Fritz's Railroad Restaurant: Kansas City

The last time I drove through Kansas City I remember it was overcast and it seemed like everything I looked at was an old grey factory. But while planning this year’s trip, I read about a train restaurant—Fritz’sRailroad Restaurant—where model trains bring the customers’ food to their tables. I’m not sure how anyone with kids could pass up the opportunity to visit such a place. 

We visited the downtown location, but there are actually three locations in and around Kansas City. The one we went to was at the Crown Center—a mall of sorts located in downtown Kansas City. This time on our visit it was a nice sunny evening and the city was quite pleasant. There was a festival by the Westin Crown Center (Which incidentally rhymes with Reston Town Center, where we live, which the boys thought was hilarious.) and the restaurant inside was not crowded. 

The way it works is: you order drinks from a server, order your food via an old school telephone located in your booth, and the train comes out with a whistle, flies around a track by the ceiling, and drops a tray of food off at your table. The place is ingenious. What a great idea! There are other model trains going around the perimeter of the restaurant, and decorative train sets as well. 

The food is nothing to write home about—pretty standard burgers and fries joint—but the presentation is such an anomaly that you barely notice the taste of the food. Our servers were not great or overly attentive, but they got the job done and we left happy, with our paper conductor hats in tow and our bellies satisfied for the moment. 

If you find yourself in the area, you should check it out—it’s worth it for the fun kids’ experience. 

4 SHOUTS

The conductors wait for their food.

Here comes some!

The Amtrak train runs along what looks like windows by the tables.

Here comes our food! Brought to us by ingenuity and hydraulics

Ketchup knows no bounds.

Interior train set

Photo op 

To read my other road trip reviews, go here.