John's Big Deck

Fun place! We sat outside on a beautiful day. Had Cranberry mimosas. I ordered a Philly steak sandwich. Steak was tough and over cooked. The sauces we ordered with the sandwiches cost extra but they were really tasty! Our waitress was kind and very helpful. The view from the deck was really nice. We were there on a Friday around 11am and we were there only customers there.

It had been so long since I’ve been here & glad I stopped by for lunch. I built my own burger & it was soooo good! The stuffed mushrooms were also delicious. My friend loved her sandwich too! She got the chicken sandwich!

I was visiting Kansas City for a conference and took a walk and stumbled upon John’s Big Deck. For the happy hour, we had the nachos and for dinner I had a house salad with shrimp. I have been ordering the house salad with shrimp for the last three days. It’s so damn good! See you soon!

We visited for rooftop drinks & were met with excellent service and chilled drinks. We both agreed that our bartender had the perfect pour as each of our drinks were neither too strong nor weak. We visited early afternoon and walked all the way to the roof, finding a seat with ease. Will be back to view the menu and see the place during KC’s night life sometime soon.

The rooftop deck is so fun! With great views of the city & lovely breezes, they have multiple TVs going & a full service bar. We ordered food & drinks & enjoyed the atmosphere. Waitress was great & friendly & will be back if I’m ever back in KC! Be careful on the death stairs if drinking, they are a doozy.

I had this place on my list to check out during my first visit to Kansas City. I can officially confirm that John does have a very big deck. In fact, I even sat on it I don't want to post any photos of me doing that I'm not sure if that's allowed? The atmosphere is really awesome and the staff are all super friendly. Of course I needed to try something from the menu so I went with the bacon wrapped shrimp and it was absolutely amazing! Definitely better than I expected from a bar menu. I will definitely make this place a staple every time I come back to Kansas City. And you know I'm definitely going to sit on John's Big Deck again!

Good drinks, loud music lots of fun. Great way to spend 21st birthday

One of my favorite bars in KC. Each floor has a different atmosphere and they are all great! The view from the top is amazing. The only downside is the stairs. Alcohol and stairs are not a good combo. BUT definitely recommend for any kind of night out!

This is hands down the GEM of downtown Kansas City. Amazing staff and food that will knock your socks off. Kyle and Eric have made me a lifer here. You won't be disappointed.

This place was walking distance from our hotel so we popped in for some drinks and dinner. Sat up on the famous deck which was PACKED and lively. Menu is your basic bar food and service was slow. Overall the food and drinks were fine and we enjoyed our visit but if you're looking for the best KC food this isn't the spot you'd want to go.

loved our server hannah !! she was so sweet. great environment. it was a super cool spot!

The deck is great! Nice atmosphere with good food and drink! i was surprised at how good the food turned out since it is a dive bar.

Randomly came here to grab a drink. Cool rooftop vibes on a beautiful day. Lots of stairs though to get to the roof floor, so definitely not easily accessible. Drinks were reasonable though.

John's big deck is a great place to hang out and watch a game, enjoy the nice weather with friends, or possibly dance the night away. I personally only really spend my time on the rooftop deck--that's what the biggest draw of this place is for me, but I have friends who enjoy the loud music and dancing of the 2nd floor. There are bars on every floor with food available on the 1st and 3rd floor. Pretty standard bar food. Never had a bad experience, but isn't anything gourmet. I believe $5 cover charge starts around 8 pm. Worth a visit for the views and atmosphere! I've heard that when a good game is playing it has electric energy as well. Pretty mixed age group of people who visit.

I went here to meet a friend for a quick lunch! It was around noon on a Thursday, so it was not too packed. I order the social of the day. A poboy and a side for $10! Not to bad. The shrimp was crispy the slaw was flavorful, i wish the bread was a little toasted and not so hard. There's arcade games in there and even a vape vending machine (not my vice but i thought it needed to be mentioned)

The rooftop deck is great, especially on a summer evening. The vibes are lively, and enjoyable, plus the service is quick. Food and drinks are decent - pretty standard bar & grill fare, and there's a quality selection of beers on tap. Be sure to check out the rotating specials for every day of the week. We enjoy coming here to watch a game, or catch up with a group of friends around one of the fire pits.

