Red brick Victorian storefronts along the Liberty Square in downtown Liberty, Missouri, with cast iron street lamps and young trees on the sidewalk

The coast is a thousand miles away. We brought it to Kansas Street.

Family owned on the Liberty Square since 2015, in an eighteen eighties brick building that Liberty knows better than it knows us.

Liberty, Missouri

The building came first.

When Donis opened in 2015 he took a storefront on the north side of the Square, two minutes downhill from William Jewell. People still describe the place by the building rather than by the food, and that is fair. It is a good building.

Exposed brick, wooden tables, room for a large party without anyone having to book. Lunch runs eleven to three, Monday through Saturday.

5 East Kansas Street

La Costa

The name came from somewhere warmer.

La costa means the coast. It is on the sign, it is the pink palm tree in the logo, and it is the reason the menu has a shrimp cocktail on it in the middle of Clay County.

Nobody is pretending Kansas Street has a beach. But the kitchen cooks like it does, and after three in the afternoon so does the bar.

Since 2015

What the Square eats

Lunch, eleven to three, nine ninety nine.

Six numbered combinations, all one price, all with rice and beans. This is what most of downtown orders and it is why the dining room is full at noon.

  • One9.99Deep fried beef taco, cheese enchilada, rice and beans
  • Two9.99Chicken flautas, rice and beans
  • Three9.99Pork tamale and beef enchilada, rice and beans
  • Four9.99Beef, chicken or pork burrito, rice and beans
  • Five9.99Beef, chicken or pork chimichanga, rice and beans
  • Six9.99Chile relleno, rice and beans

What the name promises

The seafood is not a token gesture.

Eleven dishes on the printed menu involve shrimp, scallops or tilapia. The fajita at the top of the list is the most expensive thing in the building, and it is seafood.

  • Seafood Fajita26.99Shrimp, scallops, imitation crab and tilapia
  • Camarones al Ajillo19.99Shrimp in a tequila garlic butter sauce, queso fresco
  • Camarones Borrachos19.99Drunken shrimp, peppers and pico in a tequila cream sauce
  • Camarones a la Diabla19.99Shrimp, peppers and onions in the spicy red sauce
  • Pollo Al Mar18.99Chicken and shrimp in chipotle cream
  • Tilapia la Costa17.99Grilled tilapia, shrimp and vegetables
  • Shrimp Cocktail17.99Tomato, onion, cilantro, citrus and diced avocado

The brick, photographed

Birria, against the wall it was shot on.

Four corn quesa tacos of birria style beef with Monterey cheese, cilantro and onions, and a bowl of consome to dip them in. Fifteen ninety nine, and the burrito version is sixteen ninety nine.

Four birria quesa tacos with melted cheese and a white bowl of consome, on a wooden table in front of an exposed red brick wall
Birria Quesa Tacos, 15.99

The sunset, on the comal

Fajitas arrive still cooking.

Every fajita is cooked with peppers and onions and served with rice, beans, lettuce, guacamole, sour cream, pico and your choice of corn or flour tortillas. The Flaming Fajita is finished with tequila at the table.

Chicken fajitas with red and green peppers and onions steaming on a black cast iron comal, a red plate of rice, beans and pico behind
Grilled chicken 18.99, grilled steak 18.99, flaming 26.99

Monday through Thursday

One special a night, and Tuesday is the cheap one.

  • Monday, Burrito Supremo11.99One beef and one chicken burrito under enchilada sauce, lettuce, tomato and sour cream, with rice
  • Tuesday, three crispy tacos5.99Chicken or beef
  • Wednesday, fajitas14.99Chicken or steak
  • Thursday, Pollo Bandido11.99A bed of Mexican rice under shredded chicken and spinach cheese

There is no Friday or Saturday special. Friday and Saturday the kitchen runs until half past ten instead.

Three until six, Monday to Thursday

Happy hour is when the coast half of this place takes over.

  • Classic lime margarita6.00The house one. There is a long list of fruit versions at full price
  • Espinaca or chorizo dip5.00With chips
  • 24oz draft beer5.00Imported or domestic
  • Half order of nachos7.00Seasoned chicken or ground beef
  • Trio of hard shell tacos7.00Ground beef or chicken
  • Gringa quesadilla9.00Chicken or pork