Brunching at this cozy Columbus Park spot feels like eating in a good friend’s kitchen. The cafe has a charming retro vibe with a compact menu that will nonetheless appeal to fans of both greasy-spoon classics and multigrain avocado toasts.

Chef Johnny Leach and pastry chef Helen Jo Leach may be coastal transplants, but they’ve already settled in nicely in the KC scene. Tucked inside the Hotel Kansas City, Town Company feels glamorous but warm, with easygoing cocktails and wood-fired dishes showcasing Midwestern ingredients. Even the dinner rolls are made with locally milled flour produced from heirloom Kansas wheat.

Moody walls, lush landscapes, and a copper bar give the Campground’s dining room a rustic but stylish vibe (think: summer camp by a Hollywood set dresser). Plenty of patio seating and a casual outdoor bar bring the campsite feeling out of the dining room, too. Come for the craft cocktails in glassware bedecked with game fowl; stay for the smashburgers and retro snacks.

“Eclectic” might be the best descriptor for a restaurant that’s part Istanbul, part Long Island, and embedded in a quirky duplex in a historically Latinx neighborhood of Kansas City. The menu is a collaboration between Turkish restaurateur Orcan Yigit and longtime KC pizza chef Brent Gunnels. Expect enough meze to make the table groan, tender kebabs, and a bubbly, chewy grandma pizza.

Every morning, workers in the urban core flock to Mildred’s, a family-owned cafe, for specialty coffee and the Standard breakfast sandwich — bacon and swiss with pillowy steamed eggs and a bright pepper-dijon mayo. If you can’t beat the morning rush, you can still score biscuits and gravy or a vegan breakfast hash all day long. Although Mildred’s has two locations, the Wyandotte Street cafe is cozy and close to attractions in the Crossroads Arts District.

Build a multicourse feast of small plates showcasing local produce in this sleek and stylish dining room in the Crossroads Arts District. Don’t miss the house-made pastas and elegant desserts. The menu changes with the seasons, but the Duroc pork chop and duck neck agnolotti are fixtures for a reason.

High up on the list of iconic KC experiences is ending a bar crawl at Town Topic for a smashburger and tots. The classic American diner has fueled KC’s night owls for 75 years, serving up diner breakfasts, chili dogs, and chocolate malts 24 hours a day. Tame a hangover with a Haystack: a classic bacon-and-egg sandwich gilded with a layer of cheesy hash browns.

Any trip down the Kansas City, Kansas, Taco Trail should feature a trip to Carniceria y Tortilleria San Antonio, a bustling neighborhood grocery with a first-rate lunch counter. Order tacos al pastor by the pair and dress them up to your heart’s content at the technicolor salsa bar.

A butcher by trade, chef Vaughn Good continues to turn out excellent pates, cured meats, and chubby sausages cooked over the restaurant’s open wood-fired hearth. Sneak downstairs after dinner to sample fun cocktails and funky wines in the lounge while staff spin their favorite records.

Chef Carlos Mortera’s fast-casual restaurant is a beloved spot for bold Mexican barbecue with global influences. The wood-fired whole and half chickens are truly family-sized, and you can order them for dine-in, carryout, or drive-thru. Whichever route you choose, be sure to grab sides of esquites and kimchi fried rice.

Refined but unfussy, this intimate Hospital Hill restaurant has a fun, well-curated wine list and an ever-changing menu of inventive small plates with international influences. Think: pillowy shokupan topped with shrimp mousse and XO crunch, or pork cheek ravioli with summer squash and lavender.

Workers have flocked here for decades for generously stacked cold sandwiches and oversized baked goods. The mandatory order is the Hook ‘Em Up, a soft onion bun loaded with pepper beef, turkey ham, and both hot pepper and American cheese. Get your order in online before the lunch rush to snag one of the bakery’s enormous, cuddly soft apple fritters.

Lovers of big, beautiful salads won’t do better than the Russell, where wood-fired meats and vegetables are arranged into painterly compositions. Order online for an easy carryout lunch, and don’t skip dessert: The oatmeal cream pie is a particular favorite.

Chef Cherven Desauguste and co-owner Mehret Tesfamariam marry Caribbean and Ethiopian flavors at this elegant Midtown spot with an extensive rum list. Try the pan-fried conch with cilantro-lime pesto or the doro tibs with collards on a generous canvas of injera. The cocktail list is stacked with punches, sangrias, and tropical-inspired sippers.

Champagne and sparkling wine are the focus at this romantic Westport wine bar with a cute patio. But the small open kitchen also puts out first-rate bar bites, from shoestring fries to crab salad and caviar to a “trio of Midwestern hams.” A more substantial, French-inspired menu is available during Sunday brunch.

Anthony Bourdain famously named Kansas City’s iconic gas station barbecue spot as one of his “13 places to eat before you die.” Order a slab of ribs or the Z-Man: a pile of lean, thin-sliced brisket topped with smoked provolone, fried onion rings, and the sweet-hot sauce that typifies KC barbecue. Dine-in space is limited; call in an order to-go to skip the long line.

“Upscale but playful” is the vibe in this light-filled modern restaurant with quirky decor and a wide-ranging menu. New England native chef Linda Duerr makes a predictably good lobster roll with lemon beurre blanc, but don’t skip her fresh pastas, which are structured around seasonal produce and foraged herbs. Lively cocktails and colorful desserts contribute to the fun, unstuffy feel.

Rashaun and Justin Clark’s casual cafe is a neighborhood fixture, dishing up smoked pork belly sandwiches and grain bowls in a historic building on thriving Troost Avenue. Vegans have plenty of options here too, from chickpea tacos to tofu breakfast burritos.

Although Earl’s opened in 2022, it’s already become a neighborhood fixture in East Brookside. Part of that has to do with the restaurant’s casual vibes and lived-in design, which lands somewhere between Maine oyster bar and Revolutionary War museum. Post up at the charming zinc bar to try a gargantuan shrimp cocktail, sip a frozen gin and tonic, and chat with the shuckers while they pile up the freshest oysters in town.

Harp Barbecue is still a relative newcomer to the local barbecue scene, but that hasn’t kept founder Tyler Harp from topping local best-of lists and earning national praise for his thick-sliced, fatty brisket and creative sausages, all served from a small prep area inside Crane Brewing in Raytown. Stop by on Saturdays for the full barbecue menu, or come on Friday nights for tacos served on Sonoran-style tortillas from Lawrence, Kansas, tortilleria Caramelo. The team regularly sells out, so line up before 11 a.m. if you’ve got your eye on a specific item; the wait is worth it.

Waldo Thai is unique in the metro for its focus on Northern Thai, or Lanna cuisine, and hip date-night atmosphere. Start with the richly spiced nam prik orng dip or the kua ma thua ma kheur, which features eggplant and longbean fragrant with shrimp paste. The restaurant’s cocktail menu changes frequently, but always there’s a sense of humor (currently, the drinks are all named after BTS songs).