Break N Egg Diner

This place is pretty good for a cheap diner. We like to go here on the weekends for a quick, cheap breakfast.
Sometimes the service is not top of the line, but in the casual atmosphere it normally isn’t a big deal. The food is always very satisfying! We will be back to Break ‘N Egg!

I will not be back, battling fruit flies during the entire meal, I ordered the Mediterranean with gyro meat with thoughts of The Majestic. Ha! Not even close. There were a few bits of gyro, undercooked vegetables chedder not feta on top. The overall result was bland, and underseasoned, thank goodness for a full bottle of hot sauce!

Lots of food for a low price — and usually pretty delicious. Every once in a while you get bad service and eggs way overdone, but most often it’s tasty and awesome! Awesome place to go on the weekends when you look and feel rough!

Great find just a few blocks from the Ritz Carlton. Reasonably priced and service was quick. Kids loved the chocolate pancakes. Bathrooms were a little dirty.

Ok, there are not many lunch options in downtown Clayton to choose from, especially when you’re on jury duty for lunch. However, I decided to eat at this place 2 times out of the 4 days I had jury duty. The 1^st day the place was typically crowed for lunch time in Clayton. There was one waiter who was a little overwhelmed by the people. He told me I could sit in any available seating.
There were not many options since the seating was either occupied or the waiter hadn’t got around to clearing off the dishes from the other tables available. I found a clean table and the waiter came back with a menu about 5 mins and water. I order the «pancakes». Waiter was pleasant just seemed overwhelmed.
It took about 10 mins from the time I first placed my order for me to receive my food. The pancakes were not pancakes, they were hotcakes. Let me quickly explain the difference: Pancakes are what your mother or grandmother made on Sunday morning from scratch with that fluffiness (you can get that feel from Courtesy Diner on S. Laclede St rd.) hotcakes are the jawns you get from a roadside diner that caters to truckers and have a gritty taste to them.
Overall the «pancakes» were decent for hotcakes. Syrup came in a plastic clear bottle. It was definitely grocery store syrup on the low end; not high caliber grocery store syrup like Mrs. Butterworth’s. The second day I went back, I had the patty melt with fries. It was fair; not as good as steak n shake’s but ok for the price.
The owner came out and asked me how things were; I said ok since this was second day back. This place is nothing to write home about, but how many diners are.
However, if you’re looking for a cheap quick eat place in Clayton: This would be a place I would recommend.

Food quality is far less than a Denny’s. Atmosphere about equivalent to a school cafeteria. Disappointing since there are a number of much better breakfast choices within walking distance.

Nothing is homemade and the food quality is lacking. Reminded me of frozen elementary school meals. Not going back.

Ate here on a whim for breakfast. The menu had a nice selection, reasonable prices, and the food was good! Giving it 3 stars because of the slow service. They seemed short staffed and the wait time showed. Will give it another try in the future.

Great breakfast place. Much cheaper than First Watch and the food is almost the same. Welcoming, friendly place. Great place to go for lunch too.

I’ve been here twice and had good experiences both times. I recommend the Mediterranean omelet. The place is nothing really extraordinary, if not for the fact that it’s an inexpensive diner in downtown Clayton. The servers are nice and helpful, and the food always comes in a timely fashion. The prices are cheap, and it’s exactly what you’d expect from a diner — good, home-​cooked food served with coffee and a friendly smile. I’ll definitely be back.

I visited Break N Egg Diner on Sunday around 12:30 to meet a couple girlfriends for brunch. This diner is located in Clayton… which made me think it would be something more special than your average diner… but it’s not.
I order the French toast with poached eggs and sausage. I was at least impressed than they made my poached eggs correctly… because so many places don’t know how to make decent poached eggs! But the French toast was a bit pathetic and not thick at all. The sausage was mediocre.
Near the end of our meal, the staff propped opened the back door (to move something in and out? I’m not exactly sure). But they left the door open and cold air blew into the entire restaurant. We asked our waitress to close the door, which she promptly did.
All-​in-​all, this restaurant is your stereotypical diner. I don’t think I’ll be back to visit just because I prefer a different atmosphere for brunch.

Service was a little slow, the place was a bit crowded for only two servers. A third would make for much quicker service and less confusion. The food was good and the servings were generous. Over all a pretty good experience.

