lidia’s

ate at lidia's while in town on business. food was great, service was extremely attentive. had their signaturepastatrio and think it was some of the bestpastai've had. fettuccine with a bolognese sauce was outstanding and the ravioli with ricotta and swiss chard was great. dessert was good but not as good as the main meal. still highly recommended.

milwaukee loves lidia's. while on a road trip to a family wedding in manhattan, ks, we planned to drive from milwaukee to kc in one day, specifically to dine at lidia's. i've been a long-time fan of her pbs show, and dining there was on my "bucket list." i can now die a happy woman! upon our arrival and telling the hostess that we'd come all the way from milwaukee, the staff treated us with special attention all night. we were even able to meet the chef, cody, who could not have been sweeter! he also sent us a complimentary appetizer, the frito misto, which we devoured after we enjoyed the frico. my husband and i shared the ginormous bone-in rib-eye, as well as thepastatrio. it was all simply divine. we finished off with the tiramisu, which we probably should have skipped -- but why? who knows when we'll come this way again. the entire evening was perfect, and kc is lucky to have lidia's!

disappointed. dined 7:15 on may 16. not been here for a while and was looking forward to it. 2 guests had the classic three waypastaand were very pleased. the other two of us ordered the porchetta special and excited to see it on the menu tonight. we ordered drinks, wife's martini was good, two other guests were served room temp white wine and a not very cold beer and i left my margarita sitting on the table, one of the worst i have ever had. the porchetta was less than spectacular, dry actually. this along with mediocre service at best left us with questions about returning.

everything was very good but thepastatrio was a bit underwhelming. my wife choose the gnocchi which was really good. i would stick to regular menu items next time.

sadly, miserable from a dining perspective. had high hopes: beautiful day, great energy in the building, the store looked open and welcoming. our server was prompt and professional. we were with another couple that we did not know well. the makings of a great meal...

the food was underwhelming. cold shrimp risotto,pastatrio was cold and limp. overall, very flat and dissatisfying.

we had a great time celebrating our 7 year olds birthday. we had a great server who made great recommendations and was very attentive. we made reservations for 6:30, but arrived around 6:15. we were sat at a cozy table in the center of the restaurant. the restaurant is all “cozy”; tables are very close together and it’s dimly lit. although this could easily be a date place, we felt more than welcome with our children.

the fresh foccicia with spreads were very tasty, even the kids enjoyed them.

we had the calamari for an appetizer, which i would not recommend. it was mixed with veggies and shrimp and we searched for the calamari. i tend to think a calamari appetizer should consist mostly of calamari. the bits that we did have were tender, i just wish there was more calamari and less veg.

the kids had pesto gnocchi (absolutely delicious) and calamari (too many tentacles he said). the gnocchi was soft, tender and had a generous but not overpowering basil sauce. the calamari was just ok. the breading was light and seasoned well but fell off most of the pieces.

hubs had filet mignon which was tender and flavorful, but lacked the truffle flavor as described. the steak was cooked beautifully and overall he was pleased.

i had thepastatrio: fresh fettuccine (delicious), sausage ravioli (very good) and boxed spicy cavetappi (not that great). i wonder, why even search a 3rd option that isn’t fresh pasta?? all the pastas came out hot, but some bits of the ravioli had raw dough and some filling was quite salty. overall hubs liked the ravioli best and i liked the fettuccine. the servers were careful to always give pieces of shrimp with the fettuccine.

we upgraded thepastatrio to include a caesar salad (shared) which was very very good. it was dressed well with freshly shaved parmesan and house made crouton, even the kids liked the salad! it also included a dessert which we let the waitress choose - it was delicious! she gave our little guy a special treat for his birthday which was so thoughtful!

we would definitely return with or without the kids and enjoy other items or drinks!

we have been going to lidia's since we moved to kansas city in 2008 and have never been disappointed. whether ordering ala carte from the menu or enjoying their fabulous sunday brunch, the food is always consistent and delicious although a bit pricey.

antipasti (appetizers) range from $7.50 to $14.00 and include traditional favorites like "frico" (cheese crisp - $12.50), "cozze" (mussels - $12.00), "arancini" (deep fried risotto balls - $12.00), and "pappa al pomodoro" ( a tuscan tomato and bread soup - $7.50). the frico, for example, is delicious with crispy cheese (usually a higher-fat hard cheeses like montasio or asiago) baked in the oven with various decadent ingredients, having originated in the friuli region of italy.

