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    Second Best Coffee

    4.5 (209 reviews)
    InexpensiveCoffee & Tea

    Second Best Coffee Photos

    Business Info

    SECOND BEST COFFEE ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Good for working
    Dogs allowed

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    Recommended Reviews - Second Best Coffee

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    Iced coffee and scone
    Sarah G.

    I'm a fan of Second Best Coffee. No longer a newbie, Second Best has really carved out a space for itself amongst the creme de la creme of cafes in KC. What do I like about this spot? I love that it's not in an overly pretentious area, that it has ample seating, and that the drinks are reliably good. If anything it can be a bit hipster inside, but you know, it IS a coffee shop so that is somewhat to be expected. Overall I love this place for working and grabbing a really delicious craft coffee beverage.

    Mexico Cerro Azul, Decaf Americano, lemon blueberry scone with glaze.
    Howard K.

    It's 7 am and hot Blueberry Lemon Scone with a glaze just came out of the oven and is resting on the counter next to the register. You pretty much have to try one. The scone is delicious. I tend to ignore scones because I feel like they are a bit dry. This was still warm so it was moist in the center with a nice crunch on the edges. The blueberry and lemon flavors are equal and compliment each other perfect! Pour over Mexico Cerro Azul. This one was recommended as being a bit funky. It's awesome. I feel like there is flavors of cherry and bourbon. It is smooth and lightly roasted. I highly recommend! Decaf- this is what I drink daily and it was only available as an Americano. This is a light roast coffee with smooth flavor and great taste. The staff is friendly and spent time talking with a local person who seemed to be down on their luck. Also plenty of room for working or gathering with friends. Overall great experience.

    Inside Second Best Coffee
    Natalie H.

    This is a lovely coffee spot in Waldo! There's plenty of seating inside to enjoy your drink and food. They offer a wide range of coffee drinks and breakfast items. The service is always incredibly friendly. I would definitely recommend Second Best Coffee as a great coffee spot in KC!

    Toni A.

    This is hands down one of the best local coffee shops in the city. Every time I go, I am reminded how simply delicious the coffee is. I'm a latte girl, so I always get a latte with oat milk. But this time I added caramel and hazelnut syrups. It was so good. It was the right temperature, great price (even with the up charge for the milk alternative) and right balance of espresso and syrup. I sucked it down so fast that next time I'll have to get a large. They also have seasonal hot and cold coffee drinks. Regular drink menu includes chai, other teas and hot chocolate. Their baked goods are also yummy. They have burritos, vegetarian options as well as scones and other baked goods. They even sell swag and askinose chocolates! This is a popular spot for remote workers. I wish I lived closer because I'd go way more often. If you're near Waldo it's definitely worth a stop to try. Your only regret will be that you didn't try it sooner.

    Iced decaf vanilla latte with oat milk
    Cheri M.

    I'm always on the lookout for a good coffee shop. Stopped in with a friend after lunch. Cute place. Fast service. I ordered a decaf iced vanilla latte with oat milk. She ordered a caramel macchiato. My coffee was very good. I prefer rich, medium to dark roast, which it was. This is the second coffee place I've been to that does not have any sugar-free syrups. I'm diabetic so I prefer to not have full sugar so I just had half the syrup. That was fine. It was excellent coffee. They also have pastries and quite a few flavors of chocolate bars. I will definitely be back if I'm in the area.

    Ralphie S.

    Second Best is a coffee shop that I have had bookmarked for quite some time but had never visited. It took me a bit of time to find it since where I thought it was and where it is actually located were not even close. After driving around Waldo for some time I actually had to use GPS to find the strip mall. The spot is wide open with lots of light and minimalist in decor with some flags and bike art. The menu is small but highly professional / experimental and the background soundtrack kept my Shazam working overtime to bookmark a wide variety of undiscovered cool music. The staff , although not overly friendly were professional and actually bring your order to your seat - no yelling of numbers or names. A service that should be implemented more often where possible. The World Star Latte was amazing; made with vanilla bean and star anise syrup. I truly wish Second Best wasn't on the other side of the metro cause i would love to give them more of my $ on a frequent basis. After just one visit; they are definitely in my top 10 for KC coffee shops and a new reason to explore south KC more frequently.

    Blackberry Juniper & a latte
    Jennie L.

    It might be called second best coffee but it's #1 in my heart. Service was quick and friendly. Staff was honest and helpful about the drinks. I ordered the blackberry juniper special cause the syrup was unique compared to other coffee shops and it really hit the spot. Definitely got my caffeine in for the day! Wish I ordered the larger size cause it was all gone by the time I got to the office. I went early in the morning so it wasn't crowded but they have lots of seating area and it was very chill atmosphere. Could come here to study or work. I liked the coffee so much here I came back the next day and tried their coffee cake muffin and to my surprise it didn't taste sweet! Prices were reasonable - could easily become a dangerous place if I come every M-F.

    Alicia V.

