Where’s the prettiest restaurant in Kansas City? It might be this one
Editors note: Welcome to KC’s Best Eats, a series where we explore the most iconic, beloved and tastiest spots in the metro. These restaurants are places you’d recommend an out-of-towner (say, someone who’s coming for the World Cup).
If you have a recommendation, email our reporter at jthompson@kcstar.com.
It’s difficult to picture the building north of Union Station — with its sweeping ceilings and chandeliers — as a place crews once loaded dusty boxcars.
Inhabited by the ghost of Kansas City past, its weathered brick walls hint at a previous life, an era when railroads turned the city into an industrial powerhouse.
Today, it serves authentic Austrian and Central European food while an espresso machine quietly gurgles in the background. The ghost of Kansas City present.
Grunauer, 101 W. 22nd St., is the most beautiful restaurant in all of Missouri. So said a ranking compiled by OpenTable in 2024, anyway. Designer John O’Brien is partially to thank, though perhaps the building’s colorful past helped its case.
But there’s more history than the building itself tells — a story that lies beyond its walls and crosses the Atlantic Ocean.
Nicholas Grunauer, who opened the restaurant with his late father, Peter, has been looking after his customers and kitchen since 2010. But only after the building, filled with rainwater and birds, was transformed into a trio of restaurants.
The original freight house building was built in the 1880s but transformed in the late ‘90s by developers like Dan Clothier, who helped build the abandoned space into a dining hub where Lidia’s and Jack Stack thrived.
A concept called City Tavern was part of the original lineup, but it closed after about a decade of service. Enter Nicholas and Peter.
“We wanted to open this a long time ago,” he told The Star. “Just having nostalgia for grandmother’s kitchen in Austria.”
Rare Austrian restaurant in KC
On a late afternoon visit, he sat at a table as the sun poured through a nearby window. Reaching for his small cup of Julius Meinl espresso, he added, “We have a lot of really hard-to-find Austrian wines and beers.”
Grunauer is the only Austrian restaurant in Kansas City.
Not only that, but it’s one of few in the U.S. There’s Werkstatt in Brooklyn, Cafe Katya in Manhattan, Jorg’s Cafe Vienna in Plano, and Cafe Old Vienna in Myrtle Beach. A Google Maps search will bring up a few more dots on the map scattered across the country.
There are more Germanic places, which serve similar cuisine, but few are specifically Viennese.
By the way, it’s pronounced groo-now-er.
Asked if he’s used to mispronunciations of the restaurant (and his surname), Nicholas quipped, “Yeah, but that’s been my whole life.”
Family restaurant history
While Kansas Citians clink wine glasses across the table at Grunauer, halfway around the world, patrons drink at a restaurant of the same name.
The overseas restaurant has a similar green logo with serif font. Its tables don white cloths, sitting on old wood floors. Wine bottles line its open cabinets.
Nicholas’s family restaurant in Vienna was started by his grandparents about 60 years ago. It’s an institution in Austria, he said, “very famous countrywide.”
Nicholas spent his summers in Vienna, sampling the smells, sounds and tastes of his family’s restaurant. Later, work in restaurants propelled him through school. He graduated in 2008 with his Master’s in Business Administration.
Though he always relished the schnitzel at his family’s restaurant, operating a spot of his own was not a childhood dream. In fact, his family warned him against entering the industry himself.
But as it often goes, the right opportunity will persuade any ambitious entrepreneur.
“The restaurant is an incredible way to learn about — not to be too philosophical — but human nature, economics,” he said. “That’s what makes it so interesting and fun.”
Today, the Vienna restaurant is owned and operated by his cousin.
Adapting Austrian food for KC
The menus at the two Grunauer restaurants don’t mirror each other, but customers at the Kansas City location will find classic dishes like frittatensuppe ($10), a traditional Viennese beef consomme with julienne vegetables and savory crepes.
Nicholas said he goes above and beyond to find premium ingredients, despite the extra cost his business might incur.
“When we first opened, our guiding light was to be as authentic as possible,” he said. “Authenticity is really our north star.”
They make their own stocks, roll out their own strudel dough and carefully choose proteins from reputable providers.
That said, Nicholas has chosen to omit some Austrian dishes he thinks Midwesterners won’t resonate with.
“The American palate does not really like organ meats,” he said. “We’ve had to pick and choose what makes sense.”
Chef Matthias Seyfrid, who hails from Germany but identifies as Bavarian, has been in charge of the menu since 2010. He studied under three different master chefs in Europe before coming to the U.S. He joined Grunaeur a few months after the restaurant opened.
“I’m making food the way you get it back home,” Seyfrid insisted. “There are no shortcuts.”
Seyfrid is passionate about cuts of meat. A popular Austrian cut is called tafelspitz, which comes from the top hind leg of the cow. That’s almost impossible to find here, Seyfrid said, so another, similar cut is the schulterscherzel, which comes from the shoulder of the cow.
Inside Grunauer’s menu
Viennese food is fairly meat-heavy. Its pork-centric dishes include steierisches hochzeitsschnitzel ($28): fried pork schnitzel stuffed with cheese and ham, then served with parsley potatoes.
On the beef side, ungarisches rindsgulasch ($27) is a Hungarian-style gulasch in a spicy paprika sauce with spatzle (pasta).
Lots of Austrians love veal, but Seyfrid said they can’t offer it at Grunauer anymore. It’s nearly impossible to find veal that’s anywhere close to the quality he desires.
The restaurant’s most popular dish is undeniably its weiner schnitzel: thin cutlets, battered and fried, served with potato salad, cucumber salad and lingonberries (from $18 to $24, depending on type of meat).
Seyfrid also makes his own Bavarian-style mustards and jams.
And then there’s the wine, beer and cocktail list, which contains dozens (and dozens) of spirits from Austria, Germany, France and beyond. Zantho, Gobelsburg and Ecker are popular Austrian wines.
The World Cup and Grunauer
It’s worth noting that Austria is playing in Kansas City during the World Cup. Nicholas, a soccer fan, is excited about the game. But he’s not optimistic that a lot o his countrymen will make the trip. He hasn’t heard of many back home who want to, at least.
“At first they were like, ‘Yeah we’re all coming,’ but there are a lot of factors,” Nicholas told The Star, candidly.
Mainly, international travel is incredibly expensive.
His friends and family are a small sample size, however. And for what it’s worth, Nicholas does think Austrian expats who live in other American cities will make their way over for the games.
Nicholas, on the other hand, is already reaping the rewards of the World Cup. His restaurant secured a two-page spread in a major Austrian newspaper.
As for how the fanfare will affect business, the restaurant is saying: “schau ma mal.”
That means: “We’ll see.”