insalate (salads) are normally ordered along with the main course (secondo) when dining in italy and are not "meal size" as you will find in the united states. at lidia's they range from $8.00 to $12.50, but i cannot comment on them as i have never ordered one because, other than the caprese salad - one of my favorites, you should not come to restaurant like lidia's unless you plan on focusing onpastaand meat/seafood dishes, all of which are quite filling.

ranging from $17.00 (canneloni) to $22.00 (pasta trio), the prices for their "primi" (first courses - pastas) are lidia's "best value", especially their "pasta trio" which my wife and i have had on numerous occasions. this "all you can eat" medley of three pastas changes daily and includes three different selections (fettucine, penne, ravioli, etc.), each with its own sauce (butter and sage, amatriciana, and other favorites). servers come around with a large plate of each, giving you as much or as little as you desire so you can sample all three before deciding on which one (or three) you want more of. you can add a caesar salad and choice of dessert for an additional $13, but i would not waste my money and recommend enjoying as muchpastaas you can eat instead.

the meat and seafood (secondi) dishes are not cheap at $21 for the lemon chicken to $49.50 for the bone-in rib eye steak, but if you like a traditional italian meal with antipasto, primo and secondo, you will not be disappointed ... you will, however, be bursting at the seams! secondi at lidia's, unlike restaurants in italy, are accompanied by "contorni" (vegetables and potatoes), making a full meal if you prefer meat and potatoes over pasta. my favorite used to be their "involtini di manzo", rolled beef scallops with pickle, vegetables and mustard (a northern italian recipe), accompanied by mashed potatoes, but it has not been on the menu lately.

their wine list is extensive with nothing under $32 for a bottle (the "value list" has a nice selection of reds and whites) and ranging up to as high as $495 for a bottle of lange (2005) gaja if that is your style. we have ordered from the value list every time we have been there and found the wines quite good and somewhat as the name implies, a "decent" value. they also have a full bar with drinks ranging from $9 to $34.

we have not been there for sunday brunch in several years, but it used to be an excellent value at $25 (now $29.50). served buffet style, you can help yourself to a nice selection of antipasti and dolci (desserts), ordering a selection from the wide variety of main courses, including the "pasta tasting menu", frico, porchetta hash, osso buco, and lasagna bolognese among others.

we have never been there for lunch, but looking at the menu it appears to be a decent value with meal selections reduced by $5 or so compared to the dinner menu and with sandwiches in the $12 to $13 range. 

expect to pay a $100 to $125 for dinner for two, including antipasti and either a primo (pasta) or secondo, a bottle of wine from the value list, and a shared dessert (tip and tax included). we cannot afford to spend that kind of money every time we go out to eat, but for special occasions lidia's italy - kansas city is a decent value with exceptional food, excellent service, and moderate prices.

combatcritic gives lidia's italy - kansas city 7 out of 10 bombs ... more bombs are better!

we have been going to lidia's since we moved to kansas city in 2008 and have never been disappointed. whether ordering ala carte from the menu or enjoying their fabulous sunday brunch, the food is always consistent and delicious although a bit pricey.

antipasti (appetizers) range from $7.50 to $14.00 and include traditional favorites like "frico" (cheese crisp - $12.50), "cozze" (mussels - $12.00), "arancini" (deep fried risotto balls - $12.00), and "pappa al pomodoro" ( a tuscan tomato and bread soup - $7.50). the frico, for example, is delicious with crispy cheese (usually a higher-fat hard cheeses like montasio or asiago) baked in the oven with various decadent ingredients, having originated in the friuli region of italy.

insalate (salads) are normally ordered along with the main course (secondo) when dining in italy and are not "meal size" as you will find in the united states. at lidia's they range from $8.00 to $12.50, but i cannot comment on them as i have never ordered one because, other than the caprese salad - one of my favorites, you should not come to restaurant like lidia's unless you plan on focusing onpastaand meat/seafood dishes, which are quite filling.

