The Woodsweather Cafe

Was down in the area figured I would give it a shot. It’s pretty dive like. The staff was friendly. I ordered ham and cheese. It was greasy but edible not the best not the worst. Ordered fries and they were not good. See attached picture

We had awesome service when we were there. We went after getting a groupon. I liked the pancakes but I wasn’t a huge fan of the eggs, there were a bit too greasy for my liking.

This was the 1^st visit to this incarnation of the Woodsweather Café, and will probably be my last. I had been to the original and the northland version several times. I’m not sure what I disliked the most. Was it the waitress that should have a restraining order placed on her to keep her 100 feet from a customer service job. Maybe it was the bland food that took way too long to arrive at a near empty diner. Maybe it was the disgusting kitchen that I peered into on the way to the equally disgusting men’s room.
The exterior screams «I want to be a hip, divey, out of the way kind of place» but presents itself as a Eisenhower era truckstop that stopped caring about everything after Watergate.
I’m glad the West bottoms is re-​bounding and I nominate this place to be razed first.

I’ll make this simple. On more than one occasion I’ve had to ask to have a waffle or pancakes remade because the batter was spolied. «If that ever happens just let us know and we’ll make new batter.» So, it’s a common occurrence. Spolied batter, dirty coffee mugs, cold hashbrowns, sticky floors. I used to appreciate the truck stop diner vibe. Now I’m just completely grossed out.
By the way… ladies…servers…waitresses…whatever…the hardcore eye rolling is unnecessary. Your job is to refill coffee and bring things to the table. Once is excusable. Every visit is beyond acceptable.
Today was the last straw. The back room has tables with the thin, plastic, red and white picnic tablecloths. Although they look like they’ve been wiped down a thousand times, they were filthy. The dye from the tablecloths actually rubbed off the table and stained the elbows of my shirt. *pictures included*
Spolied food. Ruined clothes. I’ll pass.

Really good breakfast food, but by looking at the place you wouldn’t expect it at all. Service was very nice, but they were understaffed so it was slow. I would definitely go back, I love breakfast food and they do it very well!

I wasn’t sure what to expect driving down to this area of KC, but was pleasantly surprised. The place was pretty crowded, but we got our food fast. I ordered the bacon and biscuits and gravy. B&G was one of the better versions I’ve had in the city. There was so much food, I had to share. Our waitress was not very friendly (the other one was though) but I’m hoping she was just having a bad day. I was impressed for the amount of food for the price. I look forward to coming back and trying the Reuben that was wrote about several times on the wall

I have been to this place twice, and I will never return. The first trip, I saw that none of the cooks wear gloves when they make the food. I was not impressed with my food, but figured it was a fluke and would try it again. I tried it again today, and again, no gloves on the cook’s hands. To make matters worse, the cook was coughing into his hands the whole time. The cook then proceeded to make my sandwich, without washing his hands. I am truly surprised that this place hasn’t been shut down my the health department. I wanted to like this place, but I will never give this place my money again.

I found this place on Groupon and I love brunch so my boyfriend and I came here for brunch on a Saturday. Neither have ever heard of this place before, so we were caught off-​guard by the exterior. It does not look like a restaurant from the outside, but the interior looks like a very old-​fashioned diner. My favorite part is how friendly the staff is here; it’s overwhelming with Midwestern hospitality.
While the food menu is limited and the food is not out of this world, you really get your money’s worth of food here. The portions are huge! My boyfriend ordered a walnut short stack, which is short, but not by any means small. The pancakes themselves were delicious. He also had a small biscuit and gravy, and I loved the peppery gravy. I had the French toast, which was sizeable and delicious. I was also craving eggs and hash brown, so I ordered The Egg, which was one egg with hash browns and toasts. I probably should have told them to hold the toast, but I like dipping my toast in the yolk of my sunny side up egg. The hash brown was alright, since I prefer mine to be crispier. I would definitely be back the next time I feel like having an old-​fashioned breakfast/​brunch.

Great little breakfast spot near West Bottoms. Food was plentiful and good. I had the Breakfast sandwich and it was great. The pancakes looked good and I was told they were. Great Corned Beef Hash. Good coffee and great service. Will definitely be back.

My husband and I placed our order and waited 30 minutes for cold food. I ordered the Denver omelette and ended up with only ham and cheese. The server didn’t check back with us so I had to let her know my order was wrong when it came time to pay. Sorry to say that I’m not likely to return.

