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Azul Latin Bistro

1108 Grand Blvd.

Kansas City, MO 64106

816-527-0993

The downtown neighborhood where young chef Anthony Fries decided to open his chic Latin American-style restaurant has been somewhat desolate when it comes to restaurant life, but once you pass through the front door and into this sleek dining room, you may forget you’re in Kansas City at all. Fries was inspired by Miami venues to create Azul, where bartenders really know how to mix an icy, potent mojito or a caipirinha, the national cocktail of Brazil. And the food is remarkably good considering that Fries is a self-taught cook. (He learned a few tricks from his Mexican-American grandmother.) The cuisine here isn’t Mexican but rather stylish Brazilian, including pan-seared tuna tacos, grilled quesadillas stuffed with sweet potato, mildly seasoned chorizo, braised short ribs and a chile relleno stuffed with seafood and gouda. Around 10 p.m., the nightclub crowd arrives. - Charles Ferruzza

Full Review: Azul Latin Bistro (08-30-07)

Cuisine(s): Central American/South American, Mexican
Hours: open til close
Price: $$, $$$
Serving: Dinner
Alcohol: Full bar
Reservations: Accepted
Parking: Lot Available, Street
Payment Types: All Major Credit Cards, cash
Attire: casual
Features: Takeout, Private Party, Catering, Non-Smoking

show/hide reviews (6) Please log in to write your review

Overall:

This was without a doubt the worst service I have ever received at a restaurant in my life. To begin with, it was 15 minutes before anyone came to our table to greet us and take our drink orders and then another 15 minutes before we even got our drinks. In total, we waited almost an hour and a half for our food until we decided that we couldn't wait any longer.

There were plenty of servers, and probably 12 - 15 tables in the entire restaurant, so there was absolutely no reason for us to wait as long as we did. The staff was disorganized and rude.

I chose this restaurant after reading Charles Ferruzza's review, and I couldn't be more disappointed since the food sounded lovely.
Review by Kristen
Overall:

The food was fatastic. I would order the Sweet Potatoe quesadillas everyday! The decor was beautiful and the drinks were as delicious as the food. our service could have been better, not necessarily slow, just soemwhat unattentive and lacked some professionalism. It appeared the conversations the bartender had going on were more important than making our drinks for our waitress. I will return, I would like to try everything on this menu and will hope for better service next time around.
Review by LP
Overall:

I loved Azul. The humus and quesadilla are to die for adn the rest of th food we tried was all delicious. our drinks were equally delicious! the atmosphere and decor were lovely. our service was lacking, not slow, more unattentive than anything. it seemed the bar tender was more i tune to a conversation with a friend and the waitress than making our drinks FOR the waitress so she coudl bring them over. I will return, I want to try everything on the menu and will hope for better service next time around!
Review by LP
Overall:

Wow! Where do I begin? I am really shocked that Mr. Ferruzza loved his meal at Azul. because our meal was so bad that I wouldn't even serve a dog. We went there last night. We had reservations for 7:45 which apparently never made it into the reservation book which was not a big deal because the restaurant was not even full.
We were taken to the back of the restaurant where we began to look at the menu. We were all very excited to try everything because it all looked so good. I ordered the avocado margarita it was interesting (I didn't finish it), the other couple ordered tequila and my husband wanted water which we thought the waitress would bring but didn't bring water to anyone. When we asked her to bring water for the table, she looked shocked and annoyed but finally did bring four waters. We ordered just about everything; the Chipotle Hummus, the sweet potato chorizo quesadillas-very cold but they had a good flavor, the coconut ceviche-was not my favorite but the others seemed to like it. For our meal we ordered the chicken de arbol, the pork tacos, the pesto steak and the short ribs. I will review my meal which were the short ribs and I can sum those up in one word; YUCK!!! If I were the chef I would have been embarrassed to have that dish go out to anyone. It was incredibly fatty and had so much greased that I still taste it this morning. The short rib had absolutely no flavor at all and was cold. I asked the waitress to take it back she made no apologies but took it back to the kitchen. When she came back it was only lukewarm but the plate was so hot. It seemed that each meal was worse than the other. I have no positive comments for the restaurant or our waitress. The experience was awful and I do not think I will be returning to Azul. I do not recommend it to anyone with a decent palate, they will be very disappointed.
Review by awl
Overall:

The negative reviewers should try Azul again. This place is great in all aspects. Staff was friendly, and as far as slow service goes, I never expect APplebee's swiftness when I dine at good restaurants. I hope this place catches on. The food was great and the decor is top notch.
Review by lindalou
Overall:

My wife and I recently had dinner at Azul and loved it. The interior design is remarkably different compared to its exterior. It set a great mood for a great meal. We started off with the chorizo and goat cheese quesadilla and a couple of their signature cocktails. The drinks were a bit strong, but good nonetheless. The quesadilla was fantastic, perfect amount of cheese and chorizo. Our dinner took about 20 min to get to the table, which was fine considering my wife ordered the chicken and received a bone-in chicken breast cooked perfectly. I had the chile relleno and found it impressive. The black bean puree and ancho chile sauce was a great contrast smoothed out by the cream sauce. The presentation on all of the dishes was great and each had a good balance. Some of these other posts that say the service was sub-par, I can't disagree with more. We had excellent service, very attentive and the right amount of talkative. Perhaps some of those post were older and they enacted some positive changes since. Our water was never low and drinks never empty. This could be because the place was only half full..on a Saturday night. Which leads to my only qualm with Azul, the lack of patrons affected the atmosphere. When the music changed tracks, the restaurant fell silent. That and the weird graphics flashing on the flat screens. But, there is no reason this should be the case. This quality of food and prices combined with the new tourism downtown should get this place the business it deserves. We will return, I suggest the negative reviewers do the same. I just hope it sticks around.
Review by Dan

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