RFK Rankings · Kansas City
Best Restaurants for Brunch in Kansas City (2026)
Weekend brunch · Kansas City · 6 rooms ranked · Updated June 2026
Compiled by the Restaurants for Kings editorial team · Published April 5, 2024 · Updated June 18, 2026 · Reviewed by Fredrik Filipsson, Editor-in-Chief · How we rank · Corrections
Kansas City does brunch with personality: a Queer Eye-famous cafe baking an eight-layer rainbow cake, a James Beard pastry chef plating it on the Plaza, a French bistro in Westport handing out a brunch cocktail with every plate. The scene spreads across Longfellow, the Westside and the Plaza. These six, ranked, are where to spend a weekend morning in 2026.
1.Rye
The Garreltses' upscale Midwestern room on the Plaza, with a James Beard pastry program; reserve the weekend brunch for the baking.
Rye's Plaza location at Rye Plaza on Mill Creek Parkway is the upscale Midwestern room from Colby and Megan Garrelts, and the brunch leans on Megan's strength: she is a James Beard Award semifinalist for Outstanding Pastry Chef. The cooking is Midwestern home food done with fine-dining hands.
Brunch runs Saturday and Sunday from 9:30am to 3pm at the Plaza room — the original Rye in Leawood does not do it. Reservations are taken through Tock and are worth making. For a pastry-forward weekend brunch with real pedigree behind it, this is the city's top table.
2.Succotash
Beth Barden's Queer Eye-famous all-day brunch in Longfellow; walk in for the eight-layer rainbow cake she's baked since 2001.
Beth Barden has run Succotash since 2001 — she started it, as she puts it, for the price of a used car — and now serves an eclectic, colorful all-day brunch at 2601 Holmes Street in Longfellow Heights. The kitchen was featured on Netflix's Queer Eye and has long been a Kansas City Star favorite.
The signature is the eight-layer neon rainbow cake, on the menu since opening day. It runs Thursday through Sunday 8am to 3pm and Monday to 2pm, closed Tuesday and Wednesday, and it is casual and walk-in. For brunch with the most personality in the city, this is the one.
3.Fox & Pearl
Vaughn Good's seasonal Westside bistro runs a Sunday brunch of from-scratch Midwestern cooking; reserve a table on Tock.
Fox & Pearl at 2143 Summit Street is Vaughn Good's Westside bistro, a from-scratch, seasonal kitchen that has become one of the city's most respected rooms, profiled in Kansas City Magazine. The Sunday brunch follows the same seasonal, local logic as the dinner menu.
It is the most chef-driven brunch on the Westside, served Sunday 10am to 2pm with reservations through Tock. The menu rotates with what is good, so there is no fixed signature plate — the appeal is a serious local kitchen turned to the weekend. Book a table rather than walking up.
4.Westport Cafe & Bar
The Westport French bistro hands you a brunch cocktail with every plate; book a weekend table for chicken hash.
Westport Cafe & Bar at 419 Westport Road is the neighborhood's modern French bistro, and its weekend brunch comes with a signature touch: a complimentary specialty brunch cocktail paired to each plate. The chicken hash and the brioche French toast are the orders to know.
Brunch runs Saturday and Sunday from 10:30am to 4pm, with reservations through OpenTable and Tock. It is the French option in a city of diners and Midwestern rooms, and the cocktail-per-plate format makes it a relaxed, lingering weekend table. Book ahead for the busy late-morning slots.
5.You Say Tomato
Anne Clark's quirky Longfellow cafe, reopened in 2025; walk in for breakfast casseroles and pecan rolls.
You Say Tomato is the quirky neighborhood cafe Anne Clark and her husband George Rousis have run since 2018 at 2801 Holmes Street in Longfellow, set inside a grocery-style space. It closed in 2023 to focus on catering and reopened to a warm welcome in June 2025, covered by Kansas City Magazine and IN Kansas City.
Breakfast casseroles, pecan rolls and cinnamon rolls are the draws. It is walk-in, open Wednesday through Saturday roughly 8am to 2pm. For an easy, low-key neighborhood brunch a few blocks from Succotash, this is the relaxed Longfellow pick.
6.The Westside Local
The Westside farm-to-table standby with a Sunday-only brunch; come for elote tater tots and pumpkin French toast.
