Posted By: Joseph Samuels on March 27, 2010

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Amazing Food. Amazing Service. One of a kind experience. From the minute my wife and I walked down the trail to the point overlooking the Missouri River, we were impressed. After enjoying the view outside we entered the restaurant where the bartender immediately welcomed us and a smiling hostess waited to seat us. It was our 20th wedding anniversary and although there were no available window seats, most of the tables including ours still had an excellent view. Light Jazz in the background and a candle on the table to go with such a beautiful view provided perfect ambiance. My wife and I love dining and before we even ordered drinks or tried food, we were having a great time. Our server was Nicole and she was extremely friendly, professional, prompt, and knowledgeable. We tend to have many questions about wines and food when we go out and Nicole was able to describe the food and its preparations without batting an eye as well as recommend several wines for us. We enjoyed her recommendations and she even brought out a couple tastes for us to try. The rest is history as our appetizer, a Gorgonzola cheesecake concoction, lived up to the hype and was delicious! My beef tenderloin was simply perfect with mashed potatoes, broccoli, and an extremely tasty sauce...all a man could want in a good steak. My wife ordered the scallops, and they were absolutely exquisite. Nicole offered us dessert and we had to decline because we were quite full, until she described their billionaire's coffee. We sipped the tasty drink slowly as the sun slipped below the horizon. I can't think of a more perfect setting. The only thing missing so far is the Green Flash :) Throughout our dinner, it was apparent that the staff really enjoys what they do. From the bartender to the host to the servers to the tall gentleman that brought us waters and cleared our plates, everyone was friendly and professional. Their enthusiasm really carried over and rubbed off on us. For the memorable experience, great food and service, the price was actually quite moderate, and this level of service and delicious food at a reasonable cost made Les Bourgeois our new favorite restaurant. This was our first time visiting the Bistro and is definitely the first of many. This is truly a Mid-Missouri gem and I will be taking all of my out of town guests here to impress. I would recommend everybody to come experience this little hidden treasure! Cheers!

Posted By: You know me.... on September 2, 2009

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I work in a retail store that happens to sell the Les Bourgeois wines and thought I would swing by their vineyard/bistro while on vacation. Stopped by around 2p.m. for some wine and a very light lunch, as I had reservations elsewhere and simply wanted something to tide me and my friend over. I figured I'd take in some culture and hate to say I was sorely disappointed with my experience. When the waitress got to our table she was very cordial, I asked her what the portion size was on the lunch sandwiches and she replied that they were "good sized and VERY filling". I repeat, she W-A-S very cordial, that W-A-S until I asked to have one of their lunch sandwiches split between myself and my friend (not that I was being cheap, I actually had about $500 cash on me at the time BUT, I was wanting something light, remember?). You could ACTUALLY hear her tone shift from cordial to condescending (i.e. cheapskate), and the experience spiraled downward from there. When the food arrived (your standard bistro grilled chicken sandwich and garlic mashed potatoes on the side, nothing extraordinary and 2 glasses of wine), I was presented with a 2nd empty plate. Perplexed, I asked the waitress that I requested the order to be split to which she replied that I, the CUSTOMER, would be doing the division MYSELF!! This totally floored me. When I asked why it wasn't done in the kitchen, she simply replied "oh, the chefs don't split plates, you'll have to do it yourself" (sarcasm dripping from her voice). Well, having worked in the food service industry myself (Head Bartender at the Overland Park Marriott) I felt I was driven to say something to the manager on duty. Well, out pops "Joe Smiles" who, when told the situation, actually DEFENDED the action of the kitchen by simply saying that it was "common policy" for many establishments in the area to CHARGE to split your plate and since they didn't want to charge me extra, that it was up to me to split the plate.....PLEASE somebody, wake me up from this freaking nightmare! My question is simply this: when you are TRYING to be an UPSCALE bistro and you are TRYING to showcase your wines and vineyards....how HARD is it to have your cooks cut a sandwich in half and divide a portion of mashed potatoes between 2 plates? How much time does it take, 10 seconds, MAYBE? He proceeded to apologize for the waitress yet offered NO recompense (not that I was looking for any), but I would have thought that it might have been appropriate, given my thorough disgust at the situation. BOTTOM LINE: Be prepared to fork over some MAJOR CASH here to get the appropriate response from the staff. Me, I won't be darkening their door anytime soon, NOR will I be recommending their wines at my store.....I'm thinking Stone Hill or maybe St. James instead. Reap what you sow Les Bourgeois!