The moment you walk into this historic, renovated building, you are awed by the high ceilings and high design elements throughout. This warm, rustic, and cool space is totally inviting, and promises a delightful evening. We ate at Fox & Pearl on our first night in Kansas City on November 4, 2023.

I loved the space here. The main floor has a gorgeous bar and beautiful mustard colored banquettes as well as wooden tables and chairs throughout. We were taken down to the cellar level to eat, which has yet another cozy bar, penny tiled floors, and exposed brick walls. Service here was attentive, cheerful, and excellent. We ordered a bunch of shared plates as well as mains, and everything was paced out pretty perfectly.

Fox & Pearl is heavy on locally sourced goods, listing all of their farms and partners on the back of their menu – and the list is extensive. Being in Middle America, I would imagine it is relatively easy to have your pick of local meats, cheeses and produce. Even so, the quality of the food here is obvious, and it’s extremely clear that the producers Fox & Pearl have partnered with were carefully chosen.

This place is known for its charcuterie, and it was really tough to choose just a few to try. We started with the potted cheese and the duck terrine, and we ordered some extra delicious bread to accompany those. The cheese was creamy and spreadable and super flavorful. The duck terrine was delicious. A terrine is not quite a spreadable, so I basically just broke chunks off and ate it with the mustard that came with it. Honestly, the meat was so good that it didn’t even need the accompaniments. Because we were ordering heavy on the meats, I also felt obligated to get some veggies. The coal roasted beets were tender, flavorful, and a good contrast to the meat.

Next, we got the foie gras and heritage pork sausage. This is an extraordinarily delicate pork sausage which is combined with foie gras to make it super rich. This sausage literally melts in your mouth, and was like nothing I’d ever eaten before. The meat was finely ground, and the foie gras flavor really shines through. It’s not much to look at, but this is an absolute must order here at Fox & Pearl.

For our mains, I ordered the gnocchi with braised duck and Brian ordered the smoked pork chop. For me, the gnocchi itself was a bit dry and not flavorful, but this was ok when you heaped a ton of braised duck ragout on top of it. The braised duck was extraordinary – rich and falling apart with savory goodness. The pork chop was also super delicious. I don’t know what kind of sauce that it was either cooked with or marinated in, but it had a very nice barbeque smokey flavor that really accentuated the pork itself, which was tender and moist.

Dessert was fun, because they had a ton of choices of dessert wines and post-dinner drinks, which we totally love, and it was tough to choose a dessert because they all sounded super amazing. We went with the swiss cream roll, which was so yummy. The cream itself was fluffy and sweet, and the cake itself wasn’t too dry. Honestly, I love Little Debbie Swiss Cake Rolls, and would’ve been fine with them giving us a couple packages of those, but their freshly made roll was definitely a nice, elevated version, with better cream and better ingredients. I also tried an apple brandy from Switchgrass Distillery which is located out of St. Louis. I’m dying to get a bottle of the stuff for at home!

Of our two dinners in Kansas City, this was easily my favorite. The cozy atmosphere, incredible charcuterie, and excellent service sets Fox & Pearl apart in my mind. Make sure to make a reservation and eat here when you are in Kansas City, you will love it!