Crème de la Club

Kyo aims for the heights -- but altitude sometimes gives way to attitude

Comments (0) By Rose Martelli Wednesday, Jun 14 2006

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Jennifer Silverberg

Belly up: Cora Camille performs with a live Egyptian band each Thursday at Kyo.

Details

Kyo
1405 Washington Avenue; 314-621-9946.
Hours: 5-10 p.m. Tue.-Sun.

Sliders $9
Skewers $11
Salmon $23
Mixed grill $23

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Though its tagline reads, "Dine Drink Lounge," Kyo seems to concentrate on the middle one. The house lights are always off, making it hard to see exactly where you're supposed to go if you want dinner. An abbreviated row of U-shaped banquettes line the eastern wall opposite the bar. It's like sitting down to a three-course meal in the middle of a rave. (In fact, the DJ often starts spinning before the back room is officially opened for lounging and dancing.) The kitchen closes at 10 p.m. — geriatric hours, given the up-all-night ambiance. There's not even a limited menu between ten o'clock and the 1:30 closing time — which, to me, anyway, runs counter to the concept of lounging.

Kyo has presented itself with a difficult equation to solve. A space that wants to be a restaurant until 10 p.m. but confronts its patrons with pulsing club beats. A menu that promises fusion fare but delivers bar food extraordinaire. Some tweaking of the blend might take this place to the realm of snow-capped peaks, but as it stands, Kyo remains a bunch of synapses firing at random.