Red Door Woodfired Grill: The Best Little Upscale Neighborhood Joint

That tagline describes Red Door Woodfired Grill perfectly. If you haven’t been to one of the five locations–six with the opening of Lee’s Summit soon–you need to change that. Red Door Woodfired Grill is a neighborhood joint, which I love, since each restaurant reflects the community in which it’s located while keeping true to the brand. This means you’ll always get delicious, amazing food, but the ambiance might mirror the demographics of the area just a bit.

When you visit one outside your neighborhood, you’ll see what I mean. Have fun and explore because all the locations are fantastic and have  unique personalties of their own! Leawood was the first to open in 2013; Brookside second in 2016, followed immediately by Overland Park, then Liberty in 2018 and Lenexa in 2020. 

“We’re involved in the local neighborhoods that we serve and we ensure our restaurants fit into the local neighborhoods,” said Josh Pedersen, director of operations for Red Door Woodfired Grill. “We’re upscale with quality, well-thought-out food on our menus, but not pretentious. It’s a place where you can bring your clients as well as your friends and family. And the ‘joint’ part is very important in the tagline because that illustrates, we’re fun!”

Red Door Woodfired Grill’s commitment to weekly specials makes your visit fun. Founder and longtime partner Gary Zancanelli had multiple Kentucky Fried Chicken locations throughout the years and had an extraordinary appreciation for fried chicken. The fried chicken Thursdays helped put Red Door Woodfired Grill on the weekly specials map when we began to sink our teeth into this incredible recipe and understood why it’s only available one day a week. 

“It’s quite a process,” said Pedersen. “We start on Sunday with the marinade and in all it’s a 96-hour progression. The chicken soaks in the jalapeno, buttermilk and spice marinade. We have special pressure cookers used only for the fried chicken; that ensures each piece is juicy inside, crispy outside and those juices and flavors are perfectly sealed and ready for each order on Thursday.”

Josh Pedersen and culinary partner Issac Pulido provided an incredible feast of some of the restaurant’s most popular items for our tasting. I was already a fan of the Pretzel Bites, served with smoked green chile queso. These aren’t your average pretzel bites. They’re clearly made from scratch, just like everything at Red Door Woodfired Grill, soft with a little crust on the exterior and just the right amount of sweet and salt.

Next, we sampled the Classic Tomato Soup served with a cheese fritter. It was fascinating to learn how this soup is made, from scratch, of course; Issac Pulido shared that they roast the tomatoes in olive oil and then blend with garlic, spices, onions, carrots and their own house-made Bloody Mary mix. It has some cream, of course, but they assured me not too much! Then, for the cheese fritter, which is like a floating grilled cheese sandwich that you cut and savor for as many bites as possible, they simply bread and fry a blend of cream cheese and other wonderful cheeses. 

When COVID-19 hit, many restaurants struggled. Red Door Woodfired Grill used it as an opportunity to refine and perfect its menu items. I could taste the upgrades! One of the areas of improvement and refinement was the salads. Josh Pedersen explained that a culinary consultant worked with the menu and spent extra time elevating select menu items with a special emphasis on the lettuces for the salads. “We put all of our energy into the best items on the menu,” he said.

This renewed energy was evident in every bite of the Raspberry Coconut Chicken Salad, sweet/savory coconut-breaded chicken tenders, field greens, artichoke heart, avocado, grape tomatoes, red onion, Swiss cheese, tomatoes, almonds, ranch dressing with a raspberry coulis drizzle. I’m not a coconut fan, but salad is beyond heavenly. 

Pikes Salmon was something I hadn’t tried before, but it’s at the top of my new preferred list. It’s a woodfired grilled salmon over farro and vegetable sauté, almonds, herbs and feta cheese, a healthy option that’s amazingly appetizing too.

I had been notified before the tasting about the return of the tacos at Red Door Woodfired Grill so I was especially keen to taste them. Josh said it had been received extremely well by guests, and I can see why. The choices are Chipotle Chicken with baja slaw, pepper jack cheese, avocado-jalapeno aioli and cotija cheese; Adobo Shrimp with baja slaw, pepper jack cheese, pineapple salsa, pico, adobo crema, cotija cheese and pepitas; and Carne Asada made from marinated striploin with baja slaw, pepper jack cheese, guacamole, cotija cheese and cilantro. I tasted all three, and it’s too difficult to select one winner.

Remember, this menu has been refined. These items are perfected and upgraded. All the menu items we tasted were scrumptious. You’ll want to go back several times to taste each of them, as well as visit each of the neighborhood joint locations to get a feel for the individual restaurant’s personality and understand Red Door Woodfired Grill as a Best Little Upscale Neighborhood Joint.

Visit reddoorgrill.com for more information.

Written by: Megan Neher

Journalist-turned-PR-professional Megan Neher has never forgotten her true first love: writing. Today, Megan owns her own PR firm, Megan Neher Public Relations; she’s a wife, mom, marketer, student and spends a lot of time cleaning up after her four pets and two teenagers. Her dream is to live on a tropical beach somewhere where she can stroll barefoot to a nearby grass hut for a fish taco and margarita. 

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