Taste and See

Finally convinced my close friends to enjoy this lovely place. THEY DID! We even got a free dessert and had a good coupon for tapas they liked the fondue and black bean hummus A LOT! My friend’s hubby inhaled his large steak dinner… she liked her asian inspired meal, and I always like everything I eat there– ocean mac, grouper tacos, QUACK quesadillas… to name a select few. The Chef is always friendly to all his guests there– this was NO exception on this early June Saturday dinner out with friends. Always a delight to go here! Glad that my newly wed friends liked trying MY favorite place to dine in the City of WICHITA *and I have good taste, strong palette, & know the city well. So being my ultimate place to dine at regularly– that is a strong statement, but TRUE.

Came here for dinner to celebrate a birthday. I was looking forward to trying something new. I love that there are more new restaurants popping up on Wichita. Although, I was a bit disappointed in this one. The food was just alright and I didn’t care for the cafeteria like seating… I’m not sure we will be back.

This is a brunch review:
The Sunday staff is poorly trained and undisciplined. Kitchen staff continually beg for compliments (we were accosted by two separate people a total of 4 times in 30 minutes), and the wait staff sees «buffet duty» as a reason to be inattentive (Un-​filled water, Un-​filled coffee, slow with the check).
As for the food: sometimes it’s great (watermelon/​jicama salad is fantastic if you like hot chili with fruit); mostly it’s good enough (chicken enchiladas were good, and the fruit was fresh and ripe); sometimes it’s a miss entirely (sushi, while pretty, has heavy/​gummy rice, and the prosciutto chicken rolls were criminally over cooked). Coffee costs extra and is served with packaged creamer.
The clientele is sparse and looks disappointed. I’d only recommend this to someone with a discount of some kind. $ 20 a person plus an extra $ 3 for cool coffee you’ll never see refreshed. With so many good places to go in Wichita, why would anyone not stuck in Old Town without a car go here?

Not on par tonight. They were not busy and the wait staff was extra slow. The food was not cooked to order (steaks) my meal was not plated per what the menu stated and they were out of the shark (at 6:30 in the evening). They stated they were not planning on being busy because of Riverfest and I feel did not order the food and quality they normally would have. This is our 4^th visit and by far the worst experience.

4^th time to this restaurant and it just was not to previous standards. The one thing I really appreciate is they let us bring our own bottle of wine and charge a corkage fee of only 15.00. We ordered two appetizers. The filet mignion and salmon. Presentation of both spot on, however the salmon was so salty that it was not enjoyable. I had the Filetone for my main on course and it was 4 out of 5. Love the presentation and all ingredients absolutely complimented each other. Steak was med rare and I ordered it med but was ok. Desert was 5 out of 5. The banana desert is literally off the charts good.
Overall service was good. Since their local festival was going on it seemed extremely slow.

This place is wonderful!!! Unbelievable there aren’t more people here… do not pass over this place!!! Great service, amazing food!

I love this place but I only visit occasionally as I am out of town. Initially I loved it, but lately it is slipping a bit. Three of us shared tapas (dates are brilliant but the polenta is pointless). Mains were a mix and others enjoyed Saltimbocca and Paella but the Bass & Grits was boring — mostly few bits of fish and pineapple with lots of grits — I’d lose this off the menu, Jason. Desserts — the flan was not good — rubbery and tasteless and the Nutella… something was ok.
Staff are friendly and it is a great experience but standards are slipping a bit.

Arrived early to a quiet spot. Enjoyed my pleasant dinner. Dates Mignon were creamy and crispy! Having read another review, I wonder if the diner knew that dates are usually a chewy, sticky sweet fruit? The richness of the fruit is there but the subtle creamy texture is perfect with a nice crisp white wine! The preparation has broken down the sugars and created a delicate texture. Crispy bacon wrap… Definitely need to share, too much for one person.
Gaucho Steak served on a bed of fried plantains and yucca with chimichurri. The flank steak was a cooked perfectly, the flavor and texture combination.
Atmosphere is created by the company you keep. I would be happy bringing friends here and know they would enjoy the experience!

We loved the people at this place. We ordered the Tasting Menu and the Wine to go along with it. It is more expensive than your typical meal, but well worth it! Every single part of the menu was explained to us. It was so interesting to sit by the kitchen and watch everyone cook. We loved talking to the father and son team, who help run the restaurant. I can’t wait until the next date night! We will be back!

Every small plate we ordered was delicious. The waiter went through the whole tapas menu with us to give us recommendations which was much appreciated. We ordered the eggplant parm, polenta tots, the dates and the ceviche. The prices were a little high for both food and drinks, but otherwise a pretty great experience. The patio was a plus!

