Kingside Diner

First time at Kingside Diner today. Sat outdoors street side & it was nice minus large delivery truck making delivery across the street. Service was very good. Food was a little slow in getting to us. Breakfast & hamburger meals were good, no complaints. Grilled portobello sandwich was heavily marinated with balsamic, more than I would prefer. White chocolate brownie shake was pretty amazing!

I can’t say enough about kingside diner. Amazing food and a great atmosphere. Love love love!!!

Came here from. Unilocal reviews. Nice day to sit outside, and have breakfast. Had the number 4 as a Burrito. Very good Tortilla was fresh and soft. Service was a tad slow (even bringing the check) is the reason for the 3 stars.

Updating my review.
Since my first review about my love for the pancakes we came back for breakfast. Of course the pancakes were calling my name and my fiancé got #5 on a flatbread. Let me just say, I’m a huge fan of these pancakes. Light, crispy on the edges, and a sweet flavor. Had great service, but it was a Thursday morning… Derrick (who suggested 2 instead of the full order and I am super greatful for the suggestion– perfect portion) was polite and made awesome suggestions for drinks (the apple mimosa is great and not too sweet). We need to come back here more :)

Since I’m a stranger in a strange land, I’m going to round up. I came in on a Tuesday around 12:15 for lunch while staying at the hotel up the street. All I’d eaten in about 20 or so hours before arriving was a bowl of oatmeal at 5 AM so I was pretty hungry. When I entered, there was sign saying to wait to be seated. I stood around awkwardly for a couple minutes until a server walked by and said I could sit wherever I’d like. At my table, I did some more waiting. Another server passed by and asked if I’d been helped. He left to get water, then left again to get a menu. I’d been there about 15 minutes by the time I finally was able to order.
I went with the Thanksgiving All Year — sourdough, turkey, pepperjack, cranberries, and lettuce with a side of mashed potatoes and gravy. After placing my order I waited. And waited. And waited some more. The people next to me who ordered a few minutes before I did were in the same boat — they flagged down our shared server and asked if their appetizer was coming anytime soon because they were parked at a meter. After about five minutes their app came, and I continued to wait. They got their main course. I waited. In all, it took a little over 30 minutes to get my sandwich. I was dining alone, and it was a sandwich — that just seems really long.
The upside is that when the food arrived it was quite tasty. The sandwich is rich — I could only eat half. I wish the turkey had been actual roast turkey instead of deli-​style meat, but what can you do? The mashed potatoes were where it was at though. Golden yellow, the perfect texture, and topped with a salty rosemary gravy. Yes. Yes yes yes. I was also only able to finish half of the potatoes. Lunch will definitely make you two meals with this sandwich.
The couple next to me finished up about the same time I did, and I needed the same thing as they did — a box and the check. I made eye contact with the server and smiled and he kept walking. He returned with their things, then left to run the check. When they left, he was cleaning up and picked up the check that was paid in cash — they had left him a very, very large tip and he said, «that can’t be right,» and ran out of the restaurant after them to give them back a twenty. From my nosiness/​lack of lunchtime entertainment it appeared they left $ 20 on a ~$ 35 check. The return drama unfolded in my view outside the window and they did leave that purposefully. Nice humans!
Anyway, when the server returned to the restaurant he breezed by me and went about cleaning their table then back to the kitchen. Another server saw me and asked if he could get me the check. In the meantime, the server did return with a box for me. The second server then brought me the check. As I was signing and trying to gather my things, the original server was reaching over me to pick up my silverware. Very off-​putting especially since I was going to be leaving literally within the next ten seconds.
On the whole, I would definitely come back if I lived here. The food is solid and a good value, the ambience and neighborhood are lovely, and it was a fine time. I just wish my lunch hadn’t dragged on for 90 minutes.

Disclaimer: I have only ever had breakfast type food at Kingside Diner despite having an adventurous spirit and many, many visits. But if you go there and have any of their breakfast offerings then you’ll understand why I have yet to stray from that side of the menu.
The waffled french toast is delicious, their pancakes are light & golden, and their breakfast burritos are basically perfect. Oh, and don’t forget about the biscuits and gravy! At the end of the day, I have yet to try something that I didn’t immediately enjoy.
As for the service, well I encourage you to try and get a table in Kitty’s section. The rest of the staff is certainly friendly and warm, it is just that Kitty is a cut above. After five minutes of chatting with Kitty you will feel like you’re catching up with an old friend. No matter how busy it gets, she is never without a smile and a kind word. Even if the food was subpar we would still go to Kingside just to visit with our friend Kitty.

