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That's not only because Mary Montgomery, the longtime manager of the old Bristol, is here as general manager and has lured many of the former Bristol employees back with her (including executive chef Steve Foote, who opened the new Bristol in Leawood), but also because the look of the place -- dark, polished wood; heavy green curtains; and an eye-popping stained glass dome -- evokes memories of the popular restaurant that left the Plaza in 1995 after losing its lease. The Bristol was replaced by another seafood restaurant, the flamboyantly decorated and unsuccessful Jules (which boasted a "live" mermaid, a giant aquarium, and inconsistent food). But Jules was doomed from the minute it opened its glass-pane doors: Loyal Bristol fans blamed the restaurant's owner for the Bristol's move to Johnson County, and many refused to even step into the flashy new Jules. The result? It sank, and the space has sat empty for months, only recently obtaining a new tenant, the Atlanta-based Capitol Grille -- another steakhouse.
My friend Diane was one of those Bristol loyalists who snubbed Jules. But when she joined me at McCormick & Schmick's for a meal, she liked the place at first glance because "it was like the old Bristol." It would be fair to say that the new McCormick & Schmick's, which features a glamorously upscale interior created by the company's own design team, has more in common with the old Bristol than the new Bristol (which took its antique dome along when it fled to the suburbs).
"Do all the McCormick & Schmick's restaurants have domes?" I asked Montgomery. "Or is this a tribute to the old Bristol?" Montgomery answered that none of the 27 other restaurants have domes "but the architecture plans for Valencia Place included one, so we incorporated it into our design."
And the design is very dramatic. The dome at M & S is sweeping in scope, done up in shades of cream and caramel that change, according to Montgomery, throughout the day as the light filtering into the place changes. In the center of the dome is a tribute to Missouri: the state flag and the "Show Me State" motto all done up in pieces of colored glass. It's the centerpiece to the restaurant's circular main dining room (with the noisy, busy bar in the center), where most diners prefer to sit.
On my first visit, when I was seated in the more intimate, demure, and quiet second dining room, which adjoins the big room, I saw an acquaintance wrinkle up her nose in anger after the hostess (another Bristol veteran) escorted her to the table next to mine. I nearly took it personally.
"I wanted to be in the other room," she said. "That's where the action is."
Action? On busy Friday and Saturday nights, the round room is virtually la dolce vita, with customers nearly falling out of their chairs to see and be seen by the rest of the beautiful people.
"I saw everyone who was anyone there last Saturday," gushed a friend of mine, dropping names that weren't exactly A-list but snazzy enough to lead up to a real punch line: "And after this guy at the bar bought me a Campari and bitters, he took me for a ride in his new Porsche!"
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