First time I went to Zoo bar, it was after a wedding reception and I had been celebrating a bit so when I decided to take some friends there that aren't from KC, I had some trouble finding it and didn't remember that they are a cash only bar. that being said, once we got there, went to the ATM and got our drinks we pulled up some stools at the bar. It's light by florescents and there's writing all over from people put their stamp on Zoo bar. The drinks were cheap and strong, the jukebox was good and we had the pleasure of meeting the owner. He was very charming and sweet, talked to us for a long time. The bartenders were nice, pretty efficient if you were ordering a beer or straight shot but don't get too fancy. It's a mixed crowd of elderly, young profressionals that enjoy dive bars (us) and a few shady people but it was a good time.
Review Source:This place is TINY. If you are looking for a super divey place that is only big enough to hold about 30 people (when packed)...here you go. You know, it wasn't the best place in the world...drinks were a little pricey and there are definitely NO FRILLS, but if you kind of embrace a gritty place, you'll love this place. Easy parking next door. Get a tetanus shot and try it out. (Just kidding, it's not that bad, but not a foo-foo place)
Review Source:What a Dive!... : ) Â I have heard from two very reliable sources that Zoo Bar is absolutely a contender for best dive in the city. Â A fan of Chez Charlie and other favorites, I have had my doubts but after this visit I can proudly say: Zoo Bar is worthy of the title, 'Dive Bar' and is definitely One of the best in the city.
This cash only bar (which I should have suspected but did not know ahead of time, unfortunately) is rectangular shaped with run-down stools pulled up to a bar where cheap beer options and liquor bottles line graffitied shelves behind the one bartender on duty. Â At the end of the bar is the required Jukebox as well as an outdated tube tv hanging from the ceiling and in the seats at the bar, regulars whose tabs the bartenders just guess about at the end of the night as they stopped actually keeping track years ago. The bathroom walls are every bit graffitied as the walls of the bar itself but also feature framed photos of nearly nude celebs like David Beckham, so the other girl and I in our group were sold right then and there, as shallow as that sounds. Â
From what I understand, Zoo Bar usually features a large pot of chili that is as communal as the health department will allow. With bowls and spoons available for purchase, hungry customers can scoop the chili into their own bowls and chow down. I am sad to have missed this tradition because to me that just screams chili potluck and would be perfect for helping Zoo Bar move up the Dive Bar competition ranks in my mind! Â
For nights like this when the Chili is MIA, don't worry, Zoo Bar has you covered. Â the house snack selection is comprised of Cheetos and Chips in snack sized packs available for purchase. Fine Dive Bar dining at it's best and without the bacteria filled mixed nuts bowl. Score one more point for Zoo Bar.
With PBR available for about $2 per can, or for the beer snobs-Tank 7 for I don't know how much per bottle-Zoo Bar is like stepping into an unrefined set of Cheers, and I like it. I was a little sad to see Tank 7 on the wall for purchase but this minor misjudgment on their part does not make it less of a Dive, just a Dive where one nice beer can be found. One nice beer that will probably never be consumed as much as the Natty Light and PBR that are found on either side of it on the menu. Because that is just how Zoo Bar and it's regulars roll. Â And they just really don't care what you think. Â Love it!
I like the location of this bar; it's so unexpected given the area it's in. If you have  something that you MUST get off your mind and onto a wall, this is the place to do it.  You could spend days trying to read all the walls, and I'm sure there was something even more provocative than "Chris was here".
My drink price (screwdriver) seemed high compared to most 'dive bars' I've been to, and they do only take cash. Â Still, it was clean and had a good time visiting with friends.
I had no idea what this place was like till I walked in. I'm not much of a dive bar fan. I didn't bring cash and unfortunately the first beer I saw and ordered was non alcoholic. If you like dive bars this is a great example. The walls are covered in writing from customers which gives a certain Tatooed feel to the place. The rest of the crowd seemed like good company 8pm the noise level is lower. Easy to carry conversation. Or eaves drop...
