All rise for the honorably hungry! Presenting this review in true courtroom drama fashion. ​The Prosecution's Complaint: Plaintiff brings to the court's attention: the dark entrance staircase. Transitioning straight from the blistering sun into the dim foyer is a hazard--if you pay attention like a distracted squirrel, you will stumble downward toward your destination. Proceed with caution. ​The Defense Steps In: Once you survive the descent, the Defense presents a compelling case. The interior is sleek, mercifully air-conditioned, and remarkably clean despite the moody lighting. Our party was seated almost immediately, and our server was a delight. ​Exhibit A: The Rum Root Beer Float The Defense recommended this beverage, and while it tasted fantastic, the Prosecution requests exploratory evidence as to whether any actual rum was present. Multiple eyewitnesses at the table cross-examined their own floats and reached the exact same conclusion: zero detectable alcohol. ​Exhibit B: The Club Sandwich with Fries This main course will win over any jury. Perfectly toasted bread points loaded with roast beef, ham bacon, and a bacon jam that delivers a total flavor bomb. Absolute slam-dunk. ​Final Verdict: Aside from one co-counsel physically banging their head during the proceedings, the court dismisses all charges. I render my final ruling: a great place with solid food. Case closed! read more

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I have lived in the area my entire life but never knew about this historic restaurant. The quirky thing is that it's a basement hide-away. No wonder I never knew about it. It's rather hidden on the square, just across the historic courthouse. The food was okay, nothing spectacular, but typical fan fare food: burgers, sandwiches and dinner staples like fried chicken. My hamburger was good, but as good as elsewhere. The service was good as the waitress made sure our drinks were filled. read more

Courthouse Exchange Restaurant - Inside the restaurant - American Near Me - Independence, Missouri

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Food was made fresh. Loved the salad and dressing (Honey Mustard). Tomato Bisque was amazing with homemade croutons. Very authentic decorations in the restaurant that made for a chicque ambiance. We had a larger party that seemed to overwhelm our waitress but we gave her a lot of grace on speed of refills and delivery of food. I wish soup and sandwiches could be any sandwich (club) would have been delish. read more

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You know how certain foods just go together? PB&J, milk & cookies, grilled cheese and soup. That's how i feel about chicken fried chicken and mashed potatoes. When we ordered door dash and the mashed potatoes was not included it was a major disappointment. We called the restaurant and before all the words were said we were told to take it up with door dash. No apology that the restaurant forgot half my meal. No offer to let us come pick up some mashed potatoes. Just an automatic response that they did not care. The bag is sealed shut after the restaurant the packs the food inside. That to me is not the fault of door dash but someone at the restaurant. Yet they couldn't take ownership of their own f up. I always love their chicken fried chicken but without the mashed potatoes and just gravy it just wasn't that good. Just like their attitude. read more

The food was, unfortunately, unremarkable. The Reuben was probably the worst I've had--the corned beef was so tough I couldn't even cut it with a knife. The dining experience certainly lasted longer than expected... mostly due to all the chewing. On the bright side, I'll give it stars for atmosphere. Tucked in the basement, it has a nostalgic charm--like a place where lawyers in hats once grabbed lunch across from the courthouse. Too bad the ambiance outshined the entrée. read more

People inside and a table of 14 outside just arrived then we arrived table of 8 they said we only have one server on tueadays our table left to eat somewhere else poor server has to do it all read more

I'm new to the area and that means I get to walk to the square and experience all that's here. That meant the day after Thanksgiving we went on adventure. By our luck the Courthouse Exchange was open. In our party of three one got the soup and salad bar, the soup was good according to her, but just a lot of celery. My other friend got the BLT, he said it was great! Myself, I got the messy fries in an entree portion. All were good and we all raved about how good the bacon was. We all had a round of beer and that was fresh and delicious. I definitely plan to get back and try more of the menu. Oh did I mention our server was delightful and attentive. read more

