Old Standard Fried Chicken

I have been wanting to come here for the longest time! I had the 2 piece chicken deal, 2 pieces fried chicken, fries & biscuit. The chicken had a beautiful golden brown color & the flavor of the meat & skin was delicious. I always order a side of Honey for dipping & the miniature bottle of hot sauce put this chicken over the top. I luved the fries but after tasting my friends mashed potatoes & white gravy I was over the moon with jealousy. Phenomenal! Plenty of gravy, plenty of flavor. Biscuit was fresh & soft & the orange marmalade was sooo good! The chicken sandwich with ranch dressing looked amazing, & I will get that next time! I only hear great things about that sandwich. I will be back next week
;) if I can wait that long !
Ps, the Owner, Super friendly, that was much appreciated !!!

You guys, yesterday was such a great day. We went down to the Renaissance Festival (which is truly a sight to see) and then decided we needed some fried chicken afterwards (obviously.) I had heard so many good things about Old Standard, so we drove over around 4pm, and were so over-​the-​top impressed.
First of all, the environment here is so ridiculously fun and relaxing. The front was completely opened up and letting in the fresh air, the bar is cozy, there’s a ton of seating, and it just looks really cool and impressive. We ended up sitting outside since it was nice, but I definitely have my eye on a bar seat for next time.
Service was beyond five stars; everyone was so friendly, so knowledgable, so fun to chat with. We started off with drinks and I ordered the old fashioned, which did not disappoint. From there, we basically ate all the food we possibly could.
The «chicken deal» is 100% the way to go. You choose between two pieces, one trimming (side), and it comes with a biscuit. We both got two chicken breasts, and they were boneless and pretty amazing overall. My tray even came with my own personal bottle of hot sauce. For the sides we got the mashed potatoes and mac and cheese, and were completely blown away. The potatoes were the star, though.
So there you have it. Five stars and the reason I’ll be spending some time on the treadmill today. These cool restaurants that keep popping up make me love St. Louis even more than I already did. Great job, Old Standard!

I’m not sure what happened, but the food here is not as good as it used to be. My daughter and I went for brunch. I’m pretty upset that I even paid for the food as I look back. We ordered the biscuits and bread and chicken and waffles. I also had coffee. At first I thought I had let my coffee get cold because I was discussing test prep with my daughter. But when they came to refill my cup IT WAS COLD! Not cold, but cold for coffee. The corn bread was ok but my biscuit was too dense and it tasted rancid. My daughter liked hers. On to the thing I looked forward to the most, the waffles were trash! They were super thick and ultra bready. They were not crispy or golden brown. The chicken was dark like it was fried in old oil. This was the worst experience I’ve had here. I won’t be back for brunch. Maybe dinner… But not for a long time.

My friend and I went here about a month ago. The chicken was just okay in my opinion, I prefer a crispy crust like Hodak’s, but my friend prefers batter so she loved it. I felt it was a little greasy and though it was supposed to be boneless, mine had little bits of bone in it. The sides were amazing, though. My friend got the mac and cheese and she let me try it– hands down the best mac and cheese I’ve ever had at a restaurant. I regret not getting it. My sides weren’t memorable, but the biscuit was yummy.
We also had the handmade sodas– she got the elderflower one and I got a cream soda. We actually ended up switching because we preferred the other, but both were really good!
Parking is street parking and the entrance is to the left side (it can be pretty confusing when you walk up). There’s lots of seating inside and the bar top is a really cool, giant piece of wood. It’s got a very log cabin-​y feel to it. It looked like they had potential for outdoor seating but it was too cold the day we went so I’m not sure.
As far as big-​picture drawback: The service was just okay– we sat at the bar and the bartender was pretty busy. It seemed like he was a little annoyed with us sitting at the bar when there were plenty of tables around. Also, the prices are quite high for a fried chicken joint to plan accordingly (the 2 piece dinner with a side an biscuit is roughly $ 15).
I would probably come back, but this time I would get the mac and cheese or the pimento grilled cheese (and sit at an actual table!)

