Polka Dot Fox Coffee and Micro-bakery

Great place for a vegan. Soy and almond milk available for a small up charge. Latte was flavorful and had great balance. I believe at least one vegan bakery item is available at all times. Small local shop that is worth visiting. Whole beans available for purchase for home brewing.

Yes it’s a good review… but I’m gonna deploy my full-​on honesty here, so reader beware. This is an excellent coffee spot. Their espresso and lungo were both phenomenal and I’m psyched to try ANY coffee offering from Polka Dot Fox. I also really, really liked the quiet and cozy atmosphere. It’s clean and bright and there’s enough of a separation between two areas that one could probably tuck away from a louder group of customers if need be. The cloth napkins were a nice touch that made me feel right at home. I’ll confess that I love their logo artwork a little too much — it’s adorable! The guy behind the counter was quietly polite and about 130 percent NOT what I expected after their very saccharine «voice» on facebook. In fact, that hyper-​friendly voice is possibly what kept me away for this long (cannot extrovert before coffee!) but raves from friends made me try this place and I am glad I did. My biggest issue with Polka Dot Fox (which is still only enough to detract 1 star from a perfect rating) is the whole menu and pastry case situation. They have posted this menu with tiny lettering and it’s quite lengthy but then the case has eight or nine different items and it’s pretty difficult to determine which items ARE indeed available and which aren’t. It was also unclear to us whether they have other «menu» items that are available to be prepared in a separate area. We honestly had no idea and just grabbed a few items to try. They were all right… but pretty unremarkable (as much as it pains me, as a fellow lover of baking, to say that about the wares at any micro-​bakery). While I’d definitely come back (probably soon) for coffee and try other treats, I have yet to find that perfect treat (although I’m confident they have something to wow me) and their menu situation seems a bit lacking. I may be alone in this but I’d love even some kind of small handwritten label near each item (with its name) to determine what’s available without having to ask the barista forty questions. Still… awesome little place and I truly hope they will succeed!

So good. If only they opened half an hour earlier I could get it on my way to work.

This is what a true cappuccino should be. Smooth! And, I had to indulge in a yummy blueberry ricotta bread. I hate that I’m just now finding this place. A little bit of Europe in Joplin — very rad! Go support this place!!!

This is the best cup of coffee I’ve had in this part of Missouri. He uses a local roaster and does pourover coffee by the cup. Good stuff. And it’s on Route 66, so you get some free nostalgia if you’re into that.
Update: I went here twice now on my visit to Missouri. Coffee was great both times.

Great spot for coffee and quiet reading or work. This guy makes all of his baked good in house and they’re totally delicious. He’s got some creative pastries and even gluten-​free options! I’ll definitely be coming here again and again!

My hubby and I went here a couple weeks ago, as we always like to check out locally owned and unique coffee shops. We primarily wanted to try their café mochas, which is what we always get at every coffee shop we visit. But of course, once you’re there you can’t resist something sweet from the bakery.
If I’m not mistaken, the menu items change every day. At least the photo they put up on Facebook each morning has different things on it than the day before. So on the day we went, there were a few different types of muffins, one of which was infused with Earl Grey tea and one was chocolate with coconut. Both were very good. Pretty moist, and the flavors were nice. There weren’t any of the two things I wanted to try the most — the Fox Tot and the Lemon Tassies — but we did get there right after they opened so perhaps it was just too early. Or again, maybe it’s not an every day menu item.
However, the downside was our mochas. They were terrible. I must preface this by saying we like our mochas on the sweeter side. These tasted like there was zero chocolate in it whatsoever. All we tasted was bitter espresso. We had gotten them to go so we weren’t able to ask the owner if perhaps he forgot the chocolate. Regardless, we both took just one sip and had to throw the rest out.
I would be more than happy to redo my review once I get a chance to try more things. Perhaps even try another mocha just in case the first one was an accident. At this point, though, Polka Dot Fox is an A-​OK place for me. But I’ll be back again.

Thoroughly enjoyed this gem located in the west end of joplin! Delicious treats and tasty coffee, thoughtfully and creatively prepared with organic ingredients. Kind owners with compassionate hearts; I will definitely revisit!

Really delicious! We had a special breakfast treat called the Fox Tot that is awesome and so fun like a hash brown hand-​pie. Our coffee was a yummy pour over!
A boutique coffee house and micro-​bakery that features locally roasted and visiting coffees plus some fresh daily specialties. The best espresso drinks in Joplin! They actually rival my favorite spot in Rome but without the Coliseum! A must try — The Torinese — WOW!
Family owned AND operated!