I ate breakfast here due to a Groupon I found ($ 11 for $ 20). It’s worth a trip, better food than what you’d get at say iHOP, but not quite as good as Happy Gillis near the River Market or the Corner Restaurant in Westport. It’s in the West Bottoms and easy enough to get to, but you do have to look for it as it’s building is non-​descriptive.
My wife had the French Toast (three full pieces cut in half) which was good but not great, my daughter the Eggy Weggs, again good but not great, and I the The Big Boss which was very good. Coffee was good and water was automatically brought.
I would have rated this as 3-​star but gave it a 4 just because of how good the service was and nice the waiters were, plus how inviting they made it. I’m 49 and being called «honey» by my waitress whose a bit my senior just seems right. Plus the «character» of the place. I mean it’s unique; basically a dive. Imagine a bar in a very old West Bottoms building, 1968 Schlitz beer advertisement on the ceiling, and hand writing on the wall around the inside of the entrance, with tables and eclectic booths in the center. I live in the JOCO suburbs so I love things that «aren’t «uniform and beige (and real).

I was completely underwhelmed. It was down home cooking in the most literal, uncomplimentary way: everything on the menu is pretty much the way you make it at home. I am seriously picturing one mom in her kitchen making all of the food. This may explain why it took over 35 minutes for our food to come out. My kids revolted and we almost walked out. Our waitress promptly gave us drinks but never never checked on us again for 30 minutes.
The Denver omelette would’ve been good if it didn’t have runny eggs on the inside. The hash browns didn’t have a shape. The gravy was runny. But the worst offense: the thickest pancakes in the world. They were an inch thick. It sounds goods, but in reality, the taste of pancake mix is overwhelming and no amount of syrup and butter could cover it up.
No matter where you are, this place is guaranteed to be out of your way and not worth the trip.

Saw this place as we were headed to a delivery. Once the delivery was done, looked on Unilocal for someplace we could go for lunch… this place popped. The reviews might not do this place justice.
We got in just before closing… they’re open for breakfast and lunch. We were treated well and given great suggestions. The sandwiches were very large and quite tasty. The have an excellent chocolate milkshake.

A Groupon deal brought me in the doors but probably won’t bring me back. On a Saturday morning after a 5k, I came in with a group of three to enjoy some breakfast. We were not welcomed by anyone in particular and saw no signs to wait, so we figured we should seat ourselves. Overall the service was average.
Anyway, I was extremely hungry and ready for carbs: country fried steak and eggs! I was hoping a diner like this would get it done right but not so much. The steak was bland and overcooked. I’ve had much better down South so perhaps my expectations were too high. The Denver omelette my friend ordered fared a little better.
Though the food did not stand out, there were a couple of redeeming qualities thanks to the old diner feel and the soulful music.

NO!
$ 25.00 for breakfast for two people. Only one of us had coffee. We were the only table in the place at 9:00am. Food took forever, once dropped off never saw «Flo» again. No drink refills — nothing. There are a lot of «dives» in KC but dive doesn’t have to equate to dirty.
Food sucked — hash browns were ¹⁄₈ «thick and covered the plate. Had to be peeled off to eat. Biscuits and Gravy — bigger doesn’t mean better. If they taste like paste you won’t even come close to eating them.
Won’t be going back.
Pepsi products

This was my first time coming to this restaurant and to be honest I was a little apprehensive because of it’s location but I had a Groupon voucher that was going to expire soon and the reviews were decent so I took a shot at it and I’m glad I did.
I ordered the big boy breakfast which is Italian bread, eggs, hashbrowns, cheese 2 nice size sausage patties covered in gravy. It was piping hot free off the grill, it had good flavor and the portion was huge, definitely a working man’s breakfast so bring your appetite.
Are server was friendly and helpful with answering some of our questions. The staff was cleaning and sweeping the floors when I arrived so that was nice.
I believe I met the cook or one of the cook’s along with the owner or manager, both were friendly and talkative for the brief time that we spoke.
Again I was a little apprehensive about coming here but I will definitely be coming back again.

Wow! A couple minutes from my house. Easy to get too. A nice place. Clean and homey. Nice servers. Great food for breakfast. I had eggs over medium, hashbrowns, ¹⁄₃ order of biscuits and gravy and smoked sausage with coffee and a Dr. Pepper. Filling and inexpensive. Good diner food.

Killer diner in a the old West Bottoms section of KC. Nearby are trucking companies co mingling with antique stores in old old brick building. Think 1920’s movie set!
This 1970’s era eatery slings delicious big burgers real fries and saucy friendly service. I find this to be borderline exceptional. The portions are generous. The Décor is bland but very clean. I recommend: excellent mom and popper.

