The Shack

Scrambled eggs were perfect, great bacon, biscuits and gravy were amazing!

Love The Shack!!! If you haven’t been yet, you’ve got to try it! Great food, great service, and great atmosphere for people of all ages.

The food is so overrated and honestly quite awful… had a $ 16 veggie burger, and it was dry, tasteless, overpriced, non-​descript! Last time I spend my $$$ at this place. I gave it another try because co-​workers wanted to go — never again.

I love The Shack! The menu is really unique and the boozy breakfast milkshakes are so bomb. I usually get breakfast tacos and a Bloody Mary or the Cap N Crunch shake. It’s the perfect brunch spot, but like most places can get really busy on weekends.

I have a feeling this place mostly operates on gimmick and trendiness, instead of actual food quality. It was busy when we went, so I took that into account when writing this review. When I order a breakfast skillet, I expect it to be hot, maybe even sizzling. Instead it was room temp, and cold after a few bites. It was also pretty bland. The coffee was also cold as soon as it was poured, and my first cup was the only cup, as I never received a refill.
Overpriced, bland, cold food.

My first time here & I was very impressed! I had the quesadilla & a blueberry pancake with coffee! Brittany was wonderfully attentive & had great service with a smile! Beware! You may need a hair tie for that quesadilla and ask for some extra napkins because you will need them! Totally worth it! The small extra charge for the blueberry topping is worth every bite! Thank you for the to go coffee! I will be back for those Cinnamon Toast Crunch French toast! Oh and I got to write my name on the wall too!

Stopped in on a Monday morning with my daughter. Basically empty and we were seated right away. The service was wonderful (not sure if that was because of the lack of people there). The menu looks amazing. I got an egg white skillet with turkey sausage and split a hash brown with my daughter. I was trying to be healthy, but the next time I come I will splurge for some carbs because the pancake my daughter got was amazing! We had a great time and I will definitely be back!

I’ve been here a few times now and I try to get something different every time since their menu is interesting enough to keep me guessing. If you do try the bacon wrapped meatloaf, trust me when I say it will be enough for 2 people, my goodness it was like they were trying to unload a beefy dump truck onto my plate. The meatloaf had more of a soft sausage consistency which was ok, the bacon around it could have been a little crisper. Honestly, it was essentially a slinger since it ALSO came with 2 eggs and hash browns.
This place is always busy which is good to see, I’m glad they took over the space from Salted Pig which was very average.
One thing I wish The Shack did… maybe don’t nickel and dime the waiting patrons for coffee, maybe just provide small solo cups Trader Joe style so everyone can just have a few sips as they sit patiently for tables, I think that would be a nice touch. Hotel conference centers charge groups for coffee… don’t do the same here, it just feels cheap.
All in all though, well done!

Good food and service; not super special or unique in terms of menu, but they let you write on the walls/​tables to ‘tag’ that you were there. Food and coffee were tasty and of good quality, service also good (they leave carafes of water and coffee on the table so you don’t run out) we will definitely return.

The «make a grown man cry burrito»: subed meat for veggies… Amazing. The queso sauce was bomb.
The corned beef hash: 5 stars. Corn beef was lean. Eggs cooked perfectly
The Denver: delicious. Lots of veggies!
King club omelet: yummy ranch

Ended up here for a working lunch meeting and boy am I glad that happened! The vibe is very casual hipster, as there are literally writings on the walls. Everyone is friendly and the service was quick. Everyone at my table enjoyed their meals, but I think I hit it out of the ballpark with my order… the Brisket Mac & Cheese! It was out of this world! The perfect cheese blend combines with the perfectly baked brisket… a bite of both in every bite! My appletini was also delicious… and by delicious I mean STRONG!!! So shortage of alcohol or food at this establishment. If you’re in the area, don’t think, just do!
Service — Fast, Friendly
Food — AMAZINGLY DELICIOUS!
Atmosphere — Fun, Casual, Eclectic
Apparently they have breakfast all day and it all sounded amazing… so next time I think I’m going to have to get the breakfast regardless of the time of day!

