Ventana Gourmet Grill

Ventana Gourmet Grill is an upscale yet casual American restaurant and wine bar located in a historic downtown building in Excelsior Springs, Missouri. Established in 2002 by sisters Jill Rickart and Wendy Baldwin, it occupies one of the town’s earliest brick commercial structures and has become a long-standing favorite for fine dining, an extensive wine list, and a beautifully preserved historic atmosphere.

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Description

Ventana Gourmet Grill has occupied a prominent historic storefront in downtown Excelsior Springs since 2002. The restaurant combines upscale American cuisine with an extensive wine list in a setting that highlights the building’s late-19th-century character. Reviewers frequently praise both the food and the ambiance, noting that it offers a refined yet welcoming experience in the heart of the historic resort town.

Ownership and history

Sisters Jill Rickart and Wendy Baldwin opened Ventana Gourmet Grill in 2002. The business has operated continuously for over two decades in the same location — a brick commercial building constructed in the 1890s that was among the first brick structures in Excelsior Springs. The space has been sensitively maintained to preserve its historic charm while serving as a modern dining destination.

Menu

Last verified: 2026-06-21 · Source: Ventana Gourmet Grill official food menu; Yelp (Jun 2026); Visit Excelsior tourism listing · URL(s): https://ventanagourmetgrill.com/excelsior-springs-ventana-gourmet-grill-food-menu — https://www.yelp.com/biz/ventana-gourmet-grill-excelsior-springs · Confidence: High (item names, descriptions, and prices pulled directly from the restaurant’s current official menu page; section structure and dinner-vs-lunch split also high). Medium only on whether the Fri/Sat-only steak specials and 48-hour dessert-order policy are seasonally stable.

Ventana runs a broad upscale-American dinner menu — steaks, seafood, house-made pasta, and gourmet cheesecakes — alongside a lighter lunch service of sandwiches and salads, all sourced from the restaurant’s current online menu.¹

Signature dishes

• Blue Balsamic Steak — sirloin topped with blue cheese crumbles and balsamic glaze, with seasoned potatoes and grilled zucchini. (8 oz. $30 / 10 oz. $38)¹
• 16 oz. Prime Rib — Friday/Saturday only. ($45)¹
• Whiskey Glazed Pork Chop — 14 oz. grilled chop in whiskey brown-sugar sauce, sweet potatoes, zucchini. ($36)¹
• Whiskey Glazed Salmon — with sweet potatoes and zucchini. ($32)¹
• Pesto Shrimp — sautéed shrimp, couscous, zucchini, house-made alfredo. ($22)¹

Pasta (house-made)

• Shrimp Scampi — shrimp, mushrooms, penne, white-wine garlic-butter. ($23)¹
• Chicken Piccata — chicken, capers, mushrooms, penne, lemon butter. ($22)¹
• Pomodoro — angel hair, tomatoes, basil, Parmesan-crusted chicken. ($23)¹
• Lasagna — Italian sausage, mushrooms, roasted peppers, marinara. ($22)¹

Appetizers & salads

• Burrata-Chetta — fresh burrata with roasted peppers, tomato bruschetta, balsamic glaze, grilled baguette. ($15)¹
• Smoked Chicken Dip — smoky, spicy cheesy chicken dip with tortilla chips. ($11)¹
• Wedge Salad — bacon, blue cheese, balsamic glaze, ranch. ($13; $9 with entrée)¹

Lunch (sandwiches & salads)

• Cajun Shrimp BLT — Cajun shrimp, bacon, lettuce, tomato, Cajun aioli on baguette. ($14.50)¹
• Waldorf Chicken Salad — chicken, apples, walnuts, craisins on croissant. ($14.50)¹
• Philly Beef or Chicken — sautéed onions, peppers, provolone on baguette. ($15.50)¹

Desserts

• Gourmet Cheesecake — rotating house-made flavors; the kitchen’s signature dessert. ($8 by the slice; whole cake $55, 48-hour notice)¹
• Bread Pudding — with brown-sugar hazelnut sauce. ($7.50)¹
• Apple or Triple Berry Tart — with vanilla ice cream. ($8.50)¹

Hours (per current listings): Mon–Thu dinner, Fri–Sat lunch + dinner, closed Sun; lunch service runs the sandwich/lighter menu.¹ Online ordering available via Toast.²

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Sources

• Status verified active 2026-06-23 via Yelp — Ventana Gourmet Grill (Updated June 2026) (accessed 2026-06-23). Open; current hours Mon–Thu 4:00–8:30pm, Fri–Sat 11:00am–9:30pm, closed Sun; phone (816) 630-8600. Corroborated by official site (https://ventanagourmetgrill.com/).

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Disputes

(None recorded.)

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Footnotes

1. Ventana Gourmet Grill — official food menu. https://ventanagourmetgrill.com/excelsior-springs-ventana-gourmet-grill-food-menu — asserts: full current dinner + lunch menu with item names, descriptions, and prices (appetizers, salads, beef/chicken/pork entrees, seafood, house-made pasta, burgers, lunch sandwiches, sides, desserts); Fri/Sat-only Prime Rib & Ribeye; whole cheesecakes by 48-hour order. Corroborated for active status and pricing by Yelp (June 2026 update, https://www.yelp.com/biz/ventana-gourmet-grill-excelsior-springs) and Visit Excelsior (https://visitexcelsior.com/eateries/ventana-gourmet-grill/). ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³ ↩¹⁴ ↩¹⁵ ↩¹⁶ ↩¹⁷ ↩¹⁸ ↩¹⁹ ↩²⁰

2. Ventana Gourmet Grill — official site. https://ventanagourmetgrill.com/ — asserts: serving Excelsior Springs “since 2002”; 117 W Broadway St; extensive wine list; historic dining room; active Toast online ordering. (Prior draft names founders Jill Rickart & Wendy Baldwin — retained pending a direct source; not stated on the current site.) ↩