The Pitch Burger Week- double smashburger with cheese and choice of side $7 This is about as basic of a bar burger you can get however, don't count basic out when it comes to burgers because sometimes simplicy of ingredients wins over over-complicating construction. John's stuck with the classic makings of a double cheeseburger complete with "special sauce" drizzled onto shredded iceberg lettuce but, for Burger Week's price of $7 it doesn't lack anything especially flavor. The double patties of meat were far from dry, were not at all overcooked- actually was cooked more medium well vs. well done, and were buttery and flavorful. The blankets of ooey gooey American cheese, I did mention basic cheeseburger didn't I... they were on each patty (of course) and added the perfect nostalgic taste. The rest of the burger was also fairly simple with tomato, shredded lettuce, and a thousand island type of sauce but it slapped, let me tell you...for under $10 this burger is a steal you MUST run and get before Burger Week is over! Extra credit if you order the seasoned tots as your side because they are so crispy and crunchy and coated in a sweet/spicy barbecue type seasoning dust, so good dipped in honey mustard.

Negative. I love this bar but the chunky blond who spilled my beer all over me at shift change at can get lost. I'm soaked. She offered me another beer, I was halfway done. I'm going the the quaff

Put down your beer and head to the top floor of John's Big Deck. The rooftop patio is an earned experience after hiking 55 steps but once on top, you have a view of the City Market and downtown. In the winter the deck is covered and heated so you can still enjoy the views. The menu is pretty expansive for a dive style bar, and the amazing waitress we had recommended the Turkey burger. THIS Turkey burger was the best I've ever had. Under the hood of the toasted brioche bun slathered with garlic aioli, you'll find deep fried goat cheese, a fresh Turkey patty flattened and cooked to perfection, tomatoes, onions, and spinach drizzled with a balsamic glaze. There's a selection of different styles of fries, but I went with the tots and was not disappointed. I would easily order this over any other burger - it's a must try! The food came out quickly and the amazingly talented waitress gave a personal serenade to our friend for her birthday.

Not impressed. I find it interesting they want your card before you even order. No wonder. My order consisted of mozzarella sticks and chicken tenders. A water and a flat Dr. Pepper. No alcohol. My bill was $41.52 including tip. 3 days later I have another charge on my card for $29.05. They have some explaining to do. Over $70.00 ? Don't think so. The Dr. Pepper was $1.86 (flat and all), Mozzarella sticks $8.00. Cant find the chicken strip price but no way in hell did that meal cost that much. They will be hearing from me today. Not worth your time.

Pig sooooooooooieeeeee, dare I say....one of the best tendies in kc?! Ya, I'm gonna say it, johns big deck has some of the best tendies in kc. Also, came on a really busy chiefs game day and they whipped these bad boys out QUICK and they were so crispity crunchity, yum-a-lish. Came on a chiefs Sunday and the vibes were immaculate, 10/10. Oh, and roll tide

I just grabbed food to go-the salad came pre-dressed which made me very dubious about the kitchen. You just don't do that to salad. I also ordered a side of plain ground beef and got what can only be described as "taco meat." Is it from a cow? A pig? Bald eagle? So a few notes to the kitchen-you always put dressing in its own container for a salad and if you don't have what someone ordered it's ok to say no. But don't give me something inedible.

Out of the 3 times I've been to this bar, 2 of them have been awful. Whoever the bartenders were on the upstairs patio on June 25.2024 (around 9-10 pm) are some of the most rude people I have ever encountered, and after speaking with the manager I can see the attitude must come from the leadership. The food is no better than the drinks, on June 19,2024 I found a clump of hair in my tater tots that weirdly took 45 min to come out. I would've loved to tell my waitress that but unfortunately I had to grab somebody else because I couldn't find my waitress. I will not be back & I don't recommend anybody else does.

My family and I had some time to kill between my cousin's wedding ceremony and the reception. It was a beautiful day so we wanted to be outside somewhere. Yelp found John's Big Deck nearby our hotel, so we made our way over! Upon arriving I noticed a sign that read "55 steps to the biggest deck in Kansas City!" They weren't kidding about those 55 steps... definitely need a cold drink after that hike up, but my Fitbit was please ;) It was super busy upstairs on this beautiful spring Saturday afternoon. We had a group of 8 and the only options were a few seats up at the bar, or a large corner booth table that had a VIP reserved sign on it. When we inquired the bartender said we could sit there as long as we planned to spend at least $250. Um... at first we were unsure, because that sounded like a lot, but we planned to be there for a little while and there was 8 of us, so we agreed. Service was slow, but they were pretty busy so I'll give them a break. They have a seperate VIP menu if you're interested in pitchers or a drink package. We all wanted different things though, so we opted for the regular menu. I had a few casa amigos blanco with soda water and a lime (my new go-to drink of choice). At one point I asked for a coke, but it ended up being super flat which was gross. We ordered some apps for the table to share... tacos, a hummus plate, quesadillas, and pretzel bites. All were tasty snacks, but nothing special to be honest. The ambiance is super fun... music, TVs, a fire pit, and a view of downtown KC. Overall it was a great convenient spot to hang out, but I wouldn't go out of my way to go back.

