Black Garlic Restaurant

Black Garlic Restaurant and Rum Bar is a Black-owned Ethiopian-and-Caribbean fusion restaurant in Kansas City’s Midtown, opened in 2025 by classically trained chef Cherven Desauguste (of Mesob Restaurant) and business partner Gerri Reese, pairing Ethiopian tibs and injera with Caribbean braises and a tropical rum bar.

Description

Black Garlic Restaurant and Rum Bar is an Ethiopian-and-Caribbean fusion restaurant located at 3601 Broadway Boulevard in the Midtown area of Kansas City, Missouri. The concept is built around blending the culinary traditions of Ethiopia and the Caribbean — described by the restaurant as fusing “rich, international flavors with the heat of tradition” — and is paired with a rum bar serving tropical cocktails.

The menu spans both traditions: Ethiopian tibs in chicken, lamb, and mushroom varieties, misir wot, and other dishes designed to be eaten with injera, alongside Caribbean and Haitian-influenced plates such as cabrit (braised goat with plantain), seared salmon and shrimp, conch in rum glaze, and jerk chicken with pineapple salsa. The rum bar offers cocktails including a hibiscus mojito and the house “Stormy Day.”

The restaurant has been recognized in regional coverage for chef-driven plating and bold flavors, and was featured by Axios Kansas City as part of a spotlight on Black-owned businesses. It also offers communal multi-course dinners designed to serve large parties.

Ownership and history

Black Garlic is owned by Chef Cherven Desauguste and his business partner Gerri Reese. Desauguste is a classically trained chef and the owner of Mesob Restaurant & Rum Bar, an earlier Kansas City Ethiopian-and-Caribbean restaurant; Black Garlic carries forward and expands that same fusion concept. He is known in Kansas City food circles for elegant presentations, bold flavors, and elaborate plating.

The “Black Garlic” name traces back several years: an earlier Black Garlic concept was announced as a cooking studio, event space, and lounge planned for the West Bottoms. The current restaurant at 3601 Broadway was established in 2025.

Menu

Last verified: 2026-05-31 Source: Official website (full structured menu) + Toast ordering platform Source URL(s): https://blackgarlicrestaurant.com/menu/, https://order.toasttab.com/online/black-garlic-restaurant-3601-broadway-boulevard, https://www.instagram.com/blackgarlicrestaurant/ Confidence: High (current, detailed, categorized menu directly from restaurant site + active digital ordering) Next refresh target: 2026-06-30

Ethiopian + Caribbean fusion (tibs, injera, jerk, plantains, rum program). Bold flavors, elegant plating.

Caribbean / Starters

Caribbean Fritters, Crab Cakes, Lambi (conch), Steam Mussels, Banan Peze (plantains), Guacamole (with injera), Jerk Chicken Bao Buns, Mesob Special, Brussels Sprouts

Meat & Seafood

Griyo (pork), Oxtail, Baby Back Ribs, Broadway Chicken, Chicken Jambalaya, Whole Snapper, Shrimp & Grits, Surf Duo, Chef Special blackened salmon

Ethiopian Tibs & Vegetarian

Dorotibs (chicken), Beef/Lamb/Shekla Tibs, Shrimp/Salmon Awaze Tibs; Misor Wot, Ingudai Tibs (portobello); Rasta Pasta (jerk cream); extensive add-ons (collards, injera, etc.)

Salads, Desserts, Rum Program

Multiple salads/bisque; Upside-Down Rum Cake, Peanut Butter Explosion, Mango Passion Cheesecake; large rum list + flights (Haiti, Jamaica, etc. tiers to Ultra Premium), many rum cocktails (Hibiscus Mojito, Stormy Day, Painkiller, etc.), wine, happy hour, lunch menu

Full details + rum flights archived in 99_Archive/2026-05-31_black-garlic-restaurant-menu/capture.md. Toast for current ordering. Smash-burger already noted in Menu Items Index.

Tier classification

Tier 1. Black Garlic is a Black-owned, chef-owner-operated restaurant rooted in a distinctive Ethiopian-and-Caribbean fusion that chef Cherven Desauguste has developed across multiple KC ventures (Mesob, now Black Garlic). The owner-operator dedication and the locally built, culturally rooted concept are exactly what Tier 1 measures. (Opened 2025, so short tenure, but the deeply local chef-owner profile is clear.)

Links

• Website: https://blackgarlicrestaurant.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/blackgarlicrestaurant/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EthiopianandCaribbean/

See also

• midtown-kc
• Registry

Sources

1. Black Garlic Restaurant — official site — https://blackgarlicrestaurant.com/ — accessed 2026-05-30 (full name “Black Garlic Restaurant and Rum Bar,” address, fusion concept, rum bar, social links)
2. Axios Kansas City — “Black-owned kitchen blends Caribbean and Ethiopian flavors” — https://www.axios.com/local/kansas-city/2026/02/03/black-garlic-caribbean-ethiopian-kitchen — accessed 2026-05-30 (chef Cherven Desauguste, Black-owned, Midtown, dishes, rum bar, Black-business spotlight)
3. Feast Magazine — “Black Garlic Cooking Studio, Event Space and Lounge to Open in Kansas City’s West Bottoms” — https://www.feastmagazine.com/article_858366f4-0533-11e9-b6a1-fb01bae10ba9.html — accessed 2026-05-30 (Desauguste + Gerri Reese partnership, classically trained chef, earlier Black Garlic concept)
4. Yelp — Black Garlic — https://www.yelp.com/biz/black-garlic-kansas-city — accessed 2026-05-30 (3601 Broadway address, Caribbean category corroboration)

Verification

Drafted 2026-05-30 from web research; 4 sources. Chef-owner Cherven Desauguste, partner Gerri Reese, the Mesob connection, the Ethiopian-Caribbean fusion, and 2025 establishment are corroborated across Axios and Feast. Phone flagged provisional: base-data number (816) 285-4337 was retained, but the official site lists (816) 214-6939 — recommend confirming which is current. Social links (Instagram, Facebook) confirmed via official site.

Menu capture (2026-05-31): High-quality current structured menu from official website + active Toast. Full Caribbean + Ethiopian tibs fusion, jerk items, seafood, vegetarian, desserts, and especially the extensive rum program/cocktails captured in detail. Earned secondary tags added for defining categories (tibs, jerk, rum-bar); smash-burger already present in Menu Items Index. Full menu transcription + rum flights in 99_Archive/2026-05-31_black-garlic-restaurant-menu/capture.md. One of the strongest digital assets in the pilot batch. Phone note from base data cross-referenced.