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12 Baltimore Cafe
Categories: Nightlife Bars Restaurants Food Bars, Restaurants, Food [Edit]
106 W 12th StKansas City, MO 64105
Neighborhoods: Central Business District, Greater Downtown
(816) 221-7000
- Hours:
Mon-Thu, Sun 6:30 am - 11 pm
Fri-Sat 6:30 am - 1 am
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Attire:
- Dressy
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- No
- Price Range:
-
$$$
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Music:
- Live
- Best Nights:
- Fri, Thu, Sat
- Happy Hour:
- Yes
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Smoking:
- No
- Coat Check:
- No
- Good For Dancing:
- No
- Has TV:
- Yes
- Caters:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
17 reviews for 12 Baltimore Cafe
17 reviews in English
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Review from Diana B.
Kansas City, MO
9/11/2011
After a horrendous beginning to date night (see review of Blue Nile), the SO and I needed someplace nice to have a drink and try to collect our thoughts, and see if we still had our hearing intact.
And, we came here. A quiet night at the bar to be sure, and that suited us just great. My martini was flavorrful and perfect, and although we did not run up a huge bar tab, our servers were pleasant, courteous and we felt welcomed. Yes, 12 Baltimore is pricey. It's an adult atmosphere, elegant without being too stuffy or snobbish.
And, it was worth every penny. Wish I hadn't eaten beforehand and had just drank my dinner instead! We'll be back next time we need a good martini. -
Review from Gary R.
2/18/2012 7 Check-ins Here
This is a fun little spot weekdays in the evening as the crowd tends to liven up after folks get done with business for the day. It is attached to the historic Hotel Phillips.
The bar serves up a great range of draft beers, including many Boulevard seasonals. There are some good salad and sandwich combos on the food menu as well.
Overall, this is either dead or a full of life place depending on the hour. -
Review from Harrison S.
Kansas City, MO
12/28/2010
I'm going to start with the bottom line. Food, drinks, and service are average to poor -- everything is offensively over priced.
Background -- I used to go to 12B a bit right after I turned 21 for cocktails and remember it having good mixed drinks but being a little pricey. Several years have passed since I was last there and my girlfriend and I went prior to seeing the Nutcracker because there was a 10% discount if you had your tickets. (Note. this turned out to only be on the food)
Service -- the waitress could barely speak English. While I don't care if a waiter/waitress is foreign, I do expect them to be able to communicate with me. It made ordering difficult and awkward. Even after we asked her we still had no idea what the specials were, but this was the least of the problems.
Drinks -- my drink was served incorrectly. It was served on the rocks instead of up as it is supposed to be served. If the bar tender was in doubt they should have asked. I asked our waitress to take it back several minutes later when she came back around. (I'm pretty sure she was the only one working) The bar tender just strained it into a glass meaning I got a watered down drink. I would not be quite as annoyed if they weren't $11 each. I had another and it wasn't well made either but at least is wasn't 1/3 water. If you charge $11 for a drink you better get it right. My girlfriend's drink had no noticeable alcohol content, but this is not unusual for a 'specialty martini'.
Food -- We ordered calamari as an appetizer, and it was good. The highlight of meal. I ordered a prime rib sandwich and fries. It was an average Philly cheese steak with below average luke warm fries. I ate half the sandwich and almost none of the fries. I love fries. My girlfriend got shrimp tacos. She said they were not bad, but nothing you couldn't make at home in 15 minutes. There were alot of them but she only ate a couple, it did not come with a side. There was alot of food left. When the waitress came around and took it she did not even ask to box it up. To be fair she probably didn't know how to ask in English and I didn't really care because I wouldn't have even fed it to my dog.
Value -- I just checked my bank account. Dinner was on the 23rd. The $125 bill was entered on the 24th and cleared on 12/27. For some reason they put a hold on $30 on 12/25 and it's still held as of today, 12/29. I don't need the money, but this is just unacceptable. Period. The food and the drinks were ~$100 dollars, but worth maybe $50. Not sure I have ever felt so ripped off by a meal. You are perhaps wondering why I would tip 25%. Well I'm not sure either. I certainly don't remember doing that and almost never tip that much. I'll just assume she didn't steal from me and add $5 dollars to the tip, but I might suggest keeping your receipt if you go there, I wish I did.
