Dr Jazz Soda Fountain & Grille

What a great place … A trip back in time to an old-​fashioned soda fountain and grille. It has been completely restored and the owners are always there to make sure your visit is enjoyable and delicious. Yesterday, I had the new item on the menu — the Memphis burger which is absolutely delicious. Cooked perfectly with hand made cole slaw and BBQ sauce. Yum! The ice cream is from a small dairy in Missouri, Central Dairy, and creamy delicious. Soda fountain delights like phosphates and shakes are so fun and so good. Food is delicious and reasonably priced. Burgers, fries, turkey and chicken sandwiches, salads and dogs. Service is friendly and quick. Take a trip back in time. We love it!

I haven’t been in ages because of the downslide of this place.
First, major strike — they got rid of Mackinac Island Fudge ice cream — the best ice cream ever. What they call comparable is not at ALL. :(
Second, the service got even worse. Sometimes it was good and sometimes bad. But the last straw was when my sis and I went in and sat down. and were ignored. And ignored. The waitress started helping a huge group of kids instead of us, and we knew our food would be backlogged behind them. The owner could’ve helped us — and was right by us, rolling silverware. We finally decided to leave and walked right by the owner on our way out. He didn’t say anything to us. Sad face — we really wanted to give this place our business.
I’d only go back if they brought back Mac Island Fudge.

With a name like *Dr. Jazz*, I was all jazzed up to try this place. Maybe my expectations were veering to the high side, wanting some nostalgic experience.
The place was full on a Saturday afternoon around 2. All seemed charming upon entering but as you sit around looking more closely at things… a lot of over-​sight is going on.
I ordered the Chili burger with the chili on the side.$ 5.99 I can only imagine the mushy mess that would have arrived if not that request. The bun was soggy with just an onion slice and 2 pickles. The meat was under cooked and the lady/​owner/​Mrs. Jazz I presume witnessed me disecting the patty and immediately asked if something was wrong. She took the patty back to the kitchen window and got it replaced.
My husband got the «Special» Footlong Chili-​Cheese Dog with fries. $ 6.99. A Wonder bread bun with a long skinny hot dog smothered in canned Velvetta-​esque cheese. He also asked for the chili on the side. What a mess. Small serving of shoestring fries.
We shared a half order of Onion Rings.$ 3.29 They were great! Crunchy.
OK, we figured meh on the food, so it must be the sundaes that will get us all «jazzed» up. We ordered a Beignet Sundae. One scoop ice cream with carmel, pecans, and whipped cream with one beignet. $ 4.99. We wanted two scoops. We noticed most sundae’s gave a choice of half (one scoop) or whole (two scoops) for just a dollar difference. The sundae came in a very small serving dish with 2 small scoops of ice cream, light on the nuts and whipped cream. The carmel tasted artificial. One small HOT beignet was placed in the center which made the ice cream melt fast. We kept chasing the small dish around the table as it kept moving due to the lack of weight of the dish and it’s contents. The beignet was nasty tasting. When we got the bill we were charged $ 4.99 for the sundae and $ 3.29 for the extra scoop, bringing that sorry masterpiece to $ 8.28. I did question the server as to why this was so expensive, when a 3 scoop Banana Split was only $ 6.99. She said it was the Beignet. Come on, that 2 inch nasty beignet? They sell an order of beignets (3) for $ 3.99. That would be $ 1.33 each. Most 2 scoop sundaes are $ 5.99 add $ 1.33 =$ 7.32. It is shit like this that just sets me off to the height of pisstivity!
This carnival lunch that left us two clowns shaking our heads, as we were walking out the door set us back 30 bucks.
I am no longer «Jazzed»

First time visit. The train set in the window brought us in. Great food and great service. We took away some very good memories and some great train decorations

I might, possibly, be the only person in St. Louis that dines at Dr. Jazz and gets sad. Why? Because I had expected so much more out of this great idea of an old-​fashioned soda fountain. Unfortunately, the food was mediocre and the ice cream specialties didn’t quite live up to their descriptions.
First, I understand that this place caters to children, but do I really need to be handed ripped menus that children colored on? They were paper. Can we print a few extra?
On to dinner. I ordered their «famous» Italian Beef sandwich. It came out with sliced beef, not shredded like I expected, with melted provel, spicy peppers, au jus and a side of fries. It was just ok. Others at the table got a burger (looked like something I could make at home, small with a bun that looked like something I’d buy off the shelf at Schnucks). Their homemade chips looked pretty good — larger than most. You can get malt vinegar with them, but that comes out in small plastic side container, so I don’t know if you’re supposed to pour or dip — either way they get doused. The best looking item that came to the table was the Ruben sandwich.
The ice cream specialties are a little over-​priced and over-​hyped for what actually comes to the table. They do have a ton of flavors and the ice cream is good quality (I recognized it as the same brand that they serve at The Fountain on Locust). We tried half orders of the various specialties — The George Bailey (an Almond Joy themed sundae) and The S’more (ice cream, graham crackers, chocolate, etc). They came out as one scoop with a little chocolate sauce and a few items conservatively sprinkled on top. I could very easily have made these at home. At $ 5 a pop, they weren’t worth it.
Dr. Jazz was on my restaurant wish list to try for quite some time. Unfortunately, it lacked what the title suggests — JAZZ!

