Charisse

I feel like «okay» is not the word I’m looking for to explain Charisse. Maybe, I’ve been spoiled working in the F&B hospitality industry…
But to start, I’ll talk about the place and staff–
The revenue itself was a bit cramped to, I felt like the tables were a bit too close if you’re trying to have an intimate date. The random shared seating in front of the bar is kinda tatty to be honest. It’s suppose to be a nicer restaurant, not a pub.
Staff, upon walking in, I met a gentlemen who wasn’t so enthuse. No greeting, or smile. Like c’mon man, if you’re having a bad day, just fake it! You’re in the hospitality industry! Once seated, I didn’t know who our server was until the bartender (?)/​manager (?) (on my receipt it said Denis –Manger, soooo I had no clue what he was to us but nonetheless pretty funny guy and enjoyed his serve!!) Downside, I felt like he was doing everything and it took awhile for use to place an order, get our beers, tabled cleaned or even or even our check. Either hire more servers or runner/​busser because the poor man CAN’T DO IT ALL!
Food–
Je né sais pas, le dîner était médiocre? Je l’ai eu mieux…
Ordered the, mussel rosquefort, escargot, ruby trout, and the lamb rack (medium).
1) Mussels rosquefort, for those of you who don’t know rosquefort is a type of cheese, similar to bleu cheese not as strong. Smoother not as sharp, very rich, and creamy. This dish had more cream and butter (which shouldn’t have any) and white wine, thus making you lose the rosquefort cheese flavor. Kinda disappointed honestly
2) Escargot, I can say, it’s nice having escargot minus the shell! hahaha definitely not something you wanna try to eat while on a date! lol, Probably my favorite so far, super buttery as most forms of escagots are usually cooked. The crimini mushrooms gave it a very nice balance. If you’re trying escargots for the first time, I would suggest trying it without the shell first.
3) Lamb rack, was okay. It was a bit done, asked for it to be medium, but it was okay. The butternut squash kinda over powered everything you ate with it. It has weird vanilla (?) taste to it. Wasn’t a fan, but the lamb was nice and tender.
4) Ruby Trout, the mushrooms made the plate really, it definitely helped balance our the miso-​soy. Not much to say on this dish fish was cooked nicely,
However, for both plates, the miso-​soy can just be left out. It really just taste like sweet soy sauce that us Asian uses when we braise short ribs.
All in all, will I come back? Probably not. Someone who’s live in France, this doesn’t meet my standards, sorry. It’s NOT a bad place, just not for me.

I have been to charisse for both lunch and dinner. The menu changes between lunch and dinner and the options are plenty. The intimate restaurtant at night is perfect for those who are looking for a romantic dinner, especially before an event downtown, and want to stay away from all the crowds. For lunch, it is a great business option. In thirty five minutes we were able to sit down, order, eat (a fantastic meal!) and pay.
Everything about Charisse is right.

We joined some friends here for dinner during Restaurant Week and we enjoyed an excellent meal and wonderful service.
Sarah, our server, did a great job of always being there when she was needed, but not hovering when we were good. She was also just a really pleasant person to be around.
Not long after we were seated at our table, the chef brought us an appetizer to try. It was not on the menu, but it was excellent! That was an unexpected treat and made for a nice touch. It was very fresh and full of flavors that reminded me of sushi.
Two of us stuck to the set menu and 2 ordered the ribeye with plans to share our desserts!
Mark had the flank steak frites and was impressed with the fries as well as his steak. I had the trout and thought it was done very nicely. The quinoa salad was okay, but definitely not my favorite quinoa salad — I would choose something with a little more flavor next time.
For dessert, I had the flourless chocolate cake and hubby ordered a crème brûlée. Both desserts were a wonderful way to finish our meal.
We were also able to take advantage of their corkage fee and bring one of our bottles of wine to share during dinner.
Besides the wonderful food and excellent service, they are also part of the Kansas City Originals program which offers rewards for eating at their restaurants.
This is definitely a place I would recommend and we will return!

The cassoulet is OFF THE HOOK. Seriously: lamb, duck, truffle oil, and Chinese 5 spice powder in one dish?! My friends and I were smitten. Also excellent were the scallops, and the salmon was very good. We started with the paté board, which was delish as well. We had 2 bottles of the Arnoux et Fils– excellent red wine. With the bill they brought the most delectable and rich chocolates. The food was worthy of 5 stars.
The service was just okay– a little slow, but then again we can be a handful, and he was gracious despite our silliness.
I cannot wait to go back and try more.