Bartending staff is the absolute best, everyone was so friendly (thanks, Kyle), we enjoyed our experience so much we went back the next night. All the food we tried was also top-notch. Carne asada tacos, burger, Philly steak and burrito - all excellent. Highly recommend for a fun time and delicious food!

OK now THIS hit the spot with the rooftop patio. I have had my eye on checking this place out for a few years now but covid shut down and blah blah blah. We picked the perfect evening to come downtown for a date night and this was stop number two. The breeze was perfect. The tables were clean. Service was good and food came out hot. They have specials every evening. We tried a pepperoni pizza (not good) and the loaded waffle fries which were tasty. The pizza was just thin and had more cheese on it than crust and didn't have a whole lot of flavor. Crust couldn't hold up the thick pepperoni or cheese unfortunately. We will definitely be back!

Don't come here to eat. We came for taco Tuesday and the salsa tastes like pepper. I never got sauce for my tacos so I waited for our server to bring it (30+ min) and eventually just told her I didn't want the tacos anymore because they were cold. Our server literally brought our drinks and never came back to check on us. Drinks were mediocre.

Pretty chill spot. Here on a work trip Tue-Thur. Went on a Tuesday night. Wasnt packed and drinks were reasonably priced. Good spot to check out for a few hours.

I really enjoyed the deck. I wouldn't recommend the food unless it was fried. My nachos had great queso but everything else hardened so fast and it wasn't good to eat. Otherwise I liked the large deck and would come back for drinks and socializing. It felt cozy. Ordering at the bar was easiest for us bc there was maybe one server for the entire top deck, so it was slow.

Great bar with great energy. The food is very average, I would only recommend fried food here to snack on. The drinks are incredibly cheap are strong. The happy hour runs until 7pm on fridays. Great place to go after work and hangout with some friends. The 3 stories makes for 3 different vibes so it has something for everyone.

What a great spot! We were visiting from California, staying around the corner and just happened to stumble upon this apparently happening restaurant & bar! Top deck is where we enjoyed drinks and the best chicken wings EVER! Sweet Sriracha omg perfectly cooked!! Meaty! Service was great and I have to say...they are very generous with their pours! Next time we're in KC we'll be back! Highly recommend!!

We came in late after a concert to get food to-go. The service was okay and the food was typical bar food, nothing out of the ordinary. We weren't disappointed but we also weren't impressed.

This place is just FUN. I mean three different floors with three different vibes. I love the idea and I think they execute very well. Floor one for a more sports bar/food vibe, floor two for a club dance party situation and floor three for the DECK. They've recently redone it and it's lovely as always. Drinks are pretty cheap and if you plan to get onto the deck, just show up a little earlier than you originally planned so you can eventually get a seat. The last time I went it was SO packed. Probably a post-COVID thing, but it was definitely not regulated and a bit uncomfortable. Regardless, I'll keep coming back because I've never not had a fun time for at least the majority of my visit!

Sticky, but great bar food and amazing ambiance on game day. Sometimes cranky bartenders, but I kind of get it.

Good food and a fun vibe, but really not the cleanest. I've been here a few times, and I want to start by saying that I've always had fun! The atmosphere is pretty chill, so you can either have a low key night, or just hang out if you're tired of the clubs but not ready to go home yet. The food is also decent - a little pricey, but completely worth it. Staff is friendly and efficient, and it's never taken me too long to get food or drink. The reason I knocked off two stars though is because it is REALLY not the cleanest. It's pretty common for tables to still be a little wet from someone's previous drink, and there's no one to wipe them down. The bathrooms are especially disgusting - I would STRONGLY suggest you go either before or after. I get that it's a casual spot, but that doesn't mean it can't be clean. Overall, it's a fun place to hang out from time to time, as long as you're not expecting much.

GARBAGE!! Bartenders "adjust tip" while your tab is still open. Check your bank account statements!!

All jokes aside, the deck is a big draw in the summer and has some great views of the city! When it gets a little chillier in the fall some tables have small fire pits to keep you warm. I love to come here on Tuesday nights for Intelligence Check Trivia and hang out on the second floor. There are drink and food specials pretty much every day of the week so check the menu! I typically get an app or two to share - recommend the pretzel bites, chicken tenders, waffle fries (!!) and don't miss the burger week special! The dollar tacos on Tuesday usually come soggy so be warned, and you have to buy 4 minimum. Bartenders provide great service and are super nice!

