Living six miles from the nearest restaurant sometimes leaves me daydreaming about what I’d want if one opened next door.

Something low-key enough for weeknight dinners with the kids, yet upscale enough for date night. A varied menu that’s still cohesive. Good cocktails. The kind of locally owned place where you run into friends during Sunday brunch.

  In fact, a restaurant pretty much like Tavern in the Village, which opened a year ago in the Prairie Village shops.

“Whenever you start a new business, you’re terrified and exhilarated,” said Kelly Manning, Tavern’s co-owner. “But the neighborhood’s responded to what we’re doing and given it a great community feel.”

Prairie Village is certainly a community Manning knows. He grew up here and even attended Prairie Elementary. After 14 years working for Morton’s The Steakhouse, he’s back on home turf with Tavern.

Manning and his partners gutted the front of the corner building, replacing what had been chain-restaurant cheeriness with an earthy modernity. Guests flow between the crowded front bar and the dining room, with its serene green walls and russet booths. There’s patio seating in summer, while a stone fireplace warms the atmosphere in winter.

The menu, too, is comfortable, with starters ($8 to $13) like fajita steak sliders and salads ($7.50 to $12.50) including the Asian tuna, with Napa cabbage, mango, edamame and a sesame-citrus vinaigrette.

There are also “hand helds” ($8 to $14) like the Tavern burger, made by blending ground beef with a bit of tomato juice and pasteurized egg (“to keep it nice and juicy,” Manning said) and served on a toasted, buttered bun.

Chef Zeb Humphrey is putting his own stamp on the kitchen after taking over in November, Manning said, although popular entrees ($12 to $29) like the grilled salmon with lemon butter sauce and fried capers are sure to remain.

So will the steaks, including a filet mignon that’s hand-cut in-house and a Kansas City strip. Beef’s not surprisingly a priority, given that general manager and co-owner Anthony Zarate is also a Morton’s alum.

“Coming from the steakhouse business, we’re traditionalists,” Manning said.

But the Morton’s influence doesn’t end there. Bar manager David Smuckler also worked there, back when he topped the 2007 Greater Kansas City Bartending Competition. His list at Tavern features drinks like the popular blueberry cilantro margarita and the rosemary monk, made with gin, Green Chartreuse, fresh lime juice, strawberries and lavender simple syrup. Boulevard’s on tap, and there’s a good selection of wines by the glass or bottle — a small portion of which are displayed on open racks along one wall. In all, it’s enough to keep the neighbors happy.