I am big on supporting local places, but this place doesn’t win me over. If your going to charge those prices you would hope great service comes along with it. They have a great location and a great concept but they just haven’t figure it all out yet. There was a group of 5 of us who came in at 7 pm and ordered and didn’t get out till closer to 9 pm. Two of us ordered burgers, one was the size of a slider and the other was a bit bigger then a slider. They offered us a side of fries and it came in a short glass. Needless to say $ 50 later for 2 people and we were both starving.

We were in Wichita for a convention and wanted to try something different and special. Taste and See was the perfect choice. All five us had the tasting menu which comes in five courses and started with a caramelized pear dish. Phenomenal! Then confit duck in a pumpkin spice sauce. Amazing! I won’t go through them all, but as you tell, we were thoroughly impressed and had a great time. Good service and even special attention from our chef who took time to explain each dish and how it was made. This was definitely what we had hoped for — different and special.

This place is amazing! The Sunday brunch buffet is truly a tasteful delight! If you love good homemade delicious food dint waste your time anywhere else!

Excellent menu! Great experience. I really enjoyed this food & time with my family. The service was good and it was so fun to eat such excellent food in Wichita! Keep it up! Thanks again.

Definitely recommend the Sunday Brunch. Everything was prepared with quality as if the chef was making individual meals. He even walked around and offered deviled eggs which were not ready when we first arrived and went through line.
The salmon was perfect, the eggs were seasoned, fluffy and evenly cooked. And on top of it all, the desserts were amazing. Fresh fruit on cheesecake squares and German chocolate cupcakes were all I could make room for, but they were sublime.
I had no idea how much the brunch was so I expected $ 20 or 25, but was pleasantly surprised to pay $ 15 for such a wide and well prepared spread.

Last night my family and I wanted to go to the Lotus Leaf Café for the first time. We got to the location by GPS and walked into this restaurant by mistake.
My family is very particular about eating out since my daughter is vegan and my wife has a sensitive stomach. We were all very impressed.
We liked the openly visible kitchen and out waiter Justin was top notch and knowledgeable about the menu.
I had the Piggy Satay which was cooked to perfection. The rice was slightly sweet and complimented the vegetables.
We will be back!

2 stars just because the bloody mary bar was excellent. It couldn’t make up for my wasted money and empty stomach though.
Went to the New Years Day brunch buffet. It was apparently a special and cost 20.00 for the buffet. We expected incredible, hot, interesting and most of all delicious food. We got none of that.
I will say the bloody mary bar was incredible. It would have its own rating if I could. But I am talking food…
first what in the world is with the flat, over-​sized, rectangle plates? It was cumbersome and hard to put anything on my plate holding this giant with one hand. Typical buffet foods served in what looked like what you see at a wedding buffet. Each did have a tag. But no where to set my huge plate down to try to put food on it.
Onto the food… roast beef was not hot, chewy, and it tasted like it came from the back of a fire pit. It was very fatty. But really, the flavor was just off. All of the meat was cool. (not in a good way)
I tried the manacotti. Noodles were literally crunchy on the end! They were COLD! There was nothing great or even good about the taste. No flavor, nothing to make me want more. I wanted it to be memorable. It is but not for the right reasons. I did not even finish my first one.
Moved on to the macaroni and cheese. Again, dull and flavorless. Cold and sticky. Finally I see the salmon. I had high hopes for the salmon. You cant screw it up right? Wrong. The topping was a citrus with mustard or something. What is wrong with some lemon and pepper? Again, it was maybe lukewarm.
The mashed potatoes were off. They were the best tasting item on my plate except there was still something «off» about them. Finally, I see the rolls. There is no possible way to mess up rolls right? Surely not! Wrong again! They were hard enough that I could have used it as ammunition! Hard Tack would be about as equal as this.
The grapes on the «dessert» bar were wilting and shriveled. The food was terrible and I am very upset I actually paid that much for it! What type of guy thinks he can charge this and not deliver good food? I have had better experiences at golden corral.
The furniture was not quality either. I had to change seats to find one with a foot rest since they were so tall I couldn’t reach the floor. There was no salt or pepper on any of the tables near me.
The service was mediocre at best. wrong charges, handed me a wrong bill all together, charged for drinks we didn’t get. Our table had 12 people at it too. I don’t foresee any of us actually paying to go back.
I agree with previous reviewers about the chef. I wish he would spend more time in the kitchen serving warm food than out razzing the guests. (and flirting with ladies)
When our server came out to take my plate it was apparent I didn’t eat any of the food. She never even questioned me if I liked the food or not. I will never go back. I had high hopes for this place. Especially for the price. Sounds like I got a discount. Not enough of one. Please save your money.
*disclaimer. I am not a «foodie» maybe this is the type of things they like. I am not incredibly picky, but just overwhelmingly dissatisfied by this experience.