ranging from $17.00 (canneloni) to $22.00 (pasta trio), the prices for their "primi" (first courses - pastas) are lidia's "best value", especially their "pasta trio" which my wife and i have had on numerous occasions. this "all you can eat" medley of three pastas changes daily and includes three different pastas (fettucine, penne, ravioli, etc.), each with its own sauce (butter and sage, amatriciana, and other favorites). servers come around with a large plate of each, giving you as much or as little as you desire so you can sample all three before deciding on which one (or three) you want more of. you can add a caesar salad and choice of dessert for an additional $13, but i would not waste my money and recommend enjoying as muchpastaas you can instead.

the meat and seafood (secondi) dishes are not cheap at $21 for the lemon chicken to $49.50 for the bone-in rib eye steak, but if you like a traditional italian meal with antipasto, primo and secondo, you will not be disappointed ... but you will be bursting at the seams! secondi at lidia's, unlike restaurants in italy, are accompanied by "contorni" (vegetables and potatoes), making a full meal if you prefer meat and potatoes over pasta. my favorite used to be their "involtini di manzo", rolled beef scallops with pickle, vegetables and mustard (a northern italian recipe), accompanied by mashed potatoes, but it has not been on the menu lately.

their wine list is extensive with nothing under $32 for a bottle (the "value list" has a nice selection of reds and whites) and ranging up to as high as $495 for a bottle of lange (2005) gaja if that is your style. we have ordered from the value list every time we have been there and found the wines quite good and somewhat as the name implies, a "decent" value. they also have a full bar with drinks ranging from $9 to $34.

we have not been there for sunday brunch in several years, but it used to be an excellent value at $29.50. served buffet style, you can help yourself to a nice selection of antipasti and dolci (desserts), ordering a selection from a wide variety on main courses, including the "pasta tasting menu", frico, porchetta hash, osso buco, and lasagna bolognese among others.

we have never been there for lunch, but looking at the menu it appears to be a decent value with meal selections reduced by $5 or so compared to the dinner menu and with sandwiches in the $12 to $13 range. 

expect to pay a $100 to $125 for dinner for two, including antipasti and either a primo (pasta) or secondo, a bottle of wine from the value list, and a shared dessert (tip and tax included). we cannot afford to spend that kind of money every time we go out to eat, but for special occasions lidia's italy - kansas city is a decent value with exceptional food, excellent service, and moderate prices.

combatcritic gives lidia's italy - kansas city 7 out of 10 bombs ... more bombs are better!

it was my partner's birthday, and he wanted to go somewhere nice and well-reviewed in kansas city. we had not been to lidia's, so he selected to go there because of the reviews we had seen online. maybe it was an off night, but i'm not so sure the reviewers of lidia's have been eating at the same place i went.

we made reservations, even though i'm not really sure we needed them for the night we went because it wasn't very busy. we were promptly seated and brought bread, which was probably the highlight of the meal, and some sort of olive hummus and basil hummus. i don't like olives, so i can't comment on that, but the basil hummus was pretty good.

our waitress came and wasn't the most friendly. maybe it was because she had too many tables, but it seemed like if we asked too many questions, we would have gotten yelled at. i ordered the wild boar ravioli, and my partner had thepastatrio, which many people have raved about on here. we also got caesar salads that were brought out first.

the caesar salads were not that great. something about the dressing was too acidic for my tastes, and the lettuces were too drenched in the dressing. luckily the croutons in the salad were good, and there was plenty of parmesan cheese, but i wanted the salad to be better overall.

when thepastacame out, my disappointment grew even more. the wild boar ravioli tasted like hamburger helper inside pasta. it was all right, but certainly not something i'd order again. where the real problem came was thepastatrio. it's touted as lidia's signature dish, and it's unlimited pasta, but the word "unlimited" should be the tip-off to what you're about to receive. the best item was the chicken and spinach ravioli, which was the best thing i tasted all night. but the other twopastatrio items were barely edible, one wasn't even worth eating all of a serving. there was an acceptable spiralpastawith what tasted like lidia's jarred sauce on top of it. then there was an awful dish with frozen shrimp in it. it tasted like something i would have bought in the frozen section of wal-mart and heated up on the stove, only to throw it away. very poor quality and very disappointing.

