40 KC Coffee Shops

My husband and I have been having a great time checking out all of the coffee shops in Kansas City. To celebrate getting to 40 coffee shops, I figure now is a good time to share our list! This is (mostly) just in the order that we went to them.

1. Filling Station. The one we went to (there are a couple around town) was by Crown Center. It's got good coffee, plenty of decent seating, but it was loud. They just moved to a new location midtown though, so maybe their new set up will be better.
2. Roasterie. Great coffee, but I think they're a little pretentious about their coffee though. 
3. Broadway Roasting Coffee. Great coffee, funky vibe. And it's a handy walk down from Our Lady of Good Counsel Church!
4. Scooters. I have to be honest here. We weren't fans of Scooters. I know some people love it and this isn't a judgement, just our opinion. So... our official review is "meh". 
5. Thou Mayest. This one is probably my favorite. Fantastic coffee, friendly and knowledgeable staff, wonderful environment. This is a hard combination to come by! It's two stories high and has great spaces to hang out. Want to sit at the bar and chat with the staff? They've got that. Want to work at a table? They have that. There are great comfy couches to sit on, a patio with plenty of shady plants, and a deck with tables and chairs. On top of that, the owners have a great vision for that part of town. Bo Nelson did an interview on the podcast Speak Easy (episode 6). I'll stop here, but can you tell this is my fave?
6. Hi Hat. This is place is so cute and tiny. It has seating for 2 inside. It would be a really great place to go if you want sugary coffee drinks, probably not the best straight up coffee though. It is a must hit spot though because of how cute it is. I mean really. It could fit in a pocket. 
7. Oddly Correct. This place has the best coffee that I've ever had. But we'll never go back. First of all, there really isn't anywhere to sit inside. But even more than that, they were so stinking snobby. I get it. Be proud of your coffee. But I felt like if I has asked for sugar for my coffee, I would have had a Seinfeld soup nazi moment. (No coffee for you!!) Lots of coffee shops serve their coffee and I'll gladly get it elsewhere.
8. Friendly Bean. This place has a special place in my heart because it's so close to my house. The coffee is fantastic and the staff is truly friendly. The inside leaves a lot to be desired and I think if they could tackle that, they'd be doing amazing!
9. Black Dog. This is another favorite. Great coffee, fantastic food (it's attached to Ibis bakery so...), and the atmosphere is great. Lots of variety for places to sit. My only issue is that it's everyone's favorite. It's hard to find a seat often.
10. Quay Coffee. Another favorite. Fantastic coffee. They have it down to a science but they aren't pretentious at all. The inside isn't fantastic, it's a little loud, but we've always been comfortable enough. We haven't been to the Nelson location yet (what a shame!!!!) but I can't wait to do that.
11. Revocup. This place is cool for its mission. The couple that started this shop are from Ethiopia and have a passion to bring fair trade up a level.
12. Second Best Coffee. I loved this shop before I ever even went there because of its name. Great coffee. Great atmosphere. 
13. Blip. This is the only coffee shop in the West Bottoms, which is shocking considering it's become such a great shopping destination. When we went, they were still not roasting their own coffee yet because of a fire they had at their old location. It's a unique place - part coffee shop, part motorcycle shop. 
14. Parisi. This is a must-stop place whenever we go to Union Station. I am always so grateful to have their tasty coffee when we're there.
15. Head Rush. I wanted to like this place so much. It's super close to my house and they roast their own beans too. The first time we went, we were shocked at how expensive it was and said we wouldn't be going back. They have since dropped their prices. The coffee is good, the owner is so friendly, and their second location in Briarcliff is really nice, but I've had enough bad customer service there that I doubt I'll make it a frequent stop. 
16. Mud Pie. This was a unique place! This is a vegan bakery and coffee shop. Coffee was good, one of our treats was really good, was not so great. It's a cute little place to hang out too.
17. Crows Coffee. This great coffee shop is my UMKC. Their coffee was excellent and I can't wait to go back.
18. Goat Hill Coffee & Soda. Super cute little place. Great coffee and incredibly friendly staff. She even wrote out exactly how to make good espresso at home and showed me each step of the process. We'll definitely go back. And it's on the west side, one of my favorite parts of KC!
19. Kaldi's Coffee. There are multiple locations of Kaldi's. I went to one of two on the plaza (how does that work?!). Great coffee, it was so crowded when I was there! Good for them!
20. Hammerhand. This great place is right on the Liberty Square and I'm hoping it has more longevity than other shops that have been here and gone. They have great coffee, love to chat about their products, and are really friendly. It's not a great place to go for a good conversation though because it gets loud in there really quick. It's a beautiful old building though! 
21. PT's Coffee. Good coffee in the Crossroads, right across from Lulu's Noodles and a fantastic art shop. I could just live right in that area and have everything I ever wanted. It's really industrial inside so it's not somewhere you'd want to hang out and chill.
