Downtown, Crossroads

SOT: Craft cocktail bar on Grand, conveniently located next to a strip club (I mean this in a kidding sense… but it is true). Great menu with fun inventive cocktails. At any bar I always recommend a dealer’s choice, and here they always do a great job. My favorite to this point was Gin, fruit forward, and refreshing.

Up-Down: Bar with old school arcade games, outdoor giant jenga and connect 4, skee ball, and pizza. Fun to show friends coming from out of town.

Boulevard Beer Hall: Open to the public bar great for beer lovers. They frequently have experimental beers that they will serve not anywhere else. You can also do flights, there is a photo booth and shuffleboard court. Fun spot!

Casual Animal Brewery: Newer KC brewery, awesome selection and pretty cheap. Not a super large venue but great place to start if you’re exploring the crossroads 

Green Lady Lounge: Classic choice for some late night, smooth, live jazz. Good for dates as well, ~romantic lighting~. There is actually a downstairs too where there are more people performing! 

Taps on Main: Self serving craft beer. Pretty fun, you get a card and go around swiping whatever beer you want to try- the digital screen will show you how much you are pouring. It can add up fast though!

Tom’s Town Distilling Company- Very fun gatsby-esque bar to relax and have a drink. Pricier, but very cool venue. Right next to Taps on Main.

Crossroads Hotel: This is a spot I frequent, and for good reason. The bar downstairs is the one I think is the gem, although I can’t deny that the rooftop (Percheron) has both a great view of the city and great cocktails. Note that each bar has a different menu, and the rooftop has a much more limited food selection. Downstairs has the pool table and table suffle board, the roof has Bocce.

The Belfry: If you like bourbon, this will be one of your spots. Located just down the block to the west of SOT. They specialize in bourbon and bourbon containing cocktails.

Afterword: It’s a book bar of sorts. There is a working bookstore as part of the bar. They also have card and table games available. Food is limited (although tasty), but the drinks are very good. There is one that they have served in the past in a porcelain teacup with a little dinosaur.

Rock hill Grille: Last Christmas they did an event upstairs which turned the space into a Christmas bar. It looked like Santa and elves puked everywhere with the decor. It was a ton of fun and very festive. Do note though that there were super long lines to get in, and the weather that time of year often isn't the greatest to be standing outside in!