Ainsley's Place — Restaurant in Hermann

A life rushed is no life. Slow down and enjoy the food.

When we travel, we like to patronize small, locally owned family businesses and eat food we can’t eat at home…no nationally owned chain restaurants.

There are two universal signs that a restaurant is going to knock my socks off: The locals lining up before doors open because they know that five minutes after open, there’s a half hour wait. And when the local first responders choose to eat here while on duty, you know they’ve chosen one of the better options available…cause when you know first hand just how short life is, you learn to make every meal the best, since it might be your last…and why do “mid” when you can do “wow! So, it was a good sign to walk up to the breakfast locale this morning and see the line already forming with two on duty EMS crews in the mix.

If you find yourself in the Midwest’s wine country, make a point to stop in and visit Ainsley's Place for breakfast or lunch. This family owned restaurant in Hermann, MO is a quaint and delightful little slice of heaven.

The menu boasts a phenomenal pairing of flavors with traditional diner foods. Every plate that was served to our fellow diners was so picturesque and mouth wateringly beautiful, they were photo worthy of any popular food magazine. Choosing any one of so many great dishes felt an impossible task. Settling in with the Baked Apple Pie French Toast was quite the treat…just the right mix of sweet and savory…an off-the-charts deliciously perfect start to the day.

The intimate environment with an amazingly friendly and caring staff provided a great emotional pick-me-up to get our Sunday stroll through the charming and picturesque little town of Hermann off on the right foot. The owner was a refreshing dose of small town values that made us feel like we were long lost friends coming home to enjoy breaking bread in her home.

Long story short…if you have an opportunity to eat here and don’t, then you’ve missed one of life’s rare opportunities to slow down and enjoy life the way it was meant...

Omigosh, my wife and I had breakfast for lunch here on our last afternoon in Hermann and it was so great. I had to look twice to figure out how to get in (there’s a pretty winding walkway to the back of a building off the main sidewalk) but I’m so glad we are here. I had the Aebleskivers (Danish pancake balls) with over medium eggs and sausage links and she had the Mixed Berry French toast with bacon and scrambled eggs. It. Was. Freakin. Awesome. The pancake balls were so delicious and soft—they just made my mouth incredibly happy. Personally, I am not much of a sausage person, but these links might make me a believer. They were juicy-sweet and so tasty that I kind of did that thing where you simultaneously sigh and roll your eyes. Of course my wife and I tried from each other’s plates (as any foodie couple does, right?) and her French toast was unlike any I’ve had, it a totally good way. Outstanding taste. Her bacon was above average too.

The restaurant itself is not big, meant to evoke a bit of farm-to-table feel, tastefully designed wood walls and nice concrete floors, so it doesn’t take many people for it to get loud. But there’s relaxed outdoor seating when weather allows it, and the staff was super friendly and fun.

Okay, back to the food. We ate out a lot over our three days in Hermann. This was only one of two places where the food was so good it kind of made us stop talking just to take in all in. I’d go...

This is a wonderful new addition for the visitors and residents of Hermann. It’s a little bit tucked away, towards the rear of a building on 4th Street, but it doesn’t seem like people are having trouble finding it!

We were in there yesterday for the first time, around lunchtime on a Saturday. Needless to say they were swamped. The place is small, and does a considerable carry out business as well as seating for about 25 or so indoors.

This place opened in the later part of last year, and Hermann is just now starting to get busy again with tourism, so they are still finding their feet during the busy times. It took us about 35 to 40 minutes to get our food after we ordered, but that’s to be expected with a newer place, Especially during extremely busy times.

I ordered a $10 flatbread off the lunch menu, it was bacon, chicken and ranch. It was delicious! She ordered off of the breakfast menu (scrambled eggs, bacon, and country potatoes) which I understand is available all day. That’s a definite plus too!

This is a nice dining option and is within walking distance of our place, since it’s only about a block and a half at most. The prices are reasonable. Both of us ate for around $23 and that includes a side order of fries with my flatbread. We will...