Gosh, I came out of there thinking I’d be giving a 4 star review. But now that I’ve had a day, I’m going to go with 3 stars. I enjoyed my dinner there quite a bit, but as soon as I left, I started thinking about the quality of the food itself. It was good, but winds up not being quite there to make 4 stars.
This place, which I’m assuming used to be a Standard service station — hence the name, has an interesting, somewhat unique atmosphere. I’ve been in other converted service station restaurants, but these owners have put their own touch inside with plenty of wood framing, wood booths, tables, etc. So it was fun just to be in the place. They also have a nice little outside seating area, but it was just a tad too warm. Our server was extremely polite and very friendly. He also did a good job of checking on us. Drinks and food also came out relatively quickly.
For drinks, the wife had a ginger lemongrass tea, I had a restaurant-​made double cream soda, and the daughter had a restaurant-​made strawberry lime soda. The tea was herbal with a generous ginger flavor. Too strong for me, but the wife loved it. My cream soda was very food — heavy cream flavor but not overpowering, and with a dense whipped cream on top. The daughter’s strawberry lime soda also was top notch, with the sweet and tart elements nicely balanced.
We all ordered fried chicken dinners. They got two piece dinners with a side a biscuit. You get your choice of any of 4 pieces (breast, wing, thigh, leg). I wondered how the restaurant can do that, then I saw that the ‘breast’ is really a boneless cut from the breast. It’s good in that you don’t have breading on a big hunk of ribs that you cannot eat, but also means that you really are getting about half the size to be expected. So it’s about the size of a chicken leg. I think they are either small chickens or two pieces of meat are cut from each breast side. My half chicken dinner came with all four pieces, including that little breast — which bummed me — and two sides. But no biscuit. So I had to add on a separate biscuit. Come on! Include a biscuit with all the dinners.
As for the chicken itself, it was good. Which it better be for a fried chicken restaurant. I liked the flavor and the juiciness in all pieces. Can’t say it was the best ever, but wasn’t the worst ever — pretty good covers it, I guess.
Our sides: Mashed potatoes with chicken gravy started out really good. I realized it was the gravy that made it. Unfortunately, the gravy lasted less than half way through. The remaining potatoes were okay, but really needed the gravy for more flavor. Meaty greens were decent, fairly standard, using full size greens rather than baby or cut up greens. Biscuits were top notch. Glad I added one to my dinner. they also bring out house made grape jelly and orange marmalade which were good but not different enough for me to really care.
So there you go. A decent dinner, with enjoyable workers and atmosphere.

Found this restaurant on the A-​list page so I thought I was going to be Great ! Buuut This place is extremely overpriced, and the chicken is fun sized, Mac n cheese taste like was right now of the box
The only good thing about this place is the venue, it’s a nice cute place, but the food sucks

Fun, urban diner with great food and service! Homemade soda, excellent chicken and Mac n cheese! Something for everyone!

Started off with the deviled eggs which had interesting addition of pickles and capers which I thought would be a turn off but actually added some interest. Chicken, biscuits and mac and cheese were all good comfort food.
What really stood out was this awesome julip punch made with lapsang soushong tea. I’m totally going to steal that recipe.

The chicken was not dry or burnt, as other reviews have noted, but it was extremely bland. It could be greatly improved by the addition of some corn flour and plenty of cayenne pepper (advice from an actual southerner here).

Pro: Clean and new looking, slightly above average taste
Cons: Very slow and poor customer service

Their drink special was really good — balsamic vinegar and basil with alcohol was a nice touch.
The fried chicken — we had 1 and a ½ was ok — small and a bit on the greasy side.
We had all the sides: mac and cheese was underwhelming, the cole slaw was good but could use more vinegar and crunch, the brussel sprouts were our favorite.

Warm and cozy place on a very busy road. Visited around 6pm on a weekday with my picky 12yr old. Service was good, except they forgot the silverware all together. Chicken tenders were good, with a hint of heat. Biscuits were average at best. Enjoyed the hot sauce & butters/​jams. Mac n cheese was a lil saucy with a delightfully fresh cheese flavor, fantastic reheated as a leftover. Fries were exceptional. Crispy, hot, seasoned just right. Sugar cane Coca Cola was from the bottle. Likely to return.

Great service :
Lee was our waiter today and he did a great job.
We ordered two adult tenders & fries with tea $ 11.25 plus tax and tip
And one order of a chicken sandwich with chips and soda $ 13.45 and that’s a can of soda so no free refills… Tea and soda run $ 3 each, bit on the high side.
Our total bill was $ 39.48 plus tip … That is way to expensive for food that reminds me of Raising Cane’s fast food …
Maybe we expected more from this place since it’s a chicken joint.
A half chicken with sides will run you around $ 17 and a whole chicken with two sides $ 30 plus tax…
We will never go back due to the high prices, it’ just not that great tasting for the price.