Review Source:As others have mentioned, it's more of the "anti-power and light."
A few girlfriends and I stopped in after actually bar hopping at power and light, so we didn't exactly fit in with the crowd. We were jacked up and happened to arrive just before last call, so in order not to take up too much of the bartender's time we decided to take a shot of her choice and get out of her hair. She made an INCREDIBLE shot with Licor 43 (a spanish vanilla liqueur) and cream. It was like a wonderful melted ice cream cone! Top notch.
The atmosphere is a dive, but in the best way. I'd definitely return...but well before last call this time.
I loved this place! Â We were looking for a dive bar in downtown KC after eating at the Flying Saucer, and Yelp hooked us up with an easy 3-block walk and one of the coolest dives I've ever experienced. Â Of course immediately upon entering we were pulled into a conversation with a regular and felt right at home. Â The Zoo isn't worried about how you look or how it looks to strangers. Â It just is. Â You are encouraged to write on the wall, which is great, because you can feel you've left a mark on the place, plus there's all kinds of weird pictures and knickknacks along with the graffiti. Â It's the kind of joint that has built up a history you can only begin to comprehend as a newbie.
The Zoo is really comfortable and laid-back. Â There's a jukebox so you can play your tunes and one patron even has a name plate on the bar indicating where his usual spot is. Â The beer is cheap and the bartender was very friendly. Â The place is big enough to accommodate a decent-sized crowd and the pool table is a plus. Â Right by the P&L district / Sprint Center area, you can't go wrong with a trip to the Zoo.
While it is a block away from the sprint center it is a world away from power and light! Dive bars don't get any better than this! the Zoo Bar is lowbrow city fun at its finest. The bartenders rock and the jukebox is teaming with choice soundtracks for any random evening you spend in this hidden gem downtown. The crowd has always been fun so I encourage talking to strangers there.u might get from one of the regulars. You never know what kind of story yo Go late on a whim and make sure to buy your friends a round of mini beer shots! If you are taxidermy sensitive this is not place for you, other than that, sign the wall anywhere you can find a spot but good luck remembering where you signed it the next time you visit.
Review Source:Any bar that scares my JoCo friends enough where they have to leave after just two minutes has earned new respect as one of my favorite bars.
Despite living just a few blocks away, I just went here for the first time a few weeks ago. It was a weekday night and my friends and I were the only people at the bar. Nevertheless, the place just screamed character. The jukebox had credit in it and we had a decent selection of songs. The bartendress was friendly in a non-annoying type of way. I liked this place. Then some people (regulars?) wandered in and were so jovial and loud and friendly that I just loved this place.
When some friends asked the husband and I for a good cheap bar in the general area, Zoo Bar is where we headed. $2.50 PBRs because really, a PBR really shouldn't cost more than that. This time I didn't get to stick around thanks to their JoCo fear. Once again, the crowd was friendly, loud and in-your-face. Just the way I like it. We were even boo'd after we left so soon, which only I'd get a kick out of.
It's a no-frills, anything goes type of place with a long bar in the front room and a pool table in the back room. Regular crowd, of course. Lawyers and judges during the day and god-knows-who at night.
I no longer have the drinking partners I did in pre-married life but this is the type of place where if I went with E&L, someone would be half naked on the bar while smoking a J, talking dirty and endless other stuff I probably shouldn't put in my review and it would actually be totally cool.
Zoo Bar, I will find some crazy people in KC and I will be back.
This place is amazing. We stumbled upon it after spending a couple hours and way too much money over at power and light.
We had only planned on staying for a beer or two but got sucked in by everything about this bar. The staff, regulars, and jukebox are everything other raters have claim them to be.
Stay on the bar side if you want the true Zoo Bar experience and if you see Bicycle Bob behind the bar be sure to say hi for me.
Best dive bar in KC, especially before it expanded.
