CJ Muggs Restaurant & Bar

Solid bar food in downtown Clayton. You come here to get loud and hang out with old friends. There isn’t anything special about it. If this pops up for restaurant week– I would pass.

CJ Muggs is a pretty good bar and grill located in downtown Clayton. There’s a lot of TVs showing sports and a full bar. The menu carries a wide variety including standard bar fare, burgers, sandwiches, and specialty entrees. I’ve been here twice. The first time was a long time ago and I remember I had a burger that wasn’t bad. The other night I came with a large work group and I had the shrimp and grits. It wasn’t bad but I’ve had better, granted, CJ Muggs is not a Cajun restaurant so it was a worthy attempt. Our group was able to reserve a large party room which was secluded from the rest of the restaurant, which was nice. If you’re in the downtown Clayton area, you should consider CJ Muggs for your next casual outing.

I have been here a few times over the years, it is a nice local establishment tucked away in downtown Clayton and has great atmosphere and ok food. I went here recently with a large group and had the grilled Portabella Panini, it was ok. The mushrooms were sliced and fried like the fried onions also in the sandwich, the bread was ok. They have limited options for vegetarians but every time I have gone here I have been able to find something and it’s been ok for a work lunch. Definitely worth going here when the weather is nice and you can sit outside on their wrap-​around veranda for a relaxing workday lunch (unlike most of the outdoor seating in Clayton, their outdoor seating is elevated above the street and sidewalk which is nice).

We were unable to find a restaurant that my boyfriend has been once, then this is the closest one — that’s why we walked in.
The decoration is all alright, but food is too cold and just for fill up stomach.
That’s what I think.

I almost gave this place three stars, because it’s very solid, but not just spectacular, but because of the location, reasonable prices compared to surrounding restaurants, and their private room that can be reserved, I’ll give it four stars.
The food is great. Good menu selections, with a pretty big variety — reasonably priced too. They also have a nice selection of beers and drinks. Every time I’ve been there for lunch or in the evening, the food has been hot when it arrives and always delicious!
The atmosphere is fun too. It’s a nice casual atmosphere that you’ll see everything from tourists in shorts to suited-​up business people on their lunch break meetings, so anything is appropriate. One feature that I do LOVE about Muggs is that they have a side room that looks like part of the restaurant, but a long wall of folding french doors can turn it into a private room that can be reserved. This room is QUITE sizable and can accommodate many people. We hosted a party there once and fit at least 50 – 60 people in there with most of them able to sit.
Definitely hit up CJ Muggs for lunch if you’re in Clayton or for dinner/​drinks on the weekend. If you need medium sized room to reserve as well, this is your place.

Was here recently and had their grass-​fed burger, which was half pound of delicious, perfectly-​cooked meat along with their tasty skinny-​cut fries. All the staff was friendly, and service was efficient. They also have a great selection of craft brews on draught, many being local. I will definitely be back for that burger! Several big-​screen TVs also present, great for watching the game!

Ar first glance the bars is nice. I usually order a margarita and it came promply but had to be returned due to it being weak after getting a extra shot i was happy. I ordered the meatloaf meal and it was awesome.
Great taste and I still had a quarter left over i couldnt eat. Roll and butter were good as well. Staff is nice and aworthy of a second visit

Okay place which might be open the latest in Clayton. If a local had not told me otherwise I would have continued to think this was a chain. Had a beer and house made potato chips. The chips were over and under cooked on the same plate. Wish they had a better selection of local drafts. Seems to be a good place to people watch, as long as it’s not on a weekend when there are very few people to be found in Clayton. Nice large outdoor seating area.

Ate here recently, ordered the Grass Fed Burger and Fries. Fries were pretty good, and our waitress was also good.
The burger, however, was very off. In fact, I haven’t aborted a burger after only two bites since a Czech street meat experience I had over a decade ago. The burger at CJ Muggs had a fishy essence, and the consistency seemed consistent with something that’s been frozen for some time. It might have also been overcooked but the inside was definitely a pinkish red, which I was expecting to be at least somewhat succulent. Instead, it was pretty spongy.
Not sure what happened here, I’m sure experiences must vary. This was mine.

I ate here with 4 other people. The service was good and we did not have to wait long for drinks. This is a dive-​ish bar that i should not expect much from. Having said that, for some reason I decided to order walnut crusted salmon. The vegetables and potatoes were good but the oil or nuts were rancid. You know that taste and smell of bad oil. After asking the table for consensus, I cut the salmon in half and asked the server to take it to the chef. She came back to the table 2 times and did not say anything. The third time I asked her what the chef said and she replied «he said that is how it is supposed to smell». I can only deduct this restaurant only uses rancid oil and nuts so the chef and cooks are used to that smell. We had no manager cone over and paid for the entrée in full!
This place may be good for the average beer (read Blue Moon or Bud) but stay away from the food. Morton’s is next door, just go there.