Solid breakfast place. Service okay, food very good. Had the vegetarian omellete and it was great. Excellent orange juice too–

I have been in this place a couple times for breakfast. It’s dirty and run down but the food was passable. Today I had just picked up Starbucks coffee and was walking by when the sky opened up. I thought, «what luck, I’ll drop in and have breakfast while the rain passes over.» When the server told me that I would have to pay the price of a cup of coffee or throw out my Starbucks I thought she was kidding. I explained that I was going to be ordering breakfast. She said its the owners rule. The owner came out of the kitchen and said the same thing. I will never return to this dump again. There are rarely any people in there. Obviously the combination of filth and the idiotic owner keep most people away. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND AVOIDING THIS HOLE

I’m sorry but I was so, so disappointed in this diner. Half & Half was having «plumbing issues» so we went here instead. I was hoping for the best… didn’t happen.
Hard to give such a low rating but other than our extremely hard working server — who seemed like she was doing EVERYTHING from washing dishes to clearing tables to serving patrons — everything else just was not good. Granted it was more reasonably priced than the other breakfast places we’d been to during our trip to St. Louis, sometimes I think we should just pay little more because if it isn’t good, it just isn’t worth the money.
The only person who seemed to love the food was my son — who had the chicken strips. As for me, I had a skillet (sans the egg) — it just was not good. Hashbrowns, sausage, onions and green pepper — with a side of toast. Something about those hashbrowns just was off-​putting — they tasted like they had a sort of oniony flavor that I was not feeling. As for the rest — just cubed sausages with onion and peppers — meh at best.
It seemed like FOREVER before 1 our order was taken and 2 the food came out. But I have to say I felt bad for our server — there were several times we had to ask for the most basic items — but she was really overwhelmed and under normal circumstances I would be a bit more critical — watching everything she was doing (basically alone) I understood why it was happening. If it was only that — and the food was good — I would return, sadly this was not the case. sorry…

This diner is one of my favorite spots to go to for Sunday morning breakfast. Since I don’t live far, me and my boyfriend probably walk to it almost every Sunday.
The three main reasons we love and keep going back to Break N Egg is for one, no matter what time we get there, we get seated and waited on immediately. Second, the food and portions you get for the little you spend are big enough to share between two and is very delicious. The third and a very important one for me, is the service is excellent. The waitresses are very down to earth and good at refills, removing what’s finished, and putting in the correct order. I’m a huge customer service person and easily won over with politeness and consistence.
At this point, I don’t think I can count on both hands how many times I’ve been here and will proudly say every time I have, I have never had a bad experience. It’s always my first choice when I’m asked where I want to go for breakfast.
It might not be decorated glamorous on the inside, but it’s a diner. It’s not the Four Seasons. You get what you pay for and in my opinion what you get is a low key Sunday breakfast with no wait, good service, multiple food options, and delicious food at an inexpensive price… enough said.

I had to go pick my brother up from the bus station at the ungodly hour of 7 AM on a Saturday morning. Brothers… they totally cramp my style.
That being so, I insisted that we go to breakfast… because while I love breakfast, I almost never get to eat breakfast for breakfast. I listed a bunch of Clayton breakfast places to him, and he picked this one… because he liked the name.
I also learned that downtown Clayton street parking is free on the weekends. Nice! CWE needs to take a hint from them. Oh, and Grand Center (especially since they are circulating that survey right now on how to make Grand Center a better destination).
It was pretty empty when we arrived… just a couple of older folk and us. It is definitely a bare bones kind of place. Stereotypically, I associate diners with steel and chrome and shiny things… or wood paneling. They have neither. They do have booths and counter-​top seating… I think I’ll live.
We were greeted promptly and perkily. Before I knew it, a steaming mug of coffee was placed in front of me. Unfortunately, it was horrible coffee, and the refill wasn’t better. So… if you’re looking for good coffee, this is not the place to go. It actually might go down as one of the worse coffees I’ve ever tasted. It was super bitter that couldn’t be saved with cream and two packets of sugar. It will meet the caffeine minimum though.
I went with the Mediterranean Omelet ($ 6.99), which has two eggs, beef gyro meat, peppers, onions, tomatoes, mushrooms, Monterey Jack and cheddar cheeses, along with hash browns on the sides. My brother had the Clayton Omelet ($ 6.99), which I think was pretty much the same thing, except that it was chicken gyro meat. I think this diner used to be in Ballwin, and my brother’s choice used to be the Ballwin Omelet; that’s just a guess on my part. Both come with a side of toast or an English muffin that is grilled with butter. We both inhaled our breakfast. It was pretty good. It’s definitely generous portions; think of an oval plate crammed with food. My omelet was definitely stuffed to the brim with yummy overflowing goodness. The other half of the plate was dedicated to the hash browns, and they were perfectly made. The only other observation I would have is that after the generous portions of the omelet and hash browns, the English muffin definitely looked sad and puny. Still really good though.
Business definitely picked up while we were there so that by the end of our meal, most of the booths and half the counter seating were filled. The poor waitress was running around trying to do everything at once, and she was very effective about it. This place definitely has a community vibe around it as she knew most of the people who walked in and called them by name.
The washrooms are also bare bones too… so just be prepared for that. The back door was open when we got there (not sure why)…but by the time the place had filled out, it was closed again. Maybe that’s why someone else was complaining about fruit flies? No fruit flies with our meals, though.
I’d totally come back again… it’s an unhurried, calm, sedate atmosphere, unlike some other breakfast places that are full of frenzied movement and sound.

