Experience Exceptional
As the area’s most romantic dining experience, the Castle is the perfect restaurant to celebrate anniversaries, proposals, birthdays and any special occassion.
Awards
Wandering Vine at the Castle is proud to have received numerous recognitions for excellence in food, wine and hospitality, including the first restaurant in the state of Kansas to be recognized as a Distinguished Independent Restaurant of North America.
The Castle
All across Europe, landmark castles that were once foreboding fortresses have been re-imagined as welcoming destinations for travel, food, wine, and fun. For over one-hundred years Kansas City’s landmark castle has been a part of this town’s history. Wandering Vine is its newest incarnation, and our warm and inviting hospitality makes The Castle the most romantic dining experience in the Kansas City metro area.
Your Hosts
Our roots are in Kansas City - we were born and raised here, met in high school, and were married here over forty years ago. Through those years we took the opportunities to visit, explore and sample cultures in more than forty countries around the world. Anywhere you wander, joy and celebration are linked to the food and drink, which is an expression of the people and their cultures. We have been blessed by our adventures, cherished memories and ever growing love for the unknown. Now that we are back to our roots in KC, we want to share with the town that made us who we are today.
Let’s wander together through the world of great food and wine!
The Chef
Executive Chef Bryan Sparks has spent over 20 years in the restaurant industry, starting at the age of 16 with his first job washing dishes. That experience instilled a strong work ethic, which he carried into a seven-year career in the U.S. Coast Guard, where he discovered his passion for food. After leaving the military, Bryan honed his culinary skills at renowned establishments like Bluestem, Rye, and Jax Fish House. He later worked as a chef consultant, helping to launch diverse concepts including Neapolitan pizza, ramen, country clubs, and whiskey bars. In 2018, he returned to Jax Fish House as Executive Chef.
When the pandemic struck, Bryan seized the opportunity to branch out on his own. He launched a meal delivery service named after his daughter and a catering business. After a year and a half of success, he and his wife purchased a longstanding breakfast and lunch diner, followed by opening a dinner restaurant next door. They operated both businesses successfully for a year before deciding to exit profitably.
Following six months of searching for a new venture and celebrating the birth of his second daughter, Bryan connected with Dan and Carla and found an instant alignment with their vision for the Wandering Vine concept.
The History
The Castle story begins with Remi Caenen who in 1856 at the age of 3 emigrated with his family from Belgium. Remi was a dairy farmer, who began purchasing farm land in 1879 and through his lifetime bought and sold over 3000 acres in this area. His wife, Mary, passed away in 1901, leaving him devastated and with nine children ages two to twenty.
In 1905 Remi began the project to build a grand home styled after Chateau Chavaniac in France. Remi hand quarried the stone from his own quarry about two miles from the home site. A stonemason assisted by several helpers completed the construction work. When completed in 1907, the home had fourteen rooms, four fireplaces, and two winding staircases.
After 11 years, Remi moved into the smaller stone home he built just North across Johnson Drive, and when the last family members had moved on, Remi leased the “Big House” to Dr. Elstone who operated the Monrovia Rest Home sanitarium here for 25 years. After Remi’s death in 1949 at the age of 95, the home was sold to the Keating family, who operated The Castle – home cookin’; the first restaurant to occupy the building. Ever since, the building has been known as The Castle. A fire destroyed much of the interior in the late 1960’s, when it was the Cock Robin’s Castle Nightclub. In the 1970’s alterations eliminated the small rooms and resulted in the vaulted ceiling of the dining room. In the early years of the 21st century, major interior restorations were made, and the commercial kitchen was added when The Castle was operated as an event center and restaurant. Acknowledging the historical significance, The Castle was added to the Kansas Register of Historic Places in 2006.
Let’s Start Here in Kansas to Wander the World of Wine
Our exploration of wine covers all the far corners of the Wine World, including right here in Kansas. We are pleased to feature the wines of Grace Hill Winery, who for over twenty years have been delivering on their mission to create the best wines possible from the best Kansas grapes. Building on our theme of the Westward trails, together we use Grace Hill wine making mastery to craft Castle-exclusive wines which combine the best grapes from the West Coast and Grace Hill vineyards.
POLICIES:
Credit card required to hold reservations for groups of more than 6. $25 per person charge for no-show on group reservations if not cancelled more than 72 hours before reservation.
$5 charge for split entree.
Absolutely no food from the outside to be consumed on site.
Corkage: $35 for outside wine bottles, limit 2 bottles per table, restricted to wines which are not on our house wine list.
No flowers or decorations from outside.
The Castle is a non-smoking property. Please, no smoking or vaping on site.
Please call us at 913-379-1300 or email info@wanderingvine.com with any questions.
