Grace T.
Yelp
Okay, so there's a lot to unpack here. Without a doubt, service was 5 stars. I was very satisfied with that aspect. Unfortunately, the most important part of any restaurant-- the food-- was not up to par.
My friend and I are HUGE fans of Gordon Ramsay. We watch all his shows, blah blah blah. We decided to try out Gordon Ramsay Steak in KC despite the poor reviews, and we both chose to order the tasting menu.
Our first course, the Arugula and Citrus salad, consisted of arugula, shaved asparagus, citrus segments, prairie tome cheese, jamon iberico, and a lemon vinaigrette. At first, I felt that it was too light in flavor, but as I unpacked each flavor, I felt like the salad was very nicely balanced between the spiciness of the arugula, the cooling of the cucumber, the umami of the meat, the acidity of the lemon, and the hint of sweetness from the citrus. I would recommend this salad.
Our second course, the Scallop Risotto, consisted of two seared, diver scallops, a truffle and mushroom risotto, a reduction sauce, and a parmesan crisp. It was very disappointing. It was probably the worst course of the night. The scallops were seared and cooked perfectly, but I crunched down on sand when eating the second scallop. The risotto (which was borderline uncooked) was also extremely salty, especially when paired with the reduction. It was nearly inedible. The saving grace was that when I mentioned the sand to our hostess, she brought out another risotto dish. However, it was still way too salty. It was a shame, because I felt like if the salinity had been under control, the flavor of the scallops and mushrooms would have been divine. The quality control wasn't there. As Gordon would say, "Taste everything!"
Our third course, the Roasted Beef Wellington, was served medium rare, with a side of glazed root vegetables, potato purée, and a red wine demi. Although the flavors were good, I was again a bit disappointed. There was some raw pastry dough around my Wellington, and I have pictures to prove it. It was a busy night, so I'm sure they were pushing plates out like crazy, but again, the quality control was missing. For $110 per person before tax and tip, I just felt like the experience was a let down after this course.
Our fourth and final course, the Sticky Toffee Pudding, consisted of a sweet date pudding cake paired with brown sugar toffee sauce and brown butter ice cream. This course was a show-stopper. Although I wished that I had been given the option to pour the sauce over my own cake, I really enjoyed this dessert course. I would potentially go back just for this dessert.
As a side note: the attire ranged from casual to cocktail. No one was in formal wear, and I saw a few t-shirts. I do kind of wish that there was a dress code of at least business casual, but I understand that it's Missouri, and the establishment didn't scream high class. The restaurant was sans tablecloths and featured upbeat music, which I felt was a bit at odds with the theme and atmosphere. I would advise going in either business casual or cocktail. As someone else noted, there is a smoke smell as you enter Harrah's. It cheapens the experience when walking to Gordon Ramsay Steak, but I was very pleased to find that we were seated further inside where the smoke smell could not be noticed.
Overall, I can't say that I'd be back with any regularity. Would I try it again in a year? Maybe. But there are so many restaurants I can try instead. I just wish I could have raved about this place.
