Duff’s Restaurant

Nice little place in the heart of my favorite St. Louis neighborhood, the Central West End. My only experience at Duff’s was for brunch, so I can’t speak about other menu’s or times of day.
The place is old and charming. Parts feel like a diner while other parts feel like an Irish pub and yet other parts feel like a grandma’s dinning room. I like it. It feels worn and lived in.
The food was great. Fresh made from scratch food that tasted great. The only problem I had with the food was the price, the prices seemed a little high for what we ended up with on the table, but nothing outrageous that wouldn’t keep me coming back for more.
The service was so so. Nothing warm or special or attentive about the staff, but they got the job done so I can’t complain too much. If I had all the time in the world to hang out and have breakfast while my coffee and water was kept filled and didn’t want anyone bothering me, I wouldn’t have one bad thing to say about the service at Duff’s.
Now that I know what to expect and while I’m in the CWE, I will happily stop by Duff’s and have some really good tasting food in a nice warm spot.

This place is full of character: when you walk in it’s rustic, with a lot of vintage chairs, booths, different sized tables, and exposed brick – my weakness. An older woman came to greet us, full of pep and cracking jokes which I thought was great and started off our venture on a good note. We were seated in a back room and I realized how big this restaurant actually is, it’s got so many different areas. We were seated promptly and brought waters, but our waitress was a little spotty. She wasn’t fully on the ball remembering to bring drinks/​refills and wasn’t exceptionally personable, but also not rude by any means. So on the customer service end, it was just alright.
Now, food and atmosphere: 4 stars. I decided to order the California Omelette and it was seriously to die for. Filled with black beans, cheddar cheese, tomatoes, sour cream and topped with an avocado tomatillo sauce it was packed with flavor. It came with an english muffin and fresh fruit on the side that was ripe and juicy, I was so content. A friend and I are both religious hot sauce users and Duff’s has Chipotle Cholula– bonus points.
This was a great spot to grab brunch and I’m glad I got to try it out! I’ll definitely add this to my list of returns!

This is a pub, so you should probably stick to pub/​bar food — burgers and sandwiches. Don’t get fancy and venture out to get the chicken and mofu (Missouri/​local tofu) curry, like I did. While the mofu was good, and I’m glad I tried it since it’s local, I had to eat the whole thing fast because it was pretty gross, but I was hungry (and with co-​workers). My boss got the BLTT (turkey for the last T) and it looked really good — lots of B and the portion was very generous, considering she got the half-​sandwich and soup. So stick to sandwiches, burgers, and beers and you might think my 3 star review was too harsh. I can’t comment on the breakfast, because I’ve never had it.

this restaurant is convenient for large groups and the servers are always friendly. however, the food is subpar– i ordered the chicken marsala for dinner and was sorely disappointed. the marsala sauce was more of a sweet and sour sauce which is just strange.

I have only had breakfast at Duff’s, but I imagine the lunch experience is comparable. The food is great, they offer turkey sausage, and the portions are generous. I’ve always been seated near the front or outside. The building has character and is even inviting. Outside in the Central West End is always a nice place to enjoy a meal because of the interesting scenery.