    I absolutely love the creamy smoothness of their lattes. I've tried the Autumn and blackberry juniper latte. The Autumn is their seasonal hot drink and it is so delicious with the perfect hint of cinnamon. The blackberry juniper was always very good with just a slight hint of sweetness. I also tried their chorizo breakfast burrito. I believe these are pre made and then popped on the panini toaster to give it the perfect crispy outter tortilla. It's a small hidden gem in Waldo, very clean and the baristas are friendly.

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    1 year ago

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    5 months ago

    Pretty sure they are closed now, but I had a delicious drink here a few weeks ago. People were so friendly and vibes were chill.

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    3 years ago

    This place is soooo cute. Checked it out visiting for business. Cool art. Great London fog. Good music. Really nice for morning meetings.

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    2 years ago

    Favorite coffee shop in KC!!!! All homemade syrup and food and it shows. Nicest people ever and such amazing lattes

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    Always great music here, and terrific staff. Loved my blackberry juniper latte (seasonal special).

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    Page 1 of 6

    Ask the Community - Second Best Coffee

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    Crows Coffee Waldo - Inside Crows Coffee

    Crows Coffee Waldo

    4.3(90 reviews)
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    I really like this location of Crow's coffee, they have solid specialty drinks and drip coffee is…read morealways solid. They probably have my favorite Americano in the city, though it could be a bit stronger. One thing I would like to point out is how good their scones are, I dream about their rosemary parmesan variety at least once a day. I'm not sure if those are made in house or if they source them from somewhere, but either way they are very good and I love to snag one when I stop by to grab a cup. All the barista's are very nice and easy to talk to, and the interior of the location is very welcoming and cozy. I've started making it a Sunday tradition to go in and read from one of their lounging chairs for a couple of hours while having a bite to eat and a few cups of coffee, it's a new favorite place for me. I can't say whether or not it's a all-time great coffee spot for everyone, but for me having it so close is super convenient and nice, and the solid coffee and staff interactions make this my go to. In the future, I would love to see more of a dark roast bean be available for me to have.

    I have been to Crow's South Plaza location multiple times and always had a great experience, but I…read morewas greatly disappointed by my initial visit today to the Waldo location; and it tainted Crow's entire reputation because of some horrendous customer service. Today was my first day using a cane after weeks of weaning myself off of crutches and I was moving pretty slow. As I approached the counter I was looking for a seasonal drink menu to see what unique beverage could kick-start my afternoon. I didn't see one anywhere and asked if they had any seasonal offerings from the barista. She looked puzzled and annoyed and said "here is our syrup list". I stated that I was looking for more of a seasonal drink menu or featured beverages not on the regular menu that most every coffee house offers. In an exasperated tone, she turned around and pointed at the main menu board with all the basics and replied; "This is what we serve". Wow! I politely ordered my go-to cortado for here and left a tip. I then hobbled over to the nearest table to the pick-up counter and waited. A few minutes later the same barista brought the drink to the counter, looked at me an entire 4 feet away and shouted "cortado" and walked away. Wow again! If I was in the business of customer service and receiving tips I would be damn sure to take the beverage to the customer when they're 48 inches away and the shop wasn't busy; regardless of customer mobility issues. I have never asked for a tip back, but I sure felt like it at that moment. My Cortado was tasty, but not enough to remove the foul taste in my mouth from blatant customer disrespect. In my over 200 coffee shop reviews, this is my first time giving such a low score. Adios Crow's.

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    Hattie's Fine Coffee - Inside

    Hattie's Fine Coffee

    4.1(113 reviews)
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    They have the best gluten free biscuits I've ever had! Several other gf options and drinks are also…read morefantastic!

    Food - 3 Beverage - 4…read moreService/Staff - 5 Ambience - 0 Overall Average = 3 Added an extra point because the patio looks promising and the staff is really cool. I met a friend here and the staff were all so friendly and fun! I thought for sure this would be my new coffeeshop hang, especially for journaling or a lazy Sunday with my husband and the crossword. But by the time I left (90 minutes later), I had changed my mind. It was so ridiculously loud! The noise went way beyond the usual coffeeshop sounds of grinding beans, steam from the espresso machine, and the chatter of customers (which are all expected) . At one point, and I'm not exaggerating, it sounded like an airplane was landing inside the coffeeshop. A horrible, continuous, incredibly loud sound like a jet engine .... And it just wouldn't stop! It went on for several, several minutes. At one point my friend paused our conversation and said "My God, what is that?" It ruined our coffee date and made the experience so unpleasant that we just wrapped up our time together and left. To add insult to injury, when we got outside a car alarm was blaring. That is not Hattie's fault, of course, but it didn't change my impression that this is the loudest coffeeshop on earth. I've been to hundreds of coffeeshops, and I've never experienced a prolonged, wretched, grinding-engine sound like this before. I have no idea what it was. It was so bizarre. I had an Arnold Palmer and breakfast sandwich. The lemonade was too tart, but I could have added more sugar so that's not their fault. The sausage, egg, and cheese sandwich was meh, but the pastries looked great (although I didn't have one). Since the staff is wonderful and it is a convenient spot for me, I will go back on a nice day and try the patio. But I can't imagine I will ever try sitting inside again. The search of the perfect coffeeshop continues!

