JJ's Restaurant

The story

Crafted with passion, served with love

A West Plaza Institution, Four Decades in the Making

In 1985, Jimmy Frantze purchased JJ Malane's from his former business partner and the saloon's namesake. Malane's went away, but JJ's remained — and a West Plaza fine dining icon was born. Jimmy, along with Matt Nichols, invested their enthusiasm and passion for exceptional contemporary American food, steaks, and wine to build one of the finest restaurants in Kansas City, just a block west of the Country Club Plaza. The loyalty they inspired runs deep: when a 2013 fire forced the restaurant to close, almost the entire staff returned when JJ's reopened eighteen months later. Now, after forty years, ownership has passed to Jimmy's nephew Kevin Frantze, keeping it firmly in the family.

The Food: Long-Time Favorites and a Fresh Approach

The menu is rooted in contemporary American cuisine, with a steakhouse sensibility that Kansas City diners expect and respect. The kitchen works with local farmers to source its products, and the range on the dinner menu reflects both ambition and discipline. Steaks are a serious matter here — the JJ's Pride, an 11 oz. tenderloin topped with garlic herb steak butter, has long been considered one of the finest cuts in town, while Wagyu ribeye and strip sourced from local Marie's River Farms represent the upper register. Beyond the steakhouse classics, the kitchen ventures confidently into Texas wild boar braised in Burgundy wine tossed with fettuccine, grilled Ahi tuna marinated in sesame oil and garlic, and a lobster risotto built on half a Maine lobster and a saffron-butter reduction.

Longtime regulars make a point of ordering the Paco Shrimp — large gulf shrimp stuffed with horseradish, wrapped in bacon, deep-fried, and served with a Dijon mustard and white wine sauce. The blistered Brussels sprouts with cherry balsamic have developed their own devoted following, and the onion soup gratinée, finished with a hint of Missouri apple and brandy beef broth, speaks to the kitchen's attention to local character.

The Wine Program and Recognition

The drinks program at JJ's is no afterthought. Wine Spectator recognized it with a Best of Award of Excellence, and in 2025 the restaurant was named a semifinalist for the James Beard Award in the Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program — a remarkable distinction that reflects decades of careful curation. The spirits list is equally considered, running from an extensive bourbon and rye selection to aged single malt Scotches, Armagnac, and Cognac. House cocktails like the Barrel Aged Old Fashioned — 100-proof Old Forester aged four weeks in-house — show the same level of craft applied to the bar.

The Atmosphere

The current home in the Polsinelli Building creates what the restaurant describes as "a warm and inviting atmosphere, with just a bit of European flair." Guests arriving for the first time and regulars celebrating anniversaries use the same word: occasion. It's fine dining in Kansas City that feels genuinely welcoming rather than stiff — a place where the staff knows the menu, knows the wine, and takes evident pride in both.