What is it with all of these STL guy-​friends/​boyfriends taking me to these supposedly «good» bars that they remember going to often as a child and claiming that they’re good when they actually, now, suck?
OK so in fairness this review is for a dinner experience I had about half a year ago at Duff’s…it was late, I was bored and hungry (dangerous combination) and a friend of mine who grew up in STL took me to Duff’s promising that it was «an awesome place.» Well, maybe that was true at some point… maybe it’s true on any other night except for the night we decided to go… I don’t think I will figure it out either way and I don’t much care to either.
I ordered a glass of wine, and it was alright, I suppose. This was a while ago and it was before I was really Unilocaling in full swing like an addicted maniac. Ahem. So the details are a tiny bit fuzzy but some of what happened later is still pretty clear in my memory, lol.
I distinctly recall our waitress bring out a basket of bread. Every single piece I tried was stale. When she came back I literally, flat out asked her, «do you have any bread that isn’t stale?» I mean seriously. I was starved and bread and butter can be kind of a big deal for me at a restaurant. I mean, if they are going to go through the trouble of bringing you a bread basket, at least bring GOOD, HOT, and FRESH bread to your table. This was clearly over a day old. She attested that she would go in the back and «try to find some.» As in… it must have all been stale, day old (or god know’s how many dayS old) bread. She returned later with slightly fresher bread but it was still kind of hard. Tasted like they tossed it in the microwave. At least this time it was warm and somewhat palettable.
I can’t really recall what my entrée was. It wasn’t very memorable at all. I think it was fish and pasta or maybe chicken and pasta. Since I had red wine, It was probably chicken but I don’t really remember. It was very bland and even though I took some home with me I ended up throwing away the leftovers the next day.
In fairness, the service was really friendly and this place has a lot of memories for that particular friend who I sadly don’t talk to much anymore… maybe that’s why he liked it so much or maybe he doesn’t care about eating really bland food. I don’t know. Either way, this place was a huge miss for me and I doubt I will ever return. Not even the ambiance/​décor could save it for me.
Oh yeah, and that unforgettable experience was getting hit on by a really trashy girl at the bar with her trashy pot-​head boyfriend. I was under the impression, based on remarks made by said friend who took me there, that this was a family-​friendly type of place but the crowd there that night suggested otherwise, lol.
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And to the owners/​managers of this place, you’re not fooling anyone with those California Unilocal accounts with 1 review sending me «compliments» about why my review is «unfair.» You are going to lose more business that way than if you took into consideration what people are writing in their reviews and try to IMPROVE.

Duff’s is sort of like the Cheers of breakfast places — where everybody knows your name. It has that ultimate neighborhood feel to it. The menu is small, but eclectic. Picky eaters can find something they like easily as well as the adventurous-​at-​heart. I love getting a seat by the window on a Sunday morning and watching the world wake up.
Definitely put it on your list.

Friday night before the Cathedral concert series. Got a nice booth for two. Great service.
I got a cup of spinach-​tomato soup ($ 3). Well-​spiced and chock full of spinach and tomato pieces. The broth was more on the clear side, so not TOO tomatoey.
For entrée, I got Creole Crab and Crawfish Cakes with mixed greens and remoulade dressing ($ 12). The cakes were good-​tasting, and the remoulade dressing had quite a kick.
Dining partner got Turkey Mole Enchiladas with pumpkin seed salsa verde and white bean chili ($ 16). He enjoyed.

My roommate Nick and I decided to grab some food in the CWE. We both had yet to experience Duff’s so we decided to sit outside in their sizeable patio.
Feeling adventurous, I ordered an Aviation cocktail with some sort of violet liqueur. While the couple next to us pointed out that the color of my drink went very well with my shirt, I was not impressed with it. By the very end of our meal, I shut my eyes and downed the rest of my purple pitfall.
The service was very quick and speedy, no problems here. The sandwich I ordered wasn’t anything special (bacon, lettuce, avocado, sprouts, turkey with some spicy mayo), but the fries were the most disappointing. The sandwiches you order do NOT come with any sides — I had to order fries separately. That’s 2.50 I would rather spend on a cold beer. The fries were ridiculously wimpy and pathetic — the Hayden Christiansen of sides dishes. Better yet, while there were still a handful of these puny potatoes on our plate, one of the staff tried to take them away. Not cool.
While I really want to give Duff’s a second chance, I feel like my experience wasn’t completely out of the ordinary.
You’re absolutely right Nick, we should have gone to Llywellens.

