Working for IN Kansas City sends our team all over the metro. So, each month, we’ll weigh in on our favorite local… something.
This month, we’re talking restaurant patios. Add to your list of outdoor dining destinations with our list of staff picks.
A fair amount of Saturdays, you can find my husband and me with our toddler at KC Bier Co. soaking up the sun with a cold beer (bier) in hand. I just love the ambience of this biergarten. The staff is super fast, and they have something for everyone—great food, great beer, live music most weekends, and a kid’s play house. I mean, what more could you want?
If you haven’t been, or it’s been a while, I highly recommend you take a trip. Prost!
The patio at Verbena is one of my favorites. The happy hour menu has arguably one of the best smash burgers in town, and if you can snag a spot outside, you have the best of everything. The soothing sound of the water feature from the lake almost makes you forget you are in Prairie Village.
Rye in Mission Farms offers a relaxing waterside patio with table and lounge seating. It also has some of the best fried chicken in town. Don’t skip the whipped goat cheese appetizer! Also, Rye just happens to be a favorite of a certain Chiefs player and his superstar girlfriend, so you never know…
Percheron Rooftop Bar at Crossroads Hotel has one of the best views in the city, plus they have a great new menu. Love the Dips and Rips!
My favorite part about patio dining is how casual it feels. Sometimes going out to eat just feels like this big, tiring production—but the moment a bike passes by or you glimpse a dog with his nose needled between its owner’s foot and the table leg, that pressure lifts.
Oddly Correct Coffee Bar’s patio provides the epitome of this atmosphere, and there’s a surprising amount of room and seating for street-side eating. Pick a fine morning, pop inside for a latte or a breakfast sandwich, then take it outside and chill.
My favorite way to spend a happy hour or a night out is on the patio at 54th Street Restaurant & Drafthouse in Zona Rosa. It’s the perfect afternoon hangout or spot for a good meal after a day of shopping. I love that the patio has plenty of shade but you still get the fun of being outside and watching a game of pickleball or cornhole.
My go-to happy hour order is the Cuban mojito and the gringo dip. Pro tip: Order it with half waffle fries and half chips.
Trezo Mare is my favorite patio spot in KC, and I’m not the only one who thinks so, as it’s won many awards for its outdoor dining. With a gorgeous floral landscape and marble statues, it feels as if you’ve found a piece of Italy here in the heartland. Trezo has a great happy-hour menu, so I suggest grabbing some friends and visiting this must-see patio. With delicious fried calamari, a glass of red sangria, and a great view of downtown Kansas City in the distance, you won’t be disappointed.
