The Flying Saucer Draught Emporium

DMBBREWMAN

4.7/5  rDev +10.1%
vibe: 5 | quality: 4.75 | service: 4.5 | selection: 5 | food: 4 | $$

This is my go-to bar. Love the atmosphere, and people you meet. The bartenders are what make this bar the place to hit in Kansas City. They have over 70 beers on tap, most of which are local, and another 150-200 in the cases from all over the world.

I prefer to sit at the bar, but out at the tables is nice too. The staff really know their beer. They take several beer tests throughout the year to stay up on the current beer they have. It is really rare to find one they don't know about...and if you do, they generally will enjoy the drink with you, so the next time they know about it :)

Food is great there as well. You would expect regular bar food, but it is a cut above that. You can get wonderful salads...but really it's the pretzel. That's what you want to get when you are there :) They are delicious. Try it with a German Sausage and a variety of cheeses. mmmm

02-03-2013 06:57:22 | More by DMBBREWMAN

Jesi

3.94/5  rDev -7.7%
vibe: 4 | quality: 3.75 | service: 4 | selection: 4.25 | food: 3.5 | $$

Flying saucer is soooo fun! But not only that they have a ton on tap and the staff is awesome at recommending interesting things to try based on what your tastes are. When I went here I was still pretty new to drinking beer at all! So I got recommended an awesomely sweet concoction called hummingbird water (oh yeah, mega girly). But I can say I was just impressed by the staff's knowledge as well as the intense selection. Food is pretty average bar food, but the eclectic atmosphere and awesome selection has this as one of my favorite places to visit and try new things.

01-28-2013 23:52:42 | More by Jesi

Dogbrick

Ohio

4/5  rDev -6.3%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | $$$

(Visited 06/2011): This Flying Saucer location is in downtown KC in the Power & Light district off Walnut and E 13th. Street parking and a couple garages in the area provide options.

The interior is similar to other locations. The bar is directly in the back and there is table seating throughout the rest of the space. Saucers adorn the walls for those who have completed the tour.

With respect to the beers, Flying Saucer has over 50 with many seasonal and regional options from Free State, Boulevard, and Schlafly. They also had a Stone firkin on my visit. Many different varieties of samplers are available too, or you can build your own. As for bottles there are over 100 with many craft options from Boulevard, Bells, Schlafly, Avery, New Belgium, O'Dell etc. Some imports from Mikkeller, St. Bernardus, Unibroue and the like.

Service on a weekday lunch was good. The bartender was very knowledgeable about the beers they carried and was attentive and friendly.

We did not have food on our visit.

Overall Flying Saucer is one of those places which for better or worse you know what you are going to get. When it comes to being somewhere that you aren't sure what beer options you have it is always a good bet.

11-16-2011 15:20:02 | More by Dogbrick

zeff80

Missouri

4.1/5  rDev -4%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4.5 | $$

Stopped in for a drink on Saturday after a Boulevard Brewery tour. It is basically one really large square room with a high ceiling. Nice big, long bar with a nice listing of new tap beers. Good quality list with beers served properly. Service was okay. I'm a little bothered by the fact that the female server kept recommending beers that girls like to our female friend. The selection was very good. Thought about a Fantome Bris Bon but settled on a Nebraska Hop God while my friend had a Firestone Porter. Very nice tasting brews. I didn't eat but my friends enjoyed two slices of pizza. I'd love to get to many of their special tap nights but most of those are on weeknights and I live 2 hours away. It certainly is a nice beer destination in the Power & Light District.

10-16-2011 20:15:36 | More by zeff80

mdhkc

Missouri

3.48/5  rDev -18.5%
vibe: 3 | quality: 3.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4 | food: 2.5 | $$

One of the better beer selections in Kansas City. They've also always washed their glasses properly and I'd wager that they clean their tap lines regularly as well, as I've never had an experience of a beer tasting 'wrong' here, as happens at many bars. This bar/restaurant is obviously out there to cater to beer drinkers.

The food is decent, but there's not a lot of selection. Mostly food to snack on while drinking your beer. It's not overpriced for what it is, but if you're looking for dinner, or going out with people who are not primarily interested in good beer, this probably shouldn't be your first choice.

It's located in P&L, which sometimes draws an obnoxious sort of crowd, but I've never experienced it inside of the saucer, though I've only been there on weeknights.

If you're looking to get some beer, and be exposed to a decent sized selection of quality beer, it's definitely worth stopping in, though.