Great food and great mixed drinks! Could have done without the loud generic entertainment though.

CJ Muggs is pretty underwhelming in terms of food but has tons of space, a large bar, and a decent tap selection.
Their food menu is pretty expansive but hat lacks quality. They have everything from pizzas to quesadillas and steaks. However, none of really caught me in terms of flavor. I went there today for a birthday dinner and tired one of their pizzas as well as bites of their steak salad. It was all pretty «meh.» I would never crave it or find it particularly satisfying but food is food! Out of the 8 of us, none of us found are meals particularly tasty.
It seems like CJ’s might be a better stop for a happy hour. They have tons of booze and a big space to hang out. Plus, the food isn’t as important when you’re just looking for some small bites. There are plenty of better options in the area but it ain’t the worst.

Good clam chowder
It’s giving three stars because of the steak sandwich I ordered, it was burnt and then microwaved had no butter on the French bread no mayonnaise on the bread nothing just your grissled burnt reheated steak. very disappointed, a steak sandwiches is not hard to cook and it was Sunday afternoon and they were not busy. The waitress was excellent at her job we were a party of eight and she was on top of the refills for drinks and all our food cameout at the same time.

Coming here is an easy choice! Lots of variety and they aren’t afraid to tell you what’s in the foods. With food allergies, we find out early who to trust! And I like these people.

Came here for lunch after getting in town for a wedding. Service was excellent and food was very tasty. Bread before the meal was hot and had an amazing sun dried tomato butter. I also had the Cajun pasta which was absolutely phenomenal. I’m not sure why the reviews for this place are so average as everyone in our group had a great meal. This place is way better than your standard chain restaurant. Would definitely come back if in town again.

Seems to be a favorite place for the coworkers of my new job, both for lunch, and for after work happy hour.
The food is good, service is good, and it’s only a couple blocks of a walk.

I stopped in for some eats before a big court case. I ordered the muffaletta sandwich and fresh chips.
The sandwich was tasty, and portions were hefty. They forgot to bring my chips and instead brought their signature slaw… which I did not care for. I asked about the chips again and they still forgot. I had to eat fast since I was on a time restraint, but I never did see my chips. I have to say… that was kinda crappy.
Maybe I will give them another shot, but probably not. Sad to say.

I was shocked today to learn that CJ Muggs is a local business and not a chain. I knew we had two in the Saint Louis area, so for some reason I just assumed it was a chain. I have never been so glad in my life to be wrong. It is similar to a TGIF or Houlihan’s with hometown ownership.
After dropping more $‘s then I normally do for tennis shoes, I wanted to save some $‘s on lunch so I flipped through the Entertainment Coupon Book and found one for CJ Muggs. It was a BOGO which would give us a savings of $ 8.
We were strong and skipped having an appetizer. I stuck to being good on my diet, and enjoyed the Smoked Salmon Spinach and Field Greens Salad. Spinach, mixed greens, crumbled blue cheese, toasted walnuts, roasted red and yellow peppers, al dente green beans topped with a nice size piece of smoked salmon and tossed in their strawberry vinaigrette. It was a nice mix, but they were heavy handed on the dressing. I would also recommend breaking the salmon up to make it easier to enjoy.
The SO enjoyed a small house salad with blue cheese dressing, which was just a typical small dinner salad. Then he enjoyed a half size of Muffalato with their house french fries. They did a great job on the Muffalato. It may not be Blues City Deli, but when in Clayton it will do. Their fries were made in house, I love it when fries have the outer potato skin on and are fried crispy.
Service was good, our waitress was friendly and chatty making our first visit enjoyable. I think on our next visit we’ll check out their location in Webster Grove and see which one is the best of the two. After all, I have more BOGO coupons.

swung in here on a whim —out shopping on a Saturday and drove by — it was an awesome find… the bar was pretty dead and my bartender Sarah did a fabulous job with my cosmo that I ordered… I can be a real bitch about my martini drink and she did not disappoint me in the least… perfect blend and nice and cold…
My hubby and I decided to try an appetizer and split a pizza — again another awesome choice… we got the hummus plate and it was really good… nice warm foccacia bread triangles with house made hummus and some feta we got the sausage and pepper pizza and it was also delicious…
will def — go back here for more food and the atmosphere was nice warm wood accents around and some nice ceiling fans… good bar…

CJ, how do you go from 4 stars to 2?!?
Well here’s how; I pretty much ate the same thing as the night before just from a different location (I’m referring to my spinach bacon salad from Manhattan Express), a dinner sized salad and a fountain drink. I went with the Greek salad at CJ’s. It was okay, it was smaller and with less toppings than my last salad. The soda was smaller too. But yet it cost $ 5 more.
Thus the 2 stars.
I still stand by my 4 star rating for their happy hour speicals… I don’t think I’ll be back unless that’s the game plan, Bloody’s and complimentary apps.