Raw, cooked, cold, hot, sauced, stirred, grilled…’tis the season for seafood. Enjoy an upscale but not pretentious atmosphere as you dine to your heart’s desire at Aqua Penny’s coastal seafood restaurant and oyster bar.
“Seafood means something different for most people. For example, the Midwest is fresh water, the Northeast is one thing, South becomes something much different, and the West coast is its own animal!” noted Michael Werner, a local concept design and development specialist and Managing Partner with Aqua Penny’s.
Owned by local culinary powerhouse couple, Penny and Doug Mufaka, Aqua Penny’s is conveniently situated in Leawood’s popular Park Place Shopping Center. Following an extensive $1.4 million transformation, it takes over the former Gordon Biersch space.
You will feel like you are sitting on the dock of the bay and certainly not in Kansas anymore! Seat yourself on their expansive wrap around patio spaces or browse the raw bar. Special features will wow you, including decorative lighting, statues, a bar made of oyster shells and wall art. They feature both indoor and outdoor private event spaces.
Aqua Penny’s flies in seafood daily for the best and freshest fish-fare. Chef Penny Mufaka and her culinary team have created an imaginative menu that takes a deep dive into the pearls of the sea, including fresh shucked proprietary oysters, clams, mussels, crab, shrimp, lobster, scallops and a wide selection of fresh catch fish options. And caviar is having a moment right now.
The creative and well-thought-out menus take a deep dive into the fruits of the sea, offering light fare and more substantial dishes to satisfy every midday appetite for lunch and brunch. From clean and delicate to big, bold flavors, there is a wide variety of special dishes, with flavors not found in other Kansas City seafood restaurants.
For those who prefer land fare, Aqua Penny’s has a nice selection of options to choose from, including creative and exciting meat and vegetarian dishes to satisfy any appetite. A light lunch or the day’s main meal, Aqua Penny’s lunch and brunch menus offer it all.
About the raw bar…it is truly the focal point and differentiator in the restaurant space, with features like Aqua Penny’s proprietary Boston Tear Drops. Oysters that begin their lives in the tidal flats of Crowes Pasture Beach in East Dennis, Massachusetts, where Quivett Creek and Cape Cod Bay meet. Named for their tear-drop shape, a bite into one gives a burst of salty ocean initially that mellows to sweet vegetable notes with a hint of cream. And their Rappahannock River Pearls from the Chesapeake Bay. Farmed near the mouth of the Rappahannock, where the full force of the river meets the Chesapeake Bay, the mineral-rice freshwater is unmistakable and infuses their River Pearls with sweet notes and low salinity.
“They spent months working with local purveyors to sample and try to feature premium oysters from the west and east coast, including black magic from Thunder Cove, soft shell crab fresh from the gulf shore and Walleye just caught from Lake Superior,” continued Werner. “There are two sides to their menu. On one side you’ll find core classics like lobster tail and seafood and saffron resembling fare from a fish house on the East coast, the ‘comfort foods.’ On the flip side discover featured shareables, entrées, sweet bites and more to nosh and create a social, communal experience.”
When it comes to cocktails, how about 100-plus different bottles of wine and champagne? Their motto: Create an experience for people, then allow them to create their own.
“A guest will forget what they ate, but they won’t forget how you made them feel,” Werner confirmed.
With this food, it is a pretty good bet that you won’t forget that shrimp, oyster, drink or lobster you enjoy!
This is the sixth restaurant opened by these two, with Bamboo Penny’s, Kc Thai, Str-eatz Mexican Restaurant, and another creation, Penny’s in the Village, a Thai Restaurant, set to open in Fall of 2024 in the former Blue Moose/Gravity space at 4160 W. 71st Street in Prairie Village.
Aqua Penny’s is located at 11652 Ash Street, Leawood, Kansas 66211. Visit aquapennys.com and find them on Facebook and Instagram. Hours: lunch, Monday – Saturday 11 a.m. – 2 p.m.; brunch Sunday 10 a.m. – 3 p.m.
“A guest will forget what they ate, but they won’t forget how you made them feel. " -Michael Werner
“There are two sides to the menu. On one side you’ll find core classics like lobster tail and seafood and saffron resembling fare from a fish house on the East coast, the ‘comfort foods.’ On the flip side discover featured shareables, entrées, sweet bites and more to nosh and create a social, communal experience.”