Come enjoy it while it lasts. This Kansas City legend has long been a family favorite. A recent visit presented this once proud establishment devolved into a grubby dive. The food is still good, prices unchanged, but the restaurant is grungy and off putting with torn vinyl booths and greasy table tops. Neon elements are burnt-out and the jukebox dark and broken. It’s a shadow of the place my grandmother used to bring my cousins and me. The staff are friendly but it seems management has either lost their vision, have become apathetic, or are hoping for a buy-out so this local legend can be replaced with yet another chain, like too much else in America. I challenge the owners of Winstead’s to apply some Midwestern work ethic in proper cleaning and maintenance of their establishment before it’s too late. Restore this institution to its former glory, PLEASE!

This Kansas City icon has been serving good food fast to hungry residents for over 80 years. I have been enjoying the burgers and milk shakes for fifty years at this plaza location. I personally have some great memories of spending time with Family and friends here. A large dining room with a 1950s feel complete with an old fashion jute box. Plenty of off street parking with a drive through that replaced the old car hops that were active here through the 1970s. Be sure to check out happy hour from 3 to 6 pm for half price drinks , sodas and shakes! This is the best deal in town their milkshakes and malts are great!! And a fair value at full price don't miss it!

My sons and I visited Winstead's on our way out of Kansas the other day. I consider myself a burger lover, but in all my trips to Kansas City, I have never stopped here. So we decided that this was the time. We visited Sunday evening, about 7:00 so the restaurant wasn't that busy. The restaurant is allowing internal eating, but also has a drive-thru open 24 hours. The menu is a simple two pages, front and back. It's classic diner food, burgers, chicken sandwiches, fried foods, and shakes. My son got the chicken sandwich and a chocolate milkshake, which he said the chicken sandwich was crispy and delicious. It was fairly good sized for the price and he enjoyed it. The milkshake tasted good, but he said was poorly blended ice cream and milk but not a lot of depth to the flavor. Once it melted, it was extremely drinkable and good. My other son and I got the double Winstead, which is two patties and your choice of toppings. The patties are traditional smashburgers, very thin and perfectly seasoned. Being of the burgers are thin, it means that you don't get a ton of meat, weight-wise, but you do get a delicious seared patty, with all the crispy bits that you expect from a griddle burger. My son and I also tried the onion rings, which had a crispy breading, but no seasoning. The onion rings would be difficult to eat a whole order without dipping in something or salting yourself. But the batter definitely could have used some seasoning. Tater tots and fries are pretty common, and both were delicious here. The tater tots were crispy and golden, as were the fries. Overall, we spent about $34 for the three of us, which is a little bit pricey but the food was delicious, and I feel that it was worth it. The restaurant does have happy hour from 3:00 to 6:00 p.m., with half price drinks and shakes. If you were going to try the shake, this would definitely be the time. Otherwise, shakes range from like $3.45 to $6.75 and are somewhat expensive. Overall, Winstead's was delicious and certainly needed to be on my list of places to try. If I was in Kansas City, this would be a place I would eat at if I was driving by. But it's not a place I would drive across Kansas City, or several hours just to visit. But overall, the diner restaurant theme is disappearing, and Winstead's fills a definite need for this type of restaurant. For locals, this is definitely a place that could be a burger favorite. For travelers, I definitely recommend trying this at least once.

Kc GOAT Diner! Anti-Inflation prices Best shakes and steak burgers for the price! Servers always friendly if you cool. I love getting a triple with either chili sheese 50/50 or onion/fries with a strawberry shake.

A classic Kansas City diner. Great spot for a casual lunch. My go-to is the double steakburger with regular limeade and a 50/50 (half onion rings and half fries). Their prices are very reasonable (base price for the double burger is currently about $5). You do have to pay extra for certain toppings, but the prices are still fair. Service is usually very quick. The burgers themselves are cooked well and taste great. Fries, tots, and onion rings are always crispy. If you want to have some extra fun, order a skyscraper (equivalent of 3 large shakes).

What a quaint diner! Rena was a spectacular waitress, and gave us some amazing service! Friendly for sure. The man bussing tables was singing along with the juke box that was pumping out oldie after oldie, that went right along with the diner's appealing atmosphere! Our breakfast was at the table so fast! Coffee stayed filled all the way to the end of our visit! Give them a try if you are near by! You won't regret it!