Went here for lunch with co-​workers. It was sort of packed but it was restaurant week. They had pretty good deals for restaurant week. They had 3 course meals for $ 15. Not a bad deal for Charisse, normally a lunch entrée by itself is $ 15. I ordered the tomatoe bisque soup, trout with mashed potatoes & veggies and chocolate box for dessert. Everything was delish and I didn’t feel overstuffed afterwards!

Tried it for restaurant week. Cocktail was good. Ceasar salad was very rich with the egg, toast and bacon, it was more like breakfast with lettuce. The cassoulet was disappointing with very little lamb or duck and an excess of mutton sausage.

This is the type of place that I wish would allow you to review strictly based on food and then on service because this restaurant would have very different scores based on each. I made a reservation for just me at 1, so I figured it would be slow, even for restaurant week, and I was right. There were about 5 tables in there and when asked if I wanted the booth or a table, I said booth, but got lead to a table. I didn’t say anything because I honestly didn’t care one way or another, but I should’ve known this was the preview of things to come. I already knew what I wanted, since I had scoped out the menu before choosing where to eat. It took about 10 – 15 min after I got seated to see my waiter. The bread that was dropped off at my table was fantastic though. I ordered the Tomato bisque, chicken breast, and the crème brûlée. The soup took awhile to come out, but it was delicious. I couldn’t tell if it was balsamic in it, but it was great. Then it seemed like time stopped. 45 minutes in and I hadn’t received the chicken yet. The waiter finally came over to me and asked if I ate it already or was still waiting for it. When the hostess brought it to me, I asked her to get my crème brûlée to go, since I was already going to be late from lunch. She said yes and soon after, brought me a to-​go sack. The waiter came back, grabbed the to-​go sack and said we were not able to do that and asked if I wanted to exchange it for the other item. I said no, he reassured me that the dessert would be out in less than a minute, so I asked to get a box for my actual food and eat the crème brûlée there. 10 minutes later, he grabbed my food to box up for me and came back with another to-​go sack. He brought my check then I watched as he helped other tables multiple times… still no crème brûlée. I was more than annoyed at this point and finally flagged got to flag him down. He told me he just changed my dessert and it was in the to-​go box. Sigh. I told him again what I had requested and how I was very late from lunch at this point. He brought me out a crème brûlée that was mistakenly made twice for another table (I watched the hostess and him discussing how they already had both desserts)…but I didn’t care. It was the chocolate and it wasn’t great… but I just needed to get out of there. I inhaled it, wishing I would’ve just left, paid, and did just that. If you have 2 hours to eat lunch and don’t care about quality service, the food is great. I, however, don’t get the luxury to spend 2 hours sitting in a lunch spot to have to repeat myself multiple times… and still didn’t get to eat my actual meal.

I’ve never heard of this restaurant until today (1-​15-​2016). We came here for my friends birthday. I didn’t know you could get your ticket validated if you park in the commerce bank parking garage, so I parked on the street. This restaurant is cozy and sophisticated. We chose go have the prefixed menu, which included appetizer, entrée, and dessert for $ 50. This was different from the restaurant week menu, which didn’t really peak my interest. Before our dinners came out, the chef brought us some risotto balls. They were amazing!!! I would’ve ordered these if they were available on the menu. I had the French onion soup, I would recommend it. I had scallops on mashed potatoes. The scallops were good, the potatoes were a little bland for me. For dessert, I had a chocolate box, which was really a small chocolate cup filled with whipped creams and berries. Overall, it was an enjoyable visit. At the end of the night, the chef came out and wished us a good night. I was surprised by it and thought it was nice.

Very intimate feeling and great for good conversation. A little disappointed because we made reservations stating it was our anniversary and was sat in the bar area when the place was empty. Chiefs were playing it was not as intimate as I would have liked.
Started with tomato bisque. Spot on. It was perfect. The bread with it was soft and fresh with herbs and an herb butter. I am pregnant so ordered the filet medium well. I know a no-​no but they pulled it off it was still tender and juicy. All sides are puréed. They were good but different.
Service was not stellar hence three stars. One hostess and our server had personalities of rocks. Sort of a let down. No energetic vibes at all. They almost looked like it was painful being there.