overall, the meal and service was subpar and did not live up to the reviews i've read online. i'd probably go to olive garden or fazoli's before i ever eat at lidia's again. and if anyone i know wants to go there, i'd steer them away. the meal was way too expensive for the quality delivered. i expected better.

on a side note - the night we went, the bathrooms smelled horrible. like the sewer was backed up and no one had noticed or tried to do anything about it. it certainly didn't add to the evening.

lovely meals. i've been to lidia's a couple times, both for bunch and sit down. one of the brunch's was for mother's day. the brunches are very delicious. the mother's day brunch was a little more expensive, but more expansive. the regular sunday brunch was still very good. with your choice of salads, entree and dessert.

i love thepastatrio, i've never had a bad pasta.

a real treat!. what a delightful dining experience. from the caesar salad to thepastatrio and ending was sorbet, a wonderful christmas delight!

ravioli. i can afford to lidia's at lunch occasionally, the bill with tip makes for a $30 lunch, but ohhh ravioli with butter sage sauce is off the chart yummy! it's gamble, because they change the ravioli in thepastatrio each day.

the saturday brunch has the same lunch options as weekdays but costs nearly twice as much and you only get some bite sized soggy dessert. not worth.

i'be been to happy hour in the bar and the orange manhattan is a very nice cocktail enjoyed with some delicious calamari and cheese plate.

i've never been willing to have dinner, because the bill with appetizer, wine and dessert would easily surpass $100 a person.

one of my favorite fine dining spots in kansas city.

fanatastic antipasti and dessert..terrible entrees. i won't bother reviewing the antipasti or desserts as they were all fabulous, however, the entrees were very sub standard. my husband had the wild boar ravioli and i had the porchetta. both dishes were unattractively plated and not very appetizing looking. both dishes were also way over salted. the worst part was i don't think that this restaurant knows what porchetta is supposed to be since a porchetta has crispy skin on the outside. this was rolled up pork covered in sauce with soggy, flabby skin. it was really quite unappealing. we may give this restaurant another chance but, since both entrees were bad, we will probably just have antipasti and dessert. also, the service was lacking. our waiter tried very hard to push thepastatrio which we had no interest in but neglected to tell us about a fish special which we repeatedly heard other servers tell their customers about. our waiter also waited until at least 5 or 10 minutes after our dessert was served to ask if we wanted dessert drinks or cocktails. he also never asked if we wanted coffee. we had to remind him to pour the rest of our bottle of wine which he had away from our table due to the table for two being tiny. we had the family pinot grigio and it was ok at best. definitely not what we expected. it seems to me that the bastianich family is not really concerned with quality control.

exceptional service. when i spend $$$ for a restaurant meal i expect to find a pleasant atmosphere, professional service, and wonderful food. for the most part, lidia's fills the bill.
lidia's has a handsome, casually elegant feel to it. that is exactly the sort of atmosphere i like best...professional but not pretentious. the menu isn't huge, but offers enough interesting items to spike your interest, and even intrigue you with options you may never have heard of. for the most part, the kitchen delivers admirably. items of particular note include their famouspastatrio, an ever changing, bottomless plate of three distinct pastas. the salmon served atop veggies was cooked a perfect medium rare, and served largely without added seasonings. it was fine, if unremarkable. we also loved the polpetti appetizer, which consisted of four meatballs served atop crusty bread. only the frito misto fell flat. it looked marvelous, and was certainly a huge dish, but whatever underlying qualities it had suffered from far too much use of salt.
service was absolutely exemplary. our server bent over backwards to make our meal enjoyable, even offering to take several photos of us, as well as doing the same for other tables. when we asked for a few more of the mini breadsticks she returned with a wine glass filled with perhaps 20. i lost count of how many times my water glass was quietly filled without my noticing. bread crumbs were quickly and quietly whisked from the table. literally everything about the service was top notch. and to my mind that is the most difficult thing for a restaurant to get right.
prices are not cheap, but when the customer is treated this special, you don't mind paying a little bit more to be pampered.
midtown kc has many wonderful places to eat. lidia's holds its own with the best of the rest.
food: b+
atmosphere: a
service: a+
menu sophistication: a
value: a-

all time favorite!. my favorite date night spot. it's still reasonably priced, great atmosphere and you never go wrong with thepastasampler. love!