I stumbled across Dr. Jazz’s when heading from dinner one night; what a great find! I was greeted as soon as I walked in and when I told them I had never been before, they were enthusiastic to introduce the menu items. I had a beignet sundae with cinnamon ice cream and caramel. It would be fair to say that it is the best sundae I have ever had. They said that most of their menu items are homemade, so I will be back for dinner.

I have now visted several times and will continue! The ice cream is so heavenly. I have also learned that their Chili is tasty too. Casual family run eatery that provides inexpensive good food. The service can be slow, but still worth the wait.

Cute little soda fountain in Webster Groves. Owner was friendly as was our server. Good Italian Beef sandwich. Best part is, they get their ice cream from the same Wisconsin dairy as TFOL, but you get a different variety of desserts which is nice.

New menu. Cheeper prices. Great shakes.

Went for a mid-​afternoon dessert/​snack.
We shared the Turtle sundae and an order of beignets.
Sundae was really pretty good, beignets were just ok. Service was pretty good, but the joint was really slow.
Menu was a bit pricey, quality was good, but cost was still a bit high. I doubt I would eat anything other than dessert here based on cost for what you get. For instance, they had fliers up for 9″ pizzas for $ 10 which looked like IMO knock-​offs that were pretty small.
As a dessert joint, this place is pretty good.

I hate to give local places in my neck of the woods bad reviews, but I’ve got to be honest. Dr. Jazz really falls short in the way of service lately. The last few times that I’ve been there my waitress has been really young and inexperienced, and not equipped to be waiting tables. Two times ago I was with 4 children by myself, and I spent half the time up at the counter asking people that were NOT my waitress for things like sauce for chicken fingers and basic refills on milk. Don’t get me wrong. There are a few people that know what they are doing. But like I mentioned before, it still always takes the kitchen a really long time to crank out basic salads and sandwiches.
So a couple of days ago my sis and I arrived a little after 11 to eat. There was a huge party of kids and parents in the middle, but besides that, we were the only ones in the place. We sat down with menus and waited more than 5 minutes, listening to the shrill noise of kiddos, while no one approached us for water or drinks or anything else. Our menus were closed. We knew what we wanted. The owner stood behind us folding napkins and said nothing. My sis mentioned that we better order before the party of about 20 or else we’d be screwed, and I knew she was right considering the speed in the kitchen. And she had a vet appointment to make for her pups at 1. They were there first, but we were only 2 people and the proper thing to do would have been to get our order in first. But the girl went to them as they tried to sort out which kid wanted fries with his hot dog and who wanted milk. My sis felt bad about walking out because we do eat here often enough, but I was ready to leave, still not having been served drinks or anything, so we finally got up and walked out. The owner watched us do this, and said nothing. No «I’m sorry. I’ll take your order right now» or «Why are you leaving?» Nothing. So we went and got grilled cheeses at Stratton’s instead, and received our food in about 5 minutes.
I love to support my Webster businesses. But it’s kind of hard to support Dr. Jazz anymore with this level of service, especially when the owner is not phased at all by customers walking out.

I picked up some sort of Groupon-​esque deal for Dr. Jazz, so my husband and I checked it out on a Sunday night for dinner. It’s a cozy, nostalgic little soda fountain in Webster Groves — very cute.
We, of course, ruined our supper and started with dessert — myself with a rootbeer float that was very yummy. My husband had a mint chocolate malt, and I’d have to give it two thumbs up from my bites. Our basket of chips cut the sweetness very nicely. For entrée, I ordered a cheeseburger plus bacon, and my husband ordered the Italian Beef. Both of us were pretty happy with our order, though I wouldn’t say the entrees would be what draws us back again. It basically suffices.
The service was ok — kind of slow, and the teenagers working the counter were probably having a little too much fun at work than some people would appreciate, but it didn’t really bother me. Just a warning to those that may be easily annoyed by excessive giggling.
Overall, we’d probably come back for some dessert, but I doubt that we’d go running that way for a burger. Though I’d love to bring a few friends back to polish off an Ice Cream Overdose — 12 scoops — one of each flavor — with hot fudge, caramel, assorted nuts, whipped cream and a cherry to top it off! Sounds like a UYE to me!