I am a diner kind of person. I will take a greasy spoon type any day or night of the week. They’re quick, cheap and sometimes you can find a nice gem. I wanted to give this place a 4-​star rating, but have to only give it 3 and here is why.
I love biscuits and gravy. I’m somewhat of an expert on the matter. On my visit, i was dining alone and decided to sit at the bar. I was greeted and immediately asked how the B&G were. Of course, I received the reply, «Oh they’re delicious». I ordered a half of an order along with some eggs, bacon, hasbrowns and english muffin.
The B&G arrived prior to everything else. Immediately I was disappointed because the gravy was clearly runny and contained «cubed» pieces of what I think was sausage, but still unsure. Gravy should not be runny or so thick that it doesn’t move at all. Also, the sausage should be fresh, handmade and have a little spice to it. This gravy was likely made from a packet and who knows what the meat was. It’s honestly not that hard to make a fantastic gravy. If I can do it, anyone can. The biscuit was pretty good. It was soft and somewhat fluffy. A biscuit for B&G shouldn’t be flaky because it needs to stand up to the hearty gravy. This one would have done if the gravy would have made the grade.
The service was great. I had a pleasant conversation with the lady working. The place wasn’t busy, as it was mid morning and between breakfast and lunch. My food arrived in a timely manner and all went pretty well.
The remainder of my food was pretty good. I got my eggs cooked exactly right, the hasbrowns were crispy, but not too crispy. The bacon could have been a little thicker, but I got what I paid for. Finally, the english muffin was pretty tasty. I am also disappointed when I go to put jelly or jam on my breads and the first ingredient is high fructose corn syrup. Of course, again, you get what you pay for.
All-​in-​all a pretty ok place to eat. It was very clean and comfortable. I will be back to try other items on the menu.

Unfortunately, I need to drop my review by 1 star. The service is still good, and all of the breakfast items I’ve had are good except the pancakes are still dry. But mostly, I’m dropping from 4 to 3 stars because of the fruit flies. We try to sit as far to the front of the diner as possible since the back door to the alley is my guess where they’re coming in, and we’re still getting them buzz around our table. I hope management addresses this to keep from ruining an otherwise good meal.

A coworker and I stopped here for lunch on a Thursday afternoon. There were perhaps four tables full, plus a couple of guys seated at the counter. Everyone was already eating, so we figured this would be a quick lunch. Not so.
We ordered omelets (mine was veggie, hers cheese). I asked them for no mushrooms on mine as I just don’t like them.
We waited, and waited, and waited. I kept looking around, trying to catch the eye of our waitress, who finally came over after 20 minutes or so to tell us our food would be out in just a few. Meanwhile a table of two was seated and ordered.
We finally got our food after another 5 minutes. The waitress said nothing about our wait.
The omelets were hot, though mine was a little too brown and stuffed with mushrooms. Not wanting to wait any longer, I didn’t mention it to the waitress. The shredded cheese on top of both was just sprinkled on and not melted. The omelet was okay, though it tasted like the cook hadn’t bothered with salt or pepper. The hashbrowns tasted like they were from a box.
We noticed the other table received their food right after ours, making us wonder what about our eggs had taken so long.
I had a biscuit with mine that was small and rubbery.
Overall, the food was not great, and considering the quality, I’d say it’s a bit overpriced. It’s certainly not like that classic, greasy spoon, savory diner food you’d expect — even McDonald’s has them beat.
When we paid at the counter, they took our money with no «How was everything?» or even a «Thank you.» When my friend said «Thanks!» the waitress simply replied «You’re welcome.» Um, shouldn’t you be thanking us for patronizing your business?
Ordinarily, after such an experience I wouldn’t return, but it’s nice to be able to get breakfast for lunch within walking distance of the office. I’ll give them one more try, but next time I’m sticking to just eggs, bacon, and toast. We’ll see how that goes.