Monarch Coffee On Grand - Kansas City

Grand St. locationUsually love this place. Came in on a Tuesday morning 10am and there was loud screamo music playing. Floors behind the counter were covered with trash, kitchen utensils, dirty cups and used rags. The worker (long blonde hair with bandana) acknowledged not a single person. After the worker finished slamming things around and making the drinks, he just sat them on the counter not announcing that they were done or who they were for. Worker punched the payment ipad, where a dirty **** napkin sat, kicked a cup across the floor aggressively and then I paid. The outside of the cup I was given was sticky and coated in coffee. The 30 min I was there, the lone worker didn’t say a single word to a customer. Can’t think of a worse atmosphere in a coffee shop.

My husband I visited Monarch this morning for the first time- after reading in Midwest Living Mag that they were awarded best coffee shop. It 's a large space, yet at 8 a.m. there was only 1 other person besides us present. My Latte was lukewarm when I mentioned this to the barista she said sorry but at the the same time seemed irritated. She became even less friendly when I asked why the bathrooms weren 't open, and snapped at me when I inquired about parking validation. Bottom line- we felt like our presence was a bother- even though they weren 't busy!

I almost don't want to write this review because I want to keep this place a secret (lol but this is THE best coffeeshop in KC hands down!! My roommate and I drove past one day and decided to try it out, and so glad we did! Monarch has two locations I personally prefer this one over midtown, as I'm a student and in need of places to study (Midtown one is better for a coffee date/hangout, not so much studying . There is SO much space, tables, outlets to study and they open until 7pm! Parking can be tricky as it's connected to a business building/apartment of some kind, so it's really downtown street parking. However, I find it worth the hassle just to study here! Every drink that I've had from Monarch hasn't disappointed. From their seasonal drinks to normal drip coffee, I love it all! Some in particular that I can vouch for: sweet potato latte (fall menu candy cane forest mocha (winter menu queen's pawn (winter menu tumeric latte (and i'm not the biggest fan of tumeric/ginger in drinks!! drip coffee iced lattes (salted caramel, malted milk tldr; nothing is a bad choice here! And the baristas are pretty helpful in helping you decide what drink to get! Again, this place has become such a favorite for my roommate and I (we came here almost every day during finals and excited to continue coming!!

Nice quiet place, good coffee, my only complaint is they only have small 6oz cups to-go.

Unbelievably delicious drinks. If Michelin rated coffee bars, this place would deserve the highest rating (all 3 stars). Great experience. The Dude Abides is straight liquid glory, but ya, well, that's just like, mu opinion man.