Bowood by Niche — Restaurant in St. Louis

This place never disappoints! We stopped in on a Saturday morning without a reservation, entirely expecting to have a long wait. Longer waits aren't terrible here, because the restaurant also functions as a garden shop. There are SO many gorgeous, clearly happy plants. We saw numerous fiddle-leaf figs with more leaves than I normally see on these high-maintenance plant babies. There are lots of gorgeous planters and pots, many of which appear to be made by local artists, as well as garden tools, potting soil, fertilizer, seed packets, and the like. The outside has an entire nursery with a ridiculous variety of gorgeous, healthy plants, and the folks on staff are eager to help and super knowledgeable.

Turned out the bar was completely empty, which the bartender there said was a rarity, so our shopping had to wait until after our meal. I was so happy to get a seat right away!

I ordered the Cacio e Pepe Eggs, which consisted of fluffy eggs that were probably at least 30% butter, an arugula and fennel salad that was a light and delicious foil to the eggs, and semolina toast. The toast was also scrumptious, though I wish I had requested it without butter. It was butter overload. My head told me that it wasn't nearly as healthy as I would have liked, but my heart led me to smear creamy, delicious eggs onto the toast with my fork and continue nomming with only a hint of guilt. It was super indulgent.

My partner got blueberry pancakes and a side of bacon and eggs. The pancakes had some ingredient that we couldn't place that made the cakes incredibly rich, thicc, and extra tasty. I wish I knew what it was.

I also got a cup of hot tea, which was served in a gorgeous textured, handmade teacup that felt so nice in my hands. The tea is provided by local teamaker Big Heart Tea, and the teacup was by Boda Clay. I loved that it was all local and also wonderful.

My partner got a mug of coffee. I was disappointed because it was Kaldi's, and I don't care for their coffee at all. I guess I'm in the minority, because their stuff is sold at almost all of my favorite breakfast places.

The folks working behind the bar were busy the whole time but still took the time to chat with us. So glad we got in...

This place is pretty awesome. Excellent atmosphere with lots of natural light, and even ability to buy plants, etc. The food here is very good. Quality wise for breakfast food, I would rate it very high. I ordered the pancakes with strawberries and a side of twice scrambled eggs with cheese. Pancakes were unlike any other pancakes I've ordered. Think of them like a sweet cornbread or at least sweet corn meal based pancake which are much more filling than traditional pancakes. Eggs were cooked just right as well. My mother ordered the reuben sandwich with fries. I'm personally not a fan of rye bread or sauerkraut, but I could definitely appreciate the taste for those who do like it. Excellent quality, if you're a fan of those items. Fries were thin straw-like fries (not a bad thing), but tasted great. Food wise I would rate it a 10/10. Service was not the best, though. We waited a very long time before our waiter came over and it seemed like their was a bit of confusion as to who was going to be our server. Even after the server was established, I felt like we didn't have enough check-ins from our server. I would have actually ordered more items, but didn't see the server frequently enough. That being said, DEFINITELY still a place to go checkout.

Overall...

I've been to Bowood twice, and it doesn't disappoint! Whether you're a gardening enthusiast, or simply love a great brunch in a beautiful setting, it's worth coming in and experiencing the place. Starting with their service, you couldn't ask for more friendly and attentive servers. Your greeted warmly upon entering, shown to your seat, and checked in on consistently . I love that the attention is consistent and doesn't cross into intrusive in the meal. The atmosphere is lovely! As a gardener, it's a pleasure to have a fine meal and then peruse the shop and like today, pick up a few seeds and a lovely tiny vase to add to my collection. As for the food, it's excellent. My ONLY critique is that the pork sausage is not at all tasty. It seems like someone was being adventurous in the seasoning . I hope they attempt something far more simple and farm fresh, like sage, peper and salt, paprika, onion powder and garlic pepper with a hint of sugar. That's it. I took my left overs home to have others try it and none of us could understand precisely what the seasoning was supposed to be giving but it's not good,especially when side of sausage costs 5 bucks for 2 patties. All in all, however, Bowood is great experience that I'd...