403 Club

Deceptively swanky name for a bar that is a breath of fresh air and cheap drinks! This may very well become my own little 'cheers' bar.  I know it has for several of my friends.  

Having heard rave reviews over and over about the 403 Club, I finally decided to venture that way after an unexpected evening off from my old job. With several of my closest friends in tow and a change purse of quarters, we arrived to a quiet Strawberry Hill. How refreshing to be in a place where parking was a breeze on a Friday night!

Pinball tables flank the front door, but the room opens to a huge space with a pool table, darts board, and several t.v.s. From the first step in, I knew that I would like this place.  I was instantly enamored from the second that I saw the selection of beer bottles and taps. When they told me the prices of some of their higher end beer bottles, I was in love.  Throw in getting to play with the owner's dog who was running around, tail wagging, to greet everyone, I was hooked.  

With fancy, underpriced beer in-hand, I followed my friends to the Pinball machines and proceeded to lose all of the quarters I had in about 4 tries.  Oh Well! The point is to have fun, not try to get a high score-at least for me.  I have a feeling that if some of the regulars heard me say that, I would be blacklisted or become their new project to convert so please keep that hush hush! From there we moved on to pool where I went on to lose again but man that was a great time! (can you tell that bar games are not my forte?)  No one crowded around us to steal the table next so we felt relaxed to take as long as we wanted. Again, odd and I loved that.

Where other dive bar bathrooms create the desire to have your tetanus shots updated, the 403 Club bathrooms are by far the nicest bathrooms I've ever seen in this caliber of bar.  Mind you, they still don't have any toilet paper, but they do have paper towels within arms reach and a far too classy for the atmosphere vanity with mirror. I was actually able to see myself in this mirror! And was able to confirm that I'd spilled a little bit of beer on my sheer shirt.  Thank goodness for mirrors that work and sweaters that button!

My one and only complaint was that they were showing Apocalypto on the t.v.s.  I've never seen that movie, and I love that it was showing in a bar like this, but holy hell was I disturbed!  Way too intense for the alcohol in my system and lack of sleep plus late hour.  I think it's a great idea to show movies in a bar where people feel comfortable enough to sit for hours and no doubt many patrons there finished the lengthy tale.  I was certainly not one of them!

Whether you're a pinball geek, a pool shark, a darts and beer aficionado, or just a joe schmo looking for a laid back bar, 403 Club is for you.  Still unsure you want to venture out to KCK to try out a pinball bar?  Grab a friend who has been and can show you the way. It will be worth the new adventure and you may never want to leave!

403 Club, I love you and you frustrate me, but it's not your fault.

I was honored to be invited to a friend's birthday party pub crawl that started right here at 403 Club. The plan was to have a few drinks, order some pizza (they don't serve food but you can call for delivery) and then hit some other Strawberry Hill bars. I had no idea what to expect, as 403 club is rather unassuming, however, it turns out this is one of my favorite bars in KC.  Actually, as far as bars go, it probably IS my favorite.  They have such an awesome beer collection, on tap and in cans/bottles. Good beer, craft beer, microbrews, and they have plenty of top shelf liquor. After a glass of Rye on Rye and something else, I switched to vodka and ginger ale. I was so happy that 1: they had ginger ale, and 2: Tito's vodka was 4$ a pop. That's not a special. That's the price every day.

The bartender was awesome, friendly and efficient, and he offered us some of the pizza that HE ordered prior to our delivery arriving. What a guy! His pitbull, who could be found roaming the joint, was just as sweet.

So what frustrates me? Why..... Seriously, why can't we have a place like this in my neck of the woods?  Old OP sports bars should take note. They could learn a lot from 403 Club.

I should also note that this "pub crawl" turned in to spending the entire evening at this place. It's THAT fantastic.

Thankfully this bar isn't in my neighborhood or I would be here all the time.

Seriously though, the 403 is one of my favorite bars in the Metro. The bartenders are beyond nice.  The drinks are very reasonably priced.  The beer selection is top notch. Plus there are plenty of pinball machines to chose from. The jukebox is damn fine too.  It has a great mix of music, especially Thin Lizzy, which is a "dive" prerequisite.

It is definitely the first bar I think of going to when I'm out. The 403 has it going on.