If you want something different then Taste and See is a place for you. Great Sangrias too.

I had heard the hype about this place and thought I would try it. It has been an hour since I ate there and I don’t feel good. I don’t think/​hope it’s food poisoning. I think the food is just that bad.
Let’s talk about the food.
Mako empanadas: three monstrous empanadas with some undressed flaccid greens. When I ordered it I was thinking of cubes of fresh fish inside. What we got was hammered shredded fish that was unpleasantly fishy combined with cheese and olives and served with marinara sauce (the menu doesn’t say marinara but if you put it next to mozzarella sticks you’d never tell the difference).
Peanut soup:
More of a paste than a soup. It looked like a bowl of peanut butter lightly thinned with some coco milk. That’s what it tasted like too! No curry or spice present in the taste. I mentioned the soup to my dining companion as I’m writing this review and she couldn’t suppress a shudder.
Intermission! There was an inordinately long wait between courses which is odd because it was slow and there were three cooks there including the owner. Pro tip: if you’re bored you can play count the skewers on the food getting walked by you. Seriously though, what’s with the skewers on all the plates contorting the food? This isn’t a fine dining or a avante grade technique. It’s just weird and amateurish.
Korean bbq French toast:
Why would you make this? Why did I order it? It’s a cheese sandwich dunked in French toast batter and lightly griddled. I say lightly because the French toast was soaked and falling apart. Raw egg in the middle? Oh yeah! This was topped with bland slaw and pulled pork. The pork was okay, but I don’t see how any of this is Korean. It was topped with old cold crispy onions that they initially forgot and brought out in a bowl afterwards. I’ve gotten bad food before and ate it anyways because I was hungry, but after my second bite of this I could not eat anymore. Truly repulsive.
Steak and plantain wrap:
This was edible. We filled up on this and tepid fries.
Service, all in all, was pleasant and our server knocked a couple of the most problematic courses off our bill.
I’d seen this guy lose on a couple of different cooking shows so I don’t know what I was expecting but if this restaurant was in any city where it wasn’t just competing with Applebee’s and Lebanese food then it would never last.

Me and a few friends went out to celebrate our friends birthday party, it was the birthday boy’s choice, so he chose Taste And See since it was a new restaurant and it was something different that we haven’t had before.
We sat down at a table and was immediately waited on. The service was phenomenal. For some reason, the water tasted exceptionally amazing… I am still dumbfounded why the water was so crisp.
The menu was a little overwhelming as this restaurant had food items and combinations that were unfamiliar and out of my comfort zone… but nonetheless, it was interesting combinations that were put together as far as ingredients.
I ordered a drink to start out with called the «Monique»… it had Patron, pineapple nectar, blueberry shrub and sprite… When our waitress brought it out… she said the «vinegar is at the bottom so stir it up»… Um… I didn’t see any vinegar on the drink menu as an ingredient… so I’m confused. I tried it… didn’t love it, so I gave it to my friend. Once I couldn’t get the idea of drinking vinegar out of my mind… I couldn’t drink anymore of it.
For an appetizer, we shared a cheese fondue with pita bread and plantain chips… and it was tasty… but they gave us a vast amount of fondue and sparse dipping items… not a deal breaker… but just an observation. There were 3 of us dining, and we had TONS of fondue left for a reference.
For dinner, I ordered the chicken and red velvet waffles (it came out classier than it sounds)… see the picture. As a side dish it came with a kale blueberry and bacon salad. Also, it came with a maple syrup and black walnut mustard alioli.
My only complaint… and its more of an annoyance at this point… but apparently substitutions are frowned upon. I asked if I could substitute the kale blueberry and bacon salad for something else… and our waitress said in four different ways that I would love it and it pairs really well with the red velvet waffles. Whatever, I finally gave up and said FINE. I guess I will keep this side that I don’t really want.
Chicken and waffles was truly tasty.
For the record, I didn’t eat the salad, but the guys I went with tried it and said it was okay. When the waitress came back out she said I see you ate the kale salad (all excited)… because my friends helped me out and I moved some of it around on my plate. «EYE ROLL.»
Now we have a running joke about this place and the Chef not liking people to ask for substitutions.
Also another negative was that they didn’t have many options for dessert. They had 2 choices that day… but for some reason only one was available.
I would definitely try this place again!