Restaurants in Wichita

The cozy café’s sweet aromas of freshly baked breads and pastries satisfy sniffers without even making them scratch the menu of morning and midday delights. Quiche Lorraine and quiche Florentine ($4), which are new additions to The Palette's bill of breakfast fare, whisper savory complements to sweet stacks of waffles ($4). For lunch, nosh a handheld pineapple-, grape-, and cashew-clad chicken-salad sandwich or a grilled meatloaf sandwich, both served on homemade bread ($6). Cleanse your esophagus with barista beverages such as chocolate café au lait ($3), tropical paradise iced tea ($1.50), citrus smoothies ($4), or raspberry or apple Hot Lips sodas ($3), and complete the sweet with a warm slice of apple pie with ice cream ($4) or carrot cake with cream-cheese frosting ($4).

A wave of flavor washes over visitors to Tsunami Teriyaki, who can dig into charbroiled teriyaki, chicken wings, and Thai and Vietnamese dishes. Spring rolls stuffed with chicken and vegetables and garnished with a ginger-lime sauce can start off meals, or diners can sample salad rolls made with carrots, bean sprouts, and peanut sauce. The hearty selection of noodles ranges from pad thai, “Thailand’s official rice noodle,” to vermicelli, Vietnam’s “light and healthy rice noodle.” The luscious noodles arrive mixed with cilantro, toasted peanuts, lemongrass, bean sprouts, and proteins such as tofu, chicken, or steak. The house Tsunami Specials platters include chicken or tofu mixed with string beans, Thai herbs, or a crushed peppercorn sauce. Thai iced tea and Vietnamese iced coffee wash down spices, and boba drinks of avocado, mango, and sour-green-apple flavors provide refreshing sips that may come with pearls of tapioca freshly stolen from the elusive tapioca oyster.

Boasting 29-inch pies, two types of crust (New York thin and Chicago pan), and a long list of delicious toppings, Air Capital Pizza seduces slice snobs and encourages creative connoisseurs to dig into food circles prepared just to their liking. If your epicurean decision-making skills were exhausted on selecting the next flavor from a roll of Now and Laters, opt for a preconceived specialty pie such as the cheeseburger pizza ($19.35 for a 16-inch), which tops fresh-made dough with beef, onions, sliced pickles, mustard, and cheddar cheese. Closed-face fiends, meanwhile, can cultivate their inward grins with 6-inch classic sandwiches such as the protein-packed Italian sub and hearty meatball sub ($4.95 each), or a custom cheese calzone ($5.95 with your choice of one topping). Round out your repast with a tray of 10 wings ($5.49), or keep your belly balanced by adding a fresh-tossed house salad ($3.79) and 24-ounce fountain drink ($1.39) to your order.

The scents of lemongrass, garlic, chili peppers, and other spices waft from the kitchen at Sit @ Thai Bistro, where chefs prepare traditional and modern Thai dishes. As guests sip sweet glasses of Thai iced tea in the dimly lit, warm-colored dining room, classic panang curry simmers with meat or tofu and assorted veggies in spiced coconut milk, and tender pork ribs marinate in lemongrass and spices before dipping into a special barbecue sauce. The kitchen also riffs on tom-yum soup with a fried-rice interpretation, and whips up entrees such as the Dancing Shrimp with pineapple, bell peppers, onions, and chili-lime sauce, which is sautéed to the beat of a waltz.

For more than three decades, the friendly servers and talented chefs at El Mexico Cafe have dished out helpings of Mexican and Southwestern food, from bean-stuffed burritos smothered in chili to ultimate fajitas with four types of meat. Served amid smoked mirrors and intricate wrought-iron accents, the café's cuisine won it several runner-up distinctions within the 2011 and 2012 Wichita Eagle's Readers' Choice awards. A mariachi band serenades tables each weekend, strumming guitars and squeezing accordions while wearing the traditional outfits of sombreros, charro suits, and astronaut helmets.

While comfortably seated between brightly colored walls, diners at Felipe’s Mexican Restaurant enjoy the sensory stimulation of eating outdoors. Sunlight streams in from a skylight, washing over tables forming cozy clusters and beaming onto plants forming an impromptu barbershop quartet. Open since 1971, the eatery was voted Best Mexican Restaurant by readers of the Wichita Eagle from 2008 to 2011. Though it shares a menu with its sister restaurant, the kitchen here specializes in queso primo, a dip made with white cheese, spinach, and pimiento.