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    McLain's Bakery

    McLain's Bakery

    4.4(310 reviews)
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    I have loved McLains since I first moved to KC over 30 years ago. I just recently learned they have…read morea location closer to me! The chocolate drop cookies are to die for. Chicken salad is also very tasty.

    For the first time ever I used McLain's for catering and I'm officially bumping my review from 4 to…read more5 stars because honestly they did such a spectacular job at such a reasonable price I'm already wishing I had another excuse to order from them again! A few months ago my sister and I hosted a baby shower for our other sister and after looking around an options we decided to go with McLains. It was a smaller group, and we were doing a brunch theme, and our sister LOVES sweets. That paired with our desire to support local, and our shared love of McLains, this was just the most obvious choice. We ended up ordering a cake and first of all I have to say their cake flavor choices are insane - I think we settled on a chocolate cake with peanut butter filling (YUM), but I don't think you can go wrong here. We also ordered one of their pre-set pastry bundles for pick up and honestly everything was wonderful. I think I placed the order about a week out and it was ready when I came to pick it up. What pushed this experience into five star category for me? Just the friendliness of the staff, the serving tools they send you home with, and how thoughtful everyone was. The food was also really just exactly what we needed and it was so good there were hardly any leftovers, I think the kids cleared us out by lunch! At any rate, if you're on the hunt for a great spot to support for your next brunch event consider McLains - they won't let you down!

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    Summer Moon Coffee - 1/2 Winter Moon Latte IG: @_lifewithjenn_

    Summer Moon Coffee

    4.5(140 reviews)
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    I had been looking forward to checking out Summer Moon Cafe, and when I finally got a chance to go…read moreit did not disappoint! The iced latte I got was delicious, and I was so glad that they had decaf espresso as an option since I can't typically have caffeine. I also love that they have baked goods that are both gluten free and vegan- as someone who is allergic to eggs, and who has family members who can't have gluten, this is a huge plus! (Note: I am unsure of their specific cross contamination risks, so be sure to ask staff for more details if needed). There were great seating options (I chose one of the couches, which was so comfy!), and the employees were all very friendly. Overall I definitely recommend this cafe and will be visiting again!

    On a nice sunny day in OPKS, choose a new spot to try. Abby was extremely patient and helpful…read moreunderstanding there menu options and sweetness categories. There's plenty of other drink options too! There's breakfast options surely you can land on- sandwiches, donuts, pastries and other hot choices. You can tell quite a lot of went into floor layout of the shop. Open design is inviting with different seating sections from front tables, couches and then toward the back more tables where it's great for remote work. Then there's the patio. It's shaded because it's on the backside. I ended up getting an iced Blue Moon Latte, Full Moon sweetness and hot moon matcha to go. Both with oat milk. Their signature sweet cream and oak coffee was good. Since I asked for light ice, it was definitely more milk so the flavor was light, just a hint. My mom liked her matcha just fine.

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    Heirloom Bakery & Hearth

    Heirloom Bakery & Hearth

    4.2(255 reviews)
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    I love me a good bakery and coffee shop and thanks to the 2026 spring Caffeine Crawl I may have…read morefound my favorite it both categories. We were welcomed with a brief overview of the company and treated to a sparkling matcha limeade on the patio. Following this we were treated to a fantastic sandwich and beverage pairing. The diced chicken was marinated in Coca Cola and cold brew then served on toasted fresh made bread with house made bbq sauce and veggies. Then paired with a cold brew mixed with Coca-Cola and topped with a cherry-vanilla cold top. Phenomenal. Just as incredible was the bakery case. After a tough decision making process, I took home a cookie, Lemon Goat Cheesecake, and blueberry pop-tart. The cheesecake and poptart were best I've ever had in each category and the cookie that I didn't even get a taste of, was declared "the best damn cookie I've ever had" by my wife. Two days later she is still talking about it. With the welcoming and friendly owner and staff, the creative and top tier products, and a cool environment; I'm all in for frequent trips from the Northland to Brookside for further exploration.

    I love their setup that balances both dine-in and takeout. I got a meat biscuit sandwich ($12) and…read moreoat milk latte for dining in. The biscuit sandwich was oozing with cheese and sauce so I ended up cutting into it with a fork and knife. The pear compote had an apple pie filling vibe to it, which was almost too sweet for me even though it went well with the salty smoked ham. The nutty bitterness from the fontina added a little bit too much contrast for me. This would be a good choice for people who like sweet and salty things. Overall, each component was tasty, but this particular sandwich wasn't exactly my preferred taste! The oat milk latte was good! Nice and foamy with a good amount of bitterness from the espresso. I was curious about their huge pastry case and would love to try those in the future.

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    Entrance

    Second Best Coffee - coffee - Updated May 2026

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