The Block Restaurant & Butcher Webster Groves Missouri — Restaurant in Webster Groves

well... ive been to the block in the past, and had amazing experiences every time—tipped heartily to boot, if i do recall 😅

recommended the place to my wife tonight, wanted to celebrate a big win! we drove an hour from where we live, found my favorite app had been 86'd (not worried! it happens! moved forward excited anyway) sodas were... okay. wife sent hers back. mine was flat before the app arrived ://

the app that DID arrive... ehh. pretzels were good, oversalted (this will be a running theme); the cheese sauce was scalded, gritty. flavor was good enough to ignore the texture!

in the ten minutes between apps and entrees, we were checked on Five. Times. i appreciate a diligent staff, but one may need more than two minutes between table taps to give a proper assessment!

entrees arrived, and they were disappointing. my red wine risotto managed to be over salted, sour, AND bland all at once—a new experience! howEVER, this IS the first time ive gotten risotto out-to-eat and it was cooked to the right texture—ill give a star for that! salmon was okay (over salted once more, though i personally like my fish as such so thats a star), but served atop the risotto—not a fishy bite went by without arborio, not a veggie consumed without pink rice to accompany. i ate maybe 1/3 of my plate.

my wife's veggie burger was smOTHERED in mustard, with lettuce added already (ie warmed and wilted by the patty before it got to our table). her flavor notes were "mustard and salt", but we both enjoyed some fries! we'd joked to each other about having gone to the golden arches instead, given our sodium intake! she ate maybe 1/3 of her plate—mostly the fries.

we flagged down our lovely waitress, let her know our salt-laden woes, and declined anything further—we were 0/3 already.

our check comes, and our appetizer—the ONLY thing we actually ate—was comped with my wife's soda. i fully understand that comps tend to work from the lowest dollar value up, but...for real? im sorry, but if anyone expects to be paid over $50 to send their patrons home hungry... eek.

owner got involved, and at this point we're irritated. my wife let her know our sodium-based grief (which we'd hoped had been passed on already), and voiced the shared opinion that with the thorough ehh-ness of the meal, we "could have gone to McDonald's and gotten more bang for our buck"—we left paying $40 for an unsatisfying meal, and now i'm hangry-writing one of maybe ten reviews in my life.

i truly hope the over-salted comments made it back to the kitchen. i truly hope yall saw how much went back on our plates, and took pause. this was one of my absolute FAVORITE places to enjoy a hearty meal with a loved one and an amazing atmosphere. just......

My last visit to The Block was about 6 months ago - our server was awful and my husband wasn't in a good mood, so I left feeling very "eh". But I'm super glad that I went back tonight with my father and grandfather! I decided to jump in an try new things! The two other times I've been, I got the pulled pork sandwich and a side of the potato and bacon hash - which is absolutely incredible! But I didn't want to get caught in that rut where I order the same thing every time. So my dad helped me switch things up! He ordered The Three Pigs sandwich and I ordered their special sandwich for the evening - beef brisket with Swiss. And we didn't swap out the side, we went with the fries and pickled veggies. And let me tell you, these fries are spectacular! They're thin cut (think McDonald's size), perfect amount of crunch and perfectly seasoned! As for those veggies - I usually don't care for pickled things, but with these I could really appreciate their fresh taste. I believe they made them and they haven't been sitting in a jar of chemicals on the shelf for the past three years.

The brisket sandwich was enormous! - think long sub sandwich. Now, this sandwich was very nicely seasoned and very yummy and I would recommend it to everyone. However, The Three Pigs, was out of this world and puts every other dish to shame! The meat on it's own was so freakin' flavorful! I don't even remember what cheese was on top because it didn't matter! I'm glad that this is one their menu all the time - I can return and have it again soon!

(Then there's dessert. I will warn you, their desserts run a little small, which makes me sad.) Their chocolate ice cream with candied bacon is simply out of this world! But, like I said, I was determined to try new things! So dad and I shared two scoops of ice cream (cinnamon and coconut brown sugar) and the Chocolate Malt Pudding. Ice had the cinnamon ice cream in the past and have always loved it, but I have to say that the rest of the dessert put it to shame! The coconut brown sugar tasted less like coconut and more like the most amazingly delicious brown sugar ever! Both dishes came with a gingerbread cookie which was surprisingly sub-par comparatively - too cakey and not very gingery. But the pudding also came with two toasted marshmallows! The pudding was very smooth and almost had the consistency of a thickened caramel sauce. It was super sweet and you get a pretty decent portion so I was very happy! Fingers crossed that at least one of these desserts are still on the menu!next...

This place is nothing special. I don't understand all the 5-star reviews, and what kind of pallates these reviewers have. I have been to many restaurants around St. Louis, and I can honestly, without any doubt, say that this place is mediocre at best. The atmosphere is zero. There is no decor whatsoever, it's very bland and blah. Customer service is mediocre, as well, I didn't feel particularly welcomed; it felt like they didn't care at all if I was there or not. My waitress didn't smile once. I had a Mojito, which TBH I had much better Mojito around St. Louis for less money. My husband had a glass of red blend, and I didn't ask how it was because I feel like you can rarely go wrong with blend. He had the Block Burger and roasted beet salad. I had Whipped Feta and the Block salad. Block burger: soggy bottom bun (tip for a chef- put a piece of lettuce on the bottom to prevent your bun from getting so soggy), meat was a little smelly, unseasoned and dry even tho the burger was cooked medium. It feels as if the chef used 95/5 blend from a cheap store. Roasted beets salad was exceptional, and that was the only thing that was actually good. My Whipped Feta felt like it was whipped with water. Unseasoned vegetables were thrown on the top of the feta whip, and I didn't understand that at all. I would never ever order it again, ever, and I don't understand how someone can ruin feta cheese so badly. My salad (Block) looked like a child has thrown it together. The ingredients didn't really mesh well together, and the dressing was dreadful. All in all, I doubt I will be back. I would have to be extremely hungry, and would honestly much rather eat at Stake'n'Shake. Funny thing, I'm a big foodie, but a small person who generally prefers small bites but these bites better have a punch (I won't waste my calorie intake on just anything). When I eat everyone around me tends to get hungry, when I eat it's my food and me and nothing can come between that. Tonight, I took a few bites of my food at The Block and suddenly wasn't hungry anymore. My husband said: "You're not even eating anything, it's so sad". I don't think he's ever seen me like that with my food. That should...