Chiefs’ Travis Kelce, Taylor Swift seem to have a new favorite restaurant in KC
Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce and girlfriend Taylor Swift clearly enjoy dining out and have visited a number of local spots when the Eras Tour singer is in Kansas City, including Piropos, Prime Social and Rye.
Now another local restaurant — this one known for its rustic Japanese cuisine — is earning international attention for reportedly hosting the couple.
Last month, Kelce and Swift dined at Nōka at 334 E. 31st St., according to the Daily Mail, a British tabloid. And they returned on Oct. 6 to celebrate Kelce’s 35th birthday, according to the New York Post.
Nōka, which is Japanese for farmer, opened in April 2023 “in the heart of martini corner,” it says on its Instagram.
“Swift and her father, Scott, took the tight end and his family — along with Patrick and Brittany Mahomes — out to sushi hotspot Nōka,” the Post reported.
“The source tells us it was an intimate affair and it was a very early night since the Kansas City Chiefs played the New Orleans Saints the next day.”
After the Chiefs beat the Saints on “Monday Night Football,” Kelce and Swift were joined by their friends at Prime Social, the upscale cocktail lounge on the Country Club Plaza that has become one of their go-to places.
Maybe Brittany gave her friends a positive review of Nōka? She celebrated her 29th birthday there in August with Patrick and friends and posted photos of herself with Patrick inside the restaurant.
“Saturday Night Live” cast member Heidi Gardner, a Kansas City native, also follows the restaurant on social media.
Here is a description of Nōka from the restaurant’s website: “The dining experience at Nōka is about inviting guests to immerse within the familiar, while our senses simultaneously transport us somewhere new. Primitive yet modern, our dining space offers many different avenues — whether you’re looking for an intimate experience near the bar, a hands-on culinary view into our live-fire kitchen at the Chef’s Counter, or feel like dipping out of your comfort zone at one of our communal-style tables, there truly is a little something for everyone. So venture in soon, we look forward to hosting you.”
Chef Amante Domingo, who also owns the breakfast/lunch spot The Russell, talked with The Star last year about Nōka. (We also reached out to him about his reported celebrity guests.)
“It is my first concept on my own but it is very personal, with an intent to feel my past and my farm,” Domingo told The Star in 2023. “It is terrifying to put yourself out like that but so rewarding when people get it.”
Dinner in the Big Apple
Swift and Kelce draw a lot of attention whenever and wherever they dine.
They had paparazzi shadowing them over the last few days in New York City where the Chiefs tight end has spent the team’s bye week before Swift returns to the last leg of her Eras Tour on Friday.
“Taylor Swift is entering her foodie era,” Harper’s Bazaar declared after she and Kelce went on a double date Friday at a Soho restaurant with her celebrity friends, Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively.
On Saturday, the couple dined alone at an Italian restaurant in New York.
This story was originally published October 14, 2024 at 11:18 AM.
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