"A party in an attic", hits it right on the nail. I remember finding my way to the bathroom upstairs and feeling like I was behind the scenes in a movie set(very unfinished, a lot of plywood). I was actually dragged here around 2 am after leaving another place. I was thinking the bar was still "Karma", a completely different type of bar from Gusto. Gusto plays a lot of dubstep and techno. Wasn't my cup of tea so I just stood by with a drink and people watched. A lot of flannel shirts, black rimed glasses and tattoos. Yes this is hipster territory lol
Review Source:If Gusto is a hipster lounge, then I guess I don't hate hipster lounges after all, and if it's a dive, it's the cleanest one I've ever been in. Â Historic space in Westport (aren't they all?), fantastic space, and well-used. Â Lots of nooks and crannies, fun dance floor, really nice bartenders, shockingly affordable drinks. Â I really liked the clientele, as well...great, laid back vibe, notable lack of assiness. Â Nice open area in the back. This is the bar that Westport needed. Â I'll be back, and often.
Review Source:I've heard lots of things about the old Gusto and so when it finally moved to the new location I decided to give it a whirl. I am sure happy I did! I had a great time, the interior of this place is pretty cool, there is a garage door that lets in nice cool air at the front, which if you consider yourself a "dancer" of sorts this is a great place to take a break. The night I went it wasn't to busy, the bar was easily accessible, it wasn't painful to walk throughout the place, bathrooms sorta creeped me out with all the "high school love notes everywhere", and the music was great. My boyfriend and I had met the Dj the night before out south and he invited us out! I am happy we did, I see myself returning!
Review Source:Gusto is my light at the end of the hard working tunnel. I secretly give myself bribes throughout the week that sound like this, "Okay, if you complete all your homework then you can go to Gusto." I mean really, where else can I go and completely unwind with cheap drinks and bangin' music that ranges from dubstep/house/trance? No where! You cool kids with your hip hop beats make me annoyed and slightly uncomfortable, "Hey, you, get your hands off!" I don't know about you but I don't want to swat away hands and hips on the weekends. I just want to have a good time with good friends and dance like no one is watching. Except for that one guy in the poindexter glasses and 1980's sweater---he's watching---but the I don't mind the eyes of the hipster kids. I just continue sipping my PBR and dancing to the DJ's light show until those friendly bartenders kick me out.
Review Source:This is definitly a dive bar. The staff is friendly and the drinks are reasonably priced. This music is pretty good and the crowd was friendly. If you want to dance bring a friend or you'll be dancing alone. The Bathroom is mess so make sure to bring a girlfriend so that she can hold the door closed.
Review Source:I have to say that this is now one of my favorite places to hang out in KC. Â Picture this: a little dubstep, a variety of interesting people, cheap drinks, and a cozy dance floor. Â I never went to the old Gusto, so I have nothing to compare it to. Â However, I will say that this is definitely one of the best places in Westport. Â
I've been in here on a few occasions, all during weeknights. Â There is never any cover and there is seemingly always a DJ, or at least some good beats spinning in the background. Â Yes, there are hipsters, and yes there is PBR. Â That being said, that isn't the only thing you'll find in here.
The downstairs area is finished, complete with a few bar stools, over-sized chairs, and even a sofa in the back room. Â The dance floor and DJ area is adjacent to the bar. Â Mind you, this isn't a huge dance floor at all. Â Rather, it's more like a dimly lit cement block with speakers that also serve as drink holders. Â If that sounds bad, it isn't. Â It's actually quite fun, and even better when you feel like jamming out and not minding looking like a fool. Â Chances are, there is someone else who will look more ridiculous than you, and nobody cares because everyone is having fun.
There is also an upstairs area in Gusto. Â To be honest with you, I still don't know what it is. Â The stairway going up looks very inviting, but the upstairs area is largely unfinished. Â You'll find a couple of tables with stools, perhaps some good conversation, and then there's the restrooms. Â The women's restroom can only be described as something akin to the Leaning Tower of Pisa meets plywood. Â It's a little off kilter, but functional. Â In fact, it really doesn't bother me, it just makes it more interesting.
