Outta the Blue

Outta the Blue is a beach cafe in the Park Place development in Leawood, Kansas, opened in June 2021 as a concept from the Made in KC group. Co-owner Keith Bradley set out to make it feel like somewhere else entirely — when you walk in, he said at opening, you don't feel like you're in Kansas City at all — and the room commits, down to two live Great King palm trees imported from San Diego. It runs as a genuine all-day venue rather than a bar with daytime hours, opening at 7am every day and closing at 10pm midweek, 11pm on Friday and Saturday and 6pm on Sundays. Mornings are coffee, breakfast biscuits at $9, quiches at $7, burritos at $9 and pastries; the counter also does cold-pressed juices and grab-and-go salads and sandwiches.

The non-alcoholic side is unusually broad because it comes at the drinker from two directions. There is a printed Mocktails menu of tiki and tropical classics made without spirits — a Blue Hawaiian and a Painkiller both built on lime, coconut cream and pineapple juice with blue curaçao syrup, a blended Piña Colada, a Strawberry Daiquiri on strawberry purée and turbinado, and a Mojito with mint and club soda. Separately there is a list of non-alcoholic Signature Drinks from the cafe side that are worth as much attention: Rising Tide is a coconut caramel latte, Golden Hour a honey orgeat latte, Beach Break a hibiscus lemonade, Matcha Mist a strawberry matcha, and White Cap a salted caramel and white mocha latte. Those signature drinks drop to $5 during a cafe happy hour, Monday to Thursday from 2pm to 5pm. One thing to be clear about: Outta the Blue is not an alcohol-free venue. It runs a full bar with spirits, a wine list leaning natural and organic, and local beers, and holds a separate bar happy hour from 4pm. The zero-proof menu is real and properly made — but you will be ordering it in a room where most people are drinking.