Bottom Line: Less than stellar to adequate food, friendly service, nostalgic restaurant space, pricey.
Overview: Visited on a late (7:30-ish) Sunday evening. Some old folks out front, one patron finishing what looked like Sorbet, and a family later came in after us. Few folks at the soda fountain. Toy train was running.
Food:
Doc’s Delicious Burger:
While eating this burger, I just had the feeling that it was a purchased patty from a box. Perfectly circular. Also, the bun was not toasted. Other than those complaints, the other additions (lettuce, tomato (? — menu says it should be on there, I did not see it), onions were fine.
Cole Slaw:
I suspect nobody really orders this. The cabbage was limp. Flavor was not awesome, but not terrible.
Doc’s Golden French Fries:
Greasy and limp. I like a dry, crisp french fry. These were not.
Breaded Onion Rings:
Nicely done. The larger size onion rings. The dipping sauce seemed soupy and somewhat warm, but worked OK with the rings.
Cherry Coke:
It is always a treat when you can get a coke with cherry syrup in it, not cherry Coke out of the fountain. Maraschino cherry bits chopped up also, that would be a super bonus. Here, they have just the syrup variety, and I was not complaining!
Dessert:
I think that will be for next time.
Service:
Young, young waitress. Maybe her first job. Very nice, but I think has to handle a bit much.
Summary:
I will admit, this is a pricey dining experience for what it is. I mean, I know the decorations may have cost some money, and maybe the rent is on the higher side, but for the price, it just was not there. There are other items on the menu that could be interesting, but I will definitely scour the Unilocal reviews before ordering a meal again. I think this place could be a super place for dessert, and I am looking forward to coming back for that sometime soon.
Video of the toy train above the soda fountains/​ice cream:

I met with Allison B. and Sarah S. at Dr. Jazz for a girl’s night dinner shindig.
This place is SUPER cute! It’s in Old Webster, and when you step in, it seriously feels like a 50’s soda shop, bar stools and everything.
Service was super friendly and pretty quick. Menus and water were brought out almost immediately.
We split the sampler platter, which included fries, chicken strips, onion rings, and fried green beans. The fries were my favorite; they were perfectly salty and delicious. Everything else was tasty as well. I didn’t try the onion rings, so I’m not sure how those were.
Sarah was raving about the Mackinaw fudge ice cream, so I had to try a scoop for myself. It’s just as delicious as she claims! Creamy vanilla ice cream with chunks of rich chocolate. Why didn’t I order two scoops?!?
Anyway, pretty sweet place. I’ll definitely be back for some ice cream and french fries. Who knows — maybe next time I’ll go crazy and dip my fries IN the ice cream! Wild life I live, I know.

I was out walking late at night and decided to try this shop for some ice cream. I walked in the door and was immediately recognized by the staff person who was eating ice cream (good sign… they like their own stuff). We were asked if we had been there before (we hadn’t) and given menus immediately.
The lady then asked what we wanted and explained some of the menu items and commented on her favorites. The most impressive part of the visit is that (I presume) a manager came out and said that he was just checking on the lady as she was actually supposed to be leaving from work to go home! Her and the manager appeared to get along fine. Why am I mentioning this? Because as a customer, I feel that it’s important to know that the employees are THIS happy… it ensures that I’m getting a quality product — and quality service.
I told the lady that I appreciate her staying to serve us ice cream… she even gave us instructions on how to best freeze it if we didn’t eat it all.
The prices are reasonable for a small, locally-​owned shop and the atmosphere reminds me of the old-​time soda shops (with a bar where you can sit, as well).
I was also impressed that they offered a variety of sorbet for people like me that cannot ingest traditional ice cream.
I will definitely be going back.

I met a group of friends at Dr. Jazz on Sunday afternoon. They sat us in the back room, which was a great space and allowed us to talk and enjoy our meal without interrupting other patrons.
I had a bowl of the chili with shredded cheese, sour cream, and oyser crackers. It tasted freshly made with big chunks of tomato and just the right amount of spices.
My friends tried the fries and the broccoli cheese soup and everyone raved about their meals.
I also had a root beer float. The float came in a large glass and was overflowing with ice cream.
Overall, I enjoyed my meal and would love to come back to try their other ice cream options.

