atmosphere. We also had the fancier bar drink’s which weren’t that fancy. I don’t want to dissect everything.
So i’d say this, cool place to get drinks in the bar area and chill, but for me, a dinner out it was good but not great, I’m always down for trying new places and redemption.

Had a great time here recently. Very much a «comfort food» place. Think of the Well — but darker woods, smaller, homier, with better food.
Had the fish and chips and can totally vouch for them — also had a really friendly waitress named Cynthia who was full of jokes and one-​liners. She also claimed to have made our fish and chips and I would have believed her too :-)
Looking forward to coming back when the weather is warmer!

Brilliant evening! Outstanding staff! New management!
My experience with The Beacon Tavern was nothing short of wonderful. I was charged with the duty of planning a small holiday dinner party for my office, and I was in a rut. After all, I’m in St. Louis, and the party was in Kansas City. What to do?!
…but in strides Unilocal.Looking sexy and offering help.
I turned to Unilocal’s forum and posted a call for help. No surprise, the Unilocal Nation came through. I received a handful of suggestions, and the Beacon Tavern came up a few times. After my usual Q&A with various restaurants, the Beacon came out on top.
This wonderful restaurant, located just south of the Plaza, was amazing from the beginning to the very end. Eric was my primary contact for the event, and he made the process as easy as possible. He had excellent recommendations, and was able to meet my budget for the night (and I came in under budget, too!).
The food was excellent. So excellent that my group of finicky eaters didn’t have anything negative to offer… which is surreal. We were seated in «The Vault», their smaller, more intimate private room, and we were able to enjoy each other’s company without interrupting the rest of the restaurant. FYI, the Beacon also has a larger private area called «The Loft», which is quite lovely.
Overall, my time with The Beacon was great. The new management is anxious to show you just how stellar an evening can be. So drop in, and treat yourself to a fun night.

We had our corporate holiday party upstairs in the loft. It was a perfect space, we had our own bar and restrooms. The booking process was painless, even though The Beacon went through an ownership change in the middle of it.
The staff on hand that night were perfect. Fast and friendly, I could not have asked for anything more. The food — we opted for a nacho bar and the sliders — was really great. They set up the buffet and when the party was over the bar staff helped me pack up leftovers to take to the office the next day. We received many compliments from our guests that night. Great job all!

First off I have to tell you I was worried when the cute little waiter told me they didn’t have blue cheese stuffed olives for my Martini. Then i was elated when he told me he would love to personally stuff them for me with the blue cheese they use for salads… Sorry but I love dirty Martini’s with blue cheese olives :-)
The food was delish! I ordered a heart attack on a plate the Truffle BLT with Med-​rare grilled Salmon, the Salmon of course helped block that heart attack of course! I can’t wait to go back and try other items that sounded so good!

We love this place. Servers are always friendly and they remember who we are. Had some startup pains but a great neighborhood hangout.

The food was good, but there were just too many slip-​ups to give this more than 3 stars… The kids meal green beans reeked of garlic (and I like garlic), so we had to special order some plain ones. Kids meal, people… Then they charged us 2 bucks for the extra green beans, which seemed a little annoying. My water sat empty for a little too long. My husband got the wrong sandwich with his soup and sandwich order.
The kids chicken fingers were really good and most of the other food was fresh, but they have some kinks to work out.

Just a solid middle-​of-​the-​road experience. The service was friendly and attentive, other than having to wait quite a while for someone to seat me. We had a Groupon, which sometimes leads to sub-​par service, but they were very nice and helpful. The restaurant itself was comfortable and inviting.
I think my issue with the food was that they were trying too hard. I had the chicken sandwich with the cheese and apples, which is a more adventurous offering than you are going to find in most places. However, there was nothing special about it. It was as though your neighborhood diner had read something in a magazine and decided to throw those things together.
A couple of the people I was with had the pot pie, which they said was good, but had an unexpected lemon flavor. Again, it seemed like they were trying too hard to fancy up a pot pie, which is unnecessary. You order a pot pie because you don’t want something fancy.
I will say that the fries were good, and the cheese plate we had as an appetizer was very nice.
Again, nothing bad, nothing really great. An OK choice if you are in the neighborhood.

Left us without any service for twenty minutes. We never even got water. Finally just left…

I was really hoping to be able to contradict the poorer reviews, but I can now say they are pretty spot on. I am hoping it is still the «newness» of the restaurant. I do agree that the location, the atmosphere, and décor are really great. I love the rustic yet clean and sophisticated look of the building. The safe in the wall is definitely eye-​catching and adds some mystery to the building. Our server was good and very attentive. Our drinks made very strong. Which I am not complaining about by any means, but I think they were made strong because it took about ten minutes to get them and we were one of four tables. So why the 3 stars? I got the chicken parmesan grinder and my wife got the build-​your-​own burger. Mine was barely lukewarm and was pretty mediocre and kind of soggy. The fries were good. My wife’s burger was very good and piping hot so I highly recommend heading this direction if you eat here.
The restaurant is pretty casual and they have Chiefs watch parties, but we were there during a Chiefs game and still were one of very few tables. The beer selection is quite mediocre as well.
I don’t think I would go back not because the restaurant is horrible, but in a city filled with amazing food it would be hard to choose the Bacon over another.