The ambiance is awesome and the service is great! The walls are covered with scribbles and signatures from customers past, which is cute. If you’re looking for a fun spot to meet up with friends for brunch, The Shack is a perfect spot.
But ultimately, I choose to judge a restaurant by its food, and The Shack fell a little short in this department. The food sounds amazing on the menu, but in reality comes out mediocre. It’s not bad, but just doesn’t quite live up to the menu descriptions. I can’t quite put my finger on it — maybe the food was a little too salty or greasy or bland, but there was something off.
Overall though, the experience is still enjoyable, so I wouldn’t mind returning with friends.

I stopped in here on a weekday morning for breakfast with my family (totally random circumstances found us off work and hungry!) This is the time to come. Totally empty. I’m giving it 4 stars because I’ve heard about the weekend wait and I’m not sure the food was worth hours and hours. That said, the food was very good. My omelet was delicious and well prepared. I also appreciated their menu was diverse and had something for everyone. Healthy, standard brunch, and totally over the top skillets. A tenancy towards the Mexican entrees, which is more unique for the area and always delicious for brunch.
Service was pretty basic brunch. Our server was new, so I was willing to give him some leeway.
One thing I wasn’t loving was all the writing on the walls. It was probably cute at first, but now it’s too much and looks cluttered.

I love the energy I feel as soon as I step foot inside The Shack!
So vivid
So fun
So open
So exciting
So creative
So inviting
The food is decent; don’t kill me STL people. I know how possessive you are lol. But the food is not a 5. The menu is large but limiting in terms of healthier options. Most dishes are heavy; like fully loaded heavy artillery. Since they only do breakfast/​brunch I’d really like to see a broader range of breakfast options such as oatmeal, grits, more wheat or multi grain pancakes, crepes and such. Don’t get me wrong the veggie egg whites I had them craft were well prepared. The blueberry pancake was a bit doughy for my liking but not bad in terms of taste at all.
The service was pleasant and prompt. I also appreciate the Kaldi’s coffee they serve because it’s my favorite local brew. The joint has charter beyond words and I’ll definitely be back (over & over) I just hope they change the menu or at least think about offering a broader selection of items for us (or just me) to enjoy.
Unselfishly submitted,
~Christy

This review covers 2 separate visits for Breakfast, both on a Sunday…1^st visit, The Kitchen Sink…2^nd visit, Make A Grown Man Cry. Sundays, yes it’s packed, but worth the wait. 1^st visit, I sat at the bar. 2^nd visit a table. Great service for both visits. Servers were attentive and I received everything asked for timely. For the restaurant to be busy, it doesn’t take long for your order to come out. While I really enjoyed the Kitchen Sink dish, the Make A Grown Man Cry is definitely my favorite. Kitchen Sink is a skillet with eggs, several meats, cheese and hashbrowns. Great flavor, but the white cheddar doesn’t do it justice. Now, the Make a Grown Man Cry is a burrito stuffed with egg & 2 meats, on a bed of hashbrowns with queso on top. Oh yes! That queso goes great with the meal… and in my opinion, they need to use that queso on the Kitchen Sink dish as well.

Went for lunch, and the place was packed. They had lots of seats in the waiting area. I’m taking this as a good sign.
You could order breakfast at lunchtime still, and several of my friends did. A manager stopped by to take our order since our server was busy. I was torn between a couple items, and he had helpful suggestions.
I liked everything about my meal except the soup, which was egg drop soup that day. It had a very odd taste to it.

I can’t remember the name of the place that was in this space before it became The Shack. I ate there once and it wasn’t really that memorable. Apparently, they left their smoker when they closed and the new proprietors are putting it to good use.
I ordered the smoked chicken sliders and sweet potato tots. The sliders came on brioche buns that were a little more dense than most brioche I’ve had. They were also served at room temperature and not toasted — something of a missed opportunity. The chicken salad was by far the star of the dish. I really enjoyed how smoky the bird tasted while being tender and juicy. After a couple of bites, I decided to jettison the bun and just eat the chicken salad with a fork. Not exactly what I expected but quite enjoyable. The tots were also fantastic. Crispy and sweet which matched nicely with the house-​made zesty sauce served on the side.
I will certainly be back. I may also give their manager a call and recommend they begin toasting the brioche buns on their flat-​top. I just hope I can get them to do it as a special order if I can’t get them to modify the dish based on my feedback.

