Southwest Diner — Restaurant in St. Louis

This is now about the 6th or seventh time I have eaten at SW Diner and I can finally ask, “What is the attraction of this place?” The place is cramped, the food is mediocre at best, and the service I had today left something to be desired. Another problem I had was with the price gouging on the egg up charge. I realize that there is a need for the owners to pass the cost on to the customers due to the present situation, but at $1 per egg?! Ridiculous. The menu claims that the cost of eggs has gone up 400% recently. Fair enough, although based on my experiences shopping for eggs at the grocery store, 300% seems like a far more accurate figure. But for the sake of argument, let’s say it is 400%. Now, I am going to surmise that a dozen eggs prior to the current circumstances cost the restaurant no more than $1.50 per dozen. If at a 400% increase they are now paying $6.00 per dozen, then this would mean they are now paying roughly $4.50 more per the same dozen or 38 cents an egg. So wouldn’t a 40 cents up charge be the more fair amount to pass on to the customer? To charge anymore than that would be the very definition of price gouging. So in essence, the owners of Southwest Diner are using the present circumstances to profit unethically. That’s how I see it. 60 cents profit on the up charge adds up to a lot of $$ in their pockets! I have always come here because my friends and family like it, but I will no longer do so.

RESPONSE TO OWNER’S RESPONSE: Thank you for responding to my review. I think what bothers me is not the egg surcharge itself, but the steepness of it. Unless you are currently paying $12 for a dozen eggs, then you are doing more than merely passing on the cost to the customer. I know owning and operating a small restaurant is quite a challenge. I did it for many years myself. And from all appearances you guys do a great job. It was the size of the surcharge I...

First time here and the experience was rather poor. I am sure the food could be good and the place appeared really popular. When we arrived, the wait time was 30-45 min. After 45 min, we asked about our reservation and was told they had sent a text but no text had been received. We verified the number they had was correct. They placed us at a small table right at the entrance - one that was somewhat in the way of traffic and one I had noticed to be empty when we had originally arrived. Being busy, i figured that was the only space they had opened. I then went to wash my hands in the restroom and noticed six empty spots at the bar. Any two would had been preferable. I had thought maybe they were being reserved for a larger party but i was wrong. Soon after we were seated, the next few parties of two were seated there. We proceeded to order the chilote corn, grit tots, biscuits/gravy and an omelet. We received the corn relatively quickly. It took another 40 min for the rest of the food to appear. The only item that was hot was the omelet. The rest was cool if not outright cold. I had them take the biscuits-gravy back. They offered to make another but I just didn't have the time. The whole experience was pretty poor. We noticed that the folks sitting next to us had similar problems. When their meal finally arrived, they immediately asked for a to-go box and paid/left. Sooo... server was GREAT, place had a decent diner atmosphere and food had potential (cold grit tots and bisc/gravy sucked). I was told the omelet was good. All and all, experience wasn't worth the...

Things we loved about Southwest Diner: The bacon is perfectly cooked. It is super crispy, but falls apart in your mouth. That's part preparation, part quality, and they knock both out of the park. The "home fries" you can see in my picture are also perfectly prepared. They are crispy outside, salted with (I think) kosher salt, and delicious. The pancakes are made with cornmeal, and they're just fantastic. I would love it if they offered a super sweet honey butter in addition to the standard butter/syrup option, but that's just a thought, not a knock on their current taste. They serve Kaldi's, which is common around STL, but many places put too many grounds in their coffee and it tastes way too strong. Not Southwest Diner. They put in just the right amount of coffee. The bus. There's not enough room to wait inside, so they put a bus outside to wait in. They have coffee in there and water. It's not as nice as waiting room inside, but it adds character and I found that the people waiting had fun talking in there about the bus. The music. This cannot be overstated. The music is apparently a playlist that the servers just build every day. It's determined by whomever is working at the time, but I was blown away with it when we were there. Our waitress said that they sometimes have themes - bad 80s music, songs you sing in the shower, etc. - but today it was just whatever they felt like. We heard A Tribe Called Quest "Can I Kick It" followed by Portugal The Man "Feel It Still", amongst many other great songs. I imagine it will be hit or miss, but it was definitely a...