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Places really cool good atmosphere good food. Pretty sure it's haunted which makes it the best part lol would recommend to anybody who's visiting or in town. read more

At bottom right chicken fried chicken. Fish (cod) n' chips. Baked potato. Bailiff's fried chicken. Turkey bacon avocado sandwich. Center is fried pickles and onion strings. The food was excellent. Lindsey was our server. She provided great service. She was very politely attentive. Ambiance was inviting. It had that old history feel. The mural painting on the walls and pictures they displayed the history of Independence. My family and I will definitely return and the rest of the menu. read more

Courthouse Exchange Restaurant - American Near Me - Independence, Missouri

Food was amazing! I had the tender loin platter. The service was great as well. It is definitely worth the price. It kinda takes you back in time with a good down home food and atmosphere. Follow them on Instagram and Facebook book. read more

Great food, but the service was a bit slow. It wasn't crazy busy just not attentive. Not the usual service we usually receive.

I walked in 2 1/2 hours before close and the manager " ugh we have a party " there was only 3 of us she grunted all the way to the table gave us the wrong drinks and gave us off to another server because she didn't want to take care of us , I felt like the was being lazy and not very welcoming read more

This place is located in downtown Independence directly across from the Truman Courthouse. When you enter, you walk down some stairs to the restaurant located below street level. It has a very casual atmosphere, and a home style menu with the usual American cuisine. The open faced hot roast beef sandwich was excellent. Even better, the chocolate cake was amazing. Service was outstanding! Very attentive. Highly recommended if you are in the area. read more

Courthouse Exchange Restaurant - American Near Me - Independence, Missouri

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Oh man- what a little secret this place is!! Most delicious Chicken Fried Steak I've ever had, and I e tried MANY. Great service, nice ambiance and totally affordable. read more

Courthouse Exchange Restaurant - Chicken Fried Chicken meal with Mashed Potatoes and Gravy, with Green Beans - American Near Me - Independence, Missouri

This review is for the experience my brother and I had on Wednesday, December 13th. My brother and I got together that day at Game Café for a couple hours and decided to get something to eat at the neighboring restaurant before visiting some more family. ^__^ We were both relieved for how slow it was there that day! Only a couple other booths were being used during our lunch, so getting settled came naturally, along with our interaction with our waitress. She was very kind and welcoming, which made things even more comfortable. My brother ordered a specialty buffalo chicken mac'n cheese bowl of some sort and I chose to get 2 sides to enjoy as a meal. BOTH SIDES WERE EACH A MEAL !! lol.. Huge sides they were! You could easily fill up on one side order of them sweet potato fries Or deep-fried mushrooms. Both of which are safe go-to's for me if I see them on any menu.. I do enjoy my deep-fried mushies. ^_^ Because it was so slow that afternoon, it was easy to capture decent snapshots of their business. It's a little too dark for my personal liking, but it was alright. Well kept and neat it was. I didn't love their fried mushies, but I still enjoyed them, and had plenty to take home with me after our time there lol. I might return to try something else on their menu. Perhaps after another Game Café visit. read more

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It was a busy night but the service was good over all. The food was hot and the chicken on the sandwich was HUGE! They could have given you two buns to make it perfect. This a bar restaurant mix and out door patio. Had the fried mushrooms as well but forgot to capture it sorry to say. They were great! read more

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Great place! We were visiting from out of town and ate since it was the only place open on Monday evening. We came back twice the next day for lunchtime, where I had an excellent Ruben sandwich and came back for a drink in the evening where we enjoyed a probation punch drink which I highly recommend! The service here was friendly for all 3 of our visits read more

There is a reason this place has been around 100+ years. Nice menu, good food, friendly service. I had the Exchange Burger, hold the BBQ sauce. 1/2 burger, toasted bun, crispy bacon. It came with good fries. Wife had the Buffalo Chicken salad. The small version was plenty. Our server was friendly and two others stopped by as well. read more