Bottom Line -- There are so many other places you can go in Kansas City and spend $125 (let alone have another $30 dollars held from your account a week later) and have a great meal. Why go here and get average to poor service,food, and drinks? I certainly won't being going again. -
Review from Sarah D.
4/21/2008
This little restaurant is located down the street from my office, so I've been passing it every day and wondering just what it was like. From the outside, it appears to be a pretty swank little restaurant. I was very surprised to discover that it's basically a fancy sports bar. It didn't have a good feel to it...it's big and airy, yet there are limited tables and a small bar, so it just doesn't seem to fit. Also, it's FREEZING. There are two rooms, and we were seated in the room off to the side, away from the bar and the TV's. This room was a bit more comfortable, though we were seated in here alone; everyone else was in the main room. I was with a client for a business meeting; perhaps our waitress thought it was a date and was giving us some privacy, who knows?
The menu looked pretty good, but there were no vegetarian options at all. Even their Gourmet Grilled Cheese had bacon on it. I ended up ordering the grilled cheese (sans bacon, of course) and my friend ordered the Fish and Chips, which he really seemed to enjoy. Stay away from the cole slaw though, it's definitely iffy..it was thick and YELLOW. I'd never seen yellow cole slaw, and something tells me that it's just not good. My grilled cheese, however, was thick and delicious--it had three kinds of cheese on it along with fresh tomato. I ordered fresh fruit on the side, and it was equally as delish.
Altogether the meal cost us 27. 43. Not too bad. The service was OKAY...they kept our drinks filled, but were slow with everything else. All in all, it was a nice lunch and I'd gladly eat there again. I'd especially like to try it out in the evenings for Happy Hour; I hear they have great live music. -
Review from Dave L.
Kansas City, MO
4/25/2010
There is something a little odd about this place. I like the decor well enough; there is a nice lounge area and a more secluded dining room in the back. It is a very nice and somewhat quiet place to have after dinner drinks, lunch or dinner. Certainly it's a different vibe than you find down the road at the Power & Light district.
But the food is just not that great, especially considering the prices they charge. The fish and chips ($16) I had recently were a disaster, undoubtedly the worst I have had anywhere. The breading was thick, crusty and hard with a decidedly slimy texture on the interior. The fish was an entire filet, not the smaller strips you normally see. The flesh itself had a mineraly flavor and just seemed a little off. The reason I ate half of it was because I desperately needed food, not because it was good.
The fries were limp and overly seasoned with a salty spice mixture. I'd guess that something was terribly awry with the temperature of the fryer which would account for both items being substandard.
I also had two glasses of wine which were listed on the menu as costing $7 each. It turns out I was charged $13 for each, either because the server brought the wrong wine or because the menu was incorrect. Someone else paid so I didn't notice until later. The bill for two people came out to $91 with tip. Ouch.
Otherwise the server was very good. He was extremely attentive (which has not been my experience here in the past) and handled three different checks with ease.
I would come to 12 Baltimore for drinks but I don't think I'll be having a meal there any time soon. -
Review from Erik R.
Shawnee Mission, KS
10/8/2008
If you are at the P&L and suffering from commercialism and chain experience overload, this is a solid place to stop in for something to eat. Definitely go in through the Hotel Phillips lobby, it is very nice. One of those "don't make them like that any more" type of thing. The restaurant itself is pretty subtle, but keeps the historic feel from next door.
The only way I can think of to describe the food is taking a fancy restaurant and having them make bar food. So its mainly bar-type fare, but you pay $10 to $15 for it. Its worth it though because the meat, bread, veggies, etc are all high quality and taste great.
The service was pretty good, but nothing amazing. Overall some nice decor and really solid food. -
Review from Prasanna C.
Rolla, MO
12/5/2010
One of the BEST restaurents in Kansas City downtown!!