While walking around the CWE last Sunday and deciding where to eat dinner, the boyfriend and I stumbled across Duff’s. I’ve driven by it before but had never been in. We asked for a table on the patio (since it was one of those gorgeous St. Louis evenings that you want to take advantage of this time of year) and we were told it would be about 15 minutes. We went to the bar where lo and behold — I found out they sell Ting! (For those of you who don’t know, Ting is made in Jamaica and is similar to Squirt, but with a crisp, light grapefruit flavor instead. It’s amazing and I about died when I saw it on the menu.) I ordered the Ting Tang drink — Tanqueray, Ting and lime juice. It was the perfect summery drink — light, crisp, refreshing. Tom got lemonade which was equally delicious.
When we were seated at our patio table — a prompt 15 minutes later — we were approached immediately by our server, who was very nice and polite. The bread was good — a white, sourdough-​type bread and cornbread, served with a herb-​butter spread. Tom ordered the Sesame Chicken with noodles which was delicious — it had just the right amount of seasoning. I had the Jerk Chicken sandwich — I figured it would go with the «Jamaican feel» of the evening. Ha. It was amazing and definitely the best jerk chicken I’ve had outside of Jamaica! It also came with a mango raita sauce (think coconut and mango) that toned down the jerk spiciness just enough.
After chowing down on the delicious food and ordering another Ting Tang, I ordered a couple of Tings to go — which I thought was so cool! All in all, the bill was definitely reasonable, the atmosphere was very laid back and the food and drinks were delicious. They have a great patio area — perfect for CWE people watching, an inside filled with interesting artwork and knick-​knacks, a nice and knowledgeable staff, and… Ting! Ha — such a nice surprise! I’ll definitely be back — Duff’s is on the top of my go-​to list!

Weirdest lunch experience in a LONG time… but it does make for a good story.
I met my fiancé around noon for lunch at Duff’s. When we walked in, I automatically remembered why I love it there so much… there’s so much character! I love the dark wood, those quiet booths towards the back… the hostess started walking and took us through a maze until we were actually out of that part of the restaurant and into a weird room next door that I’ve never seen before. We have since named this room «Duff’s Etc.»
It was a mess in there in so many ways! There was too much natural light coming in (hard on the eyes), one of the walls was painted bright blue and had a huge painting on it of what I think was a desert, there were random pieces of pottery hanging on the walls, green tables, and rose colored napkins. After a few minutes we figured out it was the patio furniture… but inside. I was so sad to be missing out on the atmosphere which is one of the things I like most about Duff’s. This room was awful and it was also freezing. Nothing like enjoying a meal with a giant winter coat in the way!
The waitress took our order and brought us some bread, and I did appreciate the cornmeal muffin that was included. Our food was taking so long to come out and we were starving, so we just kept eating bread. Lots and lots of bread. When the food finally came out, we were in agreeance that somehow it was worth the wait. He had the black and blue burger and I went with the ham & cheese chutney. Both were so good… I tried a bite of the burger and that was enough because I don’t like heavy stuff for lunch, but my sandwich was killer. I would have ate more had I not had to fill up on carbs before it came out.
So now it’s not «wanna go to lunch at Duff’s?» …it’s «wanna go eat some bread at Duff’s Etc.?» I hope to eat at the regular, original Duff’s very soon.

Good brunch selection & the lunch menu is alright too.
Their pancakes are REALLY tasty (I ordered the special onces… mmmmm!), but everything else I’ve tried there has just been mediocre. The not-​even-​full glass of warm orange juice was pretty unpleasant.
The menu seems a bit overpriced for what you get, but I guess I should expect that in the CWE. You’re probably paying a surcharge to be seen out & about. Sandwiches entrées don’t come with a side, which I find strange.
My biggest complaint is the service wasn’t even close to stellar both times I went (once for breakfast, once for lunch). I felt like we were being rushed & that we were just an annoyance for being at the restaurant. I got vibes that I needed to suck up to the waiter just to get the food I ordered. Weird. Problem with the bill — charged us for drinks we didn’t order — which took forever to get settled.
There’s a patio which is great for warmer days & a nice place to people watch.
It’s a fine place for brunch if you want some «American» fare. I don’t get the hype surrounding this place though… I’ve got an overall «meh» feeling about it.