Went to Dr. Jazz for lunch on Saturday afternoon. If the service was better it would have gotten a 4, but in less than an hour we watched 3 tables of people leave because they were never attended to. We actually wanted to leave, but I had a gift certificate that had to be used.
There is an older gentleman that runs around doing nothing, an older woman who does the same, and a young girl that is trying her hardest to keep things moving. My suggestion would be to add two more waitresses and provide good service and this place could be a gold mine.
The food was mediocre and pricey for what you got. The setting was definitely old time soda fountain, and the area of town was very nice.

Food: Expensive and not that great. The Italian beef sandwich was small and the au jus was too salty. The sandwich was $ 10 and came with a small dish of cole slaw. Not worth it.
The chili cheese fries were also disappointing. There wasn’t enough cheese on it and the chili was mediocre.
The special they had that day was a pulled pork sandwich (with sweet potato fries) for $ 6.95 and it was really good. I think that was the best thing I had there. My friend said that it was too sweet though.
Drinks: Root Beer Float was expensive, didn’t have enough ice cream in it, and was not that great. It may be because the root beer isn’t that good. Carl’s Drive In’s is better.
The chocolate malt I got was too sweet and liquidy. Even with my limited experience with malts, I’m pretty sure that malts are supposed to be thick. Mine was the consistency of a melted shake. To demonstrate my point: I couldn’t finish all of it and brought the rest back home and put it in the fridge. When I took it out to drink 7 hours later, it was exactly the same as it was in the restaurant… liquidy.
Service was good and the staff was very friendly. However, my partner in crime and I like refills on water and we never got any even after sitting with our cups empty for about half of the meal.
No, I do not believe I will ever go back again. The drinks, which they supposedly specialize in, are mediocre to terrible and the food is not good. I give it two stars because of the friendly atmosphere.

OK, I warn you now this is not going to be my standard review.
Why? Because to be honest, if this place served nothing but rice cakes I’d still be giving it 5 stars. I’ve just returned from there for the first time and am still a bit overwhelmed. Look, I grew up in a small town. You walk into a store, café, or anything else and either everyone already knows you or they’re about to. There’s a comfort in that that I didn’t realize I was so sorely missing. Well, welcome to Dr. Jazz. It’s pretty likely that half the people you see around you working are related. And there’s this instant sense of déjà vu, intellectually you know it’s your first time there but you can’t help but feel like you’ve been going there all your life. It’s a great looking place, straight out of a magazine picture from the 30’s. Looks more like the traditional «soda fountain» than Crown Candy does for that matter.
My son ordered a milkshake, and one of the owners (Merille) who was going to make the shake asked him if he wanted to come behind the counter and help her make it. Who does that anymore? Next I spy her carrying a baby over from another table to look at some stuffed animals lying around the place. I could go on, but you get the point. Welcome to Dr. Jazz, you’re family now. I swear to you I have never met a nicer group of people.
Now, food. This was my first visit so I’ve had limited exposure. And like I said, the feel of this place and the people completely won me over without the food. But the italian beef (with jou) was very good, and the bun was spot-​on. Being a picky cook I’d have liked to seen the beef roasted a while longer as it would have been a touch more tender, but like I said, it was good. The cheeseburger. It was fine. It’s kind of supposed to be one of «their things» I think but to me it was just a regular old cheeseburger. However, I feel sorry for the previous reviewer who said his fries weren’t quite all the way done, because these fries… oh these glorious fries. Seems odd that I’d get all emotional over fries right? But good lord they were phenomenal. Actually came pretty close to topping the duck fat fries at Hot Dougs in Chicago. They also offer quite a few other items, some that stood out to me were a Chicago style hot dog (all beef, but forgot to ask if Vienna or not) and they serve beignets as well. Overheard someone ordering a beignet sundae… which will definitely be on my list for next time. Price wise I thought the food a touch pricy for what it is, not horrible or anything, just more than I expected.
Ice cream. They use Cedar Crest ice cream, which is a quality product. The butterfat content isn’t rediculously high, but the mouthfeel is still good (who came up with the word «mouthfeel»? makes me feel all funny inside when I say it) so it compares with most super premiums out there and there were some great sounding flavors.
Dr. Jazz, welcome to Webster Groves. Hopefully we can make you feel as at home here as you made me. Everyone do yourself a favor and go meet your new family.

A great place to go for some diner food or a good old-​fashioned ice cream soda. I think this place opened a few months ago and seems to be doing a decent business. The place was packed on Saturday night. There’s a nice selection of standard diner fare — hot dogs, cheeseburgers, sandwiches, etc — and tons of ice cream treats. The staff was extremely busy, but our waiter (Joey) was incredibly nice.
The specialty ice cream choices on the menu are definitely big enough for two to share. We tried the Maple Leaf Rag and it was great. They make their own french fries and while they looked great, ours were not even close to done, which made them awful.
Overall, great ice cream and decent food.