Portia's Cafe — Restaurant in Kansas City

Portia’s Cafe (Feb 14, 2023)

Portiia’s Cafe was not a planned visit while visiting Kansas City. It was my last day in Kansas City, and I was planning to hit the American Jazz Museum before flying back to Seattle late afternoon. As the airbnb area where I was staying did not have any fast food around, I had to decide on a breakfast place before the American Jazz Museum opened at 10 a.m. As I was traveling cheaply using public transportation, the 2 closest places to the Jazz Museum that’s easily accessible and within walking distance to the museum were either Portia’s Cafe or McDonald’s.

Bring a fan of diners, Portia’s it was. It was drizzling that morning, and Portia’s was a slight walk from the bus stop. Dragging my wet luggage into the Cafe, I was cheerfully greeted at the entrance and took my seat not too far from it. The waitress recommended some of the food and I sat down to observe life in the cafe. The place is old but very comfortable. A different area ( I sat near the counter in a booth) had many pictures and posters on the walls, and provided history of the restaurant, and more. The food came - a solid omelet with melted cheese and meats, a nice portion of hash browns, a fresh squeezed glass of orange juice and a cup of eye-opening coffee. It was on the greasy side, but that was exactly what I wanted as I intended to skip lunch before the late afternoon flight.

The restaurant environment was lively, with many long term customers coming and going exchanging Valentine’s Day greetings. Feels like “Cheers” in the day time - “You wanna go where everybody knows your name.” After finishing my meal, I visited the other area of the restaurant to look at the pictures and posters. The younger waitress there told me stories of some of the pictures. I actually met Portia as well, the proprietor of the restaurant. So cool! Please have fun by visiting the place and enjoy some home style cooking. Shout out to the young waitress there who showed me around the photos and posters. I promised I shall write a glowing review, and here it...

Don't pass by this gem of a place. It's AMAZING! Our server, Kenna, was fabulous! As first timers here, she explained how everything was made FROM SCRATCH and with love. She wasn't kidding! The French toast had so much cinnamon it made my tummy and heart happy. I couldn't believe I finished my entire plate! Hubs had the sausage and cheese omelette with hash browns and toast. He raved about how good the omelette was and the hash browns were done perfectly. He usually doesn't eat the toast, but he finished all of it loving how it was covered with butter. It was only 9:30 am and we were lucky enough to get the last 2 slices of apple pie left for the day! REMEMBER ITS MADE FOR SCRATCH! It was even better than my grandma's pie! 🥧 Sorry grandma. The women working here obviously love the place and love what they do. It definitely isn't a typical place. Kenna, there for only a couple years worked the room worked the room like she'd been there decades. She made our experience even better. No doubt it's on our list to return to when in the area! Hope we get there soon and get the last slices of pie...

I have eaten several times at this establishment and love the food. I always call in my order and I pick it up, but today I placed a order to go and it was not ready when I got there. So the lady without washing her hands or using sanitizer, or gloves picks up my biscuit with her bare hands and crumbles it in plate and tops it with gravy, I made her aware that I noticed she had not washed her hands or used gloves could she remake the plate. Now let's understand that she went straight from crumbling the biscuit, adding gravy straight to the register without washing her hands. She got upset walked away saying my hands are always clean, never apologized and went back to speak with her cusfomer she was talking with when I came in. Also let's note it's another worker standing at the serving counter eating a bowl of eggs Completely disgusted. Completely unprofessional. I am so horrified thinking how many times I have eaten there and this same thing has occurred with my...