Aqua Penny's

Aqua Penny’s is an upscale coastal seafood restaurant and raw oyster bar in Leawood’s Park Place development, opened April 16, 2024 by local restaurateurs Penny and Doug Mufaka — the husband-and-wife team behind neighboring Thai restaurant Bamboo Penny’s. The menu reimagines coastal seafood through a Thai-inflected lens, with oysters flown in daily from the East Coast, West Coast, and British Columbia.¹²

Description

Aqua Penny’s is a reimagined coastal seafood restaurant and raw oyster bar occupying a roughly 7,100-square-foot space in Leawood’s Park Place, just off 117th Street and Nall Avenue — the former home of the Gordon Biersch brewery, which closed in 2020.¹ The concept blends upscale coastal seafood with the Thai culinary heritage of chef-owner Penny Mufaka, a native of Thailand. Signature offerings include scallop and oyster tartare, miso-marinated sea bass, grilled mahi-mahi, seafood towers, hand-cut steaks, and a daily-rotating raw oyster bar sourcing from both U.S. coasts and British Columbia.²³

The restaurant operates 3–9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 3–10 p.m. Friday and Saturday, with a full craft-cocktail program.¹

Ownership and history

Aqua Penny’s is the latest concept from local restaurateurs Penny and Doug Mufaka, who run it alongside design-and-development partner Michael Werner.¹ Penny Mufaka, a native of Thailand, and her husband Doug opened their first Kansas City restaurant — Thai House in Kansas City, Missouri — more than a decade ago. They followed with KC Thai in southern Overland Park and, in 2021, Bamboo Penny’s in Leawood’s Park Place.¹ Aqua Penny’s, located in the same Park Place development as Bamboo Penny’s, was first announced in spring 2023⁴ and opened to the public on April 16, 2024.²¹

The Mufaka family thus operates a small, locally owned cluster of independent restaurants across the metro — Thai House, KC Thai, Bamboo Penny’s, and Aqua Penny’s — with no corporate parent or franchise affiliation.¹

Menu

Last verified: 2026-06-23 · Source: Aqua Penny’s official website (food menu page) · URL(s): https://aquapennys.com/leawood-park-place-aqua-penny-s-food-menu · Confidence: High (official)

Aqua Penny’s menu pairs an upscale coastal-seafood and raw-oyster program with the Thai culinary heritage of chef-owner Penny Mufaka, so American seafood entrees and steaks sit alongside traditional Thai dishes (each listed by its Thai name).⁵

Raw bar & oysters

• Fresh oysters on the half-shell — flown in daily from East and West Coast farms (purveyors include Hama-Hama Oyster Company and Island Creek Oysters), shucked to order over crushed ice with cocktail sauce, horseradish, and the house champagne mignonette; sold by the piece/dozen and built into seafood towers.³² (Daily market-price selection — counts and per-piece pricing rotate and are not posted on the standing menu.)

Appetizers & shareables

• Crab Fries ($22), Smoked Salmon Pimento Dip ($20), Pan-seared Crab Cakes ($28), Lobster Rangoon ($16), Crispy Calamari / Pla Muek Tod Krob ($18), Shrimp Spring Rolls / Por Pia Sod Kung ($16), Coral Tuile Dumplings / Khnom Jeeb Gai ($18), Shrimp Toast / Kha-Nom Pang Naa Goong ($16), Shrimp Laab Lettuce Wraps ($14), Tempura Fried Sea Bass ($13), and Nests of Joy ($12).⁵

Soups & greens

• Thai Volcano Soup ($18) and Penny’s Lobster Bisque ($16 cup / $24 bowl).⁵
• Aqua Penny’s Salad ($18), Mint Salad ($21), plus Caesar and House salads ($10 each).⁵

Penny’s specialties & main dishes

• Prime Filet ($52), Spiced Rack of Lamb ($56), Lobster Thermidor ($48), Crab Stuffed Sole ($48), Thai Chili Sea Bass ($47), Seared Sea Scallops ($42), Vancouver Island Salmon ($38), Whole Branzino ($36), Pan Seared Red Trout ($32), Fish & Chips ($31), Penny’s Mango Catfish ($28), and a Wagyu Surf & Turf Burger ($26).⁵

Traditional Thai

• Seafood Pad Kee Mow (Drunken Noodles) ($45), Red Curry Crispy Duck ($33), Crispy Garlic Shrimp ($32), and Yellow Curry King Crab (market price).⁵
• Thai classics (Penny’s Pad Thai, Green Curry, Fried Rice) are priced by protein: chicken/beef/tofu $22, shrimp $24, crab $28, seafood medley $41, lobster $54.⁵

Sides, desserts & bar

• Sides: Truffle Fries ($15), Bok Choy ($9), Seasonal Vegetable ($9), French Fries ($9), Sautéed Mushrooms ($7), Jasmine Rice ($5).⁵
• House-made desserts: Bananas Foster ($25), 24 Carrot Gold ($16), Brownie Affogato ($15), Spring Cheesecake Tart ($15), Mango Sticky Rice ($14), Earl Grey & Cardamom Crumb Cake ($13), Thai Custard ($12).⁵
• Bar & after-dinner: a full craft-cocktail program plus signature pours such as the Yuzu 75 ($15), Tequila After Dark ($15), espresso martini (“That’s That Me Espresso,” $15), and Roasterie “Aqua Penny’s Blend” coffee.⁵

Note: prices verified from the official food-menu page as of 2026-06-23 and are subject to change; the daily raw-bar/oyster selection is market-priced and not posted on the standing menu.

Links

• Website: https://aquapennys.com[^site]
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aquapennys/
• Phone: (913) 415-2400³⁶⁷

See also

• Registry

Sources

Footnotes

1. Johnson County Post, “Upscale seafood eatery Aqua Penny’s drops anchor in Leawood,” April 17, 2024. https://johnsoncountypost.com/2024/04/17/aqua-pennys-leawood-open-231987/ ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷

2. Kansas City Magazine, “The highly anticipated Aqua Penny’s Will Open April 16. Here’s What You Can Expect.” https://kansascitymag.com/bamboo-pennys-owners-are-opening-a-seafood-restaurant/ ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

3. Aqua Penny’s official website. https://aquapennys.com/ ↩ ↩² ↩³

4. Johnson County Post, “Bamboo Penny’s owners to open new seafood restaurant in Leawood,” May 23, 2023. https://johnsoncountypost.com/2023/05/23/aqua-pennys-leawood-219518/ ↩

5. Aqua Penny’s official website — Food menu page (accessed June 23, 2026). https://aquapennys.com/leawood-park-place-aqua-penny-s-food-menu — Asserts: current menu categories, dish names (with Thai names), and listed prices for appetizers/shareables, signature soups, salads, traditional Thai, Penny’s specialties, main dishes, Thai classics (by-protein pricing), sides, house-made desserts, and bar program. Verified 2026-06-23. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰

6. Park Place Leawood directory — Aqua Penny’s. https://parkplaceleawood.com/directory/aqua-pennys/ ↩

7. Yelp — Aqua Penny’s, 11652 Ash St, Leawood, KS (accessed May 2026). https://www.yelp.com/biz/aqua-pennys-leawood ↩