Zoo Bar

It’s a cool joint to check out, Marilyn was very nice and the patrons were very friendly. We went on a Saturday afternoon and you help yourself to mini snack bar. Its waking distance to Sprint Arena.

Definitely a dive bar. If you like walls that have been written all over, and basic drink choices then this is the place for you.

Zoo bar is a cool place to hang out and have a beer. Be sure to grab a mini beer shot. It’s a hole in the wall type bar but worth stopping by and checking it out! Cash only bar but there is an ATM in the bar. Love hanging out at the Zoo bar.

Conveniently located just behind the Sprint Center, this place is like the Rathskellars that used to dot our college campuses until the drinking age went up in the 1980s. A legitimate dive bar, complete with writing all over the walls and ceilings, jello shots, pool table and simple dive charm. Be forewarned — cash only and no food so don’t come hungry.

I travel around a lot for work. Hit little bars in most of the state’s I’ve been in. This one, by far, is the most chill. People are friendly. Mary is the bomb! Wonderful bartender, great hospitality and prices!

Carrie is an awesome bartender. She is funny and accommodating. She told me to swallow… all the shot requests.

A quiet, upscale bar where you can slowly sip on a martini over deep conversation, have Vegas style service and listen to live jazz, this is NOT!
This is for those who like to dive on in to a bar and channel their inner college student.
It’s a blast. It’s more fun than some of the contrived bars, because it just is what it is. A lively, fun spot with cheap drinks, bar games and friendly people. It’s what a bar should be.
There’s not a ton for me to say that isn’t already covered, but roll in here with some friends and take over the place. Don’t expect concierge service, but just roll with whatever happens and have fun!

Amazing dive-​y bar but still very country. Reminded everyone in our group of a local bar back home. Cash only, but with prices so cheap, it shouldn’t be that big a deal (5 beers for 17 dollars). Best part for this Pats fan was a shoutout to Brady on the back wall by the jukebox!

Zoo Bar was everything a bar should be when I had the pleasure of passing through on a Friday afternoon. Very friendly bartender, helpful owner, and hospitable locals slowly sipping an afternoon brew and talking about the latest neighborhood news you can’t get from a newspaper (albeit while poring over the crossword and sports section).
The pours were generous and the conversation was good. No nonsense, no hipsterdom, and no credit cards. Thanks, Mary, for making us out of towners feel welcome!

This is possibly the most understated bar in kansas city. I’m not going to use the phrase dive bar, as that phrase can have certain negative connotations such as the three regulars at the bar having collectively between them four eyes, 16 fingers, 41 toes, 71 tattoos and 11 teeth.
While it’s possible that you’ll run into these theoretical individuals this bar has an awesomeness that transcends the dive bar motif.
Anyone can come here. I’ve seen tuxedos mixing with hoodies, although your best chance of fitting in is jeans and a t shirt. Blue collar? Sure but I’ve seen lawyers pop in from the courthouse. Also off duty police, law clerks, and er, people just out on parole,
You never know what will walk in that door.
The bar is long, the place looks dirty but that’s mostly just the graffitti. The working area by the bar is impeccably organized, as it should be in a bar that takes drinking seriously.
This is a no tap, cash only two fisted, big hearted bar.

«Do you want to go to the divey-​est dive bar in all of KC?» was the question I posed to my friend. He answered YES so I took him here. If you want the tinest, coolest, non-​hipster, non-​sports, non-P&L bar imaginable, then you’ve come to the right place. It’s easy to miss, this place. It’s very nondescript from the outside so it’s easy to pass. But don’t. Turn right around and go right back in.
My friend couldn’t get over the walls– covered in graffiti. He had to take out cash at the ATM in the corner because I’d forgotten to tell him it was cash only. Also, there is no tap. Just bottles. But Boulevard and imports for $ 3.75? Yes, please.
They have a nice pool table with plenty of cues. They have Christmas lights. They have friendly and knowledgeable bartenders. «Mini Beer» shots are a must if you’re a first-​timer.

I heart dive bars. I just recently got a job downtown and literally the best part about it is Zoo bar. I’ve been multiple times over the years but could never really give it my full patronage as I live down south. Zoo bar is the type of bar that every bar should be. Simple, unpretentous, likely an old man at the end of the bar, friendly staff, and cheap prices. As others have mentioned it is cash only but there is an ATM inside.
I’m surprised that this place isn’t busier as it is located right near the Fed Building, City Hall, Education Dept, etc. But I guess the average «suit and tie» crowd probably goes into P&L. Which is how I prefer it. More beer for me.

The term «dive bar» gets thrown around a little too loosely of late for my liking — but this spot qualifies — one of the only true «dives» in the downtown area. So if you like old school, actual dive bars, this is your spot.
Cash only. No tap beer — which knocks it down a star for me.

We came during HH time… Not too much in the way of specialties… HAHAHA
Just kidding. Its a dive bar in EVERY sense of the word. How they fit into the swank of the surrounding areas… Lord only knows!
Cash only. The clientele will stare at you if youre in a suit and tie… Luckily that was not me. hahaha I looked over myself as I was in a hoodie and jeans. *had to join in like i belonged* lol
I liked it… Definitely NOT P&L… So if thats your thing… ZooBar aint

Herrrrrmmmmm, no friend I am not going to drink non-​beer with whip cream out of a tiny beer mug, however adorable. However, I am going to read your kindly provided copy of Bill Cosby’s book on fatherhood at the bar. I am going to try to find the elephant in the room on what could be wrong about this place, but I can’t. It’s tiny, low key, casual, downtown and near the Ambassador hotel. On a late Friday night, there were about a dozen others. While raucous, it didn’t impede conversation, and there was plenty of room for our group of 8. The writing’s on the walls, the science is simple: go to Zoo.

What the F is my problem? I have lived/​worked/​played downtown for like 7 years now, and I have never been to Zoo Bar? Shame on me. Finally at the recommendation of some friends, I changed that this past weekend, and I am in love with this tiny, hilarious bar. Some facts:
— Cash only, kiddos.
— They sell these adorable little shots that look like teeny tiny beers. It’s fun if you like to drink while also pretending you’re a giant.
— They have one of those Megatouch, and nothing is as fun as playing those games with friends, particularly the one where you have to find the differences between two different pictures of naked people. Good times.
— They also have a pool table (in good quality!) and electronic corn-​hole/​bags.
— The juke box is chock full of soul, which is pretty much amazing.
— You will find me here. Often.

A kitchen that serves dive bar food would have earned this place 5 stars. This is a place that I would frequent if I lived in KC. I ventured in on a Wednesday night with two of my co-​workers and we were the only ones there. The bartender (rats, I forgot her name!) was great! She was very welcoming and chatted it up with us the entire time we were there. Note: This place is cash only and there is not an ATM nearby.

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. Still, it was clean and had a good time visiting with friends.

I loved this place! We were looking for a dive bar in downtown KC after eating at the Flying Saucer, and Unilocal hooked us up with an easy 3-​block walk and one of the coolest dives I’ve ever experienced. Of course immediately upon entering we were pulled into a conversation with a regular and felt right at home. The Zoo isn’t worried about how you look or how it looks to strangers. It just is. 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. 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. 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. The beer is cheap and the bartender was very friendly. The place is big enough to accommodate a decent-​sized crowd and the pool table is a plus. Right by the P&L district /​Sprint Center area, you can’t go wrong with a trip to the Zoo.

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.