Cool rooftop bar with great views but you have to go up to the bar to order drinks/food due to short staff!?!? Three people working the bar or should I say one while one sits on her cell phone and doesn't look to help anyone coming up to the bar because she's so busy.

Went with a friend I met at a concert. Relaxed casual setting with typical bar food and a large rooftop bar. Mango beer, burgers, fries, and regulars. Would go back if I were hanging out near the central library.

Great happy hour deals, friendly bartenders, you feel like a regular here after just a couple visits.

Food was ok, but just had a house salad. The JBD lemonade was nice, cucumber melon lemonade. The roof top deck was nice, good ambiance. Covered and heaters, good music. Service was excellent.

I have to give this place a good score because the drinks are cheap, and we love the Tuesday night Intelligence Check trivia on the second floor. John's Big Deck has 3 floors - the first floor has a bunch to tables, then 2nd floor is smaller with mostly high tops and a small dance floor, and the 3rd floor is the iconic big rooftop deck with fire pits and plenty of seating. They have a huge food menu with plenty of bar snacks, and lots of drink deals. I think I paid $3 for a draft Bud Light the last time I was at trivia, and you really can't complain at that price!

Updating my rating because we've recently been back twice and sat at the downstairs bar and the serve has been on point. The environment has been comfortable and enjoyable. We ordered some fried pickles and peppers and they were fire. Check out John's Big Deck!

My food never came, when I had to walk up to the bar to make them aware that they only delivered my husbands food. It took a while to get the servers attention, she was busy taking shots with patrons. It was very annoying, HOW COULD THIS BE ALLOWED?? When she finally paid attention to me, she didn't believe me and gave me a nasty look. After 30 minutes of waiting again for it we decided to ask for the check and leave, she tried charging me for my burger and I had to ask for the manager to take it off along with an appetizer that also never arrived to our table. Would never go back. All of this could have been avoided if she would have done her job and made sure to check on how her tables were doing. Several other patrons were annoyed by her and I even gave other people my napkins because I had no reason to use them. Server was an older lady maybe 40s or 50s.

If it's food you seek for it is not that good. The atmosphere and views are pretty decent. The drinks are fairly priced, but in all honesty this place was very dull and basic not much of a attraction to stop at or even locally good.

Saturday evening, mainly Sunday morning. 215 last call was a nice change for a while. Musician had good vocals but volume was WAY TO FKN high. Mellow energy, diverse crowd. Way to many men and not enough women.. first floor bartenders were overweight men. I would suggest having sexy attractive bartenders not on just the first but all levels. Customer service was moderate, would return, didn't get a food item. Ambiance and other patrons was friendly and welcoming. First level, not attractive at all. Second level moderate and third was beach like relaxing mode. Every level needs an upgrade but overall not bad for a dive bar.

Slow service. Online ordering wasn't working. Person on the phone hung up on us, was rude, and refused to take our order. Bathrooms had no toilet paper. On a high note, the deck is nice and drinks are priced resonantly.

$5 cover on the weekends for a dive bar? Granted they had live music on the first floor (super loudly) and a DJ on the second floor so it's $5 to support the music. I guess that's fine. Rooftop patio isn't open during the winter so if that's what you're looking for, be sure to check first. Good selection of beers on draft and couple larger tables when you walk in. We had a party of 7 and it was so loud we stayed for 1 drink and mozied onto anther joint where we could hear each other. Love the patio to watch a game (when the weather is right).

Fast, service was good! Whitney took great care of us. The deck is awesome! You can smoke so keep that in mind if a non smoker. Food was delicious!

You can always expect to have a good time here! Being able to get rooftop drinks at any time of year is awesome (note that it's 55 steps and there's no elevator). I've been to JBD's quite a few times, but I was super impressed after I spent my Super Bowl Sunday here. Despite being packed, their service was excellent. One of our groups food didn't arrive at the same time as everyone else's, and they comped it without them even asking. This probably isn't a place you would go specifically for food (given how many other options there are in KC) but their menu is great and I've never been dissatisfied with what I got. They also have great drink deals, different buckets you can get, and pitchers as well. Excellent for groups! My only qualms is it's not always the cleanest, and the bathroom is suuuper tiny and cramped. If you're wanting to watch a game there, I'd opt for the first or second floor. When it's packed, it's nearly impossible to see the TVs on the rooftop. All in all, JBD's is a guaranteed good time. Highly recommend!

Ordered the John's (fried) Chicken Salad to go, bit into something hard, and realized it was a big piece of plastic...