I had high hopes for this place, but it wasn’t great. I love the look and feel and everyone was friendly. It feels warm, but airy inside and I think they did a great job decorating it.
However, the food was subpar. We got the chicken tenders, Mac n cheese, and brussel sprouts. Everything was really really salty and the tenders were chewy. I also got the bread and biscuit basket and that was the best part. It came with different biscuits and corn muffins, as well as butter and homemade jams. I probably won’t be going back here, but I’m glad I tried it.

I’m between a 2 and 3 star rating for Old Standard. It’s not a place I’d visit again unless someone else was really pushing for it.
What was good:
Fried pickles! Why no one has thought to batter and fry bread-​and-​butter pickles before is beyond me, but this place does it and they were pretty darn good.
Fun sodas! House-​made flavors like double cream, pumpkin spice, and some other options.
Unfortunately, this place is not named «Old Standard Fried Pickles and Fun Sodas», or it’d be a 4-​star establishment. It’s named for fried chicken. And the fried chicken was not good.
I have no problem paying the $ 11 or whatever for 2 pieces of chicken, a side and a biscuit if it’s extra special and super delicious. I liked that you can pick any two pieces you want. That’s a nice touch. The mac n’ cheese was A-​OK, as was the biscuit. But I can’t get over how bad the chicken was.
The pieces were over-​fried and super dried out. I got the leg and breast, and gave up after one bite of the breast. The breading cracked and fell off in hard, super crunchy pieces. Nothing tasted seasoned or marinated. No one could ever call this chicken juicy or even greasy, which would have been better than what was served. It was so, so overdone. I don’t know how it made it out of the kitchen like that. If you’re a chicken place, you’ve got to be good at chicken.
In this brave new world of paying $ 15 for things like fried chicken and ramen, I’ve upped my standards. Unfortunately, Old Standard fell below mine.

I was so stoked to try this place so my husband and I went one night after work. I’m a huge fried chicken fan (grew up in Mississippi).
First of all, I love what they’ve done in here. I love the feel and the look of the interior — the whole concept.
We sat at the bar and the bartender was fabulous.
We waited FOREVER because we were unlucky enough to have our order follow a large party — not the restaurant’s fault, just our luck. I was starting to get «hangry» so the bartender offered us biscuits. She was sympathetic.
I had the two piece chicken plate with a side of mac & cheese. I was so sad to find my chicken just okay. I mean, saaaaaaaad because I had fallen in love with this place. The mac & cheese was okay too. I liked that they had fried chicken crumbles on it.
I had the banana pudding for dessert. I loved it.
I may go back for the biscuit board and drinks but I’ll probably reserve fried chicken eating for elsewhere.

The was bread pudding was a little disappointing. One good thing, it was not sickeningly sweet. The consistency was weird, crispy, but like it had been sitting out, and kinda bland.
The sauces! buttermilk ranch with spices and a green sauce that was smooth and creamy with a mint-​like fresh taste. The lemon sauce was light and bright/​citrusy, but not super bitter and perfect to mix with house made hot sauce.
The potatoes smashed — !! the most perfect thing there. oily and crispy, but exactly the perfect consistency, all of them baby potatoes. Made with chive oil, they were soft and hot.
The chicken was moist; one piece was a little red on the inside, the fry on the pieces was good, but the sauces were more standout than anything. Our waiter was awesome, but their «brunch» did not have enough sweet things to call it brunch!