The Westside Local at 1663 Summit Street is the long-running farm-to-table fixture of the Westside, and its Sunday-only brunch — the kitchen calls it Blunch — is a neighborhood institution. The menu runs to elote tater tots, deviled eggs, an heirloom BLTE and pumpkin French toast.
It is served Sunday 10am to 2pm, with reservations recommended for peak times and walk-ins welcome otherwise. It sits a block from Fox & Pearl on the same Westside strip, so the two make an easy pair to choose between. For a casual, dependable Sunday brunch, this is the Westside standby.
Not for brunch
Closed, or simply not a brunch room
Happy Gillis, Columbus Park. The beloved cafe closed in 2025 after an air-conditioning failure and ownership turmoil; the space was bought by acclaimed chefs to reopen as Dear Donna. Do not list Happy Gillis as a working brunch spot.
Joe's Kansas City Bar-B-Que. People expect KC barbecue to do brunch, but Joe's opens at 11am, closes Sundays and serves no breakfast. It is a lunch-and-dinner barbecue counter, not a weekend brunch destination.
The Antler Room. This James Beard-nominated Longfellow room is dinner-only, open Wednesday through Sunday from 5pm. The cooking is excellent, but there is no brunch service, so save it for the evening.
How to brunch well in Kansas City
Kansas City's brunch clusters in three pockets. Longfellow, around Holmes Street, holds Succotash and You Say Tomato a few blocks apart. The Westside, along Summit Street, runs Fox & Pearl and the Westside Local within a block of each other. The Country Club Plaza and Westport hold the dressed-up options, Rye and Westport Cafe. None is far from the next, so a slow weekend morning can move easily between neighborhoods.
Decide if you want a reservation or a walk-in. The chef-driven and dressed-up rooms — Rye, Fox & Pearl and Westport Cafe — take bookings on Tock or OpenTable and reward them on a busy weekend, while Succotash and You Say Tomato are casual walk-ins, so arrive early. Note the hours: several of the best brunches, including Fox & Pearl and the Westside Local, are Sunday-only, so check the day before you set out.
Frequently asked
Where is the best brunch in Kansas City?
Rye on the Country Club Plaza is the top pick for an upscale weekend brunch, from James Beard pastry semifinalist Megan Garrelts and chef Colby Garrelts. For the most personality, Beth Barden's Succotash in Longfellow serves an all-day brunch and the eight-layer rainbow cake it has baked since 2001. For a chef-driven Westside option, Vaughn Good's Fox & Pearl runs a seasonal Sunday brunch.
Which Kansas City brunch needs a reservation?
Book ahead at the dressed-up and chef-driven rooms. Rye on the Plaza, Fox & Pearl on the Westside and Westport Cafe & Bar all take reservations through Tock or OpenTable and fill on busy weekends. Succotash and You Say Tomato in Longfellow are casual walk-ins, so arrive early for those. Note that Fox & Pearl and the Westside Local serve brunch only on Sundays.
Where is the best brunch on the Westside in Kansas City?
The Westside's best brunch sits on Summit Street, where Fox & Pearl and the Westside Local are a block apart. Vaughn Good's Fox & Pearl runs a chef-driven, seasonal Sunday brunch with reservations on Tock, while the Westside Local serves a casual Sunday-only Blunch of elote tater tots and pumpkin French toast. Both run Sunday 10am to 2pm, so pick the day accordingly.
What is a good upscale brunch in Kansas City?
For an upscale brunch, Rye on the Country Club Plaza pairs Colby and Megan Garrelts' Midwestern cooking with a James Beard pastry program, served Saturday and Sunday 9:30am to 3pm with reservations on Tock. For a French alternative, Westport Cafe & Bar hands out a specialty brunch cocktail with every plate. Both are a step up from the city's casual diners.
Is there a famous brunch spot in Kansas City?
Yes. Succotash in Longfellow Heights, run by Beth Barden since 2001, was featured on Netflix's Queer Eye and is known for its eight-layer neon rainbow cake, on the menu since opening day. It serves an eclectic all-day brunch Thursday through Monday and is a casual walk-in, so arrive early on a weekend. It is the most personality-driven brunch in the city.
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Browse the full Kansas City dining guide, read the Fox & Pearl profile, find a counter in the Kansas City solo dining ranking, compare another Midwest brunch in the Detroit brunch ranking, or open the full RFK rankings index.
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