Mr. Fearless and I had breakfast here last Sunday. We’ve been meaning to go for a while, but finally just got around to it. It’s located in a nice area, and if you don’t mind walking you can probably get free parking in the residential neighborhood.
We had one of the softest-​spoken servers I think I’ve ever met. He was wonderful, just so quiet! He checked on us just enough after bring out our food that it wasn’t annoying but we also didn’t have to wait long if we needed something (like the check).
Mr. Fearless had one of the breakfast burritos. He especially appreciated that the server asked how he liked his hashbrowns cooked. The burrito was a good size and he really enjoyed it. He also was pleased at the carafe of coffee brought out just for him.
I had a Sweetheart Bellini, which was the perfect amount of sweet and tart together. And you can never go wrong with champagne for breakfast. I really enjoyed the Cheddar Drop Biscuits. I have to admit, for $ 5, I was not expecting nearly as much as I got! I figured it would be a couple of small biscuits and with some gravy on top. I ordered a side of fruit when I definitely did not need to. The biscuits were probably the side of my fist and tasted great on their own, kind of like a Red Lobster biscuit but better. They paired so well with the sage gravy. I actually could eat these again right now. I highly recommend them, and the price is fantastic for what you get.
Overall, we really liked this place and look forward to going back!

I am so disappointed in Kingside Diner’s dinner. We have eaten breakfast and lunch here and both times, it was average. Last night’s dinner brought my rating down. Majordomo and I decided to have dinner here before going to a concert across the street.
On the back of the menu it listed their February specials. Now I know that it is near the end of February but you would think that they would make sure they have enough for the entire month. We were told that out of the two appetizer specials they had, they were out of the sweet & spicy meatballs. They were out of one of the dinners of the four listed. No chicken alfredo. With that information, we made out choices. I chose the meatloaf which is served everyday, and Majordomo chose to start with the soup of the day (a corn chowder) and the Shepard’s Pie which was one of their February specials.
Where do I begin? Even though there were only two other people besides us, it took a bit to get our meal. The corn chowder was tasty and we looked forward to our entrée. His Shepard’s Pie looked delicious, but upon tasting it, there was so much sage (?) in it that it overwhelmed the flavor of any ingredients that were in there. My meatloaf came with mashed potatoes with gravy and green beans. The green beans were okay as were the mashed potatoes. My meatloaf (which was described as being «lightly brushed with a tomato sauce,»)came out smothered in barbeque sauce. I wish I had remembered to take a picture. I would prefer my meatloaf with a little ketchup. I scrapped off as much as I could of the barbeque sauce. It was okay.
After eating here for breakfast, lunch and dinner, I have to say that last night was most likely the last time I will be there.
So the question is… would I come back? No, I think I’m done.

Pretty impressed with food and service here. Hate to call it a diner… so I’m going to call it what I think it is… a high class diner or comfort food hall.
My breakfast (Make Your Move) consisted of 2 eggs, hashbrowns, ham steak and pancake. Oh, if you’re into pancakes, sub the toast for a pancake, only $ 1 more. If you’re not into pancakes, I feel bad for you.

I hated the previous tenant, Kingside improves on the shortcomings of a wretched former restaurant space.
On a rare patio friendly January day in the CWE, I enjoyed a delightful drink and a hearty appetizer in the heart of the neighborhood. A decent drink menu and friendly service that caters to both indoor and patio customers, there’s not much to complain about Kingside. The patio/​outdoor seating is literally on the sidewalk but can comfortably seat four while you take in the ambiance of the neighborhood.
I merely stopped in for a drink and a bite to eat, so I couldn’t tell you what the inside looks like but I saw plenty of folks indoors enjoying their meal. I reveled in a guilty pleasure chili cheese fry dish that was more than I could handle, it was one of the many great choices on the menu.
I’ll have to come back to enjoy the changes to the interior as well as sample the remaining menu items. Until then, I recommend you do so in the mean time.