We always go to Winstead’s when we are in Kansas City! The food is great! Good burgers, fries, rings and shakes! Just a short walk from the Plaza. Love the vintage vibe with turquoise booths and green and pink neon.

We love Winstead’s burgers onion rings and cherry limeades. Always great They grill the onions add mayo everything like I like it. Onion rings well done. The Plaza location is the last one but it looks terrible inside Slow death. Sad to see it look this way. Carpet is nasty. Booths filthy. Hate to see this

Dropped in with my boyfriend yesterday for lunch. It was...alright. The restaurant furnishings and decor could use an update, if I'm being honest. I get that it's supposed to have that retro '50s look but everything looks battered and worn. Keep the aesthetic but fix the furniture, I guess? The music was much too grating and loud; I couldn't focus very well on conversation and ordering food. The service was average, nothing spectacular. The waitress seemed like she was uninterested, and water refills were few and far between. The food was a solid 3.5 out of 5. We ordered a double and triple burger with everything on it, fries, tater tots, a cherry limeade, and a Skyscraper chocolate shake to share. The flavors were alright, nothing to write home about. It was comparable to Wendy's but seemingly a little less expensive. The prices were actually somewhat reasonable though, for the amount of food. I just wish it was more flavorful. I guess it might be worth returning if I'm looking for a relatively inexpensive place to eat out at?

We love Jennifer!! I was taking senior photos for a couple of girls that LOVE Winstead’s. We asked Jennifer if she would be okay if we snapped a few photos in the restaurant. She not only agreed but went above and beyond to make sure our experience there was exceptional!

I don't want a KC icon to vanish, I just want it to return to its former glory. Sorry, but the service here sucks, and the place--as many have stated--is grubby. Most places, if you ask for mustard, you get a bottle to match the ketchup (or a good portion in a cup). Look what I got. A modest smear that was useful for only a few fries. Come on folks, a bottle of cheap mustard can be had for around a dollar from ALDI. Please, stay in business by doing what it takes to stay in business.

As a European, I have been dreaming to visit an authentic diner for a longtime. This is it! The diner vibe, the food ready in less than 5 minutes, the chill customer service and the small check. I visited twice and enjoyed every single bit, onion rings are to die for: big, crunchy and made of real onion rings (not an onion flavored onion). Their drinks and shakes are a real treat!

DANG ! That chocolate malt was Great !! And Happy Hour Half Price !!! Triple Burger and fries filled up this couple, and service was fast and friendly .

Great food, great prices and within walking distance from the Plaza

Starting off, it took a little bit of time to get our food ordered but that was fine. The wait time for the food shown was around 20 minutes. The tenders were a good size but had little to no flavor along with the fries which also had no flavor. The tater tots were good and the chili dog was also surprisingly good despite its look. The barbecue sauce tasted “cheap”. I ordered a triple winstead burger but received a double winstead. The burger tasted great along with the crispy bacon. All of this food costed a grand total of $74 without the tip.(including two pieces of cheesecake, a triple winstead burger and two cups of coffee not shown in the image) This place is DEFINITELY bang for your buck but nothing more than that. I would recommend this place for the vibes and the dessert.(The cheesecake is 😮‍💨)

This place is very dirty. The ceiling and the floor don’t appear to have been cleaned for any years. The lights aren’t all working and the staff are mostly in regular clothes, so it’s difficult to differentiate who to ask for help and fellow patrons. We have came here for years, this could be our last visit if they can’t clean it up some.

Picked up a few steak burgers at the drive through and the delivery was pretty speedy! Was a bit surprised considering the line. Anyway the food is well priced, the burgers were incredibly delicious, lettuce and tomato were very fresh, and boy are those shakes good. Will go again 10/10

One of my favorite podcasts mentions this restaurant quite frequently. After waiting months and months to go there....WINSTEAD’S DID NOT LET ME DOWN. It’s a retro type restaurant that serves burgers, fries, shakes and so much more (including breakfast). I wish we had more restaurants like this in my part of the world!! My meal was extremely satisfying! The service was good. Although I walked to get there, it appears they have ample parking. I’ll be back WINSTEAD’S!