22. Post Coffee. Good coffee in Lee's Summit. They were really pretty snobby though so I doubt we'll go back. I know other people have had good experiences there, but honestly there are so many places that serve good coffee that I'll happily take my business somewhere that knows how to be nice to people. This is another industrial interior place, so I don't know that you'd want to hang out there (even if the people were nice.)
23. Whistle Stop. Another Lee's Summit coffee shop. It's cute inside and had a ton of coffee bean options to bring home. They're probably best at making sugary drinks, not so much at great coffee. Cute place though! And very comfortable inside to spend some time there.
24. Mildred's. This is a cute cafe that serves great coffee. We didn't eat anything there, but the food all looked fantastic. 
25. Broadway Cafe. This is the sister shop to Broadway Roasting (#3 on this list) and was pretty good!
26. Westport Coffee House. This coffee shop is in Westport (duh) and had good coffee. It felt like an old diner inside, so if you like that kind of atmosphere, you'll be happy!
27. Messenger Coffee. We may have gone here a bit too soon. They didn't have all of their act together (someone had to run to the store to buy more milk while we were waiting for our drinks!) and the staff was not knowledgable about their products. However, it is a cool spot! Three stories high, Ibis bakery is in the middle of it all and you can see and smell all of their goodness. Their roasting room is on the 2nd floor and you can watch that too. We'll go back again some day and give them a second chance for sure.
28. Colony. I was so very excited to hear that this opened in North Kansas City. There is so much potential in this part of town. Their coffee is fantastic! It was the first time I had a latte with almond milk at a cafe that didn't taste like a cardboard box! They have a bar, a full menu, great games, a ping pong table. It's somewhere you can go to hang out for a long time. 
29. Downbeat. I really liked this place! It's a hidden gem. It's on the 2nd floor of a house and the entrance feels hidden. They have an amazing selection of vinyl to play while you are there and some to buy too. And a great place to sit and read their great collection of books too. I'll definitely go back. 
30. MoJo's Coffee. This little coffee shop was a pleasant surprise in Kearney. The guy that was running it is obviously involved in the teens' lives that come to hang out there, which was so great to see! The coffee was good and it's a cute place. 
31. Made in KC Cafe. This is another one that we should have waited a bit longer for them to get all the kinks worked out before we visited. The coffee we had was great, but the staff is definitely new and needing more training. Of course they are! It's a new place! The really cool thing about this place is all the great Made in KC products they had! We have some super creative people in this city.                        
32. Papa's Coffee Express. This tiny coffee shop is in Liberty tucked away in a parking lot of a strip center. The coffee was ok. There was A LOT of propaganda on the walls and I felt like I was being lectured without him every saying a word.
33. Nomad's. This was a fun find! It's on 39th Street (another one of my favorite parts of town) and is part bar part coffee shop. There are lots of seats and has a funky vibe. The coffee was great and the staff we talked to was very friendly and not snobby at all! Definite win!
34. Cafe Main. This is on IHOP's campus in Grandview. It definitely had a coffee shop on a college campus vibe, but the coffee was good.
35. Pirate's Bone. This little coffee shop is tucked in in a mostly residential area. The coffee was great and they had unique food items (activated charcoal waffles??!!). 
36.  Hattie's Fine Coffee. This cute coffee shop is in Prairie Village. They have BULLET PROOF COFFEE!!! I was so excited! Not that it's hard to make it, but it's a treat to get it out, too. Fantastic customer service too. 
37. Gusto Coffee Shop. This great coffee shop in Lee's Summit had great coffee, a crowded but comfy atmosphere, and friendly staff. The decor is a pretty disjointed, but that's all we can criticize for. Their calendar shows that the community uses there space a lot too.              
38. Mother Earth Coffee. We went to the Hyde Park location, across the street from some BEAUTIFUL homes. The coffee and atmosphere reminded us of being in a Dunkin Donuts. It felt like a chain. It is, and I think it's owned by the same people that own Parisi Cafe. I really wanted to like it and support efforts of a local company, but I don't think we'll be back.
39. Split Log Coffee. This downtown KCK coffee shop is right across the street from Slap's BBQ. Haven't been there? Get there immediately! It's our new favorite BBQ restaurant. Anyway, Split Log is really small inside, but it's comfy! Fantastic coffee. We'll definitely go back.                 
40. Opera House. This Rivermarket coffee shop was unique in that there is a coffee shop, a bakery, a bar, and a restaurant that share one big seating area. They roast their own coffee, and it was pretty good. I liked it, but with Quay Coffee right around the corner, I'd have a hard time coming here. Although they are right by the farmers market area so maybe??       

                              

That's all! This has been so fun! There are almost 30 more coffee shops on my list to check out and I'll be adding my reviews as we go!