Cafe Telegraph

saw all the reviews saw the cars in the parking lot had to give it a try…3 to be exact very disappointed. Slow to be seated, slow to be served food came out at room temp barely warm. As they say in this baseball town 3 strikes you’re out!!!

Wow! Fantastic food and ridiculously huge portions! Fun atmosphere and huge menu with nostalgic references to local school. Great place to hang.

First time here. I had the buffalo chicken wrap and the sampler platter along with a summer brew bev. Very reasonably priced for the amount of food you get. I couldn’t eat everything I had! It was great:) We will definitely be back!

We went to the Café Telegraph based on word of mouth referral from friends. We were seated promptly and the waitress Christina was great.
We started off with Gringo Dips & Chips. Good nacho chips (tasted homemade) and delicious cheese dip.
I ordered Pollo Alfredo and my wife ordered Stan’s Big Bomber. Stan’s was 20oz. of smoked pulled pork topped with crumbled bacon. Served on Texas Toast along with coleslaw. The Pollo Alfredo was grilled or fried chicken breast and cavatelli noodles in a garlic cream sauce with peas, mushrooms and topped with parmesan cheese.
Both entrees were delicious. The Stan’s was so large half went home with us.
The fun is in reading the names of the offerings. If you are a southsider you’ll know what I mean.
Most definitely stop, try and enjoy Café Telegraph.

Just absolutely nothing but delicious! My husband and I split the pork steak and had plenty to take home. Great service, friendly atmosphere and fresh food. We will definitely be returning!

The food is good, but I rarely frequent because every time I go there the wait to get your food is ridiculous! My husband and I ordered a wrap and chicken strips and it took 45 minutes to get our food and it wasn’t even crowded.

Best food!!! Had the Fred Flinstone and it was the best. Service is great. Give this place a try you will love it

No kidding you could feed a family of 4 with the pork steak here. Service was fantastic. The waitress was just the right amount of friendly. She was right on time with the drink refills. Everything was delicious even the sides. The atmosphere was fun and family friendly. We came by on a night when they had a guitar player who was real good. Definitely coming back here.

Good food and good service. Try the smoked wings with the buffalo sauce. We will be back.

Came in around 7:00 on a Saturday night with a group of 4 friends. There were 5 of us total, so we expected a wait. My friends have frequented this place and said their food was decent and it seemed like a new place that I might enjoy. Sadly disappointed.
We were greeted by a hostess within 2 minutes. We were then told it would be about a 25 minute wait, which we expected so that was fine with us. The time was around 7:00 PM when we first walked in. We were sat at 7:22, so 22 minute wait. Not bad considering it was earlier than the time we were told. We were sat in a corner booth which was private and spacious and the second best part of this whole experienced. We were immediately greeted by, in my opinion, one of the best servers I have ever experienced. He gave us the entire rundown of the place including history, menu specific details, and a mouthful about their «smoke shack». This guy was incredible and absolutely saved this place from a 1 star review. After the lecture, we investigated the menu. The smoke shack section was expensive, but my wife insisted on getting the smoked chicken, par fried. It was $ 14.99. I chose the 20 oz River City Chargrilled Pork Steak. It was also $ 14.99 but I’ve had an 18 oz pork steak from a BBQ place in the area called Penny’s and it was comparable in price and very big. I couldn’t even finish it and this was supposedly even bigger! We were told right off that it would be about 40 minutes before we got our food. We obliged because we were hungry, had already been waiting, and everything sounded so good.
First, the good. The booth. The waiter. The homemade onion rings. The smoked par fried chicken.
Now, let’s get into this places downfalls and the reason why I will not be returning. I don’t care that we had to wait for a table for 22 minutes. I don’t care that we didn’t order our food until 7:40. I don’t even really care that the waiter told us it was going to be 40 minutes, because I assumed it would be worth it. It didn’t take 40 minutes. It took an hour and ten minutes. We received our food at 8:50! That is absolutely ridiculous. And I know what you are thinking, the 20 oz pork steak probably took forever to grill. I am here to tell you, that pork steak was not 20 oz. It was smaller than the pork steaks I grill up from Walmart. MAYBE 8 – 10 oz. And burnt to a crisp. I was visibly disappointed. There were 6 onion rings. They were decent sized, but 6? AND they upcharged me for them? Terrible. The pork steak was dry and thin and just disappointing. The sides were small and disappointing. $ 14.99 is a joke for that meal. The smoked chicken however was very delicious. BUT the sides were equally skimped on. And the salads… so petty. AND $ 1.00 upcharge. I feel like if I am paying $ 14.99 for chicken, I should get whatever side I want. But they make the menu. I have no right to complain about the pricing if I am getting what I order. However, when I am served extremely tight portions and being charged more, it irritates me. The server was very friendly the entire time. Asked us to be understanding and even brought us free donuts. He kept this review a 2 star. We walked out of this restaurant at 10:10. Over 3 hours in this place, for sub-​par food.
Overall, this was not a good trip. I can buy 6 pork steaks, all bigger than the one i was served, for less than what I paid for the one, burnt, thin, small, pork steak. IF you come to this restaurant, get items from the smoke shack. They may cost more, but it’s very good. It carries this restaurant IMO. Will not return most likely.

