How do you infuse a friendly midwestern town like Kansas City with Australian culture and cuisine? You do it one guest at a time.
Co-founders of Banksia, Rob and Kate Joseph, along with their business partner, co-founder, and general manager, Erika Vikor, found this out firsthand when they decided to open Kansas City’s first Australian bakery and café in the spring of 2018, with the goal of bringing a bit of flavor from their hometown to ours.
The Josephs moved to Kansas City from Sydney in 2012 to expand the veterinary pharmaceutical company they had founded in Australia. Rob retired in 2017, and it only took three weeks before he decided he needed a new gig. By April of 2018, the three partners had opened their first Banksia location in a quaint space on 9th Street in downtown Kansas City. By 2020, they opened their second Banksia location south of the Country Club Plaza on Main Street in the former Board of Trade building.
They were clearly thinking big when they announced plans to relocate their original downtown location to a newly remodeled 5,300-square-foot space at 1183 Main Street, where they’ve been serving their classic Australian breakfast and lunch menu since June. With over 150 seats indoors and room for another 50 people outside, their daytime business has more than doubled since making the move to a space that tripled their indoor seating capacity.
The newly renamed Banksia Bistro is located right on the streetcar line and only steps away from the Midland Theater and the Power & Light District. Diners enter the new location and step down into the space that sits slightly below street level.
During the day, warm daylight fills the large dining room dotted with dark wood tables and spiffy white chairs. Lush green plants cover a handsome wood-slat wall that serves as an accent wall for the space. There is an inherited pizza oven glowing at one end the service bar that came with the location, and on the opposite end is a small ten-seat cocktail bar.
The daytime menu at Banksia’s includes their original collection of breakfast and lunch favorites, along with traditional Australian meat and vegetable hand pies and sausage rolls. When you stop in for coffee, you must also treat yourself to a traditional Australian pastry or dessert.
In August, the partners added a full-service dinner menu to their offerings, which includes a robust happy hour and a more sophisticated menu, along with a fine selection of beer, wine, and cocktails. Sourcing ingredients from Australia, the bistro offers Aussie prawns, lamb (the national meat), and kangaroo loin, considered a delicacy there, all on the dinner menu.
In the evening, the bright overhead lighting was an unfortunate mood killer. Dimming the lighting would soften the spacious dining room and make it feel more like a date night spot, as well. The service was friendly; we were greeted immediately and told we could sit anywhere we liked.
Wanting to try a little bit of everything, we started with a few items on the “grazing” or small plates menu, the Margherita pizza (one of five different pizzas on offer, and each one sounded better than the next) and the kangaroo loin. They were arguably what I would consider to be the least challenging and most challenging dishes on the small plates menu, respectively.
I was impressed as I watched our server hand toss our pizza and slide it into the pizza oven. What came to the table was a ten-inch puffy crust with a bit of char on the bottom topped with fresh tomato sauce and both shredded and fresh mozzarella cheese. Once out of the oven and cut into four pieces, the pie was sprinkled with ribbons of fresh basil. It was tasty, and I could easily see someone living nearby or staying in a hotel walking in to take a pizza to-go for dinner.
The kangaroo loin was beautifully plated, revealing the skill that is back in the kitchen. The loin had been cut into four equal two-inch-long pieces and dusted with warming spices before being seared and finished with a port wine reduction sauce, which added just a touch of sweetness. The juicy loin resembled a perfectly cooked beef tenderloin, with no hint of gaminess at all. Grilled asparagus spears and a pretty potato pavé accompanied the loin that was devoured in just a few bites. At only $22, this is a great price for a meal reminiscent of an upscale steakhouse dish.
The king prawns were new to me, and I was down to try another down-under delicacy. A scattering of fresh scallions floated atop the bowl of clear mushroom broth, brimming with umami flavor, interspersed with delicate slices of king oyster mushrooms. Two large interlocking prawns rested in the middle of the bowl, perfectly poached and topped with a light foam of chili lime aioli. The king prawns were a revelation, with a flavor that was more evocative of lobster than shrimp. There was a tenderness and buttery flavor to the meat that made it seem like each bite was melting in my mouth.
With just a few service and atmosphere tweaks, Banksia Bistro would be a great spot for dinner. Located in such proximity to so many popular entertainment spots, this should be on your list to slide into before your next play, show, concert, or movie.