I didnt see any place to enter for guests other than the front. which is NOT ADA FRIENDLY. you have to go down stairs to basement of building. if they have another handicap entrance its not located through front of building nor was their signage for it. We went in and were in the Bar area where a two signs instruct you to "please wait to be seated". I think there is an open dining area through a door way in bar area but we cant be sure. we waited for 7min with no staff acknowledging us or coming over. They just must have had enough business though the bar and bar tables were empty except for one female patron. The patron looked at us and smiled. but the one staff member who came out and went to bar then register never looked at us or anything. after 7min of waiting we turned and left. atmosphere is dark and bar lighting. smelled a little dusty but its underground in an old building. read more

What a gem! We were in town to get our marriage license, and found this spot. As soon as we walked in, I knew this place was for us. Kind of divey, but in a friendly neighborhood way. It seems like the kind of place with a lot of regulars- which I certainly would be if I lived closer. The food is simple and perfect- nothing too fancy. Reminds me of home. I wish this existed in KC! read more

Love the food and that it is really haunted and has been on ghost hunters tv show great service great location

Placed an online order for $20 with no tip. I paid $3.50 for a sprite the size of a kids cup. When I arrived, my order was the only online order sitting on the counter & it took someone 5 minutes to even say hi to me. The bar had 1 person at it and the restaruant had 1 family seated. Wil not return. read more

Went in, had to go downstairs to ask if patio seating was open, to be told (in an empty dining room), that once they get busy in the dining room, our service will suffer on the patio. Ok, we chose the patio. It was nice outside. Service was ok. Food, chicken fried steak was so tough it was inedible. Had to chew and chew. Also, it was a chunk of cube steak that separated from the breading. Wasn't made correctly. Potatoes were good, but cold. My tenderloin and potatoes barely had any gravy, when I asked for more, I was charged. Would not have been a big issue, except the server snapped at me when I asked why I was charged for extra gravy. All we wanted was to relax, enjoy a beautiful evening and we were very disappointed. The server's attitude is the reason we won't return. And the manager letting us know we could expect poor service. read more

Great food and service, there is a reason it's been in business for so long, will definitely be back

We randomly found this place and decided to come in. It has a very speakeasy vibes with the stonewalls but it was cool! My husband had the buttermilk honey fried chicken and I had the country fried steak. Both were super crunchy and delicious! Mine was better though! We got our food pretty fast so service was efficient! We'll have to come back if we're ever on this side of town. read more

Courthouse Exchange Restaurant - entryway - American Near Me - Independence, Missouri

It's been a while since I've been to the Courthouse Exchange and I'm still trying to figure out why I don't come here more often. The food is delicious and fresh, the table service is great (thanks Jodie) and the atmosphere is cool even knowing Harry himself spent time here back in the day. We were here for lunch during the week and got seated right away. I ordered the soup and salad and had the chicken tortilla soup. My wife had the grilled chicken sandwich. Everything was delish and gave us a reason to stick around a bit to just relax and enjoy the time there. I'll be back! read more

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When we were paying in our card, declined, one of the employees yelled that the card declined and embarrass us in front of people and she got mad when she expected us to leave a tip after she did that read more

Efforts to be Proud Of Post Lockdown Recovery A little honesty goes a long way with me. There is a sign on the front door that pretty much says that rehiring and bringing on new staff might not be the cake walk that some customers expect post-COVID-19, but they are trying. In my mind that is real class, and I doff my cap to their management. Due to the staff shortage the patio area is still temporarily closed, but in their stone and wood decorated underground dining area regulars can feel at home again. I came in with a party of 30 (former classmates from a "closed" school) and were served pretty much by a single server. Yes it was not as "fast" as it used to be, but every dish was served at the proper temperature (I actually had to let my fries cool down a bit before eating them), and with a sincere smile. During the meal i did not ever see empty glasses waiting for refills or any lack of appropriate condiments! Pretty impressive. Their Rubens and Tenderloins were both excellent, in both taste and quantity. At $12.49 and $11.99 respectively, they were well worth the price. While other area restaurants have not survived, it is wonderful to see the Courthouse Exchange returning to it's well earned reputation. Kudo's to the staff and management. As the area around The Square in Independence returns to normal life I know that this is one place that I will continue to patronize as they have earned it. read more