we hit this place regularly. we haven’t had anything we didn’t like. The pork steak is about the size of a small child and cooked to perfection. The wings are amazing but the top spot resides with the pork bites appetizer. sometimes I get that as my meal. My wife loves the BBLT sandwich which is a monster as well. The service has always been top notch and friendly. Well recommended

I have been there a couple of times now and I love it! First I got the buffalo chicken wrap (blackened) with sweet potato fries. It was very good! The next time I got the smokehouse chicken, outstanding!!! The staff was very friendly and gave great customer service both times. I will be going back… a lot!

I ate here last night for dinner as a part of a double date. As usual for a Friday night there was a little bit of a wait, which was fine. After we sat down the waitress was very prompt to get our drink orders and food orders. Once we placed our orders it took over 45 minutes to get our food. Even though the place was busy I have never waited that long to get food. It seemed like there was only one or two waitresses for the whole restaurant. There was a table of two near us that placed their order after, got their food before us and was out the door before us.
I ordered a buffalo chicken wrap. It was just your run of the mill chicken wrap, which is fine and it was what I expected. I ordered this after they ran out of their most popular item, the half brined chicken.
This would be a good place to go maybe on a weekday evening or if you are just looking for a simple bite to eat. However I would avoid it on Friday evenings due to the busy crowd and probably the long wait time. I’m sure the crowd is probably the same on Saturday nights as well.

Ordered a fried chicken salad and it was delicious! I’m pretty sure the tenders were home made, not just frozen tenders thrown in a deep fryer. It was really good!
I saw pizzas and big plates of food coming out too, and I will be going back to try those as well! Great experience!

Met three friends here on a Tuesday night around 6:30. The place was about ¹⁄₃^rd full. We drank a few beers and myself and another friend ordered pork and bacon burger sliders respectively. A 14 top arrived after our food was ordered. There seemed to be one waitress for the entire restaurant, so we were very patient when repeatedly told our food was coming with the 14 top (that arrived after us) and shorthanded kitchen used as the excuse. My friend received his order after an hour and 15 minutes. I received mine about 15 minutes after him (I ordered mine about 20 minutes after he did.)
We asked to see the manager and we waited about 15 minutes for her to come to the table and unload more excuses. The orders we made take about 3 – 5 minutes to prepare (two small sandwiches and an order of fries). Before she arrived, our waitress comped the meals (obviously). When the manager finally arrived, she asked us if we’d like some gift cards and we said we would. This was wise as it would give us reason to return to the establishment and give it another shot. Hearing this, the waitress walked over and said «I already comped their food» and the manager turned back to us and said «Oh, you’re ok then.» and walked away. No gift cards. Alright then.
My advice: Do not come to the table with a buffet line of excuses. Apologize for the unacceptable service, comp the meals and ask your customers for a second chance to serve you. You cannot go wrong when you take the high road.