Oh Lordy, I died and went to comfort food heaven. Kingside Diner is pretty much the ideal fancy diner. Their menu is filled with classic greasy-​spoon meals using high quality ingredients. This ain’t no courtesy diner either. The building is brand new, fresh and is chess-​themed.
I came here for brunch and and went with the biscuits and gravy. I’m going through a biscuits and gravy phase in my life where I just crave it. Which is so weird cause I used to think it was boring. Must be the old-​man in me. Anyways, they were really good. It’s hard when you get compared to Southwest Diner, but they go on the top 5 I’ve had in STL.
To pretend I’m healthy, I got a side Caesar salad as well. It was very fresh and I’m 99% sure they used house made dressing that tasted AMAZING.
I stole from my dining partners plate of cheesy fries they got. And oh damn, those would be some good late night eats. They were made with real cheese and the fries were cooked to perfection. I’m pretty sure they are 2x fried or extra fried.
Kingside is in the perfect spot for a nice breakfast/​brunch or for late night food.

PROS
+ Kingside slider — meaty, savory, very good
+ Coffee carafes at the table
+ Outdoor seating for nice weather
CONS
— Very slow service
Kingside Diner rounds out the CWE with an option for some hearty, diner-​style breakfast/​brunch food lest you need to not stray too far from the neighborhood to tame a weekend morning hangover. You get your own coffee carafe nestled at your table so you don’t have to keep bugging your server for coffee. You will have to keep bugging him/​her though for refills on creamer. Service here is pretty darn slow, which is a huge detraction from the original intention of coming here for a hangover cure because you might not get your food for an hour. I did not get a chance to place my order for a good 30 minutes from sitting at my table, and my food did not come out for another 30 minutes. It took 15 minutes for me to get my card and receipt back after paying up. The restaurant did not seem particularly busy either, which is puzzling and irritating. I came on a Saturday morning around 11AM.
A redeeming point of this diner was the KINGSIDE SLIDER. It comes with a lot of meat (and a huge portion too) — chorizo chili, pulled pork, and a fried egg, on top of hash browns. It surprisingly wasn’t terribly greasy.

We visited the Kingside Diner early one Saturday morning. Due to being a little bit of a same place rut, we wanted to try a new breakfast place and the menu here looked interesting and affordable. Located in the old Lester’s spot in the Central West End, we were happy to walk in and get seated right away. Our server was prompt in coming over, greeting us, and taking our drink order. We both perused the menu while waiting for our coffees, which had options to make an omelet, burrito, or flatbread out of various combinations or make your own. In the end, I decided to make my own omelet and Dan chose the #6 as a burrito (black beans, red peppers, pepper jack cheese, salsa verde and red onions).
We sat for a while enjoying our coffee and conversation when our server came over and said they were out of burrito tortillas which Dan was fine with changing to an omelet. We then sat for quite a while waiting for our food, long enough that our server was very kind about bringing us a sample of the nitro coffee they have on tap to try because of our wait. There was actually a table of four gentlemen, who came in after us and another table, that received their food quickly while we waited. When we did received our food we were not disappointed as both dishes were delicious. Both omelets were cooked well, filled with fresh ingredients, and Dan loved his potatoes.
Overall we enjoyed our experience even with the slight delay in the food and the prices are incredibly reasonable. We will be back. Happy Dining!

I’ve never seen so many pretentious princesses complaining in one place. We found the service relaxed, but not «slow.» But the amazing food more than made up for it. We were there for a late breakfast /​brunch. I can’t recommend highly enough checking this place out.
Keep calm and have some patience you whiny twats. Jesus H. Christ.

Briefly, the food is awesome, the service is friendly albeit slow or sorta lacking, and the mixed drinks are a little weak. If the food wasn’t so tasty this would be a 3-​star.
Kingside is in a great location right at the edge of the commercial section of Euclid/​Maryland. It offers a little bit of seating in the tight sidewalks of the CWE right next to the Chess Hall. The inside is… odd. I’m not sure how to describe it but for a diner its layout is one of a nice restaurant. It just feels strangely spaced when you walk in, and its a little difficult to navigate.
More importantly, however, the food is great. Props to the cooks and the people putting the menu together. I’ve had the waffled french toast (amazing), the slinger, and some eggs. The eggs were cooked as expected, no complaints. The slinger had great, unique flavor considering the basic ingredients of the STL classic. The chili on the slinger — awesome.
Overall, great place to check out for some great food, but don’t go in expecting a quick in-​and-​out diner experience.