It is what it is: a dive bar with an amazing roof patio and amazing staff. I like the tuesday tacos specials. Your simple, American tacos but pack flavor. They also have a late night menu so perfect for industry folks. Love it there.

This place is located in a pretty pedestrian friendly area, which is great. It has the appeal of downtown KC, but without the annoyance of near total one way streets. Parking was not great. That's pretty standard for north of Westport. Upon entering the restaurant, I wasn't impressed. It was kind of dated. I checked out the menu and again wasn't impressed. I am a sucker for a restaurant with a cocktail menu. Even if it's a short menu, I think you should have a list of cocktails that represent the establishment. If they had one, it wasn't shared with us. I ordered fried pickles and peppers and the Mrs Piggy with waffle fries. The fried pickles with peppers were pretty good. The Mrs Piggy was lacking. The meat lacked any flavor. When a sandwich has a hoagie bun, IMO, you have to have a meat with a lot of flavor so you can find it among the bread. I ended up deconstructing the sandwich to taste the meat and was still disappointed. I let my friend try the other half and she was equally disappointed. The waffle fries were fine. She ordered the jalapeño cheddar bites and a salad. She was incredibly satisfied with the salad, but disappointed with the cheddar bites. She said they were just lacking flavor. I personally ordered a few Moscow mules and I would rate them alright. Perfect after a tough day. A huge plus though is that the food was served hot and the service was great. We were tended to by multiple people and the timing was always great. The backbone of restaurants is the wait staff and this staff was on point in that area. I believe we saw each wait person at some time during our visit. Lastly, when we first arrived (between 5 and 6 on a Tuesday), few patrons, but as the night went on, it filled up. By 7 or 8, it was pretty packed. It had a very neighborhood/Cheers feel to it, which was fun. It felt cozy with everyone filling the seats and that's a good feeling. Personally, I don't think I would go back, but I encourage experiencing it at least once.

Wicked good food and awesome views. Our server was so nice and obviously loved his job. This is my new favorite downtown restaurant. Great place to hang out with friends. This is definitely on my list to take family from out of town.

This would be a 5 star establishment if they only played more EDM, everyone loves EDM.

John and his big deck have been around for years. I've driven by it, walked past it, vaguely even recall stumbling around near it after a hotel party at the Marriott, but never have I ever ventured inside to see what's kept John in business all these years. Until recently. I can't speak to the size of the deck, I didn't see it. There were stairs. I was hungry. It was hot. I'm sure the deck is everything John says it is and more. From what they advertise, it's the only rooftop deck in downtown KC, so there's that. Walking in, with "big" expectations, I found the main room just inside the front door to be a little small so hopefully the deck makes up for it. However, the place does offer up a cool, neighborhood, dive bar vibe that sort of pulls you in like when you're on vacation and by happenstance come across that secret place where the locals all hangout and you instantly know it's a great pick. Yeah, John's is sorta like that, nestled in a building that's more than 100 years old. The menu is bar food and then some, offering a variety of options, including pizza, tacos, burgers, gyros, nachos, chicken tenders, sandwiches, breakfast and more. They even offer a late night menu that continues serving hungry appetites into the wee hours of the morning (like 2am). I grabbed a seat at the bar and ordered the pork tenderloin sandwich with tots. I wasn't expecting much. It's bar food. I thought it would be some doctored up Costco version of a fried pork patty with lettuce and tomato - oh, and cheese, I always add cheese to almost everything. I was getting hungrier just thinking about it. While we wait, let's talk about the service. It was fast, friendly and to the point. They were busy for the lunch rush so there was no time for small talk. Then, I saw my waitress bringing my sandwich. I felt like a groom at the alter, watching his bride come down the aisle, knowing he made the right choice. It was beauty in a basket, a real pork cutlet, hand breaded and fried to crispy perfection. The tots were typical, but also cooked like they should be with just the right amount of crunch. I was pleasantly surprised and immediately said, "I do!" It doesn't matter how big John's deck is, with bar food delights this good he'll have you coming back for more, and while you're there, you should probably check out the deck. I mean, how big are we talking anyway?

We got John's Big Deck for Yelp's Big Night In. We called to order based off the menu on yelp. Unfortunately, this is their full menu and they have a limited menu for the current time. The man who answered the phone was super nice and talked me through the current menu since everything we wanted to order wasn't on the current menu. The food was ready when we got there and we grabbed it through the window. We got home, threw it in the oven for about 10 minutes, and it was hot and ready! We got the jalapeño poppers and the build your own burger with waffle fries. The poppers and fries were good, but the burger was a little overcooked for my liking. I will definitely go back when social distancing is over - I want to check out the deck!