Westport Cafe & Bar - Part 2

I mainly stopped by Westport Cafe & Bar on opening weekend to see my friend Ryan of Roundtable Consulting and (soon to be back) Manifesto. Ryan created the cocktail menu, but that night he was training in bartenders and mixing yummy cocktails. Like a sick groupie, I kind of follow him wherever he goes....but only if liquor is involved.

Since we were on our way to dinner elsewhere, I stuck to drinks,  and still, I couldn't resist ordering an oyster shooter. It was freaking amazing. Instead of your usual Bloody Mary/tomato juice concoction, the shooter was doused in tomato water and who knows what else, I didn't care. I slurped it down, got a giant smile on my face and thought about it the entire night and into the next day. A lemon wedge perched on the lip of a small glass, garnished with the all the soft colors and organic shapes of seaweed. Based on the oyster shooter alone, I decided that I was definitely coming back in for lunch the next day.

But that's the thing about expectations, sometimes you get let down....hard. Lunch was bleh. I was not particularly impressed by the presentation or the flavors. And my out-of-this-world oyster shooter from the previous night? It could not be replicated. They tried, bless their hearts, but it just wasn't the same.

Grilled Octopus with potatoes in a lemon butter sauce. $9

This was probably my favorite dish of the day. Although the octopus was overcooked and a bit chewy, the sauce saved it. 

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Tuna Sandwich with ginger aïoli and an arugula side salad. $10

The dressing needed a little bit more acidity and I would have liked to see this tuna cut up into smaller pieces and possibly marinated. It lacked flavor and the aïoli had absolutely no ginger flavor at all. Our friends made a tuna burger for Supper Club (to be posted later) that blew this sandwich out of the water.

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Steak sandwich on a baguette with caramelized onions. $11

Both my sister and George ordered this sandwich, and the menu description sounded lovely. The execution, however, was not there. This was almost inedible because the baguette was rock hard. The meat had no flavor and needed to be tenderized and cut into smaller, thinner pieces. Hard bread + chewy meat = disaster. We remedied said disaster by doing a bread swap (from my tuna sandwich) and stuffing it with arugula and mayo. 

See how much easier it looks to eat now? Notice the pile of bread in the background. There was also the small matter of portion size. George got a great piece, my sister go the butt end of the baguette with two measly pieces of steak. Did I mention my sister's pregnant and loves food? Boy, was she unhappy!

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I'll probably go back and give it another go since it WAS opening weekend. I love how the space is designed and I'm a sucker for a beautiful, fun, quirky, unique, etc restaurant/bars. But I see it going by the wayside pretty damn quick if they don't get their kitchen in order. Flavor and consistency, please!

Westport Café & Bar

419 Westport Road

Kansas City, MO 64111

816.931.4740