I met a former co-​worker at The Shack for lunch. This was the first time I had been here since the ill-​fated attempt for one of St Louis’ restaurant legends to try to jump on the barbecue bandwagon with Salted Pig. I know The Shack is part of a local hospitality group and by the time a restaurant owner is successful enough to be part their own hospitality group, I usually avoid them. But this was convenient for my lunch partner and I wanted to try it.
You can order breakfast here at lunch time and they really do a lot of breakfast business. I may or may not try that, since I am pretty dedicated to Mexican breakfast in small and real Mexican places. I skeptically noted a lot of Mexican and Southwestern influence in the breakfast menu. For this lunch however, we both ordered from the burger menu. My friend had the bacon and egg burger which I must say, looked great. I kept mine to the Cease and Desist, which is just a cheeseburger with lettuce and tomato (I skipped the onion). I had slaw on the side.
This was a good burger. The server asked if medium well was OK. We both agreed. I did that since I thought Ms T would eat the half I took home if it was not pink. It was cooked properly and was not dried out. These are good quality burgers, and since they are probably ½ pound, they are not going to be the smashed kind with grill crust. There was no hint of char-​broil, so are probably done on a flat top. I have had a lot of burgers like this in the last month. All good, none really remarkable, but certainly worth getting. They all need grill crust or char broil and all need some salt and pepper. My slaw was just OK, the usual bland stuff, it needed the Cholula that I added.
The Shack is a busy place and there appeared to be a wait when we left at 12:30. I am thinking this is very popular with the Sunday breakfast/​brunch crowd.

My great friend and I went to The Shack June 19 for lunch. I arrived first, and they gave me a table, which was quite accommodating. And it was a table for four, so we had nice elbow room.
Chilled water came right away in a bottle. We finished it, but it wasn’t replenished.
He got the meatloaf (~$ 11 — I can’t find it on their online menu) — Two large pieces of bacon-​wrapped meatloaf sitting on hash browns, topped with gravy and crowned with two over-​easy eggs.
The eggs were masterly cooked, and the serving was huge.
I got the soup of the day ($ 5) — Potato-​leek with small-​diced potatoes, a touch of cheese and green onion slices in a cream-​based sauce.
The soup was delicious. Rich, creamy. At first I thought it wasn’t enough cheese, but it was a good balance. The green onion slices were raw, so they added a nice textural difference.
During our meal, three different friendly people came by to see how our meal was.
We both had a to-​go vessel. I had my leftover soup for dinner, and it heated up well in the microwave.

A «Shack» closer to home, I could not be happier. I’m a big fan of their Valley Park location and now I am thrilled to have a shorter drive to enjoy their breakfast entrees.
What makes this location even better is that they will be open for Happy Hour and dinner with an extended menu.
This morning I enjoyed, Shack De Madame. SDM is; honey glazed ham, thick cut pecan wood bacon & white cheddar cheese on Texas toast topped with SHACK cheese sauce & a sunny side egg garnished with green onions. It comes with a side of some of the best Hash Browns, it the metro area. I love my HB’s crispy and The Shack does them right. I don’t even have to request them extra crispy when ordering.
I had to make sure the new location did the biscuits and gravy the same way, and they do. Big fluffy biscuits, smothered in rich and creamy milk gravy would make any farmers wife proud.
My dining buddy enjoyed one of his favorite breakfast entrees, Chicken Fried Steak and gave it a true thumbs up. I’m sure it would have been two thumbs up, but he refused to put the fork down. In addition to a large piece of CFS, he had two eggs and Hash Browns.
A visit to either locations for breakfast is not complete without enjoying a White Trash Screwdriver. The mixture of vodka, orange juice and pear apple cider, is a refreshing way to start the day.
The décor is old doors and paneling, covered in graffiti provided by the diners. This time I am remembering where I wrote my message. I wrote on the walls at Valley Park and to this day, cannot remember where.
The staff is friendly, I am sure I will get to know them all well as this Shack will definitely be in my breakfast rotation.