The advantages of eating alone at times is being able to sit right away and eat at the bar when others are waiting for tables and this day that was a good choice. At the bar you get to be around regulars and often the person behind the bar has been there for awhile and can add a lot to the service and atmosphere. When I sat down and was asking the bartender about the menu the person next to me added his opinion on what to get and that turned out to be a good choice. And actually I ordered two things (took some home). I ordered the B.L.A.S.T. sandwich (bacon, lettuce, avocado, sprouts, and turkey and tomato on pugliese) and the Blue Quiche (for blue cheese) that also came with a walnut salad served on the plate.
The dressing was just right on the salad and the balance of the fruit and walnuts was just right. The quiche had perfectly cooked, light and flaky crust and the flavor and firmness of the quiche itself was just right. The sandwich was on bread I might have taken for a familiar cheese bread and have no idea what that was but it was light and just crusty enough to make the sandwich easy to eat, which itself had a good balance of ingredients which made me want to eat the whole thing, but as you might guess, I was getting pretty full.
I also think you get a different perspective of the interior and the place as a whole when sitting at the bar so when I say a place is 5 star (and I see what others have written) for me it was that good an experience that I can’t expect to be better when going back. It can also be a combination of things of course at any given moment — the owner being close by for one, good regulars for another and the timeliness of the food getting to me and my water that was kept filled and the friendliness of everyone around. As I saw listed elsewhere, it is a favorite local place and while no place should rest on its longevity it seems to me they have it right. I will be interested to try table service another time.

As my boyfriend unpacks our new condo, and mutters four letter words, I find myself trying to fall asleep… however, every time I find comfort in my dinner experience, I find myself nodding off to sleep only to be awaken by huffing and puffing.
It is our second night living in the Central West End.
We’ve been to a handful of restaurants and bars in the CWE but tonight was a special night; tonight was our first night walking out to dinner.
After walking past several restaurants we decided on Duff’s because we had only been there once together, and that one time was no good. maybe because I was pregnant, maybe because we were bickering… who knows?
Tonight we were greeted with two glasses of water and given EXACTLY the right amount of time to choose a bottle of wine. We each ordered of the prix frixe menu. He had the Mediterranean plate as a starter, which consisted of toasted pita, soft feta, roasted red pepper hummus and some sort of olive tapenade. I sampled it and thought it was delish. He says it was really good but it didn’t blow him out of the water.
I had the crab and crawfish cakes. I am a total sucker for crab cakes and i really thought that these two humungo cakes rocked my socks off. Plus they came with a delicious garnish of field greens, tomatoes, and some sort of scrumptious sauce…
The hubby had BLACKBERRY LAMB… and I had low expectations to say the least, however, they lamb was cooked to perfection and the hints of blackberry were just right. I had black peppercorn sirloin, which apparently is a terrible cut of meat, however, cooked medium rare (it actually came out MEDIUM RARE) was delicious.
Our prix frixe meals included dessert of our choice. The hubby had apple cobbler and I had some delicious coffee drink with rum and such.
We had such a good experience. Maybe it’s because it was slow, or because our waiter was amazing… we think his name was Tommy.

Like many places in Central West End, it is really a place that gets by on reputation. I always seem to get all excited when we decide on Duff’s, and by the time we walk out, I am always like, «Why did we come here again?» Like other posters say, it is solid food, nothing spectacular, and the service could be a lot better.
I’ve had several brunch options, and I’ve always compared it to other brunch places, and have found that Duff’s falls somewhere in the middle of the pack. The lunch options fare slightly better. Their BLAST is definitely a standout. The other ones don’t really make such a statement.
Small talk from the servers is definitely lacking. It seems a bit cliquish to me. Last time I went, the server was insulted when my then boyfriend asked what she would recommend. He just asked for an opinion/recommendation…not everything on your menu can be amazing! She told him that everything was great. I don’t know, I was just slightly taken aback by her attitude.
I also hate going on hot humid days. It’s always gross sitting so close to someone outside and the inside is not much cooler.