07-15-2011 04:30:50 | More by mdhkc

eriklewis

Georgia

3.53/5  rDev -17.3%
vibe: 3 | quality: 3 | service: 3.5 | selection: 5 | food: 2 | $$

Go to the Flying Saucer for the beer. Skip the food. Saturday and Sunday afternoons are a great time to visit. Don't expect the servers to know much about the beer, but they do hustle and you do not wait. I don't do the "club" to compete for a saucer around the place, mainly because I don't see the value in trying to try 200 beers just to drink 200 beers. Probably have drank most everything there but I don't feel the need to compete especially when you have to pay to join the club. Give me a Taco Mac beer passport any day. That said good beer and if you go early you can avoid the annoying late night crowd.

06-27-2011 01:33:48 | More by eriklewis

fltmedic

Missouri

4.7/5  rDev +10.1%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 5 | selection: 5 | food: 4 | $$

I really love this place. This location is the only Flying Saucer that I've been to and I hope the others are this good. The entire staff is very beer knowledgeable and the selection is way above and beyond. They make it a point to tap some unusual brews and have a cask or firkin tapping about once a month. There is plenty of bar space and a small couch area too. It is a nice, big, open pub room but somehow when I get there with a group of friends it still has the feeling of a smaller pub.

The table servers are great. They have taken care of two parties for me, each with 50ish guests and they keep us happy, full, and with delicious beers in our hands for 4 hours with no mistakes or complaints. One guy asked a server what beer he was drinking because he couldn't remember what he ordered and she smelled it and told him. That's much better than the "um, let me go look at your bar tab" that most places would offer.

Everyone seems pleased with the brats and burgers, but I am here to tell you that the pretzels are to die for. The mustard is super spicy and oh so tasty.

Raglan Road is a distant second, Flying Saucer is the only place to hang on at the Power and Light District.

06-16-2011 22:11:27 | More by fltmedic

tedsox31

Illinois

4.4/5  rDev +3%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4 | $$

Went here for lunch on my way back from Wichita to St. Louis. The place is filled with saucers and plates of varying colors and pictures, pretty interesting to look at; other than that, the setup is fairly typical for a bar.

The quality of the beer and the food is excellent. I ordered several different beers and each one was served in the correct style glass and at the correct temperature. The food was also fresh, and hot.

Service was also very, very good. While I didn't need to ask the waitress about any of the beers, she knew what was on tap and what was not, and also was very attentive and timely in bringing things to the table.

Selection was very good. There was a list of perhaps 150 different beers from which to choose, and another list of recently arrived draft beers. I was bummed to miss out on the Firkin cask Stone Double Dry Hopped Ruination, but had two other beers I cannot get in St. Louis or Chicago.

Food was also good. Pretty typical pub food, but it had some interesting twists that tasted good.

Overall an excellent place to go. I wish that there were more places like this around.

06-14-2011 20:50:57 | More by tedsox31

Ragingbull

California

4.25/5  rDev -0.5%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 5 | food: 4 | $$

My wife and I have been to the Flying Saucer several times since moving to this area. Each time has been very enjoyable. Whether its late night by ourselves, lunch time with our kids or stopping in with out of town guests we have always enjoyed ourselves. The beer list is impressive. They have a large wall of taps for draft beer and an extensive bottle list. There seems to always be something new coming through and they do special nights for some beers. We were there for the anniversary party not long ago and got to try about a half dozen beers that are difficult to get in this area.

The food is good, but not noteworthy really. I love the beer selection and the atmosphere. The highlight for me is actually the "flying saucers" on the wall with people's names and quotes. You get a saucer on the wall for drinking 200 beers and the color of your saucer changes every time you "complete the circuit" of 200. My wife and I should have done it when we first went, but its too late now as we are about to move. Great place!

06-03-2011 12:31:03 | More by Ragingbull

mizzouguy

Missouri

4.33/5  rDev +1.4%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 5 | food: 4 | $$

Well if you have ever been to a Flying Saucer anywhere in the country, you know this is the place to go for beer in that city. They bring in almost every available beer in the area. They have about 65 beers on tap at any given time and over 200 bottles. The tap selection rotates seasonally and the bottle selection is refreshed when new stuff is available. They do a lot off cool stuff weekly like rare beer night, trivia night, and brewery night where you buy the cup and keep it. The UFO club is a good way to keep track of the beers you've tried. One of the most surprising things about the flying saucer is the good. I would say that it is good food no matter where you are at, and combined with the beer it is great food. The wife who is not a huge beer drinker likes to come for the food so be both leave happy. Keep an eye on their calendar because they post any of the special things there such as Barley wine week or their anniversary party. Overall you cannot beat this place for beer in KC

05-15-2011 19:31:24 | More by mizzouguy