The people here are always so friendly. The food is great, don't expect anything gourmet. I eat here because it's cozy and classic comfort food. Also, since I last visited, they must have hired a new cook-- my food was hot off the grill in about five minutes.

So having grown up in KC, Winstead's is a KC institution. I decided to stop and get 2 single cheeseburgers, 2 50/50's and 2 large drinks. I waited in line for over 45 min to get these few things. You would think having waited that long the food would be fresh... NOPE! The burgers were overcooked, the 50/50's had 2 burnt to a crisp onion rings that had to be thrown away because they were so burnt and maybe 5 fries. 1 of the drinks wasn't even able to have a drink taken out of it because the lid wasn't on properly so while exiting my car it dumped everywhere. I don't know if this is why the other locations shut down or not. What I do know was that I expected an edible meal after spending over $20 for a cheeseburger and fries.

I had never been here and my friend brought me while I was visiting KC. The food is so cheap so make sure to tip your waitress/waiters generously! They were great and deserve more that $2 for you sitting there for an hour, because yes that is about 20% of what I spent on an entire meal.

The food is much better than a Freddy's. Our server did a great job. We waited 20 minutes to be seated or even spoken to. The line went out the door and yet not even a hello from the help. After 20 minutes the guy bussing tables declared open seating.

Classic American Diner with a drive through & open 24/7. Last few visits have been a hit. Steak burgers, grilled cheese, fries, onion rings & good for an ice cream treat! Have been loving this place for over 30 years…keep up the good work!!

A great diner with good food and good service. My server was great! She helped accommodate some dietary restrictions and when one of the people made a mistake after misreading the menu she was willing to help. I especially love their fries since they are crisp on the outside and soft inside! Their shakes were the highlight of the meal, we each had a different flavor and they were all good.

This place is the bomb! Old school good food with frills and gimmicks! The young light-skinned waitress was fantastic and very pretty! She kept her cool when customers were being rude and she never let her customer service suffer. She deserves a raise! Also look at how delicious this cherry limeade looks! I wish we had these places in Seattle!

At first glance this place may not seems like much, but don't let that fool you. The food is delicious, and it's worth the trip. My son and I stopped in on our way to the Nelson-Atkins museum for a quick bite. We both got a double steak burger with onion rings and fries. The burgers are seasoned good, and were cooked perfect. They have the crispy smash burger style. They serve them with a whole onion slice too, which I really enjoyed. The onion rings are huge, and you get a lot! One order could probably serve 2 people. My son ordered a limeade classic limeade and loved it. It even comes with a scoop of lime sherbet on top.

Great prices and food! The only reason why I didn't give 5 stars, it was rough at the beginning, had to wait over a while for the waiter for drinks and order to be placed. However, once everything started to come through, it got better. All the food was correct and hot.

A classic diner and they keep their prices affordable. It shows its age, but there’s a lot of love for the place, and I think they could have a donation fund to fix the booths and lights and people would gladly contribute. It’s getting harder to find a booth seat that’s not torn open.

Service was great!!! Food was so good. Best biscuits and gravy I've had in a long time. My daughter and boyfriend both had burgers and he won't stop ranting about how delicious his food was. Superb job Winsteads... Only reason I gave 4/5 stars is because the building could use a little loving and I froze my butt off next to the window

I had a friend in Nashville, TN recommend this place while I was in town and I was not dissapointed! Great steakburger! Obviously cooked on a hot grill because the patty had a nice crispy sear to it. The bun was also toasted perfectly with just the right amount of give to allow a but more crunch to your bite.. The onion rings are handmade and were cooked to perfection. If you make it to KCMO or any of the other locations, stop in! You won't be disappointed!

We loved the view and architecture from the restaurant! I would rate the food 3.5/5 stars, not quite 4 stars. The patty has to be right from the butcher and over the grill, super fresh. The minimum size must be a quarter pound patty. Nobody will complain with leftover food, trust me. Offer incentives to advertise and bring more people in. Fries and drinks are over priced, keep a combo under $10. Happy New Year.