I LOVE 12th Baltimore ... Management is awesome -
Review from Justin D.
Kansas City, MO
5/13/2008
I used to work just across the street from 12th & Baltimore, so it was often the default office-party location. And everytime I got an email informing me this was the happy-hour location, my heart sank.
To be fair, the drinks and food here aren't terrible; they just aren't great either. My friends often complained the drinks were a little weak, but I don't blame the bartenders as much as the fact we're lawyers, and thus, by definition, lushes. The service is also generally fine, although nothing fantastic.
The biggest complaint I have about 12 Baltimore, though, is its prices. You are going to pay a lot for all this mediocrity. I was always disappointed that this was our regular happy hour location because, for the price, there are so many better options in and around downtown (especially now).
So, anyway, if you're in the area and are about to die of hunger and/or thirst, you'll be fine here. Just don't expect great things at reasonable prices. -
Review from Nick W.
Austin, TX
11/16/2009
Average service and overpriced food.
I tried the slider trio, which consisted of a veggie slider, chicken slider and a beef slider.
Veggie slider - Pretty bad. Not good at all actually.
Chicken slider - not bad, not great.
Beef slider - Disgusting. Poor quality meat. I wound up spitting it out. I'm 30 years old and I've eaten hundreds of burgers in my life and not once have I spit one out. Gross.
The house salad was pretty good. A little heavy on the dressing, but still tasty.
I should add that the presentation was great. I was excited when they brought out the sliders, but after the first bite, I knew things were headed downhill.
Also, my friends thoroughly enjoyed their meals. I will admit that the country fried chicken looked really good! I had some food envy.
I definitely won't eat here again. -
Review from gisile G.
Mitchellville, MD
8/29/2010
I attended a conference in May, I found this place my first night there. i had lunch, salad and calamari every day for lunch.
My hats off to the chef, thanks for bringing some of NOLA to KC. The bartenders were great too. They did a great job of mixing up fresh drinks. -
Review from Stephen H.
Overland Park, KS
5/19/2011
On the ground floor of the lovely and well-appointed Hotel Phillips, you'll find 12 Baltimore. I've been here on two occasions and found the food good, but not great, and the drinks fine, but not overly imaginative.
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Review from James E.
8/3/2007
The menu boasts a large collection of specialty house cocktails, including the orange crush which goes down real easily. A locked cabinet houses over 20 different varieties of cigars, but I couldn't smell any cigar smoke around us. My shirt did pick up the smoke from other tables smoking cigarettes, but go with the flow in KC.
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Review from Corey O.
3/1/2008
Very neat bar on the corner of 12th and Baltimore. Staff very friendly, and the music was great. Extremely chill (for now). This place is bound to pick up steam soon enough though. Decent selection of beer on tap and a very neat atmosphere. Again, the music was perfect. A 3 piece jazz band that was entertaining as it gets. Stop by one night with a few friends and take in the live music.
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Review from Jeremy W.
Kansas City, MO
9/23/2010
I have only ate here once but that was probably enough for me. I had breakfast with my parents when they were in town and it was around $60 for 3 of us for not that impressive of a buffet. I would much rather have eaten at Cascones grill in River Market but they were closed on a Sunday.
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Review from jennifer j.
Kansas City, MO
1/9/2008 1 Check-in Here
Just off of Hotel Phillips, you can come in through the hotel or off the street. Nice feel inside, great drinks. I always forget about this place.
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Review from Jen H.
Omaha, NE
7/27/2010
Nice service. Expensive drinks. Close early.
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Review from Mary Kay W.
Chicago, IL
9/4/2010
We had the most wonderful dinner at 12 Baltimore. A group of 4 of us enjoyed tasty appetizers and entrees, accompanied by a great wine list and well-mixed martinis. We especially enjoyed the crab cake appetizer and KC strip with potato risotto. Chef Jason prepares his dinners with flair and the service is terrific! Whenever you are downtown or enjoying an event at the Sprint Center, give this place a try and enjoy a walk through the historic Hotel Phillips.