The charm of this hole-in-the-wall is exactly that it is a hole; customer graffiti literally covers every inch of wall space in the original area of the Zoo Bar. Recently, they expanded to approximately double their original size (still pretty small), adding a pool table and extra seating. Personally, I liked the long, narrow bar. When it got crowded, it forced you to rub elbows with you neighbor and maybe even karaoke a jukebox song or two together. Judging by my post-renovation visits, the majority of Zoo Bar's customers agree with me; everyone crowds into the same narrow space in front of the bar, with few wanderers into the expansion.
My favorite bartender of yore, Carol, no longer works there as a regular. She used to hand out free shots to those she recognized, offering an inviting smile to all she served. The bar top knows me well, as I've danced upon it on many an occassion- which I highly recommend to anyone visiting Zoo Bar.
Another shocking change: upgrading the traditional jukebox for a digital one, which I was opposed to at first. But after perusing the expanded selection the digital jukebox offers, I couldn't help but relish in my Beside finds.
They do have have a full bar, but when my friend ordered a glass of liquor they clearly hadn't used in a while, a nauseating fly was found in the bottom of the glass. This is clearly a beer and shots kinda bar; stick to the Schlitz.
A good time everytime- this is the kind of place you swing by for a quick drink or two on a Wednesday and end up blitzed, dancing with strangers on top of the bar. A totally unique part of the P&L district, with nothing else like it. The contrast Zoo Bar provides to the newer additions that Power and Light have added is stark, but welcome.
Enjoy!
OH and it's CASH only! Â Plan ahead- although there are ATMs within walking distance that I've trekked to. Â As a single female, bring a companion- it's in a somewhat shadier area of KC.
If you're looking for a place to go to (a) wind down from a night at Power & Light or (b) avoid the Power & Light scene altogether, there can't be a better place in all of Kansas City than Zoo Bar. This is such a simple, quirky place to get a canned PBR, listen to a great juke box at a volume that permits you to talk to your buddies without screaming directly into their ear canals, chat it up with the oh-so-friendly staff, and shoot some pool.
My only beef with this place would be the lack of stall doors, which can make for a shocking stumble into the bathroom. Still, that might just be a part of the experience that makes visits to this fine establishment so weird and hilarious. Don't go changing your ways, Zoo Bar. Like a great friend, I love you just the way you are.
Just updating to mention that Zoo Bar's new* back room is now open... sorta. Â As of this writing you still can't take drinks back there just yet, but you can leave then within sight on a table on the yellow side of the bar as you go back to shoot pool. Â (Though Missouri has some of the most liberal liquor laws in the nation, you have to go through a lot of hoops and the license to allow drinking on the north side of the bar is still being processed.)
At the moment the new room just has the pool table and a small karaoke stage. Â Additional plans include a dart board, maybe a shuffleboard, and maybe another arcade game.
*The new room is a partial re-creation of the back room Zoo used to have about 20 years ago. Â This new room is a little smaller than the original.
Rikki Tikki Tavi at the ZoO? I'm in love.
I think I've found my regular spot away from all the P&L madness. Zoo bar is the best of the best of dive bars. And as the bartender said when I called to ask about happy hour,"Every hour is happy here. We pour them long and hard.' Â I'm there.
It's located close to everything so it's great to stop by for a few super cheap drinks and good tunes. Everyone is friendly there and the jukebox reigns supreme. Lots of music flashbacks at the ZoO. Lock me up, cause I'm here to stay.
I stumbled in this place one night on a recommendation of an acquaintance. He suggested i go when I want total solitude on a weekend night, which is good for me since I like to keep out of the public eye these days.
Once in the place I noticed that it was about half full and the bartender seemed friendly as did the fellow patrons we sat next to. The short time we were there was less than memorable until an older white haired gentleman, who apparently received his very own name plate affixed to the bar for all his years of patronage, struck up a convo with us. He was apparently a retired attorney who used to practice law downtown for years and he seemed dressed fairly well but once I noticed the drool coming out of his mouth as he was slurring his words at us, I kind of focused my attention on his hands and kept my distance.
He kept telling Anthony (my friend) that he was a "goodlooking young man" and putting his hand on his sholder, massaging it. I kinda rolled with it but I could tell Anthony was a bit uneasy since he was sitting next to him and getting the full brunt of his attention.