I certainly don’t want to be the Unilocaler to «Trash» some place, but please be aware:
Pros:
1) Murals outside are very quirky cool
2) Down home comfort food options
3) Friendly waitstaff
4) Reasonable prices for entrées
5) Generous portions
6) Thick, juicy hamburger meat
Cons:
1) Cold, dense, non toasted hamburger bun. Too much bun to meat ratio.
2) Accompaniments to entrée were lacking; scrap tomato slice, old lime slices
3) $ 2.50 for dried out limp fries/​$ 2.00 for extra gravy for chicken fried steak
4) Jalapeño poppers frozen, from a box
5) Canned green beans (the crime was being told that they were not «plain, they really dress them up» Well, No!
6) Mashed potatoes that are more sliced or chunked than mashed.
The entire meal missed, missed so many opportunities to make a meal memorable with simple little touches that say… Home made… unfortunately I only saw canned.
I showed the waitress that I had a Groupon when we first arrived and was told that they would take it off at the front. When we payed we found out that it was for Woodsweather II. Apparently they share cooks, but not Groupons. Would have preferred being told this information when I showed the Groupon before I ordered. My mistake.
Do keep in mind that they serve breakfast too. The pictures of the pancakes make me hope that breakfast is their forte.

When I was younger, Woodsweather would have received 4 or 5 stars. I used to gorge myself on their burgers & fries every other weekend. I could care less about all the things that now turn me off to Woodsweather Café.
On a recent visit, it was like walking back in time. Unless you know what you’re looking for, I can guarantee 90% of Kansas Citians have no clue where the Woodsweather Café is. Hard to explain where it is located. Best clue I can give is locate the Haunted Houses and attempt to snake your way over the curvy bridges and rail road tracks and maybe you’ll luck into finding the joint. Old doesn’t begin to describe the building. Hate to say it, but a somewhat depressing looking building and neighborhood for many. I actually enjoy getting back over in these parts on occasion. Truly opens your eye’s to the everyday working man and the struggles they go through every day. Don’t be shocked to find the homeless, grease monkeys, truck drivers, construction workers, industrial sales reps, and I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the occasional prostitute that frequents the Woodsweather café;)
Walking in the front door you are still taken aback with the smell of cigarettes lingering in the air. Without a doubt, your clothing will reek of cigarette smell for the rest of the day. The place is cold, dark, and dingy. Yes, just like it was years ago. Old school diner and counter top set-​up inside.
Waitresses are straight up mean! Very edgy and not for conversation. These women have been hardened by years of rough living, unruly customers, and the street savvy attitude necessary to survive in an establishment like Woodsweather. Be prepared to order and don’t fuss with being picky. Menu’s are old, sticky, and dingy. My go to items are the breakfast or the burgers.
Burgers are large and pretty juicy. The buns almost taste homemade and airy. Fries are nothing to write home about but get the job done. Just straight forward burger and fries. Quite tasty to be honest.
Breakfast is breakfast. Kinda hard to mess up breakfast items. maybe it’s the smoke lingering in the air, but I sometimes get a cigarette flavor in my food. Maybe it’s just my mental state trying to eat with that smell distracting me. Who knows…
Not a fan of their coffee. Maybe I’ve been spoiled by the new age single– origin fancy coffees we have gotten accustomed to. Their coffee would work if need be. Just not a big fan like many of the patrons.
I don’t know… not a place that I would highly recommend nowadays. Too many other good choices in KC. I guess if you were stranded down in the bottoms for some reason and needed a bite to eat, then knock yourself out.

When the most prominent item at the bar is the Jägermeister on tap and others boast, correctly I might add, of its truck-​stop style breakfast, you know exactly where you’ve landed: a place where hangovers are born and tended to.
You aren’t going to end up here by mistake. There’s little to clue you in on the drive by that it’s a watering hole other than the dimly lit beer sign in the window, and nothing to suggest food is served. Arriving at 8:00 a.m. I apparently missed the morning rush as I was the only diner in the joint.
#2 special with corned beef hash, two eggs, toast, hash browns. I’ll give them this, it was actually cooked to order, wasn’t sitting around. everything appeared to be created in-​house, none of the brown Hormel stuff with perfectly cubed little bits of potato. None of the frozen packaged hash browns. A tad dry, but they’re trying. The eggs were cooked perfectly, and what’s this – *three* types of hot sauce to choose from. Louisiana please.
That and the precious Rocky Mountain National Park mug with «Mary» stenciled onto it for coffee, quite the experience, although the Ronnoco Coffee was predictably what you’d expect. As one Unilocaler stated, a truck stop style joint minus the trucks. I’m sticking with that.
Located in the bottoms, it appears it would fit right in with a hard working, blue collar, two-​fisted drinking crowd that it serves, but that’s a paradigm. There are plenty of white collar businesses in the area taking advantage of the lower rents. It’s about what you’d expect from the surroundings. Love the fact that there are still joints like this and I appreciate them even though they aren’t my style.