I Had a $241 Dinner at Travis Kelce’s New Restaurant: Review

Photo-Illustration: by The Cut; Photos: Getty Images, Mia Mercado

Getting a reservation at Travis Kelce’s new restaurant, 1587 Prime — where, the website reads, “legacy isn’t just honored, it’s transformed into something entirely new,” which translates to “it’s a steakhouse” — was not easy. It’s located in the Loews hotel in downtown Kansas City and was booked solid before it even opened its doors in mid-September, but after three weeks of trying, my editor managed to snag me a last-minute reservation for two. “What if we get a very late, very expensive dinner tomorrow?” I asked my husband, a middle-school teacher who is usually in bed by 9 p.m. The next evening, we had an early-evening snack and took a nap before cosplaying as a couple in a much higher tax bracket.

Now, I think it’s fair to say that Kelce did not open a fancy new restaurant — a partnership between Kelce, his teammate Patrick Mahomes, and high-end hospitality group Noble 33 — in Kansas City just for his billionaire-pop-star fiancée, Taylor Swift. Yes, there’s a drink on the menu called The Alchemy, which Mahomes confirmed is a nod to Swift. (Her song “The Alchemy” also alludes to Kelce with lyrics like, “When I touch down / Call the amateurs and cut ’em from the team.”) And sure, Noble 33 is also responsible for restaurants like Mēdüzā Mediterrania, where Taylor and Travis were spotted dining together last year in New York. And okay, fine, 1587 Prime has a private dining area behind a two-way mirror that has a “discreet VIP entrance.” But that could be for anyone.

Inside 1587 Prime. Mia Mercado..

Inside 1587 Prime. Mia Mercado..

We showed up at 9 for our 9:15 reservation, hoping to get seated a little early. (Actually, we got there at 8:45 and dawdled around the hotel. The website asks that you not arrive any earlier than 15 minutes before your reservation, and I was worried about looking tacky.) Behind a heavy door, the restaurant entrance is a narrowing tunnel with dramatic lighting, meant to emulate the experience of a player walking into an NFL stadium. That was lost on me, though, because, behind the hostess stand, we were greeted by a dramatically lit display of striated meat hunks. The floor apparently also features brass inlays that mimic a football field’s yard markers, but alas, the meat.

The host guided us up a marble staircase to our marble-topped table on the second floor. Everything is black-and-white marble, leather and brass, gold and wood detailing. The lighting is warm, and servers wear branded white jackets with black piping. We decided the vibe is “throwback fancy.” Per the 1587 Prime website, the dress code is business casual — no sweatpants, no flip-flops, no baseball hats — with one exception: Chiefs sports attire is acceptable on game days. Guests who don’t abide by the dress code will be offered a complimentary branded white polo (also available for purchase, naturally) to wear during dinner, but a manager tells us they haven’t had to enforce that yet. A table over, what appears to be a child influencer propped a phone against a glass of water as they filmed their meal. The restaurant website also says families with kids under age 16 are welcome before 7 p.m. It’s pushing 9:30 p.m., but I suppose a child influencer’s work is never done.

Photo: Mia Mercado

Beyond a billionaire pop star and her wealthy cohort — and the occasional influencer — I’m not sure who this restaurant is for. Dining near us, there are a couple of bigger groups, one of which is celebrating a birthday. There are a few tables with two to four women, some of whom are in varying degrees of pink sequins. There are a few groups of men who probably have “executive” in their job title. There are couples who look to be in their 30s or 40s, perhaps here for a one-night splurge. There are about as many couples a decade or two older, who I wouldn’t be surprised to learn are members of Noble 33’s Noble Noir Club, which comes with perks at all its restaurants for a $2,000 annual fee.

We perused the cocktails menu as if we hadn’t already meticulously studied it online. 1587 Prime boasts a 20-plus-page wine list, featuring several bottles over $1,000 and at least one pushing $2,500. The average rent in Kansas City is $1,200 per month. In addition to drinks paying homage to Swift (the aforementioned The Alchemy) and Kelce (Big Yeti), there is a lychee martini called Queen B. This is, of course, named for Brittany Mahomes.