I keep hearing about the brunch here, but I’ve only been here for lunch. Great for soup and ½ a sandwich. I know it seems minor, but I’m a stickler for bread that’s toasted well for sandwiches. THIS PLACES DOES IT RIGHT.
The onion soup gratinée was delicious — a lot of places do the soup too salty, but this was great! And the cheese that was broiled on top was done right!
I had the B.L.A.S.T. for my ½ sandwich (bacon, lettuce, avocado, sprouts, turkey) minus the sprouts — it was delicious. And like I mentioned above, it certainly helped that the bread was toasted perfectly.
The bf had the ham, cheddar, & chutney — it was also delicious although I’m personally not a fan of fruit chutney mixed into a sandwich.
Def worth another trip! There’s also seating outside when the weather is nice.

If you like Duff’s, please stop reading. And if you’re the type that is going to write a «response» review after mine, well, just stop. That’s just lame.
Justin C.‘s review pretty much sums it up — mediocre food, mediocre service, one-​and-​done. However, I’ll say that the experience the beautiful wife and I had on this rainy Sunday, was worse than mediocre, both in terms of food and service.
I don’t even feel like taking the time to detail all the problems we had. Duff’s already has my $ 34.50, do I really want to invest more in them?
Well, maybe I’ll spend a little more time.
The experience started off great when some guy jumped out of his truck, ran down the street, and charged into Duff’s ahead of us. OK, I understand this place can get busy. But as we all entered, lo and behold, it was about 65−70% empty. As there was no need for him to stake out territory for his party, he kindly let us go ahead.
We were promptly seated. Then it went downhill from there.
We had the «fortune» of having a server that is apparently best friends with the table next to us. Which meant she wanted to spend approximately 5 seconds with us so she could go over and chat with them for 10 minutes at a time.
So while, everybody else got to hear the specials. We got «what do you want to drink?» Others received water. Not us!
It just kept on getting worse. Upon a refill of my coffee, we asked for the check. She almost seemed shocked (maybe it was the half-​eaten food?), but she brought it fairly quickly. Amazing.
So, it came to $ 34.50 (and it wasn’t itemized, hate that). I had in the wallet two $ 20s, one $ 5, and four $ 1s. There’s no way I’m giving this person a $ 5.50 tip. Now it’s all about spite and pettiness — and I’m getting change back.
What happened next was such as huge surprise. She continued to chat up her friends at the table. And kept talking. And talking. And talking. I finally took out my phone and pretended to call a friend telling him that «we’re just waiting for the check then we’ll right over.»
And she kept talking. At this point, the temptation to leave $ 29 and leave was really high. But I’m getting the feeling this would result in all sorts of drama that I lacked the stomach for (literally, after eating their food). So we kept on waiting.
She returned from the kitchen with what appeared to be our change and coffee. And she stopped by her friends and filled up their coffee. And she went back into the kitchen.
At this point, I was ready to start stealing silverware as some sort of reparations. But she finally came back with the change. A tip was indeed left, though at this point, I should have given it to the busboy, who at least filled up my coffee promptly at one point.
The food was crappy too (I’m running on fumes here, pardon the lack of effort for original words).
I had the Creole Eggs Benedict. This could have been better but:
1) It came out lukewarmish. I’ll blame the server for this.
2) If that’s Canadian bacon, well, I’ll be damned. It’s the most hammy Canadian bacon I’ve ever had.
3) The Choron sauce was OK at best. But when you have «Creole» you expect it to be amped up some.
On a positive note, the eggs were actually cooked really well.
The accompanying fruit was OK, except that the cut up apple was brown. And the sauce covered some of the other offerings.
I’m not doing back and I’ve spent too much time on this as it is. I’m done.