You know, Unilocal reviews aren’t always so bad. At least the optimist in me says this. I came here for dinner with my partner and we expected to dine on some tasty fried chicken… but that didn’t happen.
First, we were greeted quickly and seated but it took several minutes before anyone came to the table. I’d have to say a solid 5 – 6 minutes passed before a guy brought us 2 waters and told us «someone» would be with us soon. Keep in mind the restaurant was NOT busy.
We waited about another 5 minutes or so when the waitress appeared and apologized for the delay. We were obviously ready to order so my partner went with the tenders and I ordered the 2 piece chicken meal. I was a little surprised that you can order ANY two pieces of chicken so I went with my 2 faves, breast and thigh. On the side order I wanted to go with mashed potatoes but the waitress suggested the Mac and Cheese was waaaaaaaaay better so I went with her advice (there’s more to come about that in a minute).
My partner ordered a double crème soda and that arrived first to the table. It was abundantly sweet (too much for my liking) but my partner loved it. We were caught up in conversation and didn’t notice at first how long the food was taking to come out… but I did mention «Fried chicken takes awhile to cook.» The waitress agreed and said, «Sure does and we cook ours fresh to order.»
This statement actually reassured my decision to dine here. I actually thought to myself that I was about to enjoy some tasty fried chicken. Man was I wrong.
When the food came out it wasn’t HOT HOT, like fresh out of a fryer. It actually seemed more like out from under a heat lamp. My partner’s chicken tenders weren’t fresh out of a fryer… and my fried chicken, oh wow… talk about poorly done. A breast of chicken fresh out of a fryer should be PLENTY hot and this simply wasn’t. Making matters worse… the breading EASILY came off the chicken and wasn’t HOT. It was also quite greasy. My guess is that these pieces were «double fried» or heated with a convection oven of some sort… but these were NOT fried fresh to order.
Also, I should note the skin of the chicken wasn’t crispy… I couldn’t believe it and was slightly disgusted from it so I set it aside. The waitress added that the yogurt and hot sauce mixed was «GREAT» with the chicken. Luckily I was hungry and could mask the unflavored chicken with this mix of sauces.
Oh…and that Mac and Cheese. Lemme tell you, that was sad. I’m no mac and cheese expert but I’ve had my share and this was absolutely the worse ever.
As for the restaurant, the atmosphere is adorable and quite pleasing. I liked the menu design and overall feel of the restaurant. If only the food was up to the same bar as décor, this place would be a solid 3 – 4 stars. Sadly, it’s barely the 1 star I’m rating.

Is it good fried chicken? Definitely. Is it great, I’m craving to come back fried chicken? Not really. Overall it’s a cool atmosphere with good food. Not sure the hype matches the product, but they do make everything from scratch and you have to appreciate that.

From the look of things, Ben Poremba is staking out the Tower Grove Avenue real estate with his growing group of restaurant options (Olio, Elaia, Old Standard Fried Chicken, and La Pâtisserie Choquette). It is great to see new options popping up in shadows of McRee Town, connecting the stable neighborhood of Shaw with the revitalization of the Grove.
And so far, Old Standard Fried Chicken is our favorite of Poremba’s bunch. And on our visit Tuesday, it easily earned a five star rating.
My wife and I stopped by Old Standard last Sunday afternoon, but the wait for dinner was more than 90 minutes. So, we decided to return Tuesday for dinner, just after 5 ‘o clock, and we were easily seated. Soon, however, the restaurant & bar were packed with guests, even on a Tuesday. Come early, folks.
For an appetizer, we shared the «Nobody’s Boiled Peanut Hummus with smoked, pickled chilies,» which was delicious. One thing I love when I’m in the South is stopping for a bag of boiled peanuts along the roadside, and fusing that southern fare with a middle eastern appetizer is a fun take on a classic dip. My wife loved it. We want to return just to try all the other appetizers too.
We each ordered the $ 10 Chicken Deal, which includes two pieces of fried chicken, a side, and a biscuit. I ordered the Brussels Sprouts and Mary opted for Mac & Cheese. We were both impressed. The sides were delicious and so was the chicken. If you choose legs, be prepared for enormous portions. I doused mine in the house hot sauce too, which is like Louisiana chile sauce, but slightly thicker. We washed our meal down with cider for her and the Urban Chestnut Draft of the Day for me (Saison!) The breading was evenly coated on the meat and is not greasy at all.
I think this restaurant is really fun. The place is unpretentious, but trendy. Simple fare, but with creative New American touches. Service was well trained and responsive.
The restaurant looks like it could be a shack in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, but it maintains a trendiness that is really fun. And it has an amazing list of whiskeys you’d be hard to find in the dry counties of the Deep South (of course, unless you know the guy who makes it in his Still by the creek). The music was really good too, throughout our meal, we heard classic hits from the 1950s and 1960s. How can you beat warm weather, rock music, soul music, beer, and fried chicken?
And as a finishing touch, Old Standard provides you with a warmed moist towelette to wipe away the hot sauce from your fingers and face. That’s very thoughtful – like Southern hospitality. We’ll be back again.