Stopped by with a friend and a Groupon in hand. I was pleasantly surprised, but admittedly, they’ve still got some work to do.
The location (south of the Plaza) rocks. The interior décor is upscale bar fare, but the menu and prices are actually pretty reasonable. Our Groupon was for two entrees, up to $ 13 each, but most of the good stuff is well below that. (It was also worth a couple of cocktails, and they were able to give us the top shelf for the same price.)
I had the 5440 Chicken — chicken sandwich with garlic butter glaze, provolone, and apples? Seems like an unusual combination, but it tasted great. My friend had the fish and chips and proclaimed them to be the best he’d had outside of Canada. (Take that for what you will.)
Service was a little hit and miss. The waitress was friendly enough, but we did wait a bit and she seemed a little bit rushed with us at times. She also encouraged us to come back soon because «the menu was changing in the next couple of weeks»; on one hand, it’s good that she’s telling us that… but does that mean there’s something wrong with the menu now? Kinda odd.
I’ll definitely give the place another shot as it settles in. I think they’re still going through some growing pains, but will ultimately be a nice place to visit for decent not-​that-​expensive food.

Good food, terrible service. If I come back I’m sitting at the bar.

Went for a late lunch on a Monday – the Beacon was a ghost town. Perhaps six patrons between 12:50 and 2 p.m. The wait staff was just a shade over indifferent – not bad, exactly, just not terribly warm. The food was okay, the prices acceptable. Probably won’t go back too often, though it is a good place for a business meeting if you need quiet.

My husband and I enjoyed our dinner here. We had our baby with us, as we heard it was family friendly. The food was on the same level as like a Holihans. The atmosphere is cozy although the building is large. The bar is really nice as well. Staff was nice and I believe the owner who greeted us was really friendly. We would for sure return.

A decent spot for lunch or a beer, I’m tried the Beacon several times and each time thought it was OK but not exceptional.
I had chicken nachos for lunch one day, they were tasty but not worth making a return trip for nachos.
On another day, I had the chili burger. It was pretty good but the chili had a «charry» taste that I didn’t really like.
The fries seem to be fresh cut, they are really good…
I’m hoping the Beacon improves over time, I’ll check it out again in a few months…

I often find myself racking my brain for a sunny patio in KC. Well we stumbled upon the Beacon and their patio is a little slice of heaven. Tucked between two older building with lots of charm, it still gets tons of sun and there are lots of tables. We have always been taken care of by the bartender, a very friendly and attentive woman. She makes a fabulous Bloody Mary, a very important skill in my book.
My friend ordered the BLT with Avocado on delicious thick wheat bread, and he said it was delicious. So far every time I have visited the place has basically been empty, and always been the only people on the patio. I hope that is because word is still getting out about this cute new place and soon business will be booming. The menu is large and diverse, as a vegetarian there were lots of options for me, and they have Sunday brunch. Score!

The Beacon Tavern has taken over a prime venue on Main Street that had sat empty for too many months following the demise of Jack Gage. After our visit for lunch today, I’m thinking this one just may become a new favorite. We had just stepped into the door when the bartender greeted us with a cheery ‘hello, someone will be right with you’.
Sis joined Hubby and me and we each had something entirely different from the varied menu and yet all three entrees turned out to be very good. I ordered the Southern Fried Chicken Cobb Salad. All ingredients were fresh and plentiful and the combination was really tasty including mixed greens, baby tomatoes, cucumber, avocado, fusilli pasta, sharp cheddar cheese and egg tossed with a buttermilk ranch dressing. Hubby got a Chili Willie Burger and chose sweet potato fries for his side. He did comment that there wasn’t much chili, but also said it was a good burger and he loved the fries. Sis ordered Beer Battered Fish and Chips which was the most amazing of the table based on shear size alone. This dish turned out to be three very large, crispy breaded cod fillets that came with generous fries and Cider slaw. Sis ate her fill and still took home a couple of the North Atlantic cod fillets as well as some of the fries.
There are a lot of tempting sounding dishes on the menu that I would like to try. The service was efficient and helpful and those of the staff that we encountered were all very cordial and welcoming. I like the new decorations and subtle remodeling touches as well as the better designed booths (much easier to be seated than when Jack Gage had the space). So I expect we will be making repeat visits to The Beacon Tavern on a regular basis.

Stopped in here to give it a try this Tuesday night; first off I got to say they are there to please… I asked for a Sangria, they didn’t have any, but the bartender decided to put together a little refreshing lightly sparkling wine drink with some fruit marinating inside, it was good enough to order a few more! My date tried a burger that she thought was good and is sure would’ve been super great if she would’ve only asked for Medium Done, Well Done was, well what she asked for… lol! I’m going to cycle down there for HH and check out the alley seating tonight!