Cardwell’s At the Plaza

I had the Hot Brown; amazing. Heard about this hot sandwich, broiled open faced with cheese mornay sauce over roasted turkey and fresh tomatoes. It was delish as was the gumbo as a side. Our waiter was great-​very personable and helpful. The 2 year old at our table was well cared for and she loved her mac and cheese.

Used to be one of my favorite places but the menu has changed. It is now a sandwich shop.

Got the taco salad. Had a different name. It was amazing. Really good chicken with a sweet BBQ sauce on it. I really enjoyed the atmosphere and service. French onion soup looked amazing. I will def be returning to try it soon!

After an afternoon of shopping, I stopped by the bar to order a salad «to go». The bartender asked if I would be ordering a drink as well, I said no – just the salad. He told me he couldn’t place my order unless I was drinking and was directed to the hostess stand. I went to the hostess stand and asked if I could place my order, and sit in the bar while waiting but was directed to a bench. There were 2 people at the bar and I always tip 20% –even on «to go» orders so I’m not sure why you’re considered less of a customer when ordering take out?

I ate at the bar, with the intention of watching the baseball game. It is hard to see the screens because of the low hanging glass racks but I managed. I ordered the romaine salad with calamari (an extra $ 8) and it was worth the extra price. The calamari was light and hot, not overcooked or rubbery. The salad had asiago croutons and anchovy dressing. Good blend of flavors. In fact, another patron saw my salad and ordered the same thing. I was disappointed that no bread was offered. I’ll go back and try something else. The pizzas coming out of the wood fired oven looked delicious…

I have been coming here for years. I’m not sure what happened. The people people at desk are not the caliber in looks or actions. Brought a friend here for a birthday lunch. They were supposed to tell the server. She was slow getting to us. The gal at the front desk forgot to tell her. I ordered a wedge salad with grilled chicken. The lettuce was had an dense, and so had I had to try to pry it apart. I had huge hunks of lettuce on the bread and butter plate (we were never offered bread) …you would have thought the server would notice? I couldn’t even taste the dressing. The chicken was rubbery. Worst meal I have ever had there.

My second time there and first time for lunch. I got the Veggie Sandwich and it was delicious. A great blend of flavors that I could eat again and again. The side I chose, was a green salad with the house Parmesan dressing. It was good as well, but not as good as the sandwich. Service pretty good until time for the check and that took longer than it should. The staff were all pleasant, the atmosphere is very nice and did I say I love the sandwich?

I have been going to Cardwell’s At the Plaza for years. Never again. The service is worst than terrible. We sat forever to order lunch and had to ask at least twice what was the status of of our order. Whenit finally came I had to go to the bar and get the codiments i wanted. The Manager finally came over appologized and wrote off our lunch. A nice gesture, but no more Cardwell’s for me. They will be out of business in a year if they continue with the service we received,

Very good West County choice. Had a good crowd on Friday night but we easily got in. I had the chicken stir fry and enjoyed it. The burger looked really solid too. Of course the smoked shrimp is always a winner, a copy of Annie Gunn’s unfortunately. only complaint is the menu doesn’t change very much

Ladies who lunch. Golf buddies catching up. Lawyers with puffed hair and nice watches.
If Grama is in town, and you want to show her that St. Louis has just as many annoying pretentious people as Chicago, well, then this is your place.
Food was serviceable. Excellent asparagus soup! Fried calamari was also good.
Crab cakes, however, were just ok. Salad was fresh and fine and utterly unchallenging to your tastebuds. Dessert was run of the mill.
$ 100 for lunch for 3, and we didn’t order drinks.

Came here with a large group. The beer list was huge and the menu had a lot of tasty choices. It was a bit pricey, but the ambiance and setting kind of dictate that. I ordered the Mediterranean Seafood stew with cous cous which was incredible. Everyone else at my table loved their dish.
However, the big downer for us was that our server was running on his own SLOW as hell time schedule. It was as if he had no concept of time whatsoever. We didn’t even order our meals until an hour after we sat down. I ordered a second beer by the time our meal came and I didn’t receive it until we were all done eating.