Courthouse Exchange Restaurant - Now that's a Ruben! - American Near Me - Independence, Missouri

I was ONE HUNDRED PERCENT DISCRIMINATED against when I walked in there. No customers were there just the bar tender. I sat at the bar and was asked for my ID. I am FIFTY SIX years old and I look FIFTY SIX years old! When I said that I accidentally left my ID at home but had a picture on my phone (which served as proof of ID for the County Assessor's Office) if that would work as it had for the Assessor. I was told NO! I calmly left and said I know EXACTLY what it is to the bar tender, and that I would NEVER EVER be back, nor recommend ANY person of color not to as well. This was my experience, yours may be different. read more

Great comfort food with super friendly staff. Recommend the chicken fried chicken!!! Ambiance is awesome both underground and the patio is a great place to hang. read more

It was good. The restaurant had a very cozy feeling to it and it's cool because it's underground. The only thing I didn't like is that the food was expensive and wasn't seasoned enough. Hoping the food gets better because I really want to love it! read more

Liked the Country Fried Steak I ordered. They work the basement-like space pretty well and it looks a bit nostalgic, walking downstairs to get to it feels a bit like a prohibition-era dive. I enjoy that they also carry Polly Pops on tap and I plan to try one of the specialty cocktails which uses them at some point. The only downside I have is the pricing is a bit high, but that has been happening elsewhere. read more

Burger was so good here have to come back and try more in the menu loved how the restaurant was set up service and food was great

So disappointed on my first and only visit. Thinking it would be a speakeasy vibe of low lights, cocktails, and a menu to match...it was not any of these. It was like sitting in a church basement with booths and a few tables, bright lights and a limited bar and grill that was very mediocre. Non-descript front entrance with large dirty glass window, doen concrete steps, had to walk through a dark unfinished, what appeared to be a haphazard storage are and into the bright lights of the church-like seating area. Likely will not go back read more

Love this place on a Friday night. Sitting outside, music, great food, lovely epeople. What more could ya ask for.

Great food and great drinks and great service!! Thank you Great hamburgers !! Thank you for being open after the Super Bowl Parade 2023 this year. Was great to get food in stomach. read more

Interesting basement bar/restaurant. Burgers were good, but nothing special. The sweet potato fries were yummy!

Before Covid it was the place to eat in town. Not sure why but after it's bad. Food is not the same, menu is awful. It's still busy and I'm not sure why. Must be cause it's the only restaurant in town. read more

Omg one of my kid's favorites they love the French fries and the Mac and cheese with brisket we've been going for years

This is more like 3.5 stars but I bumped it up because eating underground is pretty rad. We came in on a relatively slow Saturday early afternoon. First of all, our server was a literal angel, I don't remember her name but she was wonderful! The sweet tea was good and the fried pickles were LYFE! The burger was where they missed me. Me and my hubs got the exact same burger, The Bacon Mac Attack. We had read their online menu the night before and one key item was missing, the fried Mac and cheese. It was worse than that though. My burger barely has any mac on it and what was there seemed almost dry. In stark contrast, my husbands was loaded and the Mac and cheese was delightfully dripping with cheese. (I attribute this to the amazing hottness of my husband! First he stole my food then he stole my heart...but I digress.) He loved his and honestly, I was loaded up with pickles so I'm not gonna hate. Will I eat here again...sure, why not. But hopefully next time my burger is as good as his! (Sorry, I was too busy shoveling crunchy fried pickle slices dripping with ranch into my mouth to take a picture!) read more