I remember getting up to go have a smoke when I saw old man lean over and puke all over himself and the floor then once he finished, he continued on with what he was doing. Shortly after my smoke, I came back in and ordered another drink and it was then or shortly thereafter that this guy just whipped out his dick and started pissing in the floor right next to us.
Check please.
What the hell? Â How is this place under my radar? Â I have never heard anyone talk about it, except on <a href="http://Yelp.com">http://Yelp.com</a>. Â The reason may be because they probably can't fit one more person in this long narrow space. Â It is tiny, old, very few seats. Â
Check it out and rub you will rub shoulders with KU college students, old folks and downtown loft dwellers.
The energy is great, drinks are cheap, the jukebox rocks. Â It is only a few blocks from my house! Â
One star off because the lights are too bright to be considered a complete dive bar.
Love it!
Bitchin' Camaro, I freaking LOVE this place! Â In fact, I'm going out on a limb and saying here and now a) if you don't love this bar, we can never be friends, and b) if you hate this bar, you are my blood enemy. Â Yeah, I mean it, too. Â How could anyone in their right mind NOT love a place that has a stuffed representation of Rikki Tikki Tavi in action above the bar?
I don't see how it's physically possible to give this place anything LESS than 5 stars, seriously. Â If I lived in KC, my liver would file for divorce in less than a week, cause I'd be here from open to close. I'm putting it up there with my Holy Trinity of great bars (The Bob Inn/Chicago, Bar Marsella/Barcelona, Art's Tavern/Glen Arbor, MI) in fact, so now I have a Holy Rectangle or something. Â Geometry aside, this place kick's your favorite bars ass and it does so with style.
Awesome regulars, ridiculously fabulous bartenders (Carol, Bob, I'm looking at you), the best jukebox I've encountered since Crash Palace shut down years ago, cheap ass drinks, respectable selection of Scotch, nice and dim, and possessing character up the ass - does it get any better than this? This judgmental drunk thinks not.
We wandered in on a recommendation for Jeff's July 4th birthday fete in KC and it was love at first sight. Â We felt like we'd come home...within minutes, we were trading barbs with the regulars and they, in turn, regaled us with KC stories and tips. Â The drinks flowed, and flowed, and flowed, and before we knew it, all of our other plans for the evening were shot, but in a good way. Â By the time we'd been there a couple of hours, we were offered markers to we could add our names to the insanely graffiti laden walls. Â Strangers became friends and these lovely people showed these two out of towners the time of our lives, if only for a few hours. It's stuff like this that makes me love, love, love KC.
If you like dressing up to go to your favorite watering hole, think that standing in line and paying a cover to buy a drink is cool, and are ok with the concept of a $15 cocktail, you probably wouldn't be very happy here as you are clearly insane and should probably reconsider having children. Â
On the other hand, if you like cheap drinks, random conversations with interesting and intelligent strangers, and feel pity for those dumb saps who spend hours getting ready to go to a "bar" only to stand in line and pay a cover to get a freaking overpriced drink, you belong here, you just don't know it yet. This is no place for amateurs, my friends, it's a place to do some serious drinking. Â I like that in a bar.
A KC treasure...love it, or I'll kick your ass (or at least question your sanity, moral fiber, sense of humor, etc.).
What do you want in a dive bar?Cheap beer, friendly staff and a fun clientele.
This "thin" bar is exactly the kind of place you should stop by before a sprint center game or show because you won't have to pay $5 for a boulevard. No fake attitude. It's not a tourist spot. Only authentic locals offering up a smile and a reasonably priced PBR.
Awesome dive bar. It's a converted diner (or built to look like one), very tiny, bright lighting, eccentric decor (taxidermied mongoose fighting a snake!) and signatures covering the walls and ceilings. It's very hard to find, and I have a feeling the regulars like it that way. I only went once, as I was just visiting Kansas City, but if I ever visit again I'll be sure to stop by this place.
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