Lewis Cafe

Stopped here on the way from Springfield, Illinois to Oklahoma and were looking for a place away from St. Louis to avoid congestion, and this place came up on Unilocal and I’m so glad it did! EVERYTHING was fresh and delicious (I had scrambled eggs, ham, and French toast. Grandma had the same, with biscuits and Hash browns instead of French toast). This will be a stop on the route from now on.
The service was great too with multiple severs checking to make sure all is good as far as drinks, condiments and what not.

I have got to say, this place was delicious. From the cheeseburger to sausage patty. Everything was good with very friendly service.

As we live in Springfield MO and my wife’s family is in STL area, we frequently drive thru St Clair but didn’t know about this wonderful café until just recently.
Comparing to previous reviews, there was NO smoking (at least in 2^nd dining room), the restaurant was very clean and we found the prices to be very good ($ 8.00 for chicken dinner, dressing, potatoes, corn, salad and bread).

Outstanding experience!
Went here for breakfast in Easter morning. It’s a bit of a drive if you’re not in St. Clair, but it’s definitely worth it.
I had a western omelet — very fresh meat and veggies, and it wasn’t greasy. Biscuits and gravy were tasty, and like you get out on the farm.
Beware of the pancakes — they’re MASSIVE! Very light and fluffy, they’re the best pancakes I’ve had in years. Each one is the size of a dinner plate and thick!
Highly reommended! Will definitely return!

Excellent blue plat special place. Homemade pies, baked chicken & dressing, all vert good.

Let me start by saying that this is the first Unilocal review I have ever written, although I’ve had a Unilocal account for a few years now.
My husband and I were driving through Saint Clair, MO on our way to Texas and quickly looked up someplace to grab a quick bite for dinner on Unilocal.This place was about 1 mile off the freeway (Google Maps thinks it’s closer than it is… just keep going another couple blocks after Google Maps tells you you’ve arrived) so it was very convenient.
When we arrived, I asked the server Ian if there was anywhere where we could have our laptop plugged in so that it could get charged up while we were eating (my husband had to use it while we were driving for work) and he bent over backwards finding a location to plug it in, unwound the charger, and told me he’d take care of it for me… WOW it’s so nice to have great customer service like this! I’m from Seattle (home of Nordstrom, Les Schwab, etc. where bend-​over-​backwards customer service is the norm) and just recently moved to Milwaukee, WI, where customer service basically doesn’t exist, so this was a welcome change of pace! To be treated like an important customer, especially when it’s your first time as a patron, is very special.
The food options were numerous, and everything sounded great. My husband and I both opted for steaks, since they raise their own beef… YUM! Our meals came with a cup of soup (their vegetable beef soup was just like my grandma used to make), a salad, fries, and a piece of Texas toast… wow what a lot of food! I asked Ian if there was any way to sub out my fries for mashed potatoes & gravy instead, and he said, «Well we usually have to upcharge for that, but you know what? I’m not gonna do a darn thing about it tonight, I’ll just give it to you.» Again, with the great customer service… I officially love this place now.
When the food came, it was perfectly cooked and we each had healthy portions of everything. Our orders were spot on, so that was great since we were in a hurry to get on with our road trip. I was surprised that the steaks weren’t more flavorful, since they raise their own beef, and Ian offered us A1 & Heinz 57 steak sauces, but as a general rule I feel like using steak sauce is a sin against steak, so we opted to eat the steaks naked. Don’t get me wrong, they were good, they just weren’t very flavorful. But then again, I’m used to the best steak in the country now (corn-​fed Midwest Wisconsin beef) so my palate might be prejudiced at this point.
Our only regret is that we realized after we ate that we should’ve split a meal so that we could’ve had room to share a slice of pie. The pies looked really good, but the portions were so generous that neither of us had room for even one more bite… darnit!
After he brought us our check, Ian also brought us our laptop, and had wound the cord back up for us just the way it was when I gave it to him. Really now, how helpful is he?
We ordered a sirloin and a ribeye and one decaf cup of coffee, and our bill was $ 44, which ended up being $ 52 after Ian’s tip. Not bad for a neighborhood café/​diner where you can order steaks that they raise themselves!
It’s so nice to be at a place where customer service is important. There are so many areas of the country where customer service is either not emphasized, or is completely nonexistent, so the Lewis Café is genuinely a great place to go if you’d like to be treated like you’re an important customer, and want to receive friendly service with a smile. Head to the Lewis Café asap! And be sure to ask for Ian :)

Six words – Biscuits and Gravy; Coconut Cream Pie

Amazing. breakfast all day and very friendly service. no wait time even though they were very busy and the waittress was great. definately the spot to go to if you ever find yourself around st. claire

Classic delicious diner food, biscuits and gravy are a must have in the morning. Pot roast is exquisite. Good prices to!