I ordered the Alchemy ($22), which our server said has “done very well for us.” The drink is like an elevated Cosmo: a mix of clarified citrus vodka, Pierre Ferrand dry curaçao, cranberry, strawberry, lime, oolong, and aronia berry, which is the more polite name for chokeberry. My husband got the Big Yeti ($24), which is a take on an old-fashioned. Our drinks arrived with a little show and a new server. They pour smoke over a branded ice cube in the Big Yeti, but this is just the opener. The Alchemy comes with steel wool placed around the glass’s stem, which our server lit on fire. I don’t really get it, but it’s pretty. My husband said the Big Yeti was a little on the sweet side for an old-fashioned but still tasty. We both preferred my drink, which was light and tastes like the most elegant hard lemonade I’ve ever had.

Photo: Mia Mercado

1587 Prime passes the free-bread test. After we ordered food, we got two complimentary rolls, which were perfectly buttery and salty. Our waiter apologized a couple of times for the wait on our entrées, which is negligible on account of the free bread. Around then, a band started up and a lounge singer made her way up the marble staircase singing “Knock on Wood,” which could mean nothing. Our waiter told us there’s live music every night, and I’m impressed by the singer’s ease as she winds between tables, belting while patrons glance at her between bites of steak. After “Respect” and a few more classic soul songs, she headed back down the staircase.

Our Wagyu carpaccio ($33) arrived topped with teeny-tiny pickled mushrooms, pine nuts, Parmesan, an umami aioli, and black truffle. Of the dishes we ordered, this is the most intimidating. I have nothing to compare it to — baby’s first raw beef! — but every bite was fatty, salty, a little brine-y, and a little sweet. I ate too much of it, and my stomach hurt. The child influencer and their adult chaperone ordered the tableside flambé ($27) with their steak. The show of melted butter and fire cost as much as our next dish, a black-truffle grilled cheese and tomato soup. Lotta truffle on the menu. The portion size of the sandwich is respectable, but not quite enough to be a meal in and of itself. My stomach was soothed by the familiar cheesy goop, though.

We felt obligated to order a steak, even though neither of us have strong steak opinions. There are Wagyu cuts that cost between $95 and $165, but the largest and most expensive steak on the menu is a 40-ounce Wagyu tomahawk for $345. We get the least expensive option, a 6-ounce petite filet ($59). Our waiter said the chef recommends the steak medium rare, and we said, “Yes, chef!” It’s a little bigger than a hockey puck and among the best-prepared steaks I’ve eaten.

Photo: Mia Mercado

There were three menu items I’d been set on getting from the start: The Alchemy (check), the cheapest steak (check), and the $15 Mahomes ketchup flight, an homage to the quarterback’s preferred method of eating steak — dipped in ketchup. The flight includes three little dishes of housemade ketchups: original, a spicy one topped with Japanese togarashi, and, of course, black truffle. The ketchup kind of just tasted like ketchup with other stuff in it. It is not greater than the sum of its parts. We ordered truffle fries ($16) to get the full use of our ketchup flight. We spent $31 on fries and ketchup alone.

For dessert, we got a giant slice of carrot cake ($18). It was the highlight of the meal for me, which is great news because I could get it anytime since it’s made by local bakery McLain’s. (1587 Prime partnered with several local Kansas City businesses, like Farm to Market Bread Co. and Betty Rae’s ice cream, if you’re in town but can’t get a reservation.) We get a box for our unfinished slice of carrot cake, the only leftovers from our dinner, and the check. After tax but before a tip, our meal costs $241, which is more expensive than our most recent electric bill.

Since its announcement in 2024, 1587 Prime has had few, if any, public hiccups. An anomaly in the world of celebrity restaurants! Despite being open for less than a month, the dining experience as a whole is expertly executed. The food is delicious, prices and ketchups aside, and the service is impressive. We felt full and well taken care of.

I have similar questions about the restaurant as I do Taylor Swift’s most recent album, The Life of a Showgirl: Why this? Why here? Why now? It remains to be seen whether 1587 Prime will maintain its popularity once the novelty wears off. But if you want the experience of a fancy meal in a fancy venue that isn’t intimidating, can spend a couple of hundred dollars on dinner, and like the idea of eating in a place where Swift has been and potentially could be, the restaurant will satiate your appetite.