J & A’s Bar and Grill

It’s been a few weeks since I’ve gone to J & A’s, and it appears shut down now. Not sure what happened or if the closure is permanent.
So sad.

The best bar I’ve ever been to. The pizza is pretty good for St. Louis and the service is out of this world.

I’ve been going here on and off for years! This a no thrill bar and grill. I can definitely account for what they serve up. The pizza rule, burgers are very tasty. The prices compete with fast food. You can’t compare the quality and taste. Go stop in and you won’t be disappointed.

Complete dive + great dive bar food + local institution = the gold standard of dives.
The place predates prohibition and operated as a speakeasy before that. Thats’ 4 stars alone. Yes its smokey and divey, but well, its a dive bar. Drinks are dirt cheap, pizza is about as good as STL style bar pizza can get (and ten times what Imo’s is) the burger, fries and beer for $ 5.50 lunch deal is insane when compared to a more expensive and crappier big mac with a coke instead of a beer.
The clientele ranges from doctors and lawyers to beggars. Nobody gets out of hand and everyone mixes remarkably well.

I guess I will write review for this place, I mean I have only been going here since … 21 lets go with 21. Its a dive, filled with smoke and some classy wall art. I have seen staff come and go through the ages but they have all been the same friendly people. Hell I have seen at least 3 different jukeboxes during my tenure here! Food is bar food, but the burgers are pretty damn good. The prices you can’t beat them.
Bottom line: This place is the trifecta of a dive. The food is great and prices are cheap. No other bar that I have come across do I find the most eclectic mix of buisness owners, lawyers, bums, college students, and of course I am there!

I get a chuckle that J & A’s is a smoking bar, except between the hours of 10 AM — 2 PM. Why you ask? It is so all the employees from local businesses can come in and enjoy their amazingly good burger and fries. It may be a four hour reprieve from smoking, but the place still reeks of smoke and grease. It is an aroma that lets you know it is a true dive bar.
The staff is always friendly and if you sit at the bar, the regulars make you feel like you are one of them. However, I prefer to sit at one of the tables opposite the bar and people watch. As I’ve said in other dive bar reviews, the clientele is right out of a reality show.
Cheap drinks, good eats and fun customers is why this dive bar is the oldest bar in the Lou.

They said that this is the oldest bar in St Louis, yep looking at the inside I can believe it. The burgers were amazing, but we got our burgers and had eaten half of it before the French fries.

Well, I made it back for another poker night and for a round of drinks and fun during the day with friends. This place has grown on me. Adam (who I already love) and the other bartenders have won me over quickly. The AC is on, the jukebox is always going, and the patrons friendly. By the way — the fried pickles, though not as good as the ones I had when stationed in Mississippi (home of all fried foods) are pretty darn great.

Quintessential dive bar. Filled with smoke, cheap beer, and neighborhood regulars. The pizza was alright — cardboard crust and provel cheese… but nothing special even for STL pizza. Jukebox available.
Pros: cheap beer, dive bar
Cons: dive bar

$ 2.50 draft beers, friendly bartenders and patrons, J & A’s is the quintessential neighborhood bar. My absolute favorite bar in St. Louis. Anytime I bring friends from out of town, they are welcomed like family. Never had a bad experience here.
And, although they have a limited food menu, the pizza is real STL pizza and real good. Waste the night away at J & A’s.

This is a great place to hang out. The staff is makes everyone feel welcome. The bar food is great and the fry cook makes it from a very humble preparation area. The drinks are always well made and reasonable. The J&A shake is the shot to try. I agree

A great true dive bar, especially to watch the game. I remember being here that faithful night of Game 6 of the 2011 World Series. Come with your friends and enjoy a cold brew.
They do allow indoor smoking so take note if that’s a deal breaker for you.

As tradition dictates, my Mizzou college pals and I are STILL meeting here every year right before Christmas Eve to celebrate shenanigans past. Last night marked a momentous 5 years straight of meeting at J & A’s! Though our favorite dive bar still allows smoking inside (ugh), I think we’ll continue meeting here until the end of time. Why?
— It’s fun watching the sole bartender take care of a room of 40+ people with ease. Impressive, indeed!
— The bar now boasts one of those ultra modern, shiny new jukeboxes. However, the sticky old one seemed much more apropos for J & A’s um, ambiance.
— You’d be hard-​pressed to find better pizza made in a bar!
— Beers range from $ 2.25 to $ 2.50/bottle; pitchers are $ 6 – 7.
— This is a REAL dive, people. Randomly situated in the heart of the sophisticated Central West End, it’s truly an unexpected treat.
— They now feature a tiny table-​top Christmas tree in response to our group’s unintentional affiliation with the former larger one’s untimely demise. The staff is obviously in tune with the needs of their client base.
Tip: If you’re a wine drinker, make sure they open a new bottle for you as that current bottle may be flatter than still water. Something tells me that wine isn’t a beverage often requested at J & A’s ;)
I’ll always have room in my heart for the magic that is J & A’s (supposedly, the oldest bar in St. Louis).