My boyfriend and I went there Tuesday evening for our anniversary. I have been really excited to try it. We wanted to sit at the bar so we could order several things, that’s what we usually do. We walked in and the host greeted us and immediately was completely rude to us when we said we wanted to sit at the bar. So we made our own way to the bar and sat down. The bartender was rude and not interested in our business at all. He immediately gave us the dinner menu, we had to request the bar menu and when we did he turned his nose up at us. There were only 2 other tables occupied when we came in. One of which was occupied by several women. The bartender and the host kept making fun of them under their breath. It was a bad experience and very disappointing on our special night. The food was good but the entire experience was not pleasant and I doubt we will ever go back and I will not recommend it.

We made reservations for 6 on New Years Eve. The reservation was supposed to be for 8 pm, we were finally seated at 9. The menu was a fixed 5 course. The service throughout the meal was subpar. The food, also subpar, and they’d run out of a few of the fixed menu options. Our first course was served somewhere around 10, with dinner finishing somewhere around 11:35.
I’m giving Charisse a 4 star rating as the management was very apologetic and took care of us after we let it be known that we were very unhappy.
I would return to Charisse, but probably not during a busy evening/​holiday. It seems as though the limited staff headcount struggle with providing the service that is typically accompanied with that price per plate.

Unique flavor to their dishes. The chicken pot pie is wonderful! I also tried the chicken crêpe and it was quite delicious. My boyfriend had the French dip and was pleased. Very flavorful food.

We found the restaurant gem we have been searching for. This restaurant, which we have now visited twice, has been perfect each time.
The wait staff is friendly, knowledgeable, and engaging.
The food is an experience, is so good, and is artistically beautiful with each plated entrée.
The chef came and visited the table to check on our experience and overall – could not imagine a single thing that could be improved upon.
We have now found «the» restaurant we can bring our family and friends to when we want to impress them.

I had been doing some hefty «research» into restaurants in the downtown KC area for a few upcoming interview dinners for work and stumbled across Charisse. «A restaurant in KC that I haven’t heard of, or been to? How could it be?!» Fast forward to me convincing my hubs that we need a nice dinner out, and that leads us to a practically perfect Weds evening at Charisse.
We made reservations for 7:30, greeted immediately by the hostess, who also was our server. She brought water to the table. Husband had a Stella, I elected the house made lemonade (I’m pregnant, red wine is frowned upon). We started with the duck wontons, which were perfect (salty soy, sweet port reduction in a crispy shell). For entrees, we ordered the salmon and the cassoulet. For the record: It’s always a good sign when the server nods approvingly of your choices and tells you that you’ve made a good decision. The salmon was like butter, served crispy skin side up over a bed of sweet potato gnocchi with a sweet maple cream sauce. Heaven, really. The hubs devoured his cassoulet, which was rich with house made sausage, rabbit and duck, mixed with white beans. Both of these dishes I would described as «craveable.» The type of thing you think about for weeks and only another trip to the restaurant will do (take this with a grain of salt, as I am pregnant…). Another stella for the hubs and vanilla crème brûlée for me for dessert. All in all, the food was definitely a ⁵⁄₅. The portion sizes matched the price point perfectly.
Customer service wise, our server was perfectly warm, as well as present when we needed her. The pace of the meal was perfect — not too fast, not too slow. The hubs and I could appreciate the atmosphere, which was quiet and perfect for dinner out. This is in contrast to some of the other newer restaurants around, where you can’t hear yourself think, let alone your dinner companion’s conversation.
We will be back soon. I bet happy hour here would be perfect (in another few months :/)

CUSTOMER SERVICE REVIEW: I was driving through Kansas City and just staying for the night and found this restaurant on Unilocal.I made an 845pm reservation for myself and my girlfriend. I just received a call stating that our 8:45 reservation was too late for them and that it was inconvenient to stay open for a party of 2. Since we wouldn’t be arriving to the city before 845 we had to cancel them. The restaurant does not even close until 930pm so it’s really upsetting that they wouldn’t honor our reservation.
UPDATE:
We just received a call from the restaurants owner, Jason Crane. He let us know that he saw our review and apologized on behalf of the staff member we originally spoke with. He also said that they would be more than happy to honor the reservation tonight. We had already made reservations at another restaurant in the city so we would not be able to come in tonight. The call was greatly appreciated and we will plan on dining with them if ever in Kansas City again.