Gusto, I adore you, and I'll be back.
Oh man, all the people calling Gusto "hipster" makes me all ashamed and awkward and uncomfortable!
I've been to Gusto a few times now, and it's a pretty cool place! Â The bar is nuts crowded like Union tends to be, and I like the overall eclectic crowd that I see hanging out. Â
The DJ (or DJs) tend to play different music from time to time, which is cool. Â My first visit was all 80s, and last time was all more modern, but not typical P&L stuff. Â It's an overall very cool, laid back bar, and not at all pretentious or dirty. Â
Highly recommended for a chill time!
If I were writing a review of the old Gusto location, It'd be a 2 star review, and I'd feel charitable. The place wasn't a dive, it was a dump. There's a difference between being hipster and just being flat-out wore-out, and they were on the wrong side of that line.
But in moving into their new location, Gusto (sadly not said in the super fun Spanish pronunciation like I once thought) Lounge solidly earns 4 stars.
The drinks are fine, cheap beer and liquor. I wouldn't expect some high falootin' fancy cocktail here, but for the basics they got you covered.
The space is great, divided up into a few areas. There's a loungy area in the back that is pretty chill, and the bathrooms are upstairs, in a rather odd setup. Nothing is fancy and there's not much decor to speak of. Still, everything is clean and in good repair (something that most certainly cannot be said for many other bars that attract the same crowd)
My favorite thing about this bar? The dance floor for sure! Great DJs, fun twinkly blue lights, and just a whole hell of a lot of fun. I strongly approve.
Since the closing of Sanfords, this particular location has rotated through one crappy bar after another with little or no fanfare. But don't worry, Gusto just won't make it here, they will thrive. It's another awesome ingredient in redefining the flavor of Westport, which is starting to taste pretty dang good.
Come here for "party in the attic" feel and The Union for "party in the basement" feel.
Gusto's reminds me a lot of hipster college parties. Been there a couple times now, and I'll consider it to be one of my main stops in Westport. The bartenders are nice and the patrons tend to be too. The dance floor area feels like you're in an attic and the DJ fills the room up with some BEATS. It's not trashy dance floor full of grindage, more like shakes your hips, jump around and/or interpretive dance. Fun times.
There's also a "quieter" seating area in the back. Wouldn't know anything about it.
Gusto's was one of the first bars I went to upon coming into kansas city. The bar tenders were friendly and everyone was really nice to me... not the usual who the hell is this girl stares. The drinks are cheep and stiff and the atmosphere reminds me of my favorite dive back home. I'll definitely keep going back.
Review Source:Well, the Lava Room got evicted so a louder tenant just moved into Midtown named Gusto. Â The team logo here seems to be a Schlitz can which to me accurately represents the overall environment..watered down and leaving an annoying, bitter taste in your mouth. The lounge is quite small, so anyone planning on lounging out will actually have to do the opposite. Â To make things worse, half the bar is occupied by a pool table, sometimes surrounded by a confederation of disgruntled jerks, likely consuming Schlitz at a fast rate. The bathroom is open for people to observe you while you release toxins, if you are male. To make that situation worse, in the men's room you are forced to stare at a collage of nude ladies, reminiscent of a college freshman virgin's dorm room sprinkled with the occasional Schlitz emblem.I can't remember anything else memorable except for maybe some vintage looking airplane chairs in the billiard area. If you want to have a dance party suddenly, go upstairs or go have one at home.
Review Source:Gusto vexes me, so hit and miss, a la Czar Bar, come on, take a chance on decent music upstairs (if the guy has an Express polo on don't let him DJ), do something crazy and dynamic to get peeps in the door every weekend, think outside the ultra dull KC bar box. Sometimes it's perfect downstairs for 90 mins or so, pervade that. : ) I'll keep popping in either way.