Service is great. People are friendly. Simple good breakfast and the whole hog sausage is great stuff. Eggs were perfectly done. I would go here over crackle barrel any day.

Nice, clean, great service. Food was really good and hot. The staff is very friendly and hardworking. It’s a great little spot in between the Meremac Caverns and the hustle and bustle of St Louis. Oh, and don’t forget to get a milkshake!

Everything a home town café should be. But more, any place that butchers their own is a winner in my book. Burger was on the money, and opt for a half order of onion rings. They would stand up anywhere. Thanks for a great lunch. Oh yeah, sweet service.

Boy, did we ever mess up. Put in address of 145 Main Street Saint Clair, looking for Lewis Café (a place highly recommended in several of our Route 66 guide books) and the GPS routed us to a little shack at 145 NORTH Main Street, called Boot Heel BBQ. By the time we got there, my spouse couldn’t remember the name of where we were headed, just the 145 Main address so we ate there. Big mistake. Barely palatable food, tasted like frozen, pre-​packaged. Way too sweet sauce, tough meat, just yuck. AVOID Boot Heel BBQ at the same 145 address (would have put a very poor rating for them, but not listed in Trip Advisor to be able to rate them). Did not get the chance to eat at Lewis Café, and regret it greatly. Beware and head for 145 SOUTH Main Street in St. Clair, MO to avoid the Boot Heel place and eat at Lewis Café instead.

This isn’t too far off the highway, and is probably one of the best café/​diner-​type restaurants I’ve ever been to.
The prices were reasonable, the place was clean, there was no smoking (as of January 2015), the wait staff was incredibly friendly, and the food was exceptional.
Of special note were the hamburgers (home-​made patties from their own cows), onion rings (home-​made) and pie (home-​made).

Love the Ruben at Lewis’s. Sometimes I can resist the cherry crumb and ice cream dessert but usually I give in. Glad they finally stopped allowing smoking, this great place just got better.

We had lunch here, We both had Pork Ribs, they were just OK, with mash potatoes and salad, OK, the best thing here was a FABULOUS WAITRESS!

They allow smoking. Food was very good, place was clean, and our toddler was a brat. But the thing we’ll remember most is the smoke courtesy of the man at the next table. Just wish our kid was better behaved and the man ate faster. We would have loved to try the pies.

Diner lovers unite! Pie. Homemade sausage. Neverending coffee. A beautiful specimen of diner life.
Recommend: sausage! Delish. Omelets, pancakes, hash browns
Not so much: sausage and gravy, needs a little flavor
This is only a mile or so off 44, but you do wind through a residential neighborhood before landing on Main Street in view of the railroad tracks. We saw 2 trains roll by during our visit.
The place was cleaner than I thought based on another review (which may have been submitted by Felix Unger). Even the little nick nacks were clean. The staff was very friendly and thoughtful.
The dining area is larger than we first thought so we sat in the booths at the entrance. On the other side of the cashier wall there was a larger room with lots of tables and chairs. You could easily request a seat away from the smoking patrons.
They do have beautiful homemade pies. I took a slice of lemon meringue pie to go. My oh my! It was like a fluffy lemon drop.
All in all a great breakfast. Looking forward to another visit for lunch to grab a burger and taste the homemade beef.

First of all let me say the food was excellent! My patty melt was delicious and the onion rings might just be the best I’ve ever had.
If the food is soooo good, why the 4 star review? The cigarette smoke. I don’t smoke and I don’t appreciate my meal being ruined by people who do.
I’m not sure if there is a non-​smoking section. If there is, you should be asked if you would prefer smoking or non-​smoking.

Very good food and service. I had the homemade onion rings which were delicious and the chocolate cream pie which was also very good. I will be sure to try their breakfast next time.