Food is okay
Ate there on a Tuesday night
One adult and the rest were kids working
The kids working were running around like it was play land at McDonalds
The adult didnt seem to mind, he watched and laughed along with the kids
Pretty much ruined our dining experience

Sunday night dinner and it was my first time at Café Telegraph. We had a party of four and tried the following:
Fried Green Tomatoes: Crispy and hot. I hate tomatoes and I enjoyed the bite I tried.
Pulled pork wrap with fries: Fries were basic crinkle cut. The pulled pork wrap was great. I took half home.
Fish Sandwich
Roast Beef Sandwich: The comment was made that it was one of the best roast beef sandwiches he can remember eating.
Salad with Chicken on it
Apple Pie with some kind of crumb topping: The table shared this. I never eat apple pie and I thought it was delicious.
Great experience and I will most definitely be back. Really generous portions for a very reasonable price. The pizza at the next table looked really good and I might have to try that next time.

Wow! My husband and I were driving by and at 2pm on a Saturday they had plenty of cars in the parking lot– so, we thought we would give Café Telegraph a try… I’m so glad we did! The food was amazing!
We had the Smoked Meatloaf– which beats all other meatloaf you have ever had –hands down! The tomato sauce on top was crazy good and it wasn’t just ketchup! We also tried a cheese burger and were not disappointed there either– fresh and hand patted! Yummy good food! Other highlight was the baked beans– they have a bite or 2 of the pulled pork on top and a drizzle of their BBQ sauce– amazing! We went back the next day and had the huge pork steak — it was Crazy good — crisped on the edges and the perfect smoke flavor… I can’t wait to try something else! We will be back!

I came here at the suggestion of my customer and knew as soon as I got out of the car that they would have food I liked. How did I know? Mainly because their smoker was churning away and the parking lot smelled like heaven to me.
A few things to note:
Gringo cheese — I’m still not completely sure what they put in it but it is pretty good. At least two varieties of cheese plus some poblano peppers but I can’t guess what else. Very creamy but not spicy. It is probably pretty good on a sandwich but my lunch selection didn’t come with cheese. We all ordered it on the side to dip fries and it was perfect in that role.
Pork sliders — Two to an order, two varieties, I had one of each. The pulled pork slider was pretty good but not as smoky as I was hoping to receive and a little dry but with a good flavor. The pork patty was the star of the plate. They grill (not griddle) such that the patty gets a great char where it contacts the grill. The pork itself was a coarse grind which stood up well to cooking without becoming a pork hamburger. Nicely seasoned and perfectly sized.
House-​made bbq sauce is sweet and slightly smoky. Personally, I prefer a thicker sauce but I’m sure they have a following that would disagree.
Good teamwork amongst the waitstaff. Drinks were never empty and dirty dishes were cleared promptly.
This is a place that serves big food. If you leave hungry it means you did something wrong.

Café Telegraph is very hard to put in a category. They have normal bar food, burgers, fries, onion rings, hot pretzels, BREADED BACON. They also have an Italian menu, pasta, pizza, toasted raviolis, meatball sandwich. Am I finished no. They have a smoke house featuring, pork steak, chicken, meatloaf, and ribs.
I had the pork steak and it served with a dry rub with BBQ sauce on the side. I like my pork steaks old school no rub and sauced cooked into the meat. What is astounding is how big the pork steak is. Gargantuan. Godzilla, Big Foot huge. This can easily feed two people or if you are wimps 3 people. For $ 16.00 you get the pork steak, and two sides.
Mrs K. had the pulled pork sandwich. She ate only ¹⁄₃ of the sandwich before calling it quits. She is not a fan of dry rub and was not happy with her sandwich. This is in no way a slam at the food. It was preference.
All the food is named after St. Louis High Schools. I could not find my dear Chaminade but St. John Vianney was on the menu. There was a tilt toward the Catholic schools.
So I had to ask our server where did you go to school? St. Elizabeth’s and Soldan. Wow now that is interesting. (for those reading this not from St. Louis this question is very normal to ask. It also tells you many things about the person, IE religion, affluence, status.)
I would not hesitate to recommend this place. Service was very good and friendly. You should have no problem finding something here that will suit your taste profile.