I finally got a chance to try this restaurant for a business lunch today, having long been curious about it.
The décor is nice, particularly in the backroom, which has sort of like a study vibe.
Parking is validated in the ramp around the block, but they should have better signage in front on Walnut to indicate that.
The hostess at at the front was okay, but apparently not terribly attentive. We were meeting a sales rep who we didn’t know by face, only name. We knew he was in the restaurant and asked for him. She told us there was only one man waiting in the place and he had a different name.
So after being seated at a table, my colleague and I were surprised to hear the man at the table behind us ask our names. Sure enough, he was there, had told the hostess and she just didn’t pay attention. So we consolidated tables. A tad awkward to start a business meeting.
The waitress was unobtrusive, but almost too much. I had to ask what the daily specials were, as she wasn’t volunteering any information.
I had the golden trout with potato purée, green beans, crimini mushrooms, and amandine sauce. It was very good, especially the crimini. Not really a fan though of laying the skin side of the fish on top of everything else. It makes me squeamish.
Colleague had the Flank Steak Frites. She liked it a lot and said the steak was done perfectly.
Sales rep had the special of the day which was crab cakes with mussels and bacon popcorn. His dish fell short and his one word review was «salty.»
So all in all, it was a good lunch. I’m glad, however, that I wasn’t paying for it. I would have been upset about $ 63 for «salty» and inattentive staff.

My boyfriend is good at many things. Making reservations for big nights like Valentine’s Day well in advance is not one of them. So around February 1, when he finally started looking, we were striking out left and right. A last-​ditch effort led us to run a «any restaurant that still has reservations» search on Open Table and there popped up Charisse. We had never heard of it, none of our friends had heard of it, and it only had a handful of Unilocal reviews. But, hey, 8:00 reservation on Valentine’s Day. Score!
You know how normally on Valentine’s Day you get to a restaurant at the time of your reservation, are made to wait packed in like sardines at the bar until you’re finally led to your tiny 2-​top about 3 inches from your neighbors’ table? Not so here. We were seated immediately at a window 4-​top with plenty of room and a great view.
The restaurant itself is gorgeous. Lots of soft lighting, pretty French music (and later an odd female acoustic cover of Glycerine), and a fairly open floor plan. It was also quiet enough that we could have an actual conversation using our inside voices. Being Valentine’s Day, they did have a 3 course fixed menu, but the options were pretty good. We both had the crab bisque, which was decadent and delicious, and the filet which I optimistically ordered medium rare. I know, ordering an excellent cut of beef on a night where the kitchen is practically an assembly line is taking a big risk. But, lo and behold, it was actually cooked perfectly! The potatoes and roasted veggies didn’t seem like an after thought either. It was wonderful.
For dessert I got the crème brûlée, and my boyfriend got the silk chocolate pie. We shared them and couldn’t pick a clear winner. They were both excellent. Oh, and we got a complimentary glass of champagne with dessert. Service was spot on, we never waited long for our next course, and our server never made us feel rushed. In fact, by the time we left, the place was half dead.
We couldn’t have been more pleased by our decision to take a chance on Charisse. And I’m so glad we did, because judging by our experience, it will be much harder to get a reservation there next Valentine’s Day.

Amazing. Seriously amazing. French food when done right is awesome. The down fall is the portions are usually the size of a lunchable! Here the portions are the size of real food. This might just be my favorite place. This place is about as good of a date night location as you’ll find. If you live downtown go tonight!

Happy hour review only:
Great ambiance, attentive service. $ 5 house wine (the red is good!) and $ 4 wells. Decently price food — The truffle fries were fresh, and the cheese/​cured meat plate was yummy. I’m going to try the mussels next time and plan on coming back for dinner.
I like that this place isn’t too loud, it’s a great place to quickly catch up with some friends that you haven’t seen in a while.

I spent New Year’s Eve here with my girl friend and another couple and it was fantastic. We all ordered the four course meal offering and thoroughly enjoyed every course.
Our waiter (James) was very attentive and personable. He made sure our drinks were full all night without being too pushy.
The only only downside of the evening was that the kitchen was backed up on account of the heavy NYE traffic. The owner (and head chef) came to our table to personally apologize for the lengthy wait and comp’d a portion of our meal to make up for the inconvenience. We enjoyed the meal and atmosphere so much that we didn’t even mind the extended wait time but appreciated the owners gesture immensely.
Overall, this place offered us a fantastic experience from start to finish. It was reasonably priced considering the caliber of food and service we received. Great vibe cultivated by french music and pleasant décor. The owner truly appreciates all patrons and is willing to go the extra mile to maximize your dining experience. I give this place five stars and will definitely be back.