Review Source:Gusto is a reinvention of what was the Lava Room in the Midtown neighborhood of KC. Friendly bartenders and very reasonable prices drive the crowd in here.
The neighborhood can drive some people away but with street parking and lot parking across the street in the Walgreen's lot it really is pretty safe.
The pool table is 50 cents! Nobody has a table that cheap in Midtown and the best part is there are usually really good people playing every night of the week.
Old school video games are a nice touch but sometimes I wish they had more seating or some booths where the games sit. Great decor here, feels like a man cave before people knew what man caves were.
Give this place a try and remember you are going to a bar in Midtown and not Power and Light, the bartenders here are race horses not show ponies don't expect flare when getting a drink. I assure you that drink with be ice cold, potent, and delicious.
Behhhhhhhhhhhhh...
OK. Â I wanted Gusto to do well. Â Midtown needs more options and I thought a new place with a hip, kitschy vibe would be awesome.
Well it would, if Gusto could pick a personality.
Techno DJ night. Â Blaring black metal. Â Groovy Motown-esque tunes. Â Shitty top 40. Â All of these have been the background music in my visits to Gusto. Â What the...?
I'm not sure what this place is trying to do anymore. Â I get the feeling they really bank on it being a dark, dimly-lit bar so patrons can't see the dirty atmosphere. Â I understand trying going for a mod, retro feel with the space upstairs, but it is pretty much a fail. Â Furniture is uncomfortable, space is weird. Â The bathrooms are still dismal.
A few friends and I decided to give Gusto another try again last night. Â It was a Thursday night, so we thought it would have a pretty decent-sized crowd. Â Again, utter FAIL. Â Only a handful of people were at the downstairs bar, braving the screaming metal music that was on, and upstairs was a barren wasteland. Â I'm not sure this place has staying power, which is unfortunate from the local business aspect...but I personally wouldn't miss it.
This place has been on my "to try" list for awhile. Was a big fan of its previous incarnation, The Lava Room, for its fun and cozy decor, good bartenders, and mishmash late-night Midtown crowd.
Alas, all that remains now is the mishmash late-night Midtown crowd. Most of the table seating has been stripped out of the downstairs, leaving just stools at the bar and a long table-less stretch of vinyl sofa device along the wall. Not at all comfortable. Especially if you're drinking something like a martini.
After walking in and finding nowhere to sit, I headed to the upstairs lounge, only to find it too has mostly been stripped of furniture (although a few retro garage sale/public school salvaged chairs remain).
Finally finding a seat at the bar, I was thinking I'd get the usual very good extra dirty martini. Foiled again. The bartender was friendly but nonchalant about service. And didn't quite seem to know what he was doing behind the bar. Taking a cue from this, I ordered a vodka tonic instead of a martini. What should have been a simple drink was not well executed.
To add to these problems, Gusto seems to have inherited the restroom stench from the Lava Room days. Except multiplied by about 100.
I paid $4 for a poorly mixed vodka tonic, lackluster service, and uncomfortable furniture. With bonus bathroom stink. The overall effect was like drinking cocktails made by a college freshman in a stinky dorm room.
Paid for the drink and snuck over to Chez Charlie's instead. Yeah. Won't be going back to Gusto. There are too many other places that do a much better job of the dive bar thing.
The Gusto Lounge popped up not long ago in the former home of Kansas City's beloved Lava Room at 38th & Broadway.  The downstairs offers foosball, arcade games and turf, while the upstairs (known as Top Shelf) caters to a dancier crowd.  It's also one of the few places in KC that serves Stag beer on special (with a shot of Jameson, no less).  Check out their entertainment schedule at <a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thegustolounge.com&s=2ef2139bd92621b913b1b3479a3e1bd1f61b5694591fd9d807a5115c44977c71" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://www.thegustoloung…</a>.
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