The American Restaurant was born in 1974. James Beard, the father of American cooking, and Joe Baum, the legendary restaurateur, provided culinary counsel for the project. Warren Platner, who designed Windows on the World in New York and Water Tower Place in Chicago, created The American's timeless design. Bradley Ogden, then of Kansas City, was the chef.

For more than 30 years, The American Restaurant has been striving to set culinary standards, using talented chefs and the freshest ingredients to prepare the highest quality foods. Today, the restaurant the Halls envisioned is one of Kansas City's crown jewels. The American Restaurant is Kansas City's only Mobil Four-Star Restaurant, we hope you visit us soon.

Ingrams Magazine writes:
" . . . Awarded Gold Awards for Best Service, "...due to a philosophy that says service is not an accident. Fifty weeks a year, all staff undergoes intensive formal training... and Most Romantic Restaurant, ..."When you need romance in the very air you breath, the food you eat, even the tables and chairs themselves, Ingrams readers vote for the American Restaurant... Recently spruced, the elegance of the sweeping stairway is only the start to a night filled with soft piano music, a gorgeous night vista, fine wine and food...and possibilities." as well as Silver Awards for Best Dessert Presentation, ... and Best Wine List, ..."it has certified sommeliers who know well the approximately 1,300 selections on the wine list and who offer over 100 selections by the glass beyond dessert, fortified and sparkling wines." in the 2002 14th Annual Silver Ladle Awards ."