First things first: this review is for brunch… not lunch or dinner. Just brunch. I do brunch. I’m a Brunchie Bruncherson. I wake up on the weekends wondering where I can gorge myself with syrup and coffee. So, let’s talk about Duff’s and their tasty brunch.
I like it. I have about three or four places that are on constant brunch rotation, and Duff’s is in that list. Duff’s is nestled in a trendy part of the CWE where people like to act all hoity-​toity and pretend they are in New York. (Um, you’re not.) But, no matter. The draw of Duff’s in the summer months is to sit outside and be seen. In the winter, it is to get the hell inside because, damn, it’s cold.
Patio seating is nice, but indoors is kinda strange. It is a combo British pub, old restaurant, art gallery, loft thing. But, that just adds to its charm. The wait staff is effective if not altogether über-​friendly. They aren’t mean or crusty… just sort of direct and all business. But, if you come often, they wave hi and stuff. It is kinda strange. Whatevs. (Side note: the owner is ALWAYS friendly and smiley.)
The food is delish. I have had many items off their brunch menu and have yet to be disappointed. Their specials are always top notch and varied enough to keep it interesting. The standard menu items always deliver with nice sized portions. I recently tried the steak and eggs. The 6 oz. steak was cooked to perfection and was just the perfect size.
Then, there is the pancakes. Dear God, they must put crack in these things because OH MY GOD they are good. You can get them in orders of 2 or 4… or, in my case, 16. :) The menu basic pancake is very good, but the off menu, special pancakes are heaven. Good sized, fluffy… hello, my name is Yum. (They also have a nice assortment of beverages including a good Bloody Mary.)
Would I go back? Yes. Can the waiters sometimes be a bit much to take? Yes. Does it add to the charm? Sure. Should you go? Yes… and make sure you order those pancakes.

I’ve written before about St. Louis restaurant institutions that I just don’t get. A lot of the places on The Hill are worshipped by many (hey they’re not all bad, just some of them). People line up out the door for Crown Candy’s mediocre sandwiches and cramped booths (at least their milkshakes and candy are good). And in the CWE, Duff’s continues to draw a steady crowd.
Duff’s is a dining and cultural mainstay of St. Louis, and to this day I’m still trying to figure out why. They serve slightly upscale food in what happens to be one of the best people-​watching (and chic) spots in all of St. Louis. For this reason, during the non-​winter months, their outdoor patio (on the front sidewalk) is constantly packed.
Nearly every time I’ve gone and wanted to sit outside, I’ve been told there is a half hour (or more) waiting list for outdoor seating, but I could be seated inside immediately. Does anyone else see what’s wrong with this picture? In choosing to wait outside instead of eating immediately inside, people are essentially saying that:
a) The inside sucks
b) Their food isn’t anything special
c) They want to see/​be seen outside
The people are right. The inside DOES suck. It’s kind of a half neighborhood bar/​half old timey restaurant, done in dark woods and the lights turned down. The bar section is distracting, because they have this huge bar plopped down in the middle of this dining area where you’re supposed to be having a nice-​ish meal. Kind of ruins the vibe. The non-​bar area isn’t much better, because it doesn’t really know what it wants to be. Is the atmosphere classy or gaudy? It’s kinda both, and has that «lipstick on a pig» quality to it.
They’re also right about the food. It’s alright, but nothing really too special. It seems like they’re charging you an extra $ 2 for your burger because it comes on a white plate. Their entrees at least make an effort, but usually end up bland, and the portions seem small for what you’re paying. In addition, the service can be spotty, although most times I’ve had good service. They even run off the panhandlers who ask the patio-​eaters for change!
As for the crowd itself, well since it’s the CWE, it’s usually made up of movers and shakers, or at least people who WANT to be movers and shakers, or perhaps they moved and shaked a long time ago and now they’re relegated to the occasional tremor. Expect to overhear conversations about the latest mergers, or how some ballet wasn’t as good as expected, or how their art career is THIS close to getting off the ground.
Overall, Duff’s is a restaurant that’s just kinda there. Not worth out of my way to go to, but is ok in a pinch. Sitting outside is definitely preferred to the inside, but don’t expect fine dining. It’s not as nice as Herbie’s, but nicer than Culpepper’s. It’s kind of middle-​of-​the-​road all around, which I guess helps explain it’s relative popularity. But it also helps explain my 3-​star score.

Yummy Yummy Brunch!