My girlfriend and I went for lunch September 16, arriving about 11:15 a.m. We both wanted the Wednesday special, pot roast. It wasn’t ready.
Major disappointment. What the heck? This is your Wednesday special. There’s only ONE special every day.
You’ve been open long enough to figure out how long it takes to cook pot roast and vegetables.
We came here on purpose for the Wednesday special pot roast. And it was unavailable.
We both ended up with burgers. Poor substitute for pot roast.

We sat outside upstairs since it was nice outside. Service was okay but could be tweaked. We had a party of four. Two of the men wanted coffee, but the waitress only came back with one coffee cup. She had completely forgotten about the second guy.
We came here for breakfast, and I ordered the corned beef hash. It’s my favorite breakfast food! I know, it looks like dog food, and the texture is too soft for most people, but I love the flavor!
Unfortunately, this place did not serve what I thought was corned beef hash. They put hash browns AND bell peppers AND corn in the corned beef hash. To those who don’t eat the dish, this seems logical, but it’s really not. I know of NO other place who puts actual hash browns in corned beef hash (and as you can see by my Unilocal reviews, I travel a lot!). Corned beef hash should really just have FINELY chopped corned beef and potatoes, nothing else. It’s actually not very healthy, which is probably why I like it. The diced potatoes should be so small that they’re half the size of my pinky fingernail, at most. There should be no vegetables in traditional corned beef hash. This restaurant should call it «corned beef, healthy veggies, and shredded potatoes» instead.
I was thoroughly disappointed. Not only was this dish not your standard corned beef hash, but it was extremely salty. For once in my life, I did not finish my breakfast. I did order a side of hash browns, which were good, but only by themselves, not with corned beef and vegetables. Luckily I did not pay (someone else did), but do not get this dish here if you prefer tradition!

Great new diner in the CWE!
My husband and I were really hoping to like this place as we love to eat breakfast and live near here. Good news, it is good! I got a cheese and spinach omelet. It came with hash browns and toast — very good. My husband got they corned beef hash, his go-​to. It had more corned beef than hash and included some corn but he said it was really good. We took the kids, they got a kids breakfast (pancakes, bacon and fruit) and an a la carte pancake. They are quite a bit — so I would say it was good. The prices seemed reasonable but our bill was still $ 50 after tip, which is a lot for breakfast.
I have 4 stars because honestly it would be hard for me to give 5 stars for a breakfast place unless they were really special. This place had good food and good service and we will definitely return!

Great food — giant pancakes. My favorite type– fluffy in the middle with crispy edges. Our server, Kitty, was super personable and brought us everything we needed. There was an issue with the kitchen, comparable size parties that were seated after us received their food before us, and our wait for food was a little long, around 30 minutes.
Took a little time to get food, but when we did, it was delicious. Prices are good and I would definitely agree that it’s good quality diner food. We’ll def be back when we need some good, reasonably priced food.

I miss Lester’s, but Kingside Diner is a great new addition to the CWE. With the closing of The Majestic, the CWE was in dire need of a restaurant to provide a good, hearty, diner type breakfast and Kingside in doing just that. Looking at the menu and their Blue Plate Specials, looks as if they’ll be taking care of lunch and dinner too.
I enjoyed a delightful breakfast on the opening day. They offer six options, to which you can have as an omelette, burrito or flatbread. I choose #3, Romesco, goat cheese, spinach and red onion. It stuffed full, fried to beautiful golden yellow and served with a side of Hash Browns. The portions were the perfect size for a breakfast and price.
A couple of friends attended the soft opening and raved about the Cheddar Drop Biscuits with Chorizo and Sage Gravy, so I had to give them a try. My friends were right, these biscuits and gravy were the bomb. I liked the fact they served the gravy in a gravy boat and you got to slice your biscuits and control the amount of gravy. It also made it easy for me to only eat one of the two biscuits and take the other one home.
I’m looking forward to going back for lunch and trying the BLTA Sandwich. It caught my attention with the fried green tomato and avocado. I also want to try, Thanksgiving All Year. Thanksgiving is my favorite food holiday, so a turkey sandwich with, chutney cranberry, stuffing and pepper jack cheese on it has to be a winner.
In closing, I give them a BIG shout out for using Eco-​Friendly carry-​out containers and a bonus point for them being black and white to follow the chess theme.