Our Neighborhood Pub
My heart of Brookside
Charlie Hooper’s Bar and Grill, in the Brookside neighborhood of Kansas City, is near and dear to our hearts. It was the favorite bar of each of us even before we had met. Our first date was there. The food is good, as is the beer selection. It has a nice neighborhood feeling, and the staff is (usually) friendly. We felt it was a good place to start our blog.
Jess
Charlie Hooper’s is one of my favorite bars, and during the late spring and fall months, I might head there a couple times a week. This mostly has to do with the fact that it is an easy walk from my house. The interior is almost completely dark wood–the floor, tables, chairs, bar, and trim. There’s a small, covered outdoor patio with some tables to accommodate smokers and those who want to escape the crowd inside.
Most days, you can easily walk in and find a table, but Hooper’s is a good place to watch a ball game, with several flat screens strategically placed around the two main rooms, so if you want to watch the Missouri Tigers or the Kansas Jayhawks, you need to get there very early to reserve your spot.
Speaking of reservations, Hooper’s is a great place to host a party, because for a deposit of only $100, you can reserve the back room, which seats 30 to 40 people comfortably. The food selection is good, with even a few healthier choices. The black bean burger and chicken pita are a couple of my favorites.
There are about 20 beers on tap and maybe 100 or so in bottles, although nothing that you couldn’t find fairly easily at a local liquor store. Bottled beer is only served with a glass if you ask, and then it’s likely to be a water glass. Service is hit or miss, but there are several severs who have been there a while and will get to know you if you come in regularly.
Prices are pretty good on both food and beer. Mondays feature any of their burgers, complete with fries, for a mere $3. Happy hour lasts till 7:00, and reduces the price of beer by $1. There are also daily food and beer specials. Overall, a very solid neighborhood pub.
- Atmosphere 7/10
- Beer Selection 12/15
- Beer Service 1/5
- Food 7/10
- Price 8/10
Jim
Charlie Hooper’s is a neighborhood place. I really like it for that. You will normally find plenty of children running around during the day on weekends. The twenty-somethings filter in after the dinner crowd has left. The atmosphere remains relaxed, even as the place fills in on weekend nights and Wednesdays for Import Night ($2.00 import beers).
The beer selection is good, but not great. It is broader than it is deep, but they feature every available Boulevard beer on tap, and is usually the first to get the brewery’s seasonals in. The beer menu changes monthly, with new offerings rotating in. All drafts are served in a standard pint glass, and getting a glass with bottled beers can sometimes be a struggle.
I enjoy my time in Hooper’s for the little things. The wide beer menu, the good food, the reasonable prices, and especially its location.
- Atmosphere 7/10
- Beer Selection 10/15
- Beer Service 1/5
- Food 8/10
- Price 8/10