This place is awesome, and not to be confused with the lame and barely mediocre Cardwell’s in Clayton (there is no relation, which is obvious if you’ve dined at both places). While the atmosphere is a little bit stuffy (I guess that’s kind of unavoidable since it’s located in the Plaza Frontenac mall), the food is always outstanding and the service is great. They have a seasonal menu, which I love, so the menu on their website isn’t necessarily representative of the options you’ll find when you get there. I know I can count on Cardwell’s for a reliably delicious meal every time.

The spinach and fruit salad was excellent. The lime in the dressing perfectly complemented the oranges, grapefruit, pineapple, and strawberries in the salad. A few dried cranberries and goat cheese added a nice flavor variety. My hot tea was served in a beautiful cast iron teapot with looseleaf tea.

I’ve been to cardwells once. The food was great! The crab cakes were amazing and probably my only favorite! The portions are very small and a bit pricy. They advertised that they had calamari on the menu but we were not able to order it. It was the main reason why we came here. I don’t think I will return anytime soon, would try other places before eating at cardwells again.

This place is in a mall, but it’s actually really nice. The food is not boring, it’s imaginative but classic. Always new things on the menu, but they also keep some favorites on there. Nice place for a cozy and more upscale dinner.

I’m a fan of this place, having gone several times, but this time I got a surprise. I ordered the Braised Short Rib — What I got was actually more of Pot Roast. A piece of chuck that was very tender, well cooked and seasoned, but not at all Short Ribs. This was a different cut of meat for sure. I liked the dish a lot, but it wasn’t as advertised. I guess you couldn’t as easily sell pot roast for $ 27.00. I could have complained at the time, but I didn’t want to make a scene with my dining companions.
On the plus side: server was wonderful. Everyone had a delicious meal. Good selections and pleasant surroundings.
I’ll be back I’m sure. As I said, I like this Cardwells.

Pear salad was good. Roast beef sandwich with fries was ok. Dessert platter was the best part of the visit!

In a bid to get caught up with my reviews before 2014 draws to a close, I am channeling the spirit of the holidays, making my list and checking it twice so as to leave no stone unturned (or business/​service un-​Yelped). Hard to believe that I have not reviewed Cardwells. I have been here in the past for happy hour (drinks and house-​made flatbread pizzas) at the bar and for lunch, though never for dinner. I am a fan of the pizzas and the generous pours of wine at the bar. The atmosphere has always been convivial, and the service attentive, never hovering. Lunch is solid, but sometimes the service can be hit-​or-​miss. My last couple of times here for lunch the server needed to be reminded to bring the bread basket. The location in Plaza Frontenac makes for good people watching as well, although I do wish Cardwells would offer a lunch option of a half-​sandwich and soup or soup and salad to switch things up a bit. If you are looking for something to eat in the mall, or wanting a drink after hitting the stores hard, come here.

We parked in front of Frontenac Plaza (off Lindbergh) and walked into Cardwell’s through the back of the restaurant. Nice setting, darker lighting. But we walked to the front of the restaurant and then were sat in that area which was brighter and not as classy — the wood floor did not work for me. It felt like a cute mall restaurant since we could see into the Plaza from our table.
But we got over our seating when the food arrived. My wife ordered a very good special salad with roasted pears and goat/​blue cheese soufflé. It was $ 15, but it was a big salad, easily big enough for two to split. I had the French onion soup and it was tasty — I would have liked a crustier piece of bread in the soup, but the bowl was large and it did not disappoint. (Brasserie by Niche has the best French onion soup that I have had in the area).
My wife had the shrimp app for her dinner because we had read in the review in Town and Style magazine that is was excellent. Great flavor, I just wish there were more sauce!
My halibut was fresh and well prepared. It came with roasted potato, a cauliflower purée (with some pieces as well), and some Swiss Chard. I didn’t love the sides as much as I had hoped, but the fish was excellent.
I get the feeling that anything you order at the restaurant is very good. We will go back and request to be seated at the back of the restaurant!

Cardwell’s has always been one of my favorite places for the last 20 years. We always love the Mediterranean platter filled with garlic!
Their steaks always wonderful great hamburgers and it’s fun to sit in a private room.