Restaurants in Grandview

A passion for flavor has motivated Martin Heuser all his life, carrying him from his family’s restaurant in Bonn, Germany, to the kitchen of two restaurants with Michelin stars, and finally to Kansas City, where he’s planted his culinary and familial roots. Martin and his accomplished sommelier wife, Katrin, draw upon their globetrotting days sampling the tastes of Sweden, Hong Kong, and Vancouver to inform Affare’s menu of modern German cuisine. Plucking the freshest produce and meats available locally, the duo seasons Benton's prime steak, fresh Alaskan halibut, and riesling-marinated chicken and whips up iconic German desserts such as apfelstrudel. Behind the bar, resident opera-singer-cum-bartender Richard Gibson pours glasses of wine from a wooden cask as he belts out the greatest opera hits of the 1880s, '90s, and today. The contemporary motif continues across Affare’s walls, where modern paintings by local artists and a floor-to-ceiling pop-art mural color the spacious dining room.

When diners arrive at Frida's Contemporary Mexican Cuisine, they glide across sleek hardwood floors toward plush booths and tables surrounded by coral-hued walls and modern hanging lights. Amiable staff members whisk colorful dishes topped with regional spices and seafood toward their waiting taste buds. After filling their bellies with the authentically Mexican fare, guests can lounge in the bar area, harnessing enough low-alpha brain waves via nine big-screen high-definition TVs to properly digest a meal.

Since throwing open their eatery’s doors in 2006, the Wing Busters clan has made it their mission to treat every customer like family. The chefs glaze crispy wings in 46 distinct sauces and seasonings, adding doses of garlic-parmesan, hickory-smoke-barbecue, or incendiary habanero sauce that enables diners to singe their own eyebrows with a single breath. They also craft po' boys and beefy burgers to order, plus down-home sides including jalapeño hush puppies and okra.

After ordering from the counter, guests can mosey over to one of the four-seat tables speckling the snug dining area. Dangling pennants adorn the walls alongside an array of framed pictures, memorabilia-filled shadowboxes, and freshly inspected fire extinguishers.

Tim Griffin has come a long way from washing dishes. That first job gave set him on a path into the restaurant industry, which led to stints in almost every position including bartender, server, manager, and dish taster for visiting monarchs. He first used his experience to launch a catering company, and then kept evolving and founded his own restaurant, J.Bean's Gathering Place. Today, Tim—along with his wife Ibby and head chef Blair Johnson—welcome guests with a creative menu of dishes ranging from crab-rangoon dip to fish tacos. The two-level dining room evokes a warm, welcoming atmosphere with an abundance of hardwood furnishings and trim anchored by a stone fireplace. The establishment also often hosts special events, such as occasional live music on the patio.

The circular nest of Harvey’s at Union Station affords an uninterrupted view of Union Station’s ornate ceilings, chandeliers, and arched masonry. An open-air second-floor patio lines the outer rim of the restaurant, offering ideal people-watching views of both the inside of the eatery below and passing commuters. During breakfast and lunch hours, the kitchen hums busily as chefs stuff omelets with homemade italian sausage, slip pizzas into a wood-fired oven, and rub shrimp with citrus and chiles for tacos. For Sunday brunch, a spread of brown-sugar-glazed ham, belgian waffles, and mini cinnamon rolls sprawls across long banquet tables like those a king might demand for all his stuffed animals.