My buddy Nate and myself have been on a real dive bar kick lately. I had heard about J & A’s in the past, and couldn’t wrap my head around a dive bar in the CWE… but there it is, in all it’s glory.
A dive bar should have a loud squeaky door. So when you walk in for the first time, all the regulars know of your presence, and look at you like you are from Mars. I swear the music stopped when we opened the door… the sunlight met the stench of a smoke filled bar… and we realized that we’ve found what we were looking for.
Other reviews raved about their happy hour. We asked the bartender… who was very nice by the way… what was on special. He said that their Thursday specials don’t start until 7pm. Oh well. He outfitted us with a Corona and a PBR can. We also tore into a J&A special sandwich and o-​rings. Everything was good.
Dive bars often have things that make you say WTF…
— You know that picture of Pujols & Stan that everyone hates… the one where immediately after taking the picture, he said he wanted to be a Cardinal for life… and then a few months later left. They have the biggest version of that picture highlighted on one wall.
— This place sells togo flasks. Of brands I’ve never heard before. For about $ 5 you can get some whiskey that I’m sure will take the paint off the walls.
— They got a new jukebox. It’s ENORMOUS. It totally doesn’t fit. One of those models that has face recognition, and can give you a hummer for the right price. It’s like when you see someone with spinners on a Geo Metro.
They claim that this is the oldest bar in STL. If you google that question the results come up with J&A. Not sure if actually true, but it’s kind of nostalgic if it is.

J&A’s is the Central West Ends answer to the «Dive Bar.» It’s a casual neighborhood bar for locals that offers cheap booze, a long bar, a couple of outside tables, TV, packaged liquor for sale, and surprisingly good homemade pizza for a mere $ 8.75. The bartenders are friendly and approachable. They claim that Al Capone frequented the bar back in the day, but they don’t capitalize on it with a theme of any sort. The bar is friendly, inexpensive and has all of the makings for a good low key evening out with friends. My only complaint is that the women’s bathroom is filthy.

Met my friend Steve for lunch today. We always go to Jimmy and Andy’s. They have a special we like. You can get a burger, fries or a side plus a beverage for $ 6.00. You cant beat that with a stick.
I being a low carb person, will toss the buns. (that sounds dirty). I passed on the french fries. I didn’t want to, but I’m really sticking to my diet. I chose a Bud Select for my beverage. I can do this, It’s low carb. Oh, I had the cole slaw. Nothing to write home about. Plain old cole slaw.
I can’t say its the best burger I’ve ever had, but hey what do you want for six bucks. They always ask me «How do you want that cooked»? I say, «medium-​rare». Of course its well done. I think this is a little game they play. Doesn’t matter, I like it! I will continue to meet my friend Steve at J & A’s.

Sometimes you want to get fancy and go out. Other times you just want to get buzzed without spending a lot of money doing it. J & A’s will help you with the latter.
This is a true neighborhood bar. It’s a dive, but that only adds to its charm. Also adding to its charm are $ 1.75 drafts and Pitchers of domestic draft beer that cost less than $ 7. Hungry? J & A’s serves up great wings, good bar pizza, solid burgers, and BBQ on the weekends.
You never know what the cast of characters is going to be or what decade of music the jukebox will be playing. But it’s a friendly sort of place where you’re better off mixing it up than sitting quietly in a corner.
There is also quite a bit of history behind the place that the bartenders can tell you about. So if you get tired of the CWE, head over to J & A’s to chill.

I like the CWE, that’s why I live here. Most weekends you’ll find me and my crew at the along the Euclid corridor having a good time. That’s all well and good, but sometimes we just have to take a weekend off. And by that I mean go to J&A’s. We don’t have to make large cash withdrawals, we don’t have to sex ourselves up, we don’t have to shout at each other just to be heard, and we needn’t be held captive to the Top 20 on repeat. We CAN have pitcher races, have good conversations, be our own DJs, and chat with the bartender. In a word, we can relax. Remember: R&R = J&As.

This really is as good as a dive can get. I spend a few weeks in St Louis every year, and I always go to J and A’s. The staff is great; they really get to know their customers. Bud, Bud Light, and Bud Select are offered on draught. Various beers are available in bottles or cans. They keep enough spirits there to concoct anything you can dream up. They also serve liquor to go and Lotto. Hobos often pop in to take advantage of these two amenities, which adds to the entertainment value of the place. Don’t worry, though. The bums never stay long, as they prefer to do their drinking under near-​by bushes.
The food is great, as bar food goes, especially the pizza. It’s made in-​house and frozen, so they just pull one out and stick it in the oven when you order it. It is St Louis style pizza, so if you don’t like that to begin with, order something else.
You will be promptly put out the door at 1:30am, and the place isn’t open on Sundays. However, it seems to me to be the quintessential old fashioned Midwestern bar. It operated as a speakeasy during Prohibition under the guise of a cigar store, and I’ve heard it’s the oldest bar in St. Louis.

What other place do you know of where you can have a beer next a lawyer, and a homeless guy? J&A has been party to many-​a-​night of my own personal self-​destruction. Not only can you buy smokes at the bar, you can also buy bottle liquor to take home with you.
At J&A, there’s no pressure to look nice, sit